Prepared by September 2008

2 Preface Beginning this year the Lake of the Ozarks CVB/Tri-County Lodging Association have chosen to measure their marketing performance using an ad effectiveness study, similar to the way the Missouri Division of Tourism measures their ad performance. This study replaces the traditional inquiry conversion study. Ad effectiveness studies are superior to conversion studies in several different ways because they measure: –ALL VISITORS, instead of the just the handful (3% to 5%) of visitors who request additional information and leave their addresses. –ALL MARKETING CHANNELS including mass media and internet website visits, and are not just limited to media channels such as print ads that generate inquiries. –NET INCREMENTAL SPENDING generated as a direct result of the ads, as opposed to assuming everyone who inquired and visited, did so because they saw an advertisement.

3 Purpose The purpose of this study is to measure the degree to which the Lake of the Ozarks CVB/ Tri-County Lodging Association’s 2008 advertising campaign resonated with prospects and generated visitation for the Lake of the Ozarks area. Awareness ● Appeal ● Interest ● Effectiveness ● ROI

4 Methodology The Lake of the Ozarks CVB/ Tri-County Lodging Association’s Advertising Effectiveness Study was conducted online among residents of the St. Louis, Kansas City, Des Moines, Omaha, DMAs and the Springfield, IL MSA using an online panel professionally managed by Survey Sampling Inc. The use of such a panel is necessary to ensure that a random selection of visitors and non-visitors representative of the key target markets is secured. House-list addresses were also sent the same online questionnaire for the purpose of “oversampling” visitors (if necessary), and to compare and contrast house list responses to those from residents in the third- party panel. The hope was that the results from the two studies would be comparable—so that future studies might be able to implement only the house file names, and save money on the rental of the third-party panel. (As it it turned out, however, “oversampling” was not necessary because a representative number of visitors and non-visitors were identified in the panel, and the results of the two list sources produced substantially different results.)

5 Methodology The questionnaire consisted of a variety of closed-ended and open-ended questions which took the average respondent approximately 10 minutes to complete when it was launched during the second week of September A total of 536 respondents completed the online panel survey providing for a maximum margin of error of +/- 4.2% at a 95% confidence interval. The house list generated another 188 responses (from the same five markets). However, because the two lists included inherently different pools of travelers, the two sources were not combined. Rather relevant comparisons are made on occasion through this presentation.

6 Lake of the Ozarks advertising gets results Lake of the Ozarks generated $ in net incremental visitor revenue for every $1.00 invested in advertising—and, in fact, generated $63.59 for every dollar spent in the entire marketing budget.

7 Executive Summary Over 90% of the residents in Lake of the Ozarks five target markets are familiar with the destination. More than four in ten (43.5%) have previously seen Lake of the Ozark’s travel advertisements this year. Lake of the Ozark’s print advertisements were very well received among respondents. The ads greatly improved intent-to-visit (+46%) They greatly improved respondents’ perception of Lake of the Ozarks (+36%) And the print ads effectively captured respondents’ attention (+62%) Overall, 6% of respondents had visited Lake of the Ozarks this past summer which equates to 838,302 total visitors and $95.4 million in gross spending. But, advertising did not attract them all. Aware visitors who had previously seen the Lake of the Ozarks print ads accounted for 538,578 visitors who spent $64.9 million on their travels.

8 1 awareness Over 90% of respondents across the five target markets are familiar with Lake of the Ozarks, and 44% had previously seen Lake of the Ozark’s ads this year.

9 Familiarity with Lake of the Ozarks Over nine in ten residents in the target markets are familiar with Lake of the Ozarks as a destination.

10 % Familiar with Lake of the Ozarks by Market As would likely be expected, the markets closer to Lake of the Ozarks are more likely to be familiar with the destination than those from further distances.

11 Unaided Awareness With over 746 responses to an open-ended question about what destination’s ads they recall seeing, only 1 mention of Lake of the Ozarks was made. Similarly, of 706 mentions of PR recall, Lake of the Ozarks was only mentioned twice.

12 Aided Awareness of PR and Advertisements PanelHouse List Over half of panel respondents (56%) said they had heard/seen some type of advertisement or PR for Lake of the Ozarks recently. Among house-list respondents awareness jumped to 83%. Prior to showing actual ads

13 Where Recall Seeing/Hearing PR or Advertisement? Most panel respondents recalled hearing/seeing the PR/Ad on television, newspaper or in a magazine.

14 Recall of Lake of the Ozarks PR sampling of verbatim comments All the fun things to do and shopping opportunities and shows and entertainment in the area to see and do. Beautiful lake and on the bank they have cottages Boat races - hotel specials Boating accidents Close to Saint Louis Deaths from drowning Drunk people having fun. a fatal helicopter crash. Ecoli in the water - people getting very ill Great hiking, fishing, camping Hotels/ lake activities/ eating establishments Just that it was a nice place to visit with lots of activities for the whole family. Party cove That it is a family destination The Lake itself, Tan-Tara Resort, Golf courses, Water sports and relaxing in lake shore cabins

15 Recall of Lake of the Ozarks Advertisements sampling of verbatim comments About the fishing and sightseeing About the lake resort Advertising Branson and what a great place Lake of the Ozarks is. Boating Enjoy the scenery I recall the beautiful lake picture in the photo. It's in Missouri, has a water park close by, has boating and fishing Leisure weekends on the lake Lots of water activities Outlet malls Received a brochure in the mail. Shopping mall Shopping, boating Silver Dollar City park, various music and comedy shows Tan-Tar-A The image of the Lake of Ozarks. There is shopping and golf. Visit the lake of the Ozarks. It is a great family destination vacation spot Note that several people confused the difference between Branson & Lake of the Ozarks.

16 Actual Awareness of Advertisements PanelHouse List Once shown the actual collage of advertisements, 44% of panel respondents and 84% of those from the house file reported they had actually seen these ads before. After showing actual ads

17 % Actual Awareness of LOTO Advertisements by Market Lake of the Ozarks highest ad awareness levels came in Springfield, IL, Kansas City and St. Louis.

18 2 perceived impact Lake of the Ozark’s advertisements had a significant impact on intent-to- visit (+46%), improved perception of the market (+36%), and effectiveness of grabbing attention (+62%).

19 Ad’s Impact on Intent-to-Visit Lake of the Ozarks 46% of respondents said the advertisement made them more likely to visit Lake of the Ozarks. Nearly two-thirds of house-list respondents said the ad made them more likely to visit.

20 Impact of Ad on Intent-to-Visit The impact of the advertisements were perceived to be somewhat more effective in Kansas City and Omaha than some of the other markets.

21 Ad’s Impact on Perception of Lake of the Ozarks Over one-third (36%) indicated the ad helped improve their perception of Lake of the Ozarks. House list responses were similar at 37%.

22 Impact of Ad’s Influence on Perception The net impact of the ad’s influence on perception was fairly consistent across markets.

23 Ad’s Effectiveness at Getting Attention Nearly two-thirds of respondents (and 75% of house list respondents) felt the ad did a good/excellent job of grabbing their attention.

24 Impact of Ad’s Effectiveness at Grabbing Attention Respondents from Spfd, IL, Des Moines and Kansas City felt the ads did the best job of grabbing their attention.

25 3 market penetration This section evaluates Lake of the Ozark’s incidence of visitation by market, otherwise known as market penetration.

26 Incidence: Ever Visited Lake of the Ozarks? Nearly two-thirds of the panel respondents nationwide have visited Lake of the Ozarks at some point in the past. Nearly all (95%) of house list respondents have visited.

27 Incidence by Market Incidence by market is highest in the Kansas City and St. Louis markets where more than 7 in 10 residents have visited Lake of the Ozarks at some point in the past.

28 Last Visit and Seasonality Last Visit2008 Seasonality However, over 14% of those who have previously visited did so in and only 63% of those visited this past summer.

29 Incidence: Visited Lake of the Ozarks this past Summer Overall, 6% of the respondents from Lake of the Ozarks target markets reported visiting the destination this past summer.

30 Summer Visitation by Market Spfd, IL, St. Louis and Kansas City generated the highest ratios of summer market penetration for Lake of the Ozarks.

31 4 ad effectiveness This section examines the degree to which Lake of the Ozark’s advertisements generated incremental visitation and gross spending.

32 This gray box represents all of the residents who live in Lake of the Ozark’s five target feeder markets. Residents of Feeder Markets

33 aware of adsunaware of ads Residents of Feeder Markets 43.5% of residents in Lake of the Ozarks target markets were familiar with the destination’s ads

34 Total Visitors & Visitor Spending 43.5% aware of ads56.5% unaware of ads Residents of Feeder Markets 838,302 travelers from these markets spent $95.4 million in Lake of the Ozarks this past summer.

35 aware of adsunaware of ads Residents of Feeder Markets unaware visitor spending aware visitor spending 538,578 or $64.9 million 299,725 or $30.5 million Total visitors & visitor spending

36 Direct Spending/ROI Calculations AwareUnawareTotal Households1,358,2571,762,2983,120,555 Incidence (Summer 2008)8.7%3.9%6.0% Visiting Households118,25969,527187,527 Household Size Visitors538,578299,725838,302 Spending/Person$120.42$101.81$ Direct Spending$64.9M$30.5M$95.4M Gross Impact of Advertising$64.9M Lake of the Ozarks Investment$146,012 ROI (Gross Spending: Ad Investment)$ * net impact = aware spending LESS unaware spending. This reflects the incremental net spending that was generated solely as a result of the advertisements. panel

37 Net Impact Calculations AwareWithout Ads* Net Impact Households1,358,257 - Incidence (Summer 2008)8.7%3.9%4.8% Visiting Households118,25953,38764,872 Household Size Visitors538,578231,007307,570 Spending/Person$120.42$101.81$ Direct Spending$64.9M$23.5M$41.3M NET IMPACT* of Advertising$41.3M Lake of the Ozarks Investment$146,012 ROI (Gross Spending: Ad Investment)$ panel *Illustrates visitation & spending from “aware visitors” had no advertisements ran.

38 In fact, even if the entire $650,000 marketing budget were weighed against the $41.3 million net incremental revenue generated, the return on investment would still be $ Bottom line, Lake of the Ozarks marketing investment is driving business and generating incremental revenue for the community.

39 5 respondent profile Respondents in this study reflected the general population in the census

40 Ages in Household The average respondent was 39.2 years old. House list respondents averaged 41.5 years of age.

41 Party Composition Four in ten respondents had children under 18 years of age in their household. 43% of house list respondents were families with children.

42 Education Nearly half of respondents have a college degree or better. 47% of house list respondents have a college education or better.

43 Household Income The average income of panel respondents was $63,100 The average household income from house list respondents was $89,000

44 Summary Metrics Panel Respondent House List Familiarity with destination91.7%95.7% Aware of advertisements43.5%84.2% Summer market penetration6.0%49.9% Spending per person$113.77$ Estimated gross revenue$95.4 million$1,621.7 million Aware-gross revenue$64.9 million$1,356.1 million NET incremental revenue$41.3 million$554.9 million Advertising investment$146,012 Return on investment$283.09$3,800.37

45 6 appendix Details of the calculations from the house file list.

46 Direct Spending/ROI Calculations AwareUnawareTotal Households2,628,728491,8273,120,555 Incidence (2008)54.4%34.5%51.3% Visiting Households1,430,392169,5951,599,987 Household Size Visitors7,387,092816,5708,203,662 Spending/Person$183.57$325.29$ Direct Spending$1,356.1M$265.6M$1,621.7M Gross Impact of Advertising$1,356.1M Lake of the Ozarks Investment$446,012 ROI (Gross Spending: Ad Investment)$3, *net impact = aware spending LESS unaware spending house list