1. NOMINATION FORM FOR COMPETITIVE TRAVEL MARKETING AWARDS Name of Nominee: New Ulm CVB / Flying Buttress Media Key Contact: Sarah Warmka Phone: (507) 233 4304 E-Mail: sarah@newulm.com Advertising time line : January – May, 2015 Campaign Budget $ 50,000 and Less

2. 1. PLEASE SUBMIT A ONE-PARAGRAPH SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT, STATING WHAT YOU WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH, WHAT YOU DID TO ACCOMPLISH IT, AND HOW WELL YOU SUCCEEDED. New Ulm Convention and Visitors Bureau wanted to increase engagement and interaction on their social media channels and in particular on Facebook. Flying Buttress Media created a series of 9 videos to be distributed on social media to encourage this interaction. Posting and boosting the videos dramatically increased user engagement on Facebook and also increased traffic on the website. In addition, there was an increase in lodging revenue during the desired period. On the following slides you will see some of the key results.

3. 2. DESCRIBE YOUR PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. The goals of this video campaign were to increase user engagement and interaction on New Ulm social media channels and on Facebook in particular. The ultimate goal was to bring in more visitors throughout the months of May – August, 2015.

4. 3. DESCRIBE THE TARGET AUDIENCE AND PRIMARY MARKETS. The target audience was males and females aged 25 – 65 living in Rochester, St. Cloud, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area who may have an interest in weekend getaways.

5. 4. DESCRIBE ANY SECONDARY MARKETS: The secondary markets included women that would be interested in a one day trip to New Ulm to take part in New Ulm’s shopping and attractions. These areas included a 60 mile radius of New Ulm as well as St. Cloud, Rochester, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

6. 5. DESCRIBE THE EFFORT’S CREATIVE BACKGROUND AND STRATEGY. New Ulm Convention and Visitors Bureau wanted to increase engagement on its social media channels and increase visitors to the area. New Ulm CVB had many categories of interest and areas that it wanted to promote. Instead of producing a long overview video that took time getting through all areas, Flying Buttress Media decided to produce a series of 9 shorter videos focusing on each of these aspects. For example, a 60 second Dining in New Ulm video and a 60 second Attractions in New Ulm video, as well as a series of succinct overview videos titled “Any Given Day in New Ulm”. The strategy was to create a social media buzz about the New Ulm area and its offerings by releasing a new video periodically from January – May, 2015 in order to build momentum and engagement during the time when people are planning summer vacations. The ultimate goal was to encourage visitors during the months of May – August, 2015.

7. VIDEOS CREATED FOR CAMPAIGN Any Given Day in New Ulm :60 https://youtu.be/-T4LPHDlg58https://youtu.be/-T4LPHDlg58 Any Given Day in New Ulm :30 https://youtu.be/1lrG3Rz8FBQhttps://youtu.be/1lrG3Rz8FBQ Attractions in New Ulm https://youtu.be/kEq0UcvlWr4https://youtu.be/kEq0UcvlWr4 Activities in New Ulm https://youtu.be/GiKS7C1CCYYhttps://youtu.be/GiKS7C1CCYY Shopping in New Ulm https://youtu.be/-uA1tE79ku4https://youtu.be/-uA1tE79ku4 Dining in New Ulm https://youtu.be/z7Uyryr6LGIhttps://youtu.be/z7Uyryr6LGI Lodging in New Ulm https://youtu.be/ePjo4iG5WPEhttps://youtu.be/ePjo4iG5WPE Entertainment and Festivals in New Ulm https://youtu.be/AHMvjDrKyXohttps://youtu.be/AHMvjDrKyXo Legend of Hermann’s Footprint https://youtu.be/xGeYqUVO8L4https://youtu.be/xGeYqUVO8L4

8. 6. DESCRIBE THE TRACKING SYSTEM USED TO MEASURE RESULTS OF THE PROJECT. The tracking system used to gauge the interaction on social media channels included Facebook and Google analytics to understand who was interacting with the video content, where they were from and if they were part of the target audience. This was used to compare with the Facebook and Google analytics from prior years and gauge the different engagement levels. Lodging revenue from previous years was also used to compare with the lodging revenue that followed the campaign.

9. 7. DESCRIBE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND RESULTS OF THE PROJECT. (SPECIFICALLY, HOW MANY PEOPLE CAME TO YOUR COMMUNITY AS A RESULT OF YOUR PROMOTION?) The use of video content on social media dramatically increased user engagement from the desired demographics on Facebook and also increased traffic to New Ulm’s website. Additionally, there was an increase in lodging revenue during the desired months compared with those months from previous years. On the following slides you will find some of our key results.

10. FACEBOOK VIDEO CAMPAIGN RESULTS Any Given Day (1:00) – 3/2/2015 https://youtu.be/-T4LPHDlg58 $50 boost to Minneapolis / St. Cloud +25 miles $100 boost to Rochester +25 miles Reach: 74,000 (33,408 organic, 40,992 paid) Actions: 1,680 likes, 473 shares, 361 comments Clicks: 3,774 Video Views: 33,712 Post Engagements – 19,398

11. FACEBOOK VIDEO CAMPAIGN RESULTS Legend of Hermann’s Footprint (1:00) – 3/11/2015 https://youtu.be/xGeYqUVO8L4 $50 boost to Minneapolis / St. Cloud +25 miles $100 boost to Rochester +25 miles Reach: 11,996 (6,336 organic, 5,660 paid) Actions: 151 likes, 36 shares, 26 comments Clicks: 782 Video Views: 7,049 Post Engagements – 11,555

12. FACEBOOK VIDEO CAMPAIGN RESULTS Attractions in New Ulm (:54) – 3/30/2015 https://youtu.be/kEq0UcvlWr4 $50 boost to Minneapolis / St. Cloud +25 miles $85.37 boost to Rochester +25 miles Reach: 24,992 (6,472 organic, 18,520 paid) Actions: 307 likes, 67 shares, 45 comments Clicks: 873 Video Views: 13,858 Post Engagements – 10,227

13. “ATTRACTIONS IN NEW ULM” DEMOGRAPHIC RESULTS Boosted towards men and women ages 25 – 65. The boost successfully reached men and women, particularly in the desired 25 – 34 age range.

14. FACEBOOK VIDEO CAMPAIGN RESULTS Shopping in New Ulm (1:00) – 3/30/2015 https://youtu.be/-uA1tE79ku4 $50 boost to Minneapolis / St. Cloud +25 miles Reach: 16,264 (1,136 organic, 15,128 paid) Actions: 121 likes, 17 shares, 2comments Clicks: 70 Video Views: 16,264

15. “SHOPPING IN NEW ULM” DEMOGRAPHIC RESULTS Boosted only towards women ages 25 – 65 with an interest in shopping. The boost successfully reached women in the desired demographic.

16. MOVIE THEATER CAMPAIGN Location number of screens number of spots Total Impressions Total Cost Hollywood 12 Theater, Rochester, MN 121,34410,527$730.00

17. NEW ULM LODGING REVENUE (MONTHS FOLLOWING CAMPAIGN) $30,771 $30,216 $34,361

18. YEARLY NEW ULM LODGING REVENUE $110,473 $113,150 $121,691

19. WEBSITE TRAFFIC

20. 2015 WEBSITE TRAFFIC

21. 8. DETAIL THE EXACT BUDGET FOR THE PROGRAM, AND HOW IT BREAKS OUT. FIGURES SHOULD TOTAL THE AMOUNT OF THE EXACT BUDGET. $24,500 for video production $685.37 for Facebook campaign $730 for movie theater campaign $25,915.37 total

22. 9. WHAT TRACKING METHODS DID YOU USE WITHIN THE PROGRAM AND WHAT WERE YOUR KEY RESULTS FOR THE EFFORT? The tracking system used to gauge the interaction on social media channels included Facebook and Google analytics to understand who was interacting with the video content, where they were from and if they were part of the target audience. The Facebook campaign dramatically increased user engagement from the targeted demographics that were set within the campaign. Additionally, the lodging revenue increased in the desired months compared to prior years.

23. We are honored to be considered for the 2015 Explore Minnesota Tourism Marketing Award. The video marketing campaign caused a dramatic increase in social media and website engagement, as well as a significant increase in the lodging revenue during the desired months following the video marketing, and as such we feel that the video campaign initiated between the New Ulm Convention and Visitors Bureau and Flying Buttress Media has been a thorough success. Thank you for your consideration.