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Business Development Plan 2016 / 2017

Visit Mesa

CITY LIMITLESS®

M I S S I O N : To promote Mesa and its neighboring partner communities as a premier business and leisure travel destination on behalf of our stakeholders.

V I S I O N : Mesa and its surrounding regional partners are globally recognized as the preeminent visitor destination in Arizona.

You work hard to grow your business.

WE ARE WORKING HARD TO GROW IT, TOO.

VISIT MESA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2016 / 2017 1

V I S I T M E S A S TA F F

Marc J. Garcia President and CEO480.682.3636 [email protected] @MarcJGarcia

Kimberly Freer Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing 480.682.3646 [email protected]

Michelle Streeter Vice President, Communications & Partner Relations480.682.3638 [email protected] @VisitMesaPR

A D M I N I S T R AT I O N A N D V I S I T O R C E N T E R

Gayle Savo Director of Administration [email protected]

Barb Cipolaro Concierge & Executive Assistant [email protected]

PA R T N E R R E L AT I O N S

Terrie GardnerAssociate Manager, Partnership [email protected]

E X E C U T I V E C O M M I T T E E

Dave Wier Chairperson (Emeritus)Wells Fargo Bank

Carl Grupp Vice Chairperson DETOURS Arizona

Debbie Johnson SecretaryArizona Office of Tourism

Mike HutchinsonTreasurerEast Valley Partnership

B O A R D M E M B E R S

Steve ChucriMaricopa County Board of SupervisorsArizona Restaurant Association

Dan DickhartSheraton Mesa Hotel at Wrigleyville West

Macey DuncanResidence Inn Mesa

Sally HarrisonMesa Chamber of Commerce

Marc HeirshbergCity of Mesa, Parks, Recreation & Commercial Facilities

David LunaCity of Mesa Councilmember

Brian MarshallVillage Bloom, LLC

Mike Maruca Hilton Phoenix/Mesa

Bob McNicholsDaedalus Real Estate Advisors, LLC

Jaye O’DonnellCity of Mesa Economic Development

Marnie SchubertTown of Queen Creek

Doug SmithPhoenix Marriott Mesa

E M E R I T U S M E M B E R S

Rich AdamsSouthwest Business Credit Services

Tom RhodesArque Capital, Ltd.

Steve WestUdall | Shumway

Marty WhalenGateway Bank

Mike WhalenCenturian Custom Security

S A L E S

Jennie DenisonDirector, National Sales [email protected]

Suzanne KellerDirector, Sports [email protected]

Cherri Lamont Director, Travel Industry [email protected]

Jalyssa GasmenSales [email protected]

C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

Ginger St. PierreDigital Strategy [email protected]

Emily BrozewiczCommunications [email protected] @VisitMesa

Rachel Semik Projects [email protected]

B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S

MICHELLE STREETERVP, COMMUNICATIONS AND PARTNER RELATIONS

EMILY BROZEWICZ COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

GAYLE SAVO DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION

BARB CIPOLAROCONCIERGE & EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

SUZANNE KELLER DIRECTOR, SPORTS SALES

CHERRI LAMONT DIRECTOR, TRAVEL INDUSTRY SALES

JENNIE DENISONDIRECTOR, NATIONAL SALES

JALYSSA GASMEN SALES ASSISTANT

TERRIE GARDNER ASSOCIATE MANAGER, PARTNERSHIP SALES

GINGER ST. PIERREDIGITAL STRATEGY MANAGER

RACHEL SEMIKPROJECTS ASSISTANT

KIMBERLY FREER SR. VP, SALES AND MARKETING

MARC J. GARCIA PRESIDENT AND CEO

VISIT MESA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2016 / 2017 VISIT MESA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2016 / 2017 32

F O R E C A S T I N G O U R F U T U R E

Mesa is Heading Into a New Era.

Like a fresh coat of paint, you can see a change sweeping across this great destination. And, being that Mesa is Arizona’s third largest city, that’s a great deal of change. With the Fiesta District improvements nearing completion and capital projects underway at Falcon Field, more non-stop destinations announced for Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and the much-anticipated business growth surrounding the Elliott Technology Corridor, every corner of Mesa is unveiling a new ‘wow’ factor.

I’m proud to share that similar investments and change are taking place within Mesa’s visitor industry. Several of the city’s signature hotel properties have completed or announced renovations in the year ahead. The Residence Inn by Marriott, Hilton Phoenix Mesa, La Quinta Inn & Suites (West) and Phoenix Marriott Mesa are all properties currently experiencing their own renaissance. Perhaps the most notable change to come may start as early as next year, as residents prepare to cast their votes this November for Arizona State University’s expansion into Downtown Mesa.

As change agents for our industry, the Visit Mesa team works tirelessly with the City of Mesa leadership to ensure Mesa is designed with purpose. We advocate for the continuous development of new and improved products and experiences that will entice visitors to return year after year. We will continue to support the City of Mesa’s efforts to work toward adding significant visitor serving infrastructure and product, from the forthcoming Light Rail extension to Gilbert Road, the continued investment as part of the Mesa Riverview complex, and on-going efforts to energize Downtown Mesa. This fiscal year our marketing campaigns will extend the promise of City Limitless®, and the lifestyle brands we established – Active Family, Adventure Explorer, Fresh Foodie –

will take on a stronger identity in our creative placements. We will bank on our previous success of targeting the Millennial generation and take our digital, targeted ads even further. Keeping with national trends, we will share even more user-generated content on our social feeds, which is perhaps the best, most authentic endorsement one can get for Mesa and our in-demand experiences.

I also want to point out that Visit Mesa will be finding out key insights as part of our 18-month visitor profile study conducted by Longwoods International, scheduled for completion in June 2017. I invite you to read about the compelling research Visit Mesa is undergoing to track consumers and analyze their trips taken, identify characteristics of their stay, find out where they are coming from and how long they are overnighting in our hotels. This effort is all part of calculating direct visitor expenditures and helping us truly understand the impact of the visitor industry within Mesa and the surrounding region. Valuable takeaways will be shared as we close the fiscal year, and the data gathered will directly impact future destination marketing of Mesa, Arizona.

With this being the dawn of the shared economy, please join your Visit Mesa team as we develop a shared vision for City Limitless®.

Marc J. Garcia President and CEO | Visit Mesa

“AS CHANGE AGENTS FOR OUR INDUSTRY, the Visit Mesa team works tirelessly with the City of Mesa leadership to ensure Mesa is designed with purpose”.

VISIT MESA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2016 / 2017 54 VISIT MESA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2016 / 2017

N AT I O N A L S A L E S Visit Mesa’s National Sales efforts will be strategically focused in 2016-2017 with an emphasis on attracting programs meeting our 100 – 250 peak room night parameter, within the Association, Corporate, Government and Religious group segments. In addition to this focus, National Sales will concentrate on the group pipeline, an updated stream of potential business activity monitored daily, to increase our group closure ratio by offering our Site & See Fly-In program to those qualified planners with a group under consideration for Mesa. National Sales will also develop planner relationships within our feeder cities to create more opportunities for group business and to increase our group lead volume into Mesa City Limitless®.

O B J E C T I V E S

• Increase lead volume into Mesa to drive closing ratio and capture group room nights.

• Create a greater awareness of Visit Mesa’s Conference Services Program to support planners’ group bookings and off-site activities and venues.

• Develop progressive strategies to enhance large group bookings for the Mesa Convention Center, and secure citywide opportunities for Mesa hotels.

• Host pre-qualified meeting planners with potential business in our destination and create customized familiarization tours to introduce them to City Limitless® and earn their business.

• Develop planner relationships within our feeder cities, to create more opportunities for group business and lead generation via D.C. and Chicago sales missions.

S T R AT E G I E S

Cvent Partnership | Visit Mesa has partnered with Cvent to maximize our marketing platform targeted to meeting planners with the goal of increasing our lead volume and casting a wider net to raise awareness about Mesa. Cvent will support and provide Visit Mesa with an integrated platform, enabling Visit Mesa to increase group business demand through targeted advertising and improve conversion through proprietary demand management and business intelligence solutions. Cvent solutions optimize the entire event management value chain and have enabled clients around the world to manage hundreds of thousands of meetings and events. Partnering with the largest cloud-based enterprise event management company will help take Mesa to the next level and increase our group booking opportunity. Making Connections: Connect Meetings | Within National Sales, industry trade shows support our strategy to stay top of mind with our customers, compete with similar destinations, and earn group business on behalf of our Mesa hotels and event venues. In FY 2016-17, we will have a partnership presence at the following Connect Meetings tradeshows: Connect Corporate, Connect Specialty, Connect Association,

Connect Faith, Connect Texas and Connect D.C. In addition to the opportunity to book group business as a result of these industry trade shows, our attendance also places Visit Mesa on the “meetings map” amongst our competition. As announced earlier this year, Visit Mesa’s National Sales Director Jennie Denison was named one of Connect Meetings 40 Under 40. Each year, Connect Association highlights professionals who are making an early mark in the association meetings industry. Peers and colleagues submit nominations, which then are reviewed by Connect Meetings’ editors. The editors select the final 40 honorees based on nominations, references, industry involvement, career awards, honors and other factors. These influential leaders in association meetings and events are regarded as future change-makers in the meetings industry. Group Incentive Program | Our National Sales focus is to be proactive and increase meeting planner’s knowledge of our destination. To do this, offering incentives captures the most attention from planners and increases group opportunity for Mesa. Visit Mesa qualifies the group, as well as the planners needs and requirements, and uses this insight to create incentives that are specific to group needs. Our incentives elevate our position within our competitive market set and create a platform for the planners to strongly consider Mesa and an opportunity for our destination to earn their business. Our incentive strategy supports planners, as well as our Mesa hotels and event venues and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

2016

Aug. 25-27 Grapevine, TX Connect Association, Connect Specialty, Connect Corporate

Oct. 25-27 Orlando, FL Connect Faith

Nov. 15-17 Galveston, TX Connect Texas

Dec. 5-7 Fort Myers, FL U.S. Sports Congress

Dec. 14-15 Washington, DC Connect D.C.

Dec. 14-16 Washington, DC D.C. Sales Mission

2017

Feb. Chicago, IL Chicago Sales Mission

GOALS

Bookings 29

Room Nights 8,000

N AT I O N A L S A L E S T R AV E L S C H E D U L E :


Travelers seek unique experiences,

AND WE GIVE THEM THEIR FILL.

T R AV E L I N D U S T R Y S A L E SMomentum continues to build for Mesa as a premier leisure destination. Our efforts to increase market share from domestic travelers will continue, as will our focus on elevating direct consumer awareness through tour operators and OTA’s (online travel agencies). International sales and marketing strategies will include campaigns with key operators as well as consumer direct digital programming with calls to action driving business during the summer season. International sales missions to the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and China will build upon previous efforts to likewise lure these visitors to Mesa during summer months. Emerging market opportunities going forward will include pre/post hotel stays for European visitors picking up motorhomes. Domestically, we will solicit tour companies throughout North America that specialize in Arizona experiences for tour series and custom tours.

O B J E C T I V E S

• Position Mesa as the authentic Arizona destination whose offerings include organic, historical, cultural, western, outdoor & foodie experiences.

• Emphasize the Fresh Foodie Trail in all communications, at trade shows, on all sales missions, and during product training for travel companies.

• Increase room night production through qualified appointments at key trade shows, on sales missions, through marketing campaigns, via tour operator incentives, and with hotel product additions in FIT (frequent individual traveler) wholesale programs.

• Create strategic co-op marketing campaigns with the Arizona Office of Tourism and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) around the state.

• Incentivize travel companies to book off-peak travel months. Schedule bi-annual e-communications to North American Motorcoach companies.

• Strengthen relationships and awareness with overseas travel companies.

• Schedule training sessions with Mesa partner hotels (they may better understand how to sell to the leisure customer), as well as maintain strong partnerships that result in increased room night production.

• Develop packages and increase room night bookings for attractions, events, and hotels through Visit Mesa’s online booking engine.

• Capture domestic and international direct consumer bookings through a strategic partnership with Expedia and their affiliated online travel buying websites.

VISIT MESA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2016 / 2017VISIT MESA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2016 / 2017 98

S T R AT E G I E S

Fresh Foodie Trail - An Agritourism Vacation | After a successful U.S. Travel IPW tradeshow in June, it became evident that the Fresh Foodie Trail serves as an authentic, organic outdoor offering that has spurred interest in both group and individual travel segments. This new product will continue to be shared with both domestic and international markets as Visit Mesa solicits business for off-season and shoulder months. As Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials look for unique travel experiences, Mesa is fortunate and proud to offer agritourism experiences to these visitors. Working in conjunction with Phoenix-based tour provider Detours AZ, Visit Mesa has helped design a culinary day trip that follows many of the stops along the trail. Visit Mesa will promote this tour offering to leisure travelers staying in Mesa, but the tour will be offered to all Greater Phoenix visitors. This new offering provides consumers new experiences that go beyond Mesa’s city limits – and those of our neighbors - and shares “where the locals go, and what the locals do.” In this movement away from man-made attractions, Mesa’s allure has grown along with its product offerings. The concept is now being featured on travel websites and in travel brochures as consumers are being drawn to these organic experiences. Co-op marketing will introduce the Fresh Foodie Trail to our clients on both shores and key clients will be flown in to experience these

attractions first-hand with olive oil, fresh fruits, vegetables and grains, and other local items being shared as gifts.

The Europeans are Coming! Increasing Hotel Bookings Through FIT Wholesale Programs | A key focus for Travel Industry Sales will be to assist Mesa hotel partners on contracting with key European Receptive Wholesalers based in the U.S. This will afford our hotels the opportunity to be sold worldwide through thousands of international travel companies on a year-round basis. Companies such as American Tours International, New World Travel, Hotelbeds, Tourico, Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours, GTA, and many more have already entered into agreements featuring Mesa product, providing connections for additional growth. Mesa’s top European markets align with our Arizona counterparts – United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Italy. Hotels that contract with receptive tour operators embark upon partnerships that can last for decades. Further, they can demand more bookings during off-peak travel months. One of the opportunities Visit Mesa will present is pre and post motorhome rental stays. Marketing campaigns with both Kuoni (Switzerland) and Canusa (Germany) will direct efforts to retail travel agencies, as well as directly to European consumers, to assist

them in planning ahead. Visit Mesa’s Travel Industry Sales team will be calling on operators in the UK this fall and sell through the new offerings to our contacts at British Airways Holidays, Funway Holidays, and America As You Like It, which are able to influence the international traveler. These travel companies are now featuring more Mesa hotels than ever before, and the bookings have increased exponentially year-over-year.

S P O N S O R S H I P

American Cup Golf Invitational | For the first time, the American Cup travel industry client event will be hosted in metro Phoenix, with Visit Mesa serving as a co-sponsor. Held December 4–10, this invitation-only event welcomes both domestic and international high-level executives from wholesale travel companies and airlines to experience the high-end golf and lifestyle products in the region. Confirmed participants include representatives from Brand USA, Golfzoo, American Holidays, and Korean Airlines. The week-long showcase includes daily opportunities to interact with these clients, allowing Visit Mesa to build relationships and educate these clients on the depth of Mesa’s destination experiences.


GRANDCANYON

TONTONATIONAL

FOREST

ACCOMMODATIONS

EACH DAY A NEWADVENTURE

SAGUARO LAKE& SALT RIVER

SUPERSTITIONMOUNTAINS

APACHETRAIL

CANYONLAKE

FRESHFOODIETRAIL

NATIVEAMERICAN& WESTERN

ATTRACTIONS

SHOPPING

CASINO

LIGHT RAIL

AIRPORT

M U LT I - G E N E R AT I O N A L M O T O R C O A C H T O U R S Travel Industry Sales will actively target Motorcoach tour companies that attract students, single travelers and foreign visitors to encourage longer overnight stays in Mesa. The Hub & Spoke tool will serve as a key visual in helping us convey the message of how much there is to experience when motorcoaches stay and depart on day trips originating in Mesa. Visit Mesa’s goal is to impact and market off-peak months with incentives aimed at the tour operator to book Mesa as their destination. A corresponding website page will feature the Hub & Spoke icons and additional key message points related to Mesa serving as the accommodation hub while exploring Arizona.


2016 TARGETED CLIENT REACH

July 28 Southern California Sales CallsAmerican Tours International and Destination America

10

Sept. 26 - 30 United Kingdom Sales Mission 30

Oct. 24 - 28 Los Angeles Sales CallsChinese Receptive Operators (Arizona Office of Tourism)

10

Nov. 9-15 China Sales MissionChinese International Travel Mart

150

Nov. 14 - 16 Las Vegas Sales MissionAllegiant Travel Call Center & Receptive Tour Operator Calls

125

2017

Feb. 20 - 23 Go West Travel Summit, Lake Tahoe 50

June 3 - 7 U.S. Travel Association’s IPW, Washington DC 75

GOALS

Bookings 140

Room Nights 19,551

T R AV E L I N D U S T R Y S A L E S T R AV E L S C H E D U L E :

By distinguishing our offerings,

WE HELP TURN ROADS LESS TRAVELED INTO ROADS WELL TRAVELED.


Work Begins to Prepare Mesa as Host City for 2017 US Sports Congress Visit Mesa was announced as next year’s host for the prestigious US Sports Congress, which will take place in December 2017. Work will begin this fiscal year to promote and encourage attendance at the 2017 program. US Sports Congress is entering its tenth year and the annual meeting attracts top level decision-makers from the world of amateur sports. Attendees of this highly-regarded event are senior level executives that represent sport governing bodies. Visit Mesa will begin to build up our brand identity with planners and will receive logo placements and contact information in 2016 program materials. In addition, Visit Mesa’s marketing team secured two full-page, full-color advertisements promoting our unique destination attributes. The ads will appear in future issues of Premier Travel Media’s Sports Planning Guide. In the special section, Visit Mesa will be showcasing our event venues and facilities, and share the many opportunities for extended stays and pre- or post-conference site visits. Visit Mesa’s new Director of Sports Sales, Suzanne Keller, will serve on the 2016 and 2017 US Sports

Congress Advisory Committee, along with Visit Mesa’s Director of National Sales, Jennie Denison. Both team members will attend the 2016 Sponsor forum. All these efforts will be in advance of the December 2017 event, being held at Sheraton Mesa Hotel at Wrigleyville West. This conference is expected to attract 250 attendees.

S P O R T S S A L E S Visit Mesa’s Sports Sales efforts are starting fresh this fiscal year with the announced departure of Josh Todd. A renewed focus will be placed on further establishing Mesa as the destination of choice with National Governing Bodies (NGB’s) and event rights holders. With the sheer number of USOC events already being hosted in Mesa, the city has quickly become a hotbed for these high-caliber national showcases and competitions. In addition, Visit Mesa will be elevating our Sports presence at the Connect events and tradeshows. In 2016-17, Mesa will also be on the travel rotation for the growing sport of lacrosse, with two new tournaments already announced for our fields this fall. Attracting new sports and sharing new story lines will be at the heart of our ongoing outreach with our Sports client base.

O B J E C T I V E S• Drive visitor spending and long-term incremental tax dollars by filling hotels, facilities, restaurants

and attractions with sports-related business.

• Generate positive exposure and visibility for Mesa City Limitless® as well as its sports facilities by hosting memorable events that keep Mesa in attendees’ minds long after they leave.

• Build upon Visit Mesa’s momentum to educate residents and stakeholders on the importance of sports tourism; this will support future conversations with government officials on the proposed Mesa Sports Complex ensuring consideration for the 2018 election cycle.

• Evolve and promote the Visit Mesa Sports brand and promise by identifying national media outlets for carrying that message as well as the delivery of targeted ads and both print and digital to select publications.

S T R AT E G I E S

Making Connections | Visit Mesa has locked into a multi-pronged sponsorship with Collinson Media & Events, the organizers of Connect Sports and Connect Meetings. Connect Sports has quickly changed the way sports event organizers and suppliers exchange information and the organization has established themselves as the go-to source for this lucrative market. In the Southwest, Visit Mesa strives to be recognized as the premier youth and amateur sports destination. Our agreement with this national organization will help cement this perception with industry leaders and future event prospects across the country. This new alignment will tremendously benefit our hotels and attractions in the coming year, as our increased level of partnership ensures additional opportunities for our partners to access and have a presence at select shows. Not only will Visit Mesa’s presence be heightened, but our agreement also promises increased visibility and recognition on the Connect website and in their many digital and print resource materials.

2016

July 11-13 Tucson, AZ Arizona Governors Conference on Tourism

Aug. 1-4 Minneapolis, MN DMAI Annual Convention

Aug. 24-28 Grapevine, TX Connect Sports/Sportslink

Oct. Colorado Colorado Sales Mission

Dec. 5-8 Fort Myers, FL US Sports Congress

2017

Dec. 5-8 Fort Myers, FL US Sports Congress

Jan. 5-8 Anaheim, CA ABCA (American Baseball)

March 26-30 Sacramento, CA NASC Symposium

GOALS

Bookings 82

Room Nights 26,894

S P O R T S S A L E S T R AV E L S C H E D U L E :


M A R K E T I N GIn June, Visit Mesa announced that HAPI, an award-winning, multi-pronged marketing and creative services agency based in Phoenix, would be leading our brand strategy in the year ahead. Building on the marketing successes tracked in the past three years, HAPI has been charged to further refine Visit Mesa’s strategies and campaigns, placing brand awareness as the top priority for the destination. This renewed focus will be on bringing the consumer closer to the experiences offered in City Limitless®. Visit Mesa will target potential travelers with digital marketing techniques and capture insights on consumer behaviors using the latest online tracking technology, applying new methods such as heat maps and geo-fencing. As a DMO, we will shift from just sharing what we “think our visitor wants” to actually “serving up” what they are interested in based on their personal interests and behaviors we have collected. This proactive marketing model will allow us to track and respond to our visitors in real time.

O B J E C T I V E S :• Launch 360° interactive video for digital campaigns, Visit Mesa’s first foray into augmented reality for attracting consumer interest in our destination.

• Introduce a family lifestyle geo-targeted campaign for shoulder season bookings and need periods.

• Maximize the popularity of online consumer direct booking in both Germany and the United Kingdom.

• Drive more social media followers, likes and engagements with sponsored Facebook and Instagram placements using both static ads and video.

• Develop refreshed visuals and craft focused, simplified tag lines for multiple consumer targets.

Digital Partners: Fishing Where The Fish Are | In 2016-17, Visit Mesa will deliver campaigns with a variety of leading, global digital media partners including Google, Facebook, Instagram, Expedia and their related partners, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, ebookers, elong.com, venere, and Millennial Media (now owned by AOL Time Warner). Digital ads will be targeted and will delve deeper into the funnel based on search for Phoenix as a destination. There will be a shift from building Visit Mesa’s consumer database to brand awareness and propensity to book a hotel stay. Our award-winning Fresh Foodie Trail will be a lead message, and HAPI will develop other established lifestyles including: Adventure Explorer and Active Family. In addition, the Mesa ‘hub and spoke’ concept will be part of all retargeting campaigns, illustrating Mesa’s close proximity to a variety of experiences throughout the region. The intention behind delivering that key message is to assist time-starved visitors that want to get the most out of their short visit. The promotion of day trips and guided tours will also be part of this campaign message.

Delivering and monitoring the impact of the campaigns will be enhanced with DoubleClick by Google. This bid managing platform will enable Visit Mesa to maximize our limited marketing funds with real-time flexibility to buy pre-roll video, static display banners and animated banners on desktop and mobile devices across major ad platforms and direct sites. DoubleClick also provides ad verification, safety and viewability filters so that the highest quality ad placement is maintained.

S T R AT E G I E S

Augmented Reality: Using 360° Video to Find Out More About Mesa | Augmented reality has been immediately embraced by mobile consumers as was demonstrated with the 2016 launch of Pokemon Go, attracting millions of users seemingly overnight. Visit Mesa will explore a type of augmented reality, using 360° video on premium digital channels, allowing users to deeply engage with the Visit Mesa brand as they opt-in to view and interact with our messages from their desktop, tablet or mobile device. Messages will be tailored and ask the user to find hidden codes within each video, and those codes can be redeemed for special offers to various Mesa businesses. Once the user clicks on the video, they’ll be directed to a unique landing page tied to the Visit Mesa website where they can enter their code. While the campaign is designed to generate awareness and engagement with the brand, the promotional codes will help convert video views into actual conversions. And with all digital initiatives, the videos will be trackable so Visit Mesa can determine the most effective content for optimization purposes.

FA L L B R E A K C A M PA I G N TA R G E T I N G C A L I F O R N I A


Media Timing Impressions

Sports Planning Guide September 18,500

American Tourism International January-December 60,000

Food Traveler Magazine November-March 325,000

360 Video December-February 1,110,000

Programmatic Video December-February 4,000,000

Programmatic Display November-February 3,330,000

Millennial Media November-February 1,605,127

Facebook/Instagram November-February 2,000,000

Expedia California September-October 2,132,157

Expedia Domestic Feeder November-February 6,019,230

Expedia UK/Germany November-February 3,780,912

Total Total 24,380,926

M E D I A P L A N R E C A P :F E E D E R M A R K E T C A M PA I G N

Family Bonding.

THATS THE REAL GOLD YOU'LL FIND OUT HERE.

You know exactly where your food came from.

YOU PICKED IT.

V I S I T M E S A . C O MV I S I T M E S A . C O M


D I G I TA L S T R AT E G YVisit Mesa’s Digital Strategy team serves as the glue between all of the organization’s departments, ensuring Visit Mesa’s online marketing tools and internal office systems are properly functioning and receiving proper use by our consumers. In the year ahead, Digital Strategies will complete a full website audit, identifying remaining broken links and improper functioning that may be an outlying result of merging to a responsive format in early 2015. In addition, Digital Strategy is going to play a key role in reviewing metrics, offering detailed analysis of Visit Mesa’s online and mobile performance. Investment occurred early this fiscal year with a full workshop on Google Analytics and how that data-delivery service can be further utilized by our team to capture valuable insights about consumer behaviors.

O B J E C T I V E S• Evaluate mobile site performance and streamline the mobile visitor experience.

• Refresh Visit Mesa’s online image library with new photography, enhanced visual experiences, and secure user-generated organic images with the intention to weave popular social media-generated photo content into our marketing efforts.

• Apply creative changes to VisitMesa.com’s responsive website, altering laptop views to mobile views minimizing how data is pulled across to the consumer.

S T R AT E G I E S

A Deeper Dive: Google Analytics | Visit Mesa will have a more refined understanding of Google Analytics and stay on top of the ever-changing resources available to marketers. Rather than wait for a full month’s review, Visit Mesa will pull daily and weekly performance reports that tally where consumers are accessing our travel information. This includes watching a consumer’s time on our site, where they are located, and how they are getting to our information. These unique views are vital in determining where to place future marketing and redirect targeted messaging. Google Analytics will also share insights on consumer profiles from interests, age demographics, propensity to travel and more.

Grabbing Hold of New Tools for Ultimate Digital Display | Visit Mesa will be applying Facebook’s new service, Open Graph to all social posts going forward. When Visit Mesa posts links on Facebook, Open Graph will be able to share the first bits of information about the post. This ‘teaser’ content is a way to provide a quick, attention-grabbing summary that will hopefully compel the user to click for more, taking them directly to our full site. In addition to promoting Visit Mesa’s blog posts via Facebook, these teasers will communicate Mesa events, pushing Facebook users to Visit Mesa’s top performing page. Applying Open Graph will also better serve up our calendar content on search engines such as Google and Bing. Another advantage of Open Graph is the ability to manipulate the imagery and better select a photo that will capture optimum views. Google’s Carousel, the horizontal display of local search results in several categories such as restaurants, nightlife, entertainment and hotels,

is also currently displaying Mesa Events, which are populated by numerous sources. Open Graph usage paired with ongoing meta-tagging efforts is what drives Google’s Carousel to push a business to the top of rankings. Visit Mesa’s nonstop efforts to meta-tag each page on our site has successfully propelled Visit Mesa’s Events page to the number one position on Google.

HOT, HOT, HOT: Using HEAT Maps to Track Consumer Behavior on Mobile | Visit Mesa will begin to analyze HEAT maps to better track mobile activity. HEAT maps are designated windows of time that marketers can use to run analytics from where on the mobile device people are engaging with information and resources. Visit Mesa will analyze a number of HEAT maps related to mobile activity by potential consumers. This will help us understand where the activity is occurring on our mobile site, and allow us to track consumer interaction with our content. By utilizing HEAT maps, we will improve the visitor’s mobile experience. The feedback shared will guide our adjustments on the functions of the mobile site in the future. Visit Mesa can then optimize the usage of the mobile site, determining better placement for click-thru buttons and calls- to-action. Insights captured from this organic activity will provide Visit Mesa one of the newest, most innovative ways to track consumer behaviors and activity online. Visit Mesa will consider a re-design of the mobile site as a result of this data.

2017

March 15-17 Salt Lake City, UT DMA West Tech Summit

April 3-6 Tucson, AZ Simpleview Summit

D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y T R AV E L S C H E D U L E :


C O M M U N I C AT I O N SConsumers are staying informed in new and exciting ways, capturing information about ‘where to travel next’ on social media feeds, blogs and through influencers. These travel-related insights are being shared and collected outside the traditional norms of reading a newspaper or picking up the latest magazine on the newsstand. As a result, Visit Mesa’s Communications team is quickly adapting to the changing media landscape and will spend much of this year establishing new metrics related to the power of public relations and social media influence. In addition, Visit Mesa will continue to support the international groundwork being laid by Travel Industry Sales and target the United Kingdom. This outreach, slated to take place in the fourth quarter, will be part of a partnership with the Arizona Office of Tourism who has already secured a solid presence in UK newspapers and high-end lifestyle publications. Other efforts will include a new media forum and business relationship with TravMedia, fast becoming the most recognized media resource for our industry. Visit Mesa’s Communications team will also extend the story of the Fresh Foodie Trail, reaching new media outlets not yet familiar with the depth of this product, and we will share a narrative that reaches beyond the long-table dinners so often connected to the farm-to-table experience. A revamped online Media Professionals site will be fully stocked with relevant and current feature articles that have already endorsed Mesa as a premier travel destination. Topical ‘quick hits and pitches’ will be pushed out to the travel media contacts already following the Visit Mesa PR-only Twitter feed in hopes to increase consideration of Mesa and our surrounding regional partners for national trend stories.

O B J E C T I V E S• Explore social media news feeds as a new way to proactively pitch freelance media and travel editors

on Mesa’s newest visitor developments; Visit Mesa will use Twitter to monitor the conversation and work to include Mesa in trending national storylines related to the industry.

• Identify top domestic social media influencers that have a qualified following, and whose social posts can significantly spread Mesa’s brand promise across social media channels to legions of followers.

• Develop a new tracking system that will record social media metrics and reach while comparing the impacts of social media coverage to traditional methods.

• Update Mesa’s online media section on VisitMesa.com, expanding content to include fresh story ideas and pull-through our Partner messaging into new press releases based on Visit Mesa’s defined lifestyles - Active Family, Adventure Explorer, Fresh Foodie, Sports Enthusiast, Culture Seeker.

• Continue to utilize the Visit Mesa Blog as a primary storytelling resource that shares our partner stories and other trending topics for consumer consumption.

S T R AT E G I E S

Meet the Press: Alignment with TravMedia | Visit Mesa begins the fiscal year with a new media partnership, TravMedia. This online news resource has long served members of the travel press as part of the U.S. Travel’s IPW annual tradeshow. With this partnership, Visit Mesa will now receive daily media leads and will use TravMedia’s press release distribution service. A total of six press releases will be distributed through the service, which has targeted databases for the U.S., Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, and other prominent international markets. In addition, as a member of TravMedia, Visit Mesa is invited to participate in their annual International Media Marketplace held in January in New York City. Visit Mesa, with our regional partner from the Town of Queen Creek, will have a dedicated branded table and will have up to 30 scheduled briefings with top travel journalists, editors and broadcasters to share news, events and developments from our destination. This single-day networking and relationship-building show is one of the most sought-after media events for TravMedia partners.

Boo! Storytelling with Snapchat | Move over Facebook. It’s official, Millennials, as a group set of consumers, have moved onto Snapchat for sharing their story away from the prying eyes of mom and dad, and even grandma. This new social media outlet is predicted to be the next platform for destination marketers to try and capture interest in their products and it has already proven successful for top brands like Gatorade, Starbucks, Dominos Pizza and more. Visit Mesa’s entry into this new forum will start with the development of geo-filters along our Fresh Foodie Trail. The hyper-localized, on-demand geo-filters will be placed at the agritourism attractions along the driving route with pre-set geo-fences around each location. Visitors who are already in Mesa, and who use the social media app service, will need to be in one of these zones to capture and apply our filter to their selfies or photographs. For true Snapchat junkies interested in the hunt to collect photo filters, we will encourage them to ‘collect them all’ and visit one Foodie Trail attraction after another to do so. HAPI, Visit Mesa’s marketing agency, will ensure each filter is graphically appealing and carries forward the Visit Mesa brand and Fresh Foodie Trail icon that was developed for these attractions. This needs to be done strategically as most Snapchatters shun any corporate identities or branding on their filters. The investment in these geo-filters will take place at key times throughout the year, with each filter performing for up to 30 days. After they expire, Visit Mesa can collect data from the geo-filters including how many applied the filter to their posts, how many clicked on the filter with intention to use the graphic, and more.

Visit Mesa will also identify other signature events and happenings during the year and design geo-filters specific to those experiences. Examples may include Mesa Music Festival, Roots N’ Boots Rodeo, Cactus League Spring Training, and more. Throughout the year, Visit Mesa will be actively applying the Story function on Snapchat to share on-going activities and snap-worthy moments taking place on a day-to-day basis in our destination.


Adventure is Calling: New Print and Digital Guide for Outdoor Lovers | This year, Visit Mesa’s Communications team will breathe new life into a former marketing tool, the Mesa Desert Guide. The new direction for this piece that carries old brand messages will retain all our desert-inspired content that was obtained in partnership and with permission from the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. All our educational charts related to Mesa’s desert flora, fauna and trails will be repurposed as well. New this year will be content tied to the Adventure Explorer lifestyle brand and Visit Mesa will develop new stories such as “Hidden Hikes”, “Weekend Warriors” and “Training Guides” for athletes. A year-round calendar of outdoor-related activities that are popular with visitors such as marathons, fun runs, and endurance sports will also be highlighted. This guide will further illustrate why Money Magazine named Mesa as a “Best Place for Outdoor Lovers” in 2015.

Priority will be given to travel writers with advance, confirmed assignments for covering Mesa, Arizona and our surrounding destinations. Recent article clippings are appreciated. Media-rates are available for all experiences upon request. Please note, listed media tours may change and are subject to availability. Participation is not guaranteed.

CONTACT: Michelle Streeter480-682-3638, [email protected]

@VisitMesaPR#MesaCityLimitless

Set intentions and learn the secrets of the sought-after Sonoran Desert lifestyle as we share the health and wellness offerings exclusive to Mesa. This tour will include a guided meditation hike with Meaning in Motion/Core Clarity, the exclusive True Float Spa hydrotherapy experience, aerial yoga at the new Life Balance Center, as well as pampering treatments at our most popular day spa Fuchsia – featured in American Spa magazine. Count your calories – both burned and earned – on this rewarding journey at the start of your new year. Preference given to media with fitness and/or health and beauty focus in their planned coverage.

SOUTHWEST SPA-AHHH

BATTER UP! SPRING IS CALLING

~ January 8-11, 2017 ~

~ March 2017 ~

Join us as we celebrate Arizona’s many makers – those talented individuals with tired hands and full hearts. This tour will feature

Barnone, the new Craftsman Community at Agritopia. See how life returned to a century-old barn and explore an innovative artisan

collective on this urban agriculture campus. Barnone features more than a dozen resident craftsmen and women across a wide array

of disciplines including a micro-winery and micro-distillery, a medicinal garden serving as a modern-day apothecary, culinary

machinist designing kitchen tools for the serious home chef, and local carpenter, print maker, artisan baker and more.

Media will also experience Uprooted Kitchen, a vegan eatery featuring produce grown steps away in the organic Agritopia

farm. In addition, the tour will include an artist-led class at Mesa Arts Center, Barnhart – a private artist studio tour,

and an exclusive jewelry class at Twisted Sisters Design.

MAKE YOUR MARK ~ Feb. 23-26, 2017 ~

Individual media tours for sports, lifestyle, and travel writers and journalists on assignment for the Arizona Spring Training experience are offered all March long. Mesa is the Spring Training home to two teams and two

stadiums: Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park and Oakland Athletics at Hohokam Stadium. Game schedules available in 2017.

2 0 1 6 / 1 7 M E D I A FA M T O U R S

CALLING CANADIANS September 25-29, 2016

ULTIMATE FRESH FOODIE ROAD TRIP October 25-29, 2016

OUR DOWNTOWN IS YOUR PLAYGROUNDFeaturing the Mesa Music FestivalNovember 10-13, 2016

SOUTHWEST SPA-AHHHJanuary 8-11, 2017

MAKE YOUR MARKFeaturing Barnone, Arizona’s New Craftsman CommunityFeb. 23-26, 2017

BATTER UP! SPRING IS CALLINGFeaturing Spring Training March 2017

2 0 1 6 – 2 0 1 7 M E D I A T O U R S

CITY LIMITLESS®

Visit Mesa offers support to local, domestic and international travel media and freelance travel writers visiting Arizona on assignment. In addition to planning customized, individual media tours – the following group tours will be offered:

Join us on this amazing race across Mesa as we pair up some of Arizona’s best social media and pair them with national bloggers and travel influencers. Teams will paddle board across our lakes, climb into our caves, experience after-sunset gems and hit the Fresh Foodie Trail. We

will plan daily takeovers of Visit Mesa’s social media streams and invite our followers to track all the fun.

SOCIAL MEDIA MASH UP – DUOS IN THE DESERT~ September 29 – October 2, 2016 ~

Fresh experiences and a treasured heritage of family farms are standouts on Mesa’s Fresh Foodie Trail. Serving as the culinary gateway to Greater Phoenix, the neighboring

farms in and around Mesa have been collectively packaged into the ultimate foodie road trip. Media guests will hit the trail and experience a culinary education paired

with distinct Arizona tastings along the way. A dozen culinary-focused attractions line the Fresh Foodie Trail that winds through Mesa and the surrounding region.

Experiences will include a pasta making class at Hayden Flour Mills, the Pumpkin & Chili Party at Schnepf Farms, the harvest and cold-pressing process

at Queen Creek Olive Mill, a ‘beyond organic’ living produce seminar at True Garden Urban Farm, and more. The press tour will culminate with the

shared dining experience, Outstanding in the Field held at Agritopia.

ULTIMATE FRESH FOODIE ROAD TRIP ~ October 26-29, 2016 ~

OUR DOWNTOWN IS YOUR PLAYGROUND~ November 10-13, 2016 ~

Absorb the energy and soak up the eclectic appeal of one of the metro Phoenix area’s most historic downtowns. Visitors are

especially drawn to this area because of Mesa’s original shops, breweries and restaurants – with more on the way. Sidewalk surf

and play in our pocket parks and don’t miss the pulse points along Main Street during the annual Mesa Music Festival. This

press tour will include VIP access to performances from more than 200 emerging artists. Guests on our media tour

will ride the rail and hop aboard our grid bikes as we tour Mesa’s past and present murals, larger-than-life public art

installations along the Downtown Mesa Art Walk, and tour our collection of award-winning museums.

Mesa’s outdoor adventures leave visitors hungry, thirsty and tired.

THREE CONDITIONS THAT ARE GOOD FOR BUSINESS.


2016

July 11-13 Tucson, AZ Arizona Governors Conference on Tourism

Aug. 15-17 Vancouver, British Columbia Western Canada Media Mission, Arizona Office of Tourism

Aug. 27-30 Boca Raton, FL U.S. Travel’s ESTO Conference

Sept. 14-17 Washington, DC D.C. Media Mission, Visit Phoenix

Sept. 21-23 Mesa, AZ DMA West Marketing & Education Summit

Oct. 11-13 New York, NY New York Media Mission

Nov. 17 Arizona Media Marketplace Scottsdale

Dec. 13-15 Chicago, IL Media Mission

2017

Jan. 17-20 Portland, ORSeattle, WA

Pacific Northwest Media Mission

Jan. 24-27 New York, NY TravMedia International Media Marketplace

Feb. 15-17 Los Angeles, CA Southern California Media Mission

May 21-24 Palm Springs, CA PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference

May 22-25 Dublin, IrelandLondon, England

United Kingdom Media Mission

June 3-7 Washington, DC U.S. Travel’s IPW Media Marketplace

GOALS

397 Million Earned Media Impressions

270 Articles Generated

C O M M U N I C AT I O N S T R AV E L S C H E D U L E :

Views like this offer visitors majestic places to spend time.

SPENDING TIME LEADS TO SPENDING MONEY.


PA R T N E R R E L AT I O N S

A New Extranet for Partners | Visit Mesa’s CRM, customer relations management database, is undergoing a re-brand by Simpleview, promising new usability for our Partners. The updated version of the Extranet portal will be available as early as November and Partners will be invited to the Mesa Visitors Center for training. New functions include easier updates to business listings, uploading images and uploading coupons to the Visit Mesa Deals & Discounts page. A seamless method of collecting lead and service request responses will also be unveiled. For Visit Mesa staff, we will be better equipped to share reports with our Partners and track login activity. The new design models Microsoft Windows, with large blocks of colored icons and directional pathing that will help encourage ease of use by our Partners. The responsive Extranet will also be designed for use on mobile devices and offer a posting board – a communications tool for use between Partners. Another new function will encourage Partners to request our printed materials online, with the option to pick up at our offices or they can request delivery.

Get to Know Your DMO | Visit Mesa will present a new series for Partners called Get to Know Your DMO. Offered quarterly and intended for new businesses not fully aware of Visit Mesa’s daily operations, this new training will share a peek inside Visit Mesa department by department. Visit Mesa partners will receive a tutorial in using the CRM/Extranet in order to retrieve leads, manage account information, add calendar of events and special deals/coupons. Established Partners seeking a refresh on all their Visit Mesa benefits are also encouraged to attend and brush up on their database knowledge.

2016

Oct. 4-7 Scottsdale, AZ DMAI Membership Summit

PA R T N E R R E L AT I O N S T R AV E L S C H E D U L E :

2016

Aug. 17 Mesa, AZ Get to Know your DMO

Sept. 7 Mesa, AZ Partnership Mixer

Nov. 9 Mesa, AZ Get to Know your DMO

Dec. 7 Mesa, AZ Partnership Mixer (Holiday Themed)

2017

Feb. 8 Mesa, AZ Get to Know your DMO

March Mesa, AZ Partnership Mixer (Spring Training Holiday at the Ballpark)

May Mesa, AZ Get to Know your DMO

June Mesa, AZ Partnership Mixer

PA R T N E R R E L AT I O N S E V E N T D AT E S :


The sky is the limit.

THAT’S OUR MOTTO FOR YOUR SUCCESS.

A D V O C A C YIn the year ahead, Visit Mesa will continue to promote and advocate for the Mesa Youth and Amateur Sports Complex with the intention to bring the project to ballot consideration in 2018. With ongoing City of Mesa support, Visit Mesa will carve out a plan that will educate Mesa residents on the benefits of the proposed 24-field, multi-purpose sports venue and share the survey insights gathered from more than 400 events rights holders throughout North America, not to mention the economic storytelling that was laid out in the Elliott D. Pollack Economic and Fiscal Impact report. The 18-month campaign will feature direct-to-resident communications tools that further illustrate its economic and quality of life benefits.

In addition, this fiscal year Visit Mesa will expand the Advocacy Luncheon Series, inviting more political heavyweights to join our Board of Directors and key stakeholders over a meal. The popular luncheon series offers Visit Mesa’s leadership the ability to remain engaged and informed on issues that directly impact our hospitality industry throughout the year. At the same time, elected and appointed officials are provided a forum through which they can share their legislative priorities with visitor industry leaders.

• In 2015, tourism was the number one export industry in Arizona.

• 42.1 million people visited Arizona in 2015, collectively spending $21 billion within the state.

• Direct visitor spending from visitors in 2015 had an annual tax savings of $1,180 for every Arizona household.

• Arizona’s tourism industry supports 179,600 related industry jobs. Source: Arizona Office of Tourism

Visitor Industry Study: An 18-month Look Into Mesa’s Core Visitor | For the first time in 20 years, Visit Mesa will engage in an in-depth visitor inquiry study with Longwoods International, a leading travel industry research organization with offices across the U.S. and Canada. The effort began in January of this year and will conclude June 30, 2017. Longwoods, unlike other syndicated studies, samples individuals, not households, and panelists that are heads of households. Longwoods will be analyzing visitor behaviors and capturing data on trips, activities and expenditures in Mesa proper. The goal at the end of the 18-month study is to better identify who Mesa’s core customer is, where they are coming from, and what they are doing when they travel to – for business or leisure – our destination. These insights will then be applied in all of Visit Mesa’s future targeted marketing outreach.

Longwoods is engaged in a much cleaner way of capturing this information, and they will be analyzing visitor behaviors and data on transportation options, activities in market, and tally varying types of expenditures, which will determine tax revenue generation. The ultimate goal of this process is for Visit Mesa to accurately determine tourism-related ROI as it relates to Mesa’s visitor industry.


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