Marketing & Promotional Strategies for Rural Tourism

Partnering & Packaging Geotourism: The New Trend in Travel Tourism that sustains & enhances a location’s geographic “sense of place” Geotourism encompasses numerous tourism niches: - Environmental Tourism/Outdoor Adventure Travel - Culinary/Agritourism - Heritage/Cultural Tourism Partner to Create Authentic Experiences Sleep

Creating Authentic Experiences Culinary/Agritourism (3-3-Sleep) Breakfast at a local B&B or Inn featuring farm-fresh eggs, locally-grown produce and fruit, muffins fresh from a local bakery. Farm Tour followed by a trip to Farmer’s Market led by a local chef; shop with chef for produce and herbs to be used in cooking demonstration/class at local restaurant. Enjoy lunch paired with local wines. Day hike or cycling followed by visit to a local winery or two. Dinner at restaurant featuring a local specialty dish. Return to B&B for coffee and conversation with hosts & other guests.

Think It Through Who Is Your Audience? Where Is Your Audience? How Does Your Audience Get Their Information? How Can You Reach Your Audience Most Cost-Effectively? Collaboration Stretches the Budget

State of the Media A.Traditional Media Newspapers - Approximately 293 Newspapers across the country folded in Fewer Dailies; More Weeklies featuring local news - Physical dimensions reduced - Some newspapers moving to online only format (i.e. Seattle PI) - Some online publications instituting pay walls Magazines - Approximately 1,126 consumer, business, scientific, trade & online magazines folded in 2009 (Source: Vocus 2010 State of the Media Report) - Growth in Niche: online trade & associate publications - New online magazines expected to continue launching over next 3-5 years

State of the Media Television - More than 100 stations across the country affected by bankruptcies in Many staff cuts (reporters taking on more responsibility) - Pooled resources and sharing of news footage grows - Stations move to cover hard news (i.e. fires, crime); less room for soft stories or in-depth reporting - Make reporter’s job as easy as possible The Upside: - TV Stations Have Websites - More talk-shows popping up (i.e. Margaret Larson’s New Day Northwest) Know what shows cover; pitch guests and story angles that are an appropriate fit for the viewing audience

State of the Media Radio - Revenues dropped percent in Local stations running nationally syndicated programs (cheaper), but mitigates local feel that listeners like -Increased competition from Satellite Radio; Streaming Media; iPods & MP3 Players Upside: - Broadcast AM/FM radio still has larger share of listening audience (51%) than CDs (16%); Satellite Radio (7%); Ipod/MP3 (5%); Streamed Audio on Computers (4%) Source: Vocus 2010 State of the Media Report - Radio technology is best positioned to move into digital environment - Increased interplay between broadcast radio and new applications

State of the Media B. Social Media A group of Internet-based applications that allow the creation and exchange of “User-Generated Content” Blogs Personal website used by author to communicate anything he chooses to write about to readers. Can include photos & links. Entries dated, time-stamped & archived. Public comment sections facilitate conversation. Syndicated to subscribers via RSS Feed (distribution tool). Facebook Social networking website that can be used for business marketing and promotion. Public “fan pages,” are indexed by search engines. Can link to your website; newsletters; host a discussion; exchange video and photos; integrate blog feeds; Good for longterm relationship-building.

State of the Media Twitter Free social networking/micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read each others' updates, known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters, displayed on the author's Twitter profile page and delivered to other users - known as followers - who have subscribed to them. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website or via Short Message Service, which allows texting from the web to a cell phone or from one cell phone to another.

State of the Media YouTube Video-sharing website on which users can upload and share video Arrange video content in a single location - your own YouTube Channel Create a YouTube profile & Playlists from your own content Tag your content with Key Words Promote your content through YouTube , Bulletins & UserGroups Embed video from your YouTube Channel on your website, Blog, Facebook page, etc.

Creating An Integrated Marketing Program Most effective marketing/promotion campaigns utilize a variety of tools & tactics Plan Ahead Identify your audience Select modes of communication that enable you to reach this audience in the most cost-effective manner Collaborate with partner organizations to help stretch the budget

Clallam/Jefferson Counties Joint Marketing Campaign Target Audience General Public and People with interests in travel, outdoor and culinary activities; 25 – 64 years old; residing in Snohomish, King, Pierce & Thurston Counties Budget: $35K Strategy Position the North Olympic Peninsula, through a targeted multimedia advertising campaign, as a spring getaway destination that offers something for everyone from outdoor enthusiasts to culinary tourists, with special focus on scuba diving and cycling niche groups.

Campaign Website

All traffic driven to campaign website Lodging specials offered by partner venues Promotes drawing for weekend getaway (donated by partner businesses); takes user to enter to win page; database collects data for future marketing KING generates report detailing # of openings & click-thrus Permission-Based

Radio Paid Broadcast Schedule Live Endorsements – “Fun Facts” Giveaways Streaming/V-Roll Text Tuesday Campaign

Electronic Publications

Print Ads

YouTube New Dive Web Page

Other Marketing Tactics Marketing Letters to Niche Groups w/ Special Offers Press Releases

Financing Your Marketing/PR Strategy Joy & Joe Baische WSU Extension/Brinnon