NOMINATION FORM FOR COMPETITIVE TRAVEL MARKETING AWARDS Name of Nominee: Visit Duluth Key Contact: Sue Mageau Phone: Advertising time line : 12 months Campaign Budget: Over $ 50,000 and Less Than $ 100,000

1. PLEASE SUBMIT A ONE-PARAGRAPH SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT, STATING WHAT YOU WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH, WHAT YOU DID TO ACCOMPLISH IT, AND HOW WELL YOU SUCCEEDED. The inspiration for this projects was to look at the way things have been done at Visit Duluth and ask, why have we done it this way? The 2015 Visit Duluth Visitor Guide was designed in-house, which is an innovative approach for a CVB/DMO of our size. Sheri Cosgrove, Director of Web Development and Design (graphic designer) developed the easy-to-follow, functional and beautiful design throughout the entire publication, created an online database for each member to easily update their own listing information and submit new photos. She also worked closely with the printer to deliver the final print ready product. The front cover has a large colorful photo of Duluth’s Ariel Lift Bridge in the early morning, taken by our VP of Finance on her way into work. The 2015 Visitor Guide was almost completely redesigned in-house with input from the entire Visit Duluth staff. We are proud of the new design concept: a concise, color coded, user- friendly format enabling visitors to easily find information relevant to their individual interests.

2. DESCRIBE YOUR PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. We approached this project through the lens of the visitor’s perspective. The ultimate goal was to create a comprehensive, user friendly guide at a substantial cost savings. To accomplish this the design included: Complimentary photography featuring the work of four local photographers Completely updated maps and included the Lakewalk system New font face and increased size to improve readability and appearance of listings Concise member listings organized by category Color-coded categories with tabs in upper corners of pages for quick and easy navigation Simplified events listings with seasonal events highlighted Icons for accessibility and pet-friendly included with every listing Specialty icons for dietary needs (gluten free, vegetarian) introduced for the dining New coupon section Visit Duluth’s members received more value  Inclusion of all members in the publication  Larger font size for their listings  Online flip version included hyper-text links to every listing  Distributed one month earlier than previous years  New cover design prominently displaying DULUTH on the cover for greater visibility on display racks

3. DESCRIBE THE TARGET AUDIENCE AND PRIMARY MARKETS. This piece is intentionally designed to reach across all of our demographics. Primary target audience is females Key markets include state, regional, national and international leisure visitors.

4. DESCRIBE ANY SECONDARY MARKETS:

5. DESCRIBE THE EFFORT’S CREATIVE BACKGROUND AND STRATEGY. In the past, the visitor guide was produced by a local ad agency in Duluth. They created the design, content and arranged the print and delivery of the annul visitor guide for the past 30 years. We wanted a fresh Visitor Guide that would be easy to use, easy to update and integrate into the new website. We wanted to continue looking at things from the users perspective, so we collaborated with several local photographers to capture Duluth’s essences in exchange for a one year membership and photo credit. We also utilized all the features described in our response to question #2.

6. DESCRIBE THE TRACKING SYSTEM USED TO MEASURE RESULTS OF THE PROJECT. Our internal software program tracks the city, country and zip codes of where requests originate, this includes individual and bulk orders. Inventory levels are tracked in real time.

7. DESCRIBE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND RESULTS OF THE PROJECT. (SPECIFICALLY, HOW MANY PEOPLE CAME TO YOUR COMMUNITY AS A RESULT OF YOUR PROMOTION?) To date more then 143,000 Visitor Guides have been distributed. With final distribution projected at 146,000.

8. DETAIL THE EXACT BUDGET FOR THE PROGRAM, AND HOW IT BREAKS OUT. FIGURES SHOULD TOTAL THE AMOUNT OF THE EXACT BUDGET Actual Guide-Creative Services (Maps) $ 2, Guide-Photography $ Guide-Printing (includes online flip version) $ 77, Guide-Envelopes $ 4, Guide-Delivery & Storage $ 4, $ 88,645.16

9. WHAT TRACKING METHODS DID YOU USE WITHIN THE PROGRAM AND WHAT WERE YOUR KEY RESULTS FOR THE EFFORT? The greatest measure was cost savings and functionality based on user feedback and how seamlessly the guide content was transitioned into our new website. A 54% ($112,000) overall cost savings allowed us to allocate those dollars to a comprehensive winter marketing campaign, which otherwise would not have been funded.