1. What Makes a Successful DMO
Aviva Pearson
Eye on Kosice:
What Makes a Successful DMO 1

2. Congratulations on becoming European Capital of Culture 2013 …and the Creation of your first DMO!

3. What will a DMO do for Kosice?
Strengthen the competitive position in national and international travel and tourism markets
Increase tourism market share and annual visitor spending
Provide dynamic, innovative and research based marketing programs that are cost-effective, performance-driven and provide a proven return-on-investment
Assist businesses in tourism development and planning
Prepare the tourism workforce for the future

4. A DMO will usually help tourism businesses reach the marketplace effectively by offering the following excellent services:
Offer access to thousands of unique visitors via destination websites
Manage Information Centres
Accommodation booking services through TIC and website for members
Advertising for member businesses and events through guides and publications
PR and publicity assistance
Assistance in sustainable tourism initiatives
Participation in Meeting Incentive Conference & Events (MICE) marketing

5. A DMO will usually help tourism businesses reach the marketplace effectively by offering the following excellent services:
Joint marketing initiatives with National Tourist Boards (partnership marketing programmes)
Participation in advertising, allowing businesses to offer promotions
Packaging assistance for Group Travel organizers and promoters
Product development assistance for businesses
Access to research including visitor profiles, economic impact profiles, trends and behavioral data
Business Training
Consultation and communication with businesses via trade e-newsletter

6. Positioning and Competitors
Identify visitor requirements – What is most important to your visitors?
Conversations with prospective visitors (focus groups) may give you useful information. It will also tell you the language – vocabulary – that visitors use when talking about your destination.
All destinations have competitors - You need to know who and where your competitors are. You need to know their strengths and weaknesses – as well as your own. (This can be done as a SWOT analysis to identify opportunities and threats)
Research – What do you need to know?
Analyse results – What does your research tell you?
Look at your product profiles and identify your USP (Unique Sales Proposition)

7. Develop the Key Markets/ Themes -Product Clustering
Create Product Clusters - Especially for short breaks and first time visitors, people are less interested in a destination for its own sake and more interested in the experience they are likely to have. Build events and festivals into the appropriate cluster!
e.g.
Close to Nature; lose yourself without getting lost. Experience the ‘wow’ factor courtesy of the area’s unrivalled natural beauty. For this visitor it’s all about fresh air, wildlife and stunning views.
At One with The Great Outdoors. Escape with a round of golf, some walking, cycling or fishing.
All ‘Partners” need to channel into the clusters…

8. Local Business Success
DMO marketing programmes are vital to the success of the destination, and for many of the local businesses, these marketing programmes are the only practical means for them to market and advertise their goods and services.

9. DMO Marketing - Weapons of Choice
Improve website and online marketing significantly, including use of social networking
Use schools and the community groups to help bolster image
Create aggressive online PR campaign
4G technology – apps, mobile phone technology
Banner advertising/contradeals
Microsites
Develop and undertake marketing campaigns in niche/targeted publications, both on and offline, including PR campaigns
Enhance look and appeal of arrival print and all collateral (TICs)
Increase visitor knowledge of Events and Festivals with awareness campaign through PR, and ad placement. (NB Attract new Events & Festivals to Kosice)

10. DMO Marketing - Weapons of Choice
Entice travel writers and GTO’s with FAM trips
Create monthly e-newsletter (for both visitors and businesses/stakeholders) . A special newsletter and microsite would be developed for GTO’s.
Attend key consumer/trade travel shows
Work on tandem campaigns with Businesses and TB’s - and other partners (i.e. Food Manufacturers – OPP’s)
Raise the profile of tourism to residents via local media
Work with local schools to create unique collateral (K4K)
Improve cross marketing between events
Help market potential of the area to tourism developers & investors

11. DMOs on the Net: KPI’s
Improve and evolve the Kosice proposition and campaigns
Increase the number of unique visitors to
Increase the number of online bookings (equaling bednights)
Generate an increase in Advertising Equivalent Value (AEV)
Generate an increase in leads through promotions and contests
Increase domestic enquiries

12. DMOs on the Net: KPI’s
Increase international visitation from overseas markets
Increase the amount of new addresses to receive monthly visitor e-newsletter
Increase access to virtual brochure
Promote and manage an increased database of tourism-related listings
Creation of social network marketing campaigns
Feature travel ideas, travel packages, deals and discounts, and promotions on website

13. Why DMOs invest heavily in the Internet
Reach (as usual)
Potentially lower cost
Easier to measure/evaluate the results effectively (definitely)
Flexibility (definitely)
Your marketing message is always available (definitely)
e-Marketing campaigns can be more engaging (definitely)
Personalisation (definitely)

14. PR KPI’s Generate an increase in AEV
Generate an increase in references to ww.visitkosice.eu, in print, on-air and online placements
Increase visitation to the online pressroom
Increase media outreach
Increase print and online story placement
Achieve an increase in Twitter followers and other social media websites
Host number of visiting media (give tip)
Develop 10 itineraries that showcase Kosice and invite top journalists and bloggers to participate in personalized media tours

15. Groups and MICE: KPI’s
Increase domestic sales enquiries including group travel trade, meetings, events and sports
Maintain a comprehensive database of domestic group travel tour operators and meeting planners, communicating regularly and effectively through electronic and direct mail targeted marketing for qualified consumer, group travel trade, meetings, events and sports
Creation of Group Travel and MICE collateral for distribution at appropriate industry shows and DM’s.

16. The Kosice Brand Ensure the Kosice brand will:
Leverage Kosice strengths and heritage
Establish relevance with the target market
Differentiate from regional competitors
The Kosice brand needs to communicate:
Adventure/excitement/fun
all ages welcome/great variety of activities for everyone
Quality/a warm welcome

17. The Kosice Brand
Look at commonalities amongst key market segments/clusters to develop overall brand strategy and positioning
Tell the audience what they don’t already know
Appeal to growth audiences without alienating tried and true core market

18. Working in Partnership
DMO’s work in partnership with Planners, Police, Universities and Schools (Kids for Kids/Adventure Tourism – blogging), Businesses, communities, Government Organizations, Tourist Boards, Transportation providers, F&B, NGO’s, Food Producers, Sports Organizations, Community groups, Arts Councils, Heritage Councils, etc…
Many people, many ideas – make sure all partners are channeled into the ideas and the efforts are coordinated…
Work together to maximize the impact! (Attractions/Transportation Pass)

19. Help Tourism and Allied Businesses by holding workshops and events
Marketing PR
Product Development
Social Networking and Blogging
Brand development
(Don’t ever forget about secondary spend and the multiplier effect – EIA’s)

20. Sense of Place
Visitors need to celebrate Slovak/Kosice culture, history, heritage, food, folklore and fable, etc – BE UNIQUE
Teach businesses about developing “Sense of Place” and creating an even more unique product than what they are currently offering.

21. Place Shaping
Make a destination user friendly for all intended markets
Win:Win situation for visitors and residents alike
Incentivise communities to get involved and put their stamp on the destination (same for events)
Literally “Paint the town red”. Really.

22. European Capital of Culture
Go to Town using this banner – Awareness
World Travel Market Launch as a platform - working with the Slovak Tourist Board to push
Look what it did for Liverpool – hundreds of thousands of new visitors, increased investment into the city and region by businesses, a new convention centre - not just about the Beatles
Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the economy and allows excellent job prospects and progression for those who are not following the educational routes. It allows for local residents to create new businesses, employing local people, using local products.

23. Make Kosice New and Exciting
Partnership = What’s in it for me?
Make it benefit all involved…increase volume and value for all businesses
Amazing Marketing and PR
Fabulous Branding
As there is no perception of Slovakia/Kosice, there is no negative perception
Make an amazing impact!!!!

24. THANK YOU