Annapolis and Anne Arundel County
Convention and Visitor Bureau
Marketing Plan
EMBA 216
Robert Paul Ellentuck
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ROBERT PAUL ELLENTUCK
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Introduction
The tourism industry in the United States is currently the largest service market in the
world, and while business travel is down in the United States, leisure travel continues to grow.
The AAACCVB is charged with bringing more visitors to the Anne Arundel
County/Annapolis region and the adjoining Chesapeake bay. It works with both the public and
private sector to promote the region through a combination of online advertising and other
promotions to highlight the many events and activities that make the region so attractive to
visitors.
The AAACCVB has been in existence since 1990 and has a permanent and seasonal
location used to promote the area.
Annapolis is the Capitol of the State of Maryland and at one time was the colonial capital
of the United States. Today it maintains much of that charm that such history brings, and along
with the many attractions of the Chesapeake Bay make the area easy to promote once visitors
become aware of its many charms.
Anne Arundel County and Annapolis are also extremely attractive to visitors due to the
fact that Annapolis is home to two colleges, the United States Naval Academy and St. Johns
College. The activities at these institutions pervade life in the city, and serve to bring many
visitors, whether parents visiting a child or sports fans for a football game.
Anne Arundel County and Annapolis are also extremely attractive to the visitor due to its
central location and easy access to markets from Richmond, to Pittsburgh, to New York.
Thurgood Marshall BWI Airport is located in Anne Arundel County and both Reagan National
and Dulles International Airports are an easy drive. Anne Arundel County and Annapolis are
also easily accessible due to their proximity to Interstate 95 and Route 50, and Amtrak provides
excellent access.
The key business objectives of the AAACCVB need to be to continue to strengthen their
market position by building on branded communities, unique selling points, and almost unlimited
opportunity as new assets are identified, defined, and promoted appropriately
Business Overview
Industry Overview and Trends
The travel and tourism industry is a complicated industry and is comprised of a number
of sectors including transportation, lodging, food services, entertainment and retail. i As such
Tourism is largest service market in the world. ii The key influences on tourism are economic,
political, and technological. The United States (US) and global economic environment resulted
in decline of eight percent from 2008 to 2009. iii This is after hosting a record of 58 million
international visitors to the US in 2008. iv A modest three percent rebound is forecasted by the
US Department of Commerce by the end of 2010 followed by a five percent annual increase
through 2013.v
The New York Times recently reported on October 13, 2009 that as the economy begins
to shift gears from dismal to slightly improved, the travel industry sees some reason for
hope — but not much. vi U.S. Travel Association expects travel spending in the United States to
decline by nearly 9 percent this year, to $705 billion, which includes domestic business and
leisure travel as well as spending by international visitors. vii Spending is expected to increase by
6 percent in 2010, but that does not make up for the large dip in 2009. viii
With the state of the US economy, many American are taking weekend trips or sticking
closer to home as a way of cutting back on their travel expenses.ix Leisure travel has continued
to grow, comprising 74.8 % of all person-trips; with overnight and day-trips almost evenly split
with 49.5% & 50.5%.x In the July 2009 State of American Traveler Research reports a slight
recovery; Americans are planning to increase leisure travel spending in the next 12-months. xi
Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitors Bureau Defined
The Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitors Bureau (AAACCVB) is
authorized by the State of Maryland and the City of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County as a
corporation to plan, produce, and promote Annapolis and Anne Arundel County as premier
tourist destination.
The AAACCVB is led by a CEO and President as well as a professional staff of nine and
volunteer group of 140 members. The Board of Directors is comprised of noted city and county
officials including the Mayor of Annapolis, Commander of the Naval Academy, AAACCVB
partners (e.g. Hotel, Attractions, Foundations), and representatives from Thurgood Marshall
Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Airport. AAACCVB runs a primary visitor center at 26
West Street and a seasonal visitor center at City Dock. xii
Mission Statement
The purpose of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitors Bureau
(AAACCVB) is to plan, produce and promote programs designed to increase the volume of
visitors, vacation, and conference/meeting business within Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.
The AAACCVB shall serve as a liaison between private and public agencies concerned with the
economic benefits of the travel and conference industry in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.
The AAACCVB shall actively seek out and encourage cooperative promotional efforts between
its members, State and regional organizations to increase travel and conference/meeting
business in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.xiii
The AAACCVB marketing and communication program strives to attract more people,
having those people stay longer, and having them spend more money.
History
The AAACCVB was created in 1990 to market the Anne Arundel County and the City of
Annapolis, enhancing economic impact through the business of travel and tourism. Since 1993,
when the Visitors Center at 26 West Street in Annapolis was opened; the AAACCVB has
assisted millions of visitors.xiv
Destination Overview
Visitors to Annapolis and Anne Arundel County enjoy one of the most diverse areas in
the State of Maryland and possibly the entire mid-Atlantic region filled with a variety of natural,
cultural, and, historical resources. With a mild climate, the setting lends itself to many outdoor
activities and sports including hiking, team sports (e.g., La Crosse, field hockey, soccer) golf,
water sports and sailing. The county has more coastlines along the Chesapeake Bay than any
other region in Maryland. xv The Chesapeake Bay is North America’s largest estuary and the
Bay and its tributaries account for 534 miles of shoreline in the county. xvi
Annapolis is the state's capital, an early capital for the United State and retains much of
its Colonial heritage. xviiThe State House is where George Washington resigned as commander
in chief and Congress ratified the treaty to end the Revolutionary War. xviii More than 1,500
Colonial buildings are scattered along the narrow brick streets and alleys -- more than in any
other town in the country. xix
It's also a college town, home to the United States Naval Academy and to St. John's
College, known for its "Great Books" curriculum. xx
With Annapolis and Anne Arundel County being centrally located, visitors can take
advantage of historic attractions, national parks, theme parks in Washington, DC, Baltimore and
Northern Virginia – approximately one hour away. The area also features a variety of state-of –
art facilities for business and corporate meetings. xxi Annapolis and Anne Arundel County
offers an exciting travel experience with year-around appeal.
Access
Annapolis is extremely accessible. Located mid-way between Baltimore and
Washington, DC, Annapolis is located with a 750-mile radius of 40 percent of the U.S.
population and 30 percent of Canada's population. Annapolis is within a day's drive of more
than a third of the nation's population. Thurgood Marshall/Baltimore Washington International
Airport, located nearly by in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, is a major gateway for domestic
and international travelers, and is less than 30 minutes from Annapolis. Washington Dulles
International Airport and Ronald Regan National Airport, are both located within an hour's drive,
are also major gateways for domestic and international travelers, and are very convenient to
Annapolis.
Annapolis is conveniently located to numerous population centers along the East Coast,
and is well served by four Interstate Highways, providing easy access to motorists. The
Annapolis region is also well served by Amtrak. The convenient transportation options and
location of Annapolis make it an obvious choice for visitors, both domestically and international.
Thurgood Marshall/Baltimore Washington International Airport is a major hub for Southwest
Airlines, and provides service to a wide range of additional airlines, both domestic and
international carriers. Washington Dulles International Airport and Ronald Regan National
Airports are also served by a wide range of both domestic and international carriers.
Southwest's large presence, just minutes from Annapolis provides not only an increased
number of flights, but increases Annapolis's appeal as a travel destination.xxii
Key Business Objectives
Annapolis & Anne Arundel County continue to strengthen their market position by
building on branded communities, unique selling points, and almost unlimited opportunity as
new assets are identified, defined, and promoted appropriately. Each program and promotion in
the marketing plan will continue to be held to a template that maximizes resources, offers
measurable results, and encourages partnerships. The marketing plan is oriented toward
results, through goals set high enough to provide a manageable stretch for the organization.
The plan includes: strategies that move the community towards success; tactics used to
implement programs and promotions; and most importantly, measurements that keep the plan
on track. The Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau leverages the
attractions and assets of the destination to enhance economic impact for Annapolis & Anne
Arundel County through travel and tourism.xxiii
i
Travel Industry Association of America (TIA)
Travel Industry Association of America (TIA)
iii
US Depart of Commerce, October 27, 2009
iv
bid.
v
bid.
vi
The New York Times, October 13, 2009
vii
bid.
viii
bid.
x
Industry Association of America (TIA)
xi
iReport,
ii
vii
Travel Industry Association of America (TIA)
Travel Industry Association of America (TIA)
ix
Ibid.
x
Ibid.
xi
Ibid.
xii
Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Convention Visitor Bureau.
xiii
Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Convention Visitor Bureau.
xiv
Ibid.
xv
Frommer’s Maryland & Delaware, 2009
xvi
Frommer’s Maryland & Delaware, 2009
xvii
Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Convention Visitor Bureau.
xviii
Frommer’s Maryland & Delaware, 2009
xix
Ibid.
xx
Ibid.
xxi
Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Convention Visitor Bureau.
xxii
Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
xxiii
Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Convention Visitor Bureau.
viii
Market Audit
The travel and tourism industry encompasses a number of sectors including
transportation, lodging, food services, entertainment and retail. In 2008, domestic and
international travelers spent $772.9 billion in the United States.xxiii This generated 7.7 million
jobs, $194.1 billion in payroll income, and $117.3 billion in tax revenues for federal, state and
local governmentsxxiii. These numbers have steadily increased since 2002 when domestic and
international travelers were spending $544.9 billion in the United Statesxxiii
As the U.S. and international economies remain in recession for much of 2009, U.S.
Travel Insights expects business and leisure (domestic and international) travel trip purposes to
decline slightly. xxiii The combination of rising inflation, increasing unemployment, and declining
housing wealth are taking a toll on domestic travel.xxiii
While the volume of travel seems to be decreasing, travel spending is continuing to
show some growth due to rising transportation and hotel prices. Travel inflation has been a
problem since 2006 however; relief has begun in the form of moderating oil prices and average
daily room rates. xxiii Falling volume and lower travel inflation will moderate the remainder of
2009 and 2010 growth, slowing to 3.3% and 3.7%, respectively.xxiii Total domestic travel in the
United States is expected to reach $847.6 billion in 2009xxiii
Travel volumes are predicted to move upward in the second half of 2010, and increase
more in 2011.xxiii Worldwide, forecasts expect low to moderate increases in average airline
fares of 1.5% to 5%. xxiii Car rental rates are expected to remain relatively flat in 2010. xxiii The
upcoming year may be a “buyer’s market” for hotel programs despite moderate increases in
some marketsxxiii.
The average age of the domestic traveler is 46 years of age. xxiii 70% of travelers are
married, 16% are single/never married, and 14% are divorced/widowed/or separated.xxiii 39% of
travelers have a college degree, 67% of travelers are employed full or part-time. 36% of
travelers have children in the householdxxiii. The annual household income is $70,200 mean,
$62,900 median. xxiii Most trips occur in July and August. xxiii The lowest travel months are
January and February. 51% of trips in 2005 were day trips only; 29% included spending 1-2
nights, 15% included spending 3-6 nights; and 5% included staying 7 nights or more. xxiii The
most popular type of lodging is hotel/motel/bed and breakfast.xxiii Other lodging venues include
private homes, RV or tent, and time shares. xxiii
For the upcoming year, the top five types of trips planned are to beaches, to visit family,
to cities (U.S. and International), rest and relaxation trips, and scenic vacations. xxiii In the past
year, the average American traveler spent $6,700 on leisure travel.
xxiii
The top ten U.S
destinations were California, Florida, New York, Nevada, Massachusetts, Texas, Tied at 7th
place were Washington DC, Illinois and Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, and New
Jersey. xxiii Top factors for domestic travelers to book hotels/resorts included room discounts,
room upgrades, complimentary meal plans, airport/dock transfers, and golf.xxiii Consumers
appear to be changing their travel priorities due to recent financial crises. They’re placing more
emphasis on obtaining a good travel value for the money, the location they’re traveling to,
couple-oriented activities, and business service xxiii
The weaker dollar and relative strength in the economies of key origin markets continues
to drive international arrivals in the United States. xxiii International travel to the United States in
2008 registered approximately 60.8 million, up 7.2% from 2007. xxiii The strength of foreign
currencies against the dollar, relatively strong origin market economic performance, and a
renewed interest in the U.S. has combined to drive arrival performance.xxiii While this pace may
begin to moderate, international arrivals are expected to remain strong over the next two to
three years.xxiii In 2009, total international arrivals are expected to advance by 4.9% and in 2010
to 5.1%.
xxiii
Most U.S. international markets look like they are showing strength. Canada and
Germany are expected to register two consecutive years of double-digit arrival gains in 2008
and 2009.xxiii The United Kingdom, destination U.S.’s largest overseas source market, reached
4.8 million arrivals in 2008. xxiii Only Japan failed to send more visitors to the United States in the
past few years, primarily due to sluggish economic performance and a relatively narrow
incidence (about 5%) of international travel among their population.xxiii
In 2008, the top ten U.S city destinations for overseas travelers were New York City,
Lost Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, Oahu/Honolulu, Metro DC area,
Chicago, and Boston.xxiii
Market Analysis
Competitive Analysis
With the consumers being cautious with their travel dollars, the competition is fierce in
the region and outside of the region to attract prospective travelers. Annapolis and Anne
Arundel County must continue to find innovative means to keep the destination top-of-mind with
a limited budget of $1.0 Million. The current marketing spending of the primary competitive set is
as follows: Savannah at $6 Million; Newport, RI at $2.8 Million, and Charleston, SC.xxiii
Annapolis and Anne Arundel County have strong competitors within the region that
have established city and state marketing campaigns including Pennsylvania, West Virginia,
and Virginia- each had budgets of $31.5 million, $19.1million and $18.2 million, respectively.xxiii
Maryland’s 2007 reported budget was $11.7 million.xxiii The U.S. Travel Associations (TIA)
ranked two of Maryland’s regional competitors in the Top 20 of state domestic advertising and
sales promotion expenditures: Virginia was 20th with $6.1 million, while Pennsylvania was
seventh with $6.9 million. Maryland’s $3.7 million ranked 27th and West Virginia’s $3.5 million
ranked 28th. xxiii
In FY2005 AAACCVB commission a study of leisure travelers to Anne Arundel County
the following results were made with 60% of Visitors spent night in county with the average stay
if 2.8 nights, Household income is of $100,000 plus.xxiii This study indentified what the drivers
were in the destination decision making with most came to spend time with family, and enjoyed
the following (in rank order) dining, sight-seeing, the historic district including city dock and the
US Naval Academy, and shopping at Arundel Mills. xxiii Moreover, the 74% of those who
reached the area before visiting, approximately 33% visited a website, and of those used the
www.vistannapolis,org site 99% rated the AAACCVB site as “very helpful or helpful. xxiii
More
than 50% used the visitor guide as a resource. . xxiii
The competition for tourism, convention, and investment dollars is a constant battle
amongst cities and states. Many destinations are increasing their tourism advertising efforts to
head off decreased travel due to the economy and are increasing their spending into
international markets. This competitive marketplace requires Annapolis and Anne Arundel
County (AAAC) to work closely with the other Maryland destinations (DMO) to be more
competitive and to find creative ways to build on successes in generating interest for AAAC
Maryland tourism. Performance measurements need tracked and marketing strategies adjusted
as needed.
.Market Analysis of audit data – our interpretation Annapolis Analysis
Annapolis SWOT
SWOT Competitive Analysis
The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is best applied
when conducted from a strategic standpoint, that is moving from Weaknesses to Strengths,
from Threats to Opportunities, then linking the internal Strengths with the external opportunities
and finally moving from the input of the SWOT as an entry point to the output as a exit point.
This comprehensive approach invokes a more disciplined approach to reaching a competitive
advantage and being able to sustain it longer.
The provides a summary of the SWOT at its basic level and depending on market plan
priorities entering the fiscal year 2011, the details of taking a strategic approach to this through
fiscal year 2015 would produce real and more meaningful long term results for the City of
Annapolis.
Competitive Set of Basic SWOT for Major Regional Cities with Likeness to Annapolis
As mentioned in earlier in this market audit section, apart from what is shown here in
terms of weaknesses displayed in the competitor cities, one of the major advantages Annapolis
has is its milder climate throughout the year. And if that information were coupled with events by
being modeled through a combined regression then the results would very likely expose some
of the areas where Annapolis’ own weaknesses could be converted to additional strengths. In
other words, if data for hotel stays were being recorded monthly and analyzed with a time-series
econometric model, the results from seasonality and events could be combined this exposing
the cause that AACVB marketing tactics had on hotel stays in relation to season and events.
Market Assumptions
Given the economic and travel forecasts for 2010, Annapolis and Anne Arundel
County (AAAC) should continue to build awareness, so to take advantage of increase in
domestic travel. This would in turn increase bookings in the area. With the competitive
spending in the region, the AAAC needs to find be innovative in their marketing activates.
Strategic Intent
Key Business Objectives
Annapolis & Anne Arundel County continue to strengthen their market position by
building on branded communities, unique selling points, and almost unlimited opportunity as
new assets are identified, defined, and promoted appropriately. Each program and promotion in
the marketing plan will continue to be held to a template that maximizes resources, offers
measurable results, and encourages partnerships. The marketing plan is oriented toward
results, through goals set high enough to provide a manageable stretch for the organization.
The plan includes: strategies that move the community towards success; tactics used to
implement programs and promotions; and most importantly, measurements that keep the plan
on track. The Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau leverages the
attractions and assets of the destination to enhance economic impact for Annapolis & Anne
Arundel County through travel and tourism.xxiii
Current Competitive Position
Annapolis and Anne Arundel County offer rewarding travel experiences that most visitors
are repeat visitors. Visitors expect a friendly small town feel while appreciating the natural
beauty of the area and spending enjoying the rich maritime and colonial heritage with a variety
of attractions from national parks to museums to spas. Close to Baltimore and Washington, DC
as well as BWI Airport – but feels miles away.
Marketing Objectives





Build awareness among key decision-makers resulting in an increase of bookings from
FY2010 to FY2011 by eight percent
Develop an integrated marketing and communications program to position Annapolis
and Anne Arundel County as a year round destination work the AAACCVB partners and
volunteers to create packages
Construct and Integrate Social Media Policy to deliver on the brand promise
Create a visitor loyalty program that will increase the customer database to be 20,000 by
2011
Build awareness key decision-makers, travel media writers, stakeholders, and business
planners and the international traveler in markets with established sailing tradition,
specifically in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and France.
Marketing Mix
Product
AAACCVB promotes Annapolis and Anne Arundel County as a destination with a
diverse mix of attractions, lodging, restaurants, attractions, museums, shops as well as
natural resources. It is the business to deliver positive travel experience that increase a
visitors stay and travel dollar spent in market, repeat visits as well as to provide
economic benefits back to the community.
Price
Given that Annapolis and Anne Arundel County has a variety of attractions,
lodging, restaurants, attractions, museums, shops with costs reflecting a wide range,
although skewing upscale visitor.
Place
AAACCVB has effective distribution channels with the website providing
opportunities for consumers to plan and book their travel to the area. The visitor center
offers in-person and phone service on information regarding the area. The visitor guide
provides a physical guide to the information on the website. This guide is delivered via
the postal service, is found in-market at the visitor center or at participating partners in
the area.
Promotion
The promotional mix for AAACCVB includes public relations, media relations, outreach
with over 140 volunteers, print, television, radio, online electronic direct mail, Search
Engine Optimization, Online banners, Micro sites, variety of Social media, mobile,
electronic newsletter. Additionally, the web site serves as a both a promotional tool and a
distribution channel.
People
AAACCVB visitor center prides itself on the extensive training for the 140 volunteers that
provide a variety of services related to tourism for the area. The visitor experience is key to
extending a stay, repeat visiting either for leisure or business. The Business traveler or
business or meeting planner historically has visited Annapolis and Anne Arundel County for
leisure and has recommended the area for business purposes.
Additionally, Annapolis’ residents take pride in their city from volunteer to sponsoring
Naval Academy students.
Market Segmentation
Primary Target Audiences
-
Educated Female
Age 35+
- HHI $100,000+
Married, Single or empty nester
- Small family size
Passionate about travel and travel experiences
Active life style
- Connecting with family and friends
In marketing Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay Area to the consumer marketplace, the
primary audience are (is?) comprised of educated females that are 35 or more years in age with
a Household Incomes (HHI) of over $100,000, and are in professional/managerial positions. As
indicated in the Maryland Tourism Board Visitor Study, the size of 2.1 suggests
children present in the Household, it may also imply that children are either going to college
and or the beginning of the “empty nest” stage. (i)
Women have been the key influencers (78%) for leisure travel based on several
research studies over the last several years including “The Power of Women” study by Roper
Research in 2004.(ii) Women take the lead in the vacation decision-making process for their
decision-making process for their family vacation or other leisure travel plans and 45% of
women are the ones who suggested the destination. (iii) The reason cited for leisure travel is
for relaxation, reconnection with family and friends, escapism, gaining a sense of freedom,
experiencing adventure and seeing new places, and spending quality time with their husband or
significant other. (iv)
Additionally, Maryland Tourism has targeted the same primary target audience with a
lower Household Income and a older age range, this reflects the Annapolis and
Anne Arundel County Visitor that is more affluent and slightly older. (v)
Secondary Target Audiences
-
Travel media writers, specifically in key target markets
Business and Meeting Planners
Naval “Active” Alumni
- Naval Academy Sponsor Family
“Active” sailing and power boating segment
The secondary target audiences for Annapolis include travel media writers, business and
meeting planners, travel media writers, the Naval Academy’s “active” alumni, Naval Academy
Sponsor Family (in-market) and the “active” sailing and power boating segment.
It is recommended that a pilot for a pilot program to focus on the yachting and sailing be created
as it may be an untapped market for both the maritime and leisure yachting industries.
Annapolis is known as one of the top sailing destination in the US. (vi) Sailing and power
boating are more than a past time or sport, they are industries in leisure yachting and maritime.
We developed additional personas for this segment as it is differs from the primary target
audience in both gender and household Income.
Personas
To be more effective in marketing and communicating to the target audience it is
recommended to create personas that reflects the demographics, psychographics, and lifestyle indicators. The following outline each persona:
Regional visitors: “Catherine and Robert” are married, affluent, and live in the northeast.
Catherine planned a weekend get-away in a “quaint town experience” – Annapolis provides
many activities and interests including sailing, boating, dining, history, the “quaint town
experience”, and they love the outdoors. They may travel three to four hours.
Celebrators: “Amy” is looking for a special place to celebrate a special occasion. She
loves to travel and try-out new markets, hotels, and new restaurants. She may be local within
two hours or is including Annapolis as a “tag-on” when visiting Washington, D.C. or Baltimore,
MD.
Parents Club: “Larry and Maggie” who have children at the Naval Academy or St. John’s.
They are a slightly older and affluent. They stay in Annapolis at a hotel or inn based on what is
specific to the child’s schedule – parent’s weekend, football, graduation and commission.
Maggie is the one planning the Travel – air or car to Annapolis.
Yachting/Sailing: Although “Sam” is married, he prefers to plan his travel, especially by
boat during the sailing season or to fly in during the fall to one of the boat shows. He owns at
least one boat and is in senior management and lives an affluent lifestyle. (vii)
Personas outline
Beyond the personas, segments have been crafted to represent niche markets and
including families, affluent traveler (over $100,000 plus), and couples. The mature market
represents the older spectrum of the target and a segment that is growing. Additionally, other
vertical markets are addressed including sailing (as representative in above the persona Sam),
camping, fishing, outfitter vacation, cultural heritage.
As with any destination, it is important to be mindful of stakeholders and partners and to be
considered as target audience.
Other Drivers
Media Habits:
Destinations website have the single
most used planning resource
for travelers (viii)
Booking or retail travel websites are
used in most vacations (ix)
Why market to Women as a Primary Target?
What do travelers want?
Woman are the key influencers in the travel
Extended Weekend Get-aways
They are the fastest-growing segment
Value
Women consume more media then men
Destination for an extended vacation
They are the fastest-growing segment
Change for scenery
Travel Trends:
What AAACCVB delivers better
Travel Closer to Home
than its competitive set?
Girlfriends Getaways
Beautiful small town
Multi-Generational Travel
Variety for the Upscale Traveler
Weekend Escapes
Outdoor – Water sport market
Romantic Get- aways
Heritage – authentic experience
Eco-friendly vacations
Laptops on Vacation
Integrated Marketing Plan
The Integrated Marketing plan main objectives are to increase awareness and to drive
conversion or visitation among the target segments and personas. The majority of the
marketing plan is regionally or locally targeted to reach visitor source markets. The four markets
are Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; Philadelphia, PA; and New York, NY/New Jersey.
For FY2011, it is recommended that an integrated with marketing and communications
plan with an umbrella theme to build more brand awareness; therefore the seasonal campaigns
will support the overall theme. The overall theme is the sweet spot – this will play off of the
current tagline Come Sail along. The sweet spot can be customized to each persona and
vertical segment for the sailor/Sam persona the sweet may indicate the perfect place to go
sailing, whereas, for the celebrators’ persona the sweet spot might mean the perfect place for a
weekend get-away. The seasonal campaigns are as follows:

Summer – Sailing and Boating reflects the events and activities (e.g. Regattas and the
Fall Boat Shows)

Fall/Winter – Winter Wonderland focusing on the winter as a destination and
highlighting the Christmas Parade and other special events.

Spring – Romance in the air with Valentine’s Day and celebrating spring with Spring
Fling.

Spring/Summer – Celebrations highlights graduation, commission week for the Naval
Academy, weddings and schools out.
These campaigns will highlight the features of the destination. The advertising will be
placed in a mix of traditional and new media. This includes specialty magazines (e.g.travel,
lifestyle, regional/city, outdoors), local market (spot) radio, video/cable (if affordable) and direct
multi-touch and media (electric and postal) campaign. The online marketing mix will contain
SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) including organic and
paid; online with a mix of travel, lifestyle portals ad networks targeting different segments. Multi-l
level targeting (e.g. geographic, behavioral) will be used as well as social media venues and a
pilot program for Facebook and iPhone application to create stickiness and to engage the
target. Testing mobile media will create cross platform for messaging and reach the busy
woman in the key markets, especially New York and Washington, DC. If successful roll-out
after the test period to the other seasonal campaigns. The direct electronic and postal campaign
will have a call-to-action with multi-touch to capture emails and landing pages.
Consistent communications will reinforce the umbrella theme and provide air cover for
the seasonal marketing campaigns. The micro sites will be used for all seasonal campaigns to
break-through the clutter on the web site and to capture email address with the goal to create a
customer loyalty program and database. Creative ad units will be created in various sizes to
maximize impact when advertising including building full-page ads and advertorials, rich
media/dynamic online ad units, blogs, video, text ads and for radio 60 and 30 second radio
spots.
In the January time-frame the web site will go through a redesign to develop a more
streamline architecture that will create a better user experience embracing new technologies.
This will create an online destination that reflects all of the elements of AAACCVB.
Resources:
i Maryland’s Tourism
ii Roper Research, The Power of Women, Oct. 2005
iii ibd
iv ibd
v aaaccvb
vi Usa Today
Budget
Radio (4 markets/4 flights)
Print
Online
$245,000
$180,500
$150,000
Direct (electronic/postal)
Facebook Application Pilot
Programs (2x)
Mobile Test
Media Subtotal
$55,000
$12,600
$15,000
$658,100
Opportunistic Fund
Media Total
$60,000
$718,000
Production
PR
Misc Marketing Expenses*
Total
$70,000
$50,000
$162,000
$1,000,000
* Misc Marketing costs include outreach, tradeshows, sales support materials, research studies, etc.
Monitoring Effectiveness
The monitoring and stewardship of the marketing plan is critical for accountability and to
make revisions as needed. The budget is broken out by medium as the schedule to
advantage of volatile media market and to be more opportunistic. It is also recommended to
negotiate media on the soft quarter, this will lend to flexibility and to be a richer media mix (e.g.
more expensive daypart), larger ad units and to take advantage of any fire-sales on media.
Additionally, a misc. marketing expense line item is be used to update research studies and
brand awareness. The use of metrics to measure campaigns: ratio bookings to media spend,
Return on investment, click-throughs, and benchmarks will help in developing a build a case for
more funding. The key performance measures and metrics to be used:

Metric developed for each campaign to capture the visitors from the planning to
conversion.

Measure brand awareness and customer engagement to create benchmarks.

Measure campaign effectiveness by Return-on-Investment (ROI), lift, test
creative (A/B split), Cost per lead or conversion.

For PR/Communications monitor media “clippings.”
Conclusion
The marketing plan is to provide additional recommendations to the AAACCVB. With
more time- sensitive data, this plan can become more effective. The AAACCVB needs to
update the visitor research study which is about four-years old, it is recommended that a online
or less expensive be fielded prior to planning of FY2011.