1. Today’s travel planning habits and the impact to our marketing plans. Mark Schaeffer Hoffman/Lewis

2. Volunteers?

3. The good old days Less vacation time overall One or two “big” weeklong trips annually Tendency to return to favorite places Fair weather travel

4. The good old days More conservative travel habits Sight seeing: national monuments Relaxing by the lake

5. Vacation planning back in the day Planning started 3 to 4 months out Sense of urgency –“Better get in before the lodge fills up.” Call and order a printed guide and DIY it. Or call a travel agent.

6. These simple times have long passed.

7. More trips - shorter trips The weekend getaway Girlfriend’s Weekend Multi-generation vacations “American Girl” pilgrimage?

8. Year round travel We’re more active We shop more We demand more Stress release

9. Less planning in the planning “What do we have going next weekend?” “Let’s check the last minute deals on Expedia.” “What’s the weather forecast?”

10. Shorter planning cycle 52% of travel to Missouri is done less than four weeks out. 75% less than eight weeks out.

11. On-line planning The tool kit has changed.

12. Impact to our marketing plans?

13. Does your calendar deliver most of your messaging over 6-7 weeks in the Spring? You’re not alone.

14. And what about the creative message? Do we limit our messaging to what is already known about our destination? Do we go beyond the montage of familiar images?

15. Recency and Relevance Top of mind over a longer period. Deliver a broader array of relevant options.

16. Critical planning questions Media planning Are we getting enough continuity out of our plan? Does our on-line plan account for today’s on-line planning habits?

17. Critical planning questions Creative resource planning Does our messaging reflect our offerings beyond the peak summer period? Are there tactical messages for off-peak?

18. Critical planning questions What are our short-term measures? Does a drop in printed planning guides mean we’re failing? How can we measure our on-line effectiveness beyond unique visitors?

19. And the really big question… Do we have the budget to address these changes? Consider developing a hypothetical budget. –We all need to have a target in terms of what we need to genuinely drive visits and revenue.

20. In the meantime Consider increasing your R&R with: –E-mail marketing –Tactical radio –Public relations efforts –Keep your web site current (events, seasonal options)

21. Does our Missouri plan get more R&R?

22. More appropriate distribution of media –Summer spending up 300%, Fall up 60% –On-line spending up 90% Year round CRM email marketing program. Geo targeted radio New VisitMo.com platform.

23. The travel marketing paradigm has shifted.

24. Q&A