VISIT Milwaukee Marketing Committee Meeting
December 14, 2010
3:30-4:30 PM
Present: Jane Anderson, Irish Fest; John Boler, Summerfest; Rich Cieslak,
Discovery World; Dave Fantle, VISIT Milwaukee; Brent Foerster,
VISIT Milwaukee; Trace Goudreau, WCD; Heidi Lofy, Marcus
Center for the Performing Arts; Rachel Oliver, VISIT Milwaukee;
Mary Parodo, Noise; Sarah Pittner, Noise; Vicki Scharfberg,
Milwaukee Art Museum; Cassy Scrima, Marcus Hotels & Resorts;
Paul Upchurch, VISIT Milwaukee; Stacey Watson, HarleyDavidson Motor Company, Nancy Ziolkowski, Potawatomi Bingo
Casino; Zack Zupke, VISIT Milwaukee.
Introductions were made.
Brent presented the agenda.
Rachel gave a history of the Branding Research.
 Surveyed three groups of people via email and website;
o Leisure market
o Convention market
o Group tour market
 Several intercept surveys were conducted
o Taste of Chicago
o Summerfest
o German Fest
o WI State Fair
 The Watkins Report
o Over 600 meeting planners
 Key messages need to resonate with the target audiences.
 Must keep locals invested in what Milwaukee has to offer.
Milwaukee’s Archetypes:
 Primary: Explorer
o Self-directed, innovative, individualized,
adventurous and exciting.
 Secondary: The Regular Guy/Gal
o Not pretentious, reliable, practical, sense of
belonging
Branding Exercise Results:
A series of questions were asked of the group: What Do You See? What Do
You Do? How Do You Feel? How Do You Look? The answers to these
questions were tabulated and produced a list of keywords which are the final
core value words.
The Five Key Words:
 Easy
 Real
 Entertaining
 Naturally Beautiful
 Textured
Brand Promise Development:
 The group tried to differentiate Milwaukee from other
destinations and produce an emotional response in the
statement.
 The statement needs to be real.
 A definition for each word will be forthcoming, along with
working on some imaging to help define the brand promise.
Brand Promise:
A vibrant community on a great lake. Textured and real. A naturally
beautiful and entertaining city with an easy attitude.
This is Milwaukee.
Next Steps:
 Incorporate in a strategic marketing plan for 2011 and 2012.
 The Marketing Committee will be utilized to make certain
VISIT Milwaukee is “on brand” for all aspects of advertising
and communications.
 Target audience and messages will be reviewed regularly to
insure they are still relevant and impacting.