Marketing Segment: Leisure

Objectives

• Leisure focus remains on the same key markets as 2018
  Reach markets in 3- to 5-hour drive time radius; Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and St. Louis
• Be end customer-centric and introduce buyer personas to sharpen message and media

• Utilize broader reach to target leisure consumers in key markets
• Utilize platforms and partners that can capture hotel booking data
• Strategies

 

ADVERTISING

Trip Advisor

• Includes Arrivalist reporting/measurement for the Trip Advisor media placements
• Influencer Plan (Travel Mindset)
• Two traveling influencers
• 6 in-depth articles from influencer perspective including hyperlinks and 5+ photos
  from their experience
• 90 social media posts from their experience spread across influencers’ Instagram, Instagram Stories, Facebook and Twitter (real-time social + post-trip promotion Instagram takeover of Travel Mindset’s consumer-focused channel (4 photos per influencer)
• Instagram takeover of Detroit’s IG stories page by each influencer
• 50 “amplification” social shares (paid and organic) by Travel Mindset, spread across Instagram, Instagram Stories, Facebook and Twitter (25 million guaranteed impressions)

Take 5

• Target leisure and business travelers and drive interest to book hotel stays in Detroit
• Utilize their database of consumers interested in travel
• Target segments include: Take 5’s self-reported travelers data, travel booking-cart abandoners for Detroit, travel feeds, bucket list destination, business travelers and social IDs for Detroit bucket list travelers
• Includes three-touch email campaign, 30-day social campaign and ad display retargeting campaign
• Added value: postal responder file with names and addresses of openers and clickers of campaign

 

INTEGRATED

Use compelling digital media to attract in-market travelers to visitdetroit.com

• Shift creative mix from primarily text to video and photo content
• Leverage new creative units from Facebook and Instagram to boost engagement with messaging on each platform
• Develop a “welcome” chat bot that immediately connects visitors with itineraries and other helpful information
• Collaborate with media partners to create compelling content to complement digital display advertising
• Connect with innovative Detroit-based content producers and global influencers to collaborate on ongoing editorial projects

Show early adopter audiences Detroit’s most compelling experiences

• Launch season 2 of Eats in The D with an emphasis on a select group of featured restaurants in the suburbs and downtown Detroit
• Publish 25 features that integrate video, text and photos to highlight compelling retail, dining, attractions and cultural experiences
• Collaborate with international marketing partners to identify content and editorial themes that can be repurposed for the UK, Germany and China
• Expand our YouTube Detroit channel to include mini-documentary video highlighting the people behind the Detroit experience

 

PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Continue media hostings, trade show attendance, regional media visits and other PR efforts that ensure metro Detroit’s tourism product remains prominent in 2019
• Identify and implement new PR initiatives that tell new, engaging stories about Detroit to keep national attention focused on the region
• Promote the newest products downtown — new hotels, Little Caesars Arena and restaurants Promote the variety of meeting venue options in the suburbs and downtown
• Attend and exhibit at travel media trade shows to reach leisure travel editors including Society of American Travel Writers, Midwest Travel Journalists Association, TravMedia Marketplace, North American Travel Journalists, Travel Media Showcase, Discover America Toronto, IPW Media Marketplace
• Host relevant journalists throughout year and broaden base to include bloggers and other digital influencers
• Host a media familiarization at the Shinola Hotel focusing on the new development and restaurants
• Improve local media awareness through partnerships at events such as Hometown Tourist Day. Serve breakfast to editorial staffs at local television stations.
• Partner with Windsor Convention & Visitors Bureau on media booth at Detroit Grand Prix
• Partner with Travel Michigan on media events out of town
• Encourage LGBT publications to write about local product
• Repeat and expand Hometown Tourist Day in Campus Martius Park and continue working with print/radio and broadcast partners

 

PRINT AND DIGITAL PUBLISHING

• Complete phase three development items on website and associated microsites
• Enhance visitdetroit.com’s mobile experience
• Investigate and implement user personalization on visitdetroit.com
• Add quality videos and photography to website to complement main features
• Utilize traveler data and other analytics to guide content development for additional information on visitdetroit.com and Visit Detroit magazine
• Partner with Downtown Detroit Partnership on Detroit Insider’s Map + Guide to increase distribution and reduce duplication of efforts
• Collaborate with Services in the production and marketing of The D Discount Pass
• Continue to refine search engine optimization, including audio optimization
• Create new sales/attendance videos to enhance new advertising campaign
• Publish 200,000 copies of Visit Detroit magazine twice a year; continuing to enhance strong story content to include new attractions, events and major openings relevant to visitors; continuing with quality format, publication and timely delivery
• Continue to explore and utilize augmented reality and virtual reality as a way to deliver enhanced content in Visit Detroit magazine, visitdetroit.com and alternate viewers