HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 29-16 Declaring Intent to Continue TBID FY 17fill f.1Vjy6L&Ljf1r.117
WHE AS, the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989, Sections 36500
et seq., of the California Streets and Highway Code, authorizes cities to establish and review
business improvement areas for the purpose of promoting tourism; and
WISE AS, on April 13, 2009, City Council held a public hearing for the introduction
and first reading of Ordinance 546 amending the Morro Bay Municipal Code (MBMC) to add a
new Chapter 3.60 to establish the Morro Bay Tourism Business Improvement District
("MBTBID"), and adopted Ordinance 546 at its April 27, 2009 meeting, which set the MBTBID
assessments at 3% from June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010, and 2% from June 1, 2010 and thereafter;
and
�' E AS, on June 1, 2010, the MBTBID assessments returned to the 2% level, as
established by Ordinance 546; and
WI3ElaEAS, on September 13, 2010, the City Council held a public hearing and first
reading of Ordinance 562 to amend MBMC section 3.60.050, changing the assessment percentage
to 3%, and adopted Ordinance 562 at its September 27, 2010, meeting; and
WEE AS, on April 14, 2016, at a duly noticed public meeting, the advisory board,
formed pursuant to MBMC, section 3.60.100, recommended the renewal of the TBID for the
2016/17 Fiscal Year to continue its activities, and the City Council has approved that renewal for
the past six years; and
WHEREAS
all other findings of Ordinances 546 and 562 remain unchanged; and
HEREAS
on April 26, 2016, City Council conducted a public meeting where staff
presented the annual assessment report and the marketing and sales plan for the Fiscal Year
2016/17, which provides a full and detailed description of the activities to be provided during the
2016/17 fiscal year, as provided in the proposed budget for that Fiscal Year, which are attached to
this Resolution as Exhibit A and available for review in the City Clerk's office; and
WHEREAS,
the budget generally describes the funded activities to be marketed, which
attracts and extends overnight stays in Morro Bay hotels, and are consistent with the authorized
uses for the assessment revenue set forth in MBMC, section 3.60.030; and
WHEREAS, it is the intention of the City Council to levy and collect 3% assessments
from the hoteliers within the TBID for the 2016/17 Fiscal Year; and
WHEREAS, at the public meeting held on April 26, 2016, City Council additionally set
the public hearing, for the intent to levy the TBID assessment for Fiscal Year 2016/2017, to be
held at the Morro Bay Veterans Memorial Hall located at 209 Surf Street, Morro Bay, California,
in accordance with the California Streets and Highway Code, sections 36534 and 36535.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Morro Bay
as follows:
1. The above recitations are true and correct, and incorporated herein by reference.
2. The City Council approves the attached Annual Assessment Report and declares its
intention to renew the Morro Bay Tourism Business Improvement District for the 2016/17
Fiscal Year, and to levy and collect 3% assessments from hoteliers calculated in the manner
set forth in MBMC, section 3.60.050.
3. The City Council sets the date of the public hearing to adopt a Resolution to reaffirm the
MBTBID, and levy and collect the 3% assessments from hoteliers as Tuesday, May 24,
2016. Before or at this public hearing written protests to the continuation of the MBTBID
and the levy of the assessment may be made, consistent with the requirements of Streets &
Highways Code, sections 36524 and 36525 and MBMC, section 3.60.060.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Morro Bay, at a regular
meeting thereof held on the 26day of April, 2016, by the following vote:
AYES: Irons, Headding, Makowetski, Smukler
NOES: IN
ABSENT: Johnson
� �iJ'N►."SB �
ANA SWANSON, City Clerk
DRAFT PLAN
2016-17 Marketing &Sales Plan DRAFT
Table of Contents
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Pages 6-8
Pages 8-14
Pages 14-16
Pages 16-17
Page 17
Page 17-18
Pages 18-26
Pages 26-27
Pages 27-28
Pages 28-29
Page 29
Appendix A
About the an - A Letter from the Director of Tourism
Introduction & Morro Bay Visitor Statistics
2016-17 Budget Overview & Proposed Budget
Organizational Goals & Objectives
Key Travel Trends & Implications to Morro Bay
Morro Bay Markets & Reach
Becoming China Ready
Execution of the Plan
Public Relations
Digital Marketing & Outreach (includes Social Media)
Print & Direct Mail
Trade & Consumer Shows
Sales Goals
Reporting
Annual Reporting Requirements
2 *DRAFT PLAN
The Future Destination of Morro Bay
In this document you will find thoughts, ideas, trends, sections of articles, facts and figures for the direction of
the destination of Morro Bay. It is my intent that you as a reader get the opportunity to view this culmination of
information into one document. Feel free to question, comment and even debate the information that is in
front of you. It is questioning that can bring out the best action plan for this destination.
Marketing for Morro Bay as a destination is fluid. The market could change dramatically tomorrow and the
proposed plan would be required to change along with R. ISIS why working on an ongoing execution plan
with an agency is important as the market and climate can change rapidly. It is important to review this
document as a map to direct us where the organization is going and why.
There are multiple ways and vehicles to consider when drafting a marketing &sales plan, plus providing
direction for the overall destination. The plan must tie into the overall goals and objectives set for the
organization approved by the advisory board, city council and the lodging stakeholders paying into the
assessment.
Lastly, we as representatives for the destination of Morro Bay have a responsibility to manage and use our
resources to further the positive economic impact and growth of the city and its stakeholders. In the end, we
one of many keepers of Morro Bay's future—let's work together and create a positive tomorrow.
Best,
Brent Haugen
Director o f Tourism for the City o f Morro Bay
3 *DRAFT PLAN
INTRODUCTION
For the fiscal year 2016-17, the Morro Bay Tourism Bureau will be dissolved and tourism marketing and sales
will move under the umbrella of the City of Morro Bay. Oversight of the tourism division will be conducted by
the City of Morro Bay, Morro Bay City Council and the Morro Bay Tourism Business Improvement District
(TBID) Advisory Board, to assure the execution of sales and marketing activities on.behalf of the payers into
the assessment in the city limits of Morro Bay,
Morro Bay Visitor Statistics &Impact
Morro Bay, California is a popular destination on the Central Coast of California. Individuals and groups visit
for various reasons, but how many people actually visit Morro Bay annually? What type of impact does it make
on Morro Bay as a whole?
Based off of a formula created by the tourism department, the city can estimate the number of overnight and
day visitors to the city. With the data already collected by the City of Morro Bay, the formula to estimate the
number of overnight visitors is simple.
Take the total receipts in the category and divide it by the average daily rate (ADR) to get the total estimated
room nights. To get the total estimated number of overnight guests (conservatively), take the total estimated
room nights and multiply it by the estimated occupancy number two (the multiplier could be three -- see the
numbers below).
2014-15 Hotel�Motel Receipts $24,346,339.00
2014-15 Trailer Park Receipts $ 27005,805.00
2014-15 Vacation Rental Receipts $ 2,652,772.00
ADR Est Room Nights Est #Guests
$112 217,378 4347756
$40 507145 100,290
$100 26,528 53,055
Total Est Overnight Guests 5887102
Total Est Day Visitors 882,162
Total Est Visitors 11470,270
Itis estimated that the average of overnight guests represents 40% of the visitors in a typical destination, where
the number of day visitors is estimated at 60% of the total. When calculating the numbers, the number of
overnight guests is estimated over 588,000 while the number of day visitors equates over an estimated 822,100
people. These numbers are definitely data that is useful for all stakeholders and residents of Morro Bay. Not
only do these numbers equate into visitors, but also into dollars spent in the city.
In addition to this number, it is estimated that an overnight guest in a hotel or motel will spend an estimated
$225.00 per total room consumed above the cost of lodging in Morro Bay. With the estimates given above, the
economic impact to sales tax businesses and the City of Morro Bay is estimated at $48,910,050.
The funding mechanism for the tourism department is the process through a 3 percent self-assessment with the
Morro Bay hotels and motels. This system is made possible by the formation of the Morro Bay Tourism
Business Improvement District (TBID) through the City of Morro Bay. The tourism department intends to
utilize the revenue below and translate it into sales and marketing activities to fulfill annual goals and objectives.
4 *DRAFT PLAN
PROPOSED Budget Overview
Revenues
Estimated 2016-17 Hotel/Motel Assessment
Alternative Revenue Sources
City of Morro Bay Contribution
Carry Over Balance from 2015-16
Carry Over Financial Reserve 2015-16
Expenses
Salaries, Benefits & Payroll Taxes
Marketing &Public Relations
Marketing, Agency Directed
Marketing, Tourism Department Directed
Public Relations, Agency Directed
Public Relations, Tourism Department Directed
Agency Planning, Consultation & Reporting
Research
Trade & Road Shows
Collateral
Community Event Grant Support
Regional Marketing Grant Support
Contingency Fund
Office Supplies/Equipment/Tools
Professional Development
Morro Bay Tourism Business Improvement District
$831,606.00
$20,000.00
$60,000.00
$44,500.00
$40.280.00
$9962386.00
$173,159.84
$290,000.00
$176,368.44
$80,000.00
$25,000.00
$15,000.00
$5,000.00
$34,750.00
$27,500.00
$65,000.00
$20,000.00
$55.280.00
$738,618.44
$20, 827.72
Total $ 996,386.00
Morro Bay's Tourism Business Improvement district (TBID) is defined by the city limits of Morro Bay. This
specific TBID is where the hotel, motel, inns and B&B owners self -assess themselves annually to fund sales and
marketing activities to reach the following goals & objectives:
• Increase overall occupancy &hotel/motel revenues, especially during mid -week and shoulder
season
• Extend the number of average hotel/motel room nights beyond 1.5
• Help incrementally increase the hotel/motel Average Daily Rate (ADR)
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groups
• Assist with the development and growth of competitions and events that attract overnight guests
5 *DRAFT PLAN
® Create opportunities to positively impact sales tax businesses & drive economic development in
the City of Morro Bay
® Positively impact transient occupancy tax (TOT) for the City of Morro Bay
CLOSER LOOK AT GOALS &OBJECTIVES
The goal to increase overall occupancy & hotel/motel revenues, especially during mid -week and shoulder
season was carried over from the previous fiscal year. With assessment dollars being stretched further, the
expectation to influence more business during the mid -week and shoulder season is even stronger this fiscal
verses last. By looking at the historical data and taking into consideration the differing weather patterns, the
tourism department must look closer at the biggest opportunities to bring in business during the shoulder
season. September, November and December -March are the times when both the lodging and the sales tax
business community is thirsting for more business.
The goal to increase the average number of hotel/motel room nights beyond 1.5 is more of a long-term goal
for the organization. It will take time and strategy to accomplish this goal. It also appears to be very lodging -
centric, but in actuality, overnights in a destination increases the amount spent within that destination. Figures
from Destination Marketing Association International used to express between a 20-25% more spend within a
community when an overnight is incurred. This being a national average, the amount spent in addition to the
overnight accommodation is estimated between 15-18% in the community. In addition to these statistics, it is
estimated that an overnight guest in a hotel or motel will spend an estimated $225.00 per total room consumed
above the cost of lodging in Morro Bay.
In May of 2015, the Morro Bay Tourism Bureau launched the Morro Bay Adventure Pass as a product to
extend the overnight stay average as well as bring revenue to sales tax businesses. Of the 46 passes sold, 95%
of the individuals sold to (less than 5% stayed at a campground or vacation rental), stayed in a Morro Bay hotel
or motel. Of the 95%, 85% stayed 2 nights in Morro Bay where the other 15% were divided between 1 and 3+
overnights.
Through the 2015 public relations outreach, releases have been geared to encourage longer stays in Morro Bay.
The tourism department has also been encouraging this through r throughout the year and
continues to create content on the MorroBay.org website, giving travelers more reasons to stay longer through
uncovering more experiences. This has also been shown through partnerships and the creation of different
walking tours to capitalize on what already exists in Morro Bay. A prime example of this is our partnership with
Morro Bay in Bloom and the development of the Morro Bay Mural Mile Walking Tour. It takes visitors on a
journey of discovery of the murals around the city and gives them additional reasons to stay longer in the city.
Lastly, through the sales efforts of the tourism department, the organization is also encouraging adding a
vacation component to groups when participating in a tournament or competition. This entity is including
additional services to provide Visitor Guides prior to arrival, providing discounts on the Morro Bay Adventure
Pass and other area group discounts. Again, by increasing the number of nights relates to a positive economic
impact on sales tax businesses. It is worth repeating that an estimated $225.00 per total room consumed above
the cost of lodging in Morro Bay goes back into the Morro Bay economy and helps with many of the overall
goals and objectives set in this plan.
Noone can predict the future, especially when it comes to the economy and rate. The organization's goal to
help incrementally increase the hotel/motel Average Daily Rate (ADR) is also acarry-over goal from the previous
fiscal year. In reviewing the numbers and ADR from the past few years, the organization has been able to
6 *DRAFT PLAN
influence the incremental increase of ADR in Morro Bay. At the end of the 201415 fiscal year, ADR was
estimated at $112.83. This is a $6.71 increase over the previous fiscal. The goal for the organization would to see
this increase to at least $119.00 by the end of the 2016-17 fiscal year. The organization can help accomplish this
goal by maintaining rate integrity for Morro Bay lodging. This can happen by not discounting lodging, but
finding alternative ways to provide value to overnight guests through other promotions with perceived value.
In 2014, the Morro Bay Tourism Bureau began capitalizing on the group market for Morro Bay through shows
and other outreach. The goal to add a sales manager was fulfilled mid -2015. By having a dedicated staff person
to reach out and manage the different markets of group tour, sports, events and advertising sales, allows for
better customer service, tracking and follow up. In July 2015, Visit San Luis Obispo County's role changed to
the county -wide tourism marketing district (TMD). With this change was the additional assessment passed
along to the consumer through hotels, motels, campgrounds and RV parks to create a revenue stream for the
organization to further assist with marketing the county as a viable destination for individuals and groups; both
domestically and internationally.
In October 2015, Visit San Luis Obispo County added a Director of Travel Trade to assist in enticing more
groups to the county and giving all the destinations within the county the opportunity to gain more group
business. Combining that and the ability to partner with Visit California to better reach out to international
markets, there is an opportunity to combine the county's efforts with ours to bring exposure to Morro Bay as a
viable domestic and international destination for individuals and groups. This will not just benefit the lodging
community in Morro Bay, but the sales tax businesses and the city.
The tourism industry along with the City of Morro Bay has been active and supportive partners for events in
Morro Bay. From waiving city fees, providing grant dollars and providing promotional support, the tourism
department wants to continue on this trajectory to accomplish the goal by assisting with the development and
growth of competitions and events that attract overnight guests. Since the economic impact of overnight
guests are greater than ones that are just here for the day, the organization wants to focus on the events that
drive room nights for the lodging community, which will directly impact TOT and the economic vitality for
sales tax businesses as well as for the City of Morro Bay as a whole.
If one or all the above goals can be accomplished, this will directly impact the goals to create opportunities to
positively impact sales tax businesses &drive economic development in the City of Morro Bay and positively
impact transient occupancy tax (TOT) for the City of Morro Bay.
KEY CALIFORNIA TRENDS
When setting out to create or update an existing plan, it is important to look at the key trends and statistics that
may impact your business. For Morro Bay, there are a series of resources to use when looking and indicators,
trends and statistical information. Entities like Visit California, Destination Marketing Association International
and many reputable research companies and publications that provide professional insight on the current status
of the market as well as forecasting what is to come for the industry.
California Travel Forecast Overview
Although the overall numbers differs throughout the state, the data from Visit California cannot be overlooked,
especially in planning for the 2016-17 season. As the trends from 2015 are reviewed, Morro Bay can gather the
strategy and plan on how to move forward into the future with these numbers as well as the area numbers.
® The total number of visitors to California grew an estimated 2,1%
in 2015, slowing from a stronger rate
of 3.5% in 2014. This is a bit weaker than previously forecasted.
7 *DRAFT PLAN
® Overseas visitation to California in 2015 slowed considerably from its robust 9.976 growth rate the
previous year. The number of visitors to California from overseas grew by 2.2% in 2015.
® Domestic visitation expanded 2.1% in 2015 —slower than in previous years. In 2014, domestic room
demand grew by 2.9% on strong growth in overnight trips spent in paid accommodations, while trips
spent in non -paid accommodations (primarily visiting friends & relative) declined slightly.
® The overall visitor volume had slower growth in 2015 on a stronger US dollar and the continuation of
stymied growth in domestic wages. Growth in international arrivals will rebound into 2016 as currency
fluctuations calm, while gains in domestic arrivals will be moderate amidst domestic employment and
wage growth.
® Overseas markets were on -par with the overall visitation market in 2015, though Mexico and Canada
did lag due to currency weakness versus the dollar.
® The forecast for 2016 is an increase of 2.3% in total visits, with domestic travel forecast to increase by
2.1% and international by 4.2% (source: Tourism Economics)
® The forecast for 2016 spending is an increase of 5.5%, with a domestic increase of 4.9% and an
international increase of 7.7% (source: Tourism Economics)
California Economic overview
® The global economy still looks lackluster. For some parts of the world, indicators of growth suggest
recessionary or near -recessionary conditions, and the Asian slowdown persists. The positive news
continues to come mostly from the US and UK.
® In the US, we foresee a supportive labor market with strong payroll gains going into 2016.
Underemployment and depressed wage gains will begin to relax, loosening slack and improving
demand.
® We expect that increased labor compensation will boost income growth and support stronger
household spending and housing activity. We see consumer spending advancing 2.8% in 2015 and
2016.
a US GDP should maintain a 2.3% annual growth rate into 2015, accelerating to 2.8% in 2016. World
GDP growth should remain modest.
KEY 2016 TRAVEL TRENDS, MARKETS & MORRO BAY IMPLICATIONS
It is no secret that a destination is seeking "the magic 8 ball", a cry
stal ball or some sort of look into the future
and how to successfully plan and execute a plan that is going to exceed expectations of all stakeholders and
bring abundant prosperity to the destination. The tourism department would be remiss if we didn't recognize
the travel trends for 2016. As the research began in 2015 to learn of the indicators for a successful destination
marketing organization to look for in 2016, an article in Luxury Travel Magazine not only was intriguing, but
aligned with the basic definition of Morro Bay and the strategy the organization began with its agencies in 2015.
Continuing in this section, there will be elements of the article from Luxury
Travel Magazine, the implications
to Morro Bay and the inclusion of these trends that began in 2015. Itis important to understand the desire and
need to maintain the loyal following to Morro Bay, but also the sales and marketing outreach to different
lifestyle groups who will bring a different type of economic impact to the city.
Neo -Tribalism
Thic naw marlcatinn Yarm hac haan irlantifiarl ac tha frarti irinn ni• nnmmi initiac intn cmallar nrni me Nan -
tribalism is the desire to seek out others with shared interests, sensibilities and passions. For Morro Bay, this is
ideal within the scope of outreach planned for 2016-17.
8 *DRAFT PLAN
This type of outreach to specialized groups began in the 2015-16 year with moderate success. The
establishment of lists and contacts of these groups and the ability to reach out regularly, plus the ability to
monitor their activities and events as a way to bring their groups to Morro Bay has been a definite asset. As the
organization identifies the opportunities to reach out to specialized groups such as car, biking, sailing, kayak
and paddleboard clubs, it will also research the ability to convert these niche groups into individual and group
business for Morro Bay.
Although the term was not used in the context of planning in 2015-16, neo -tribalism breaks down the barriers of
demographics and identifies customers and potential customers by their interest areas, verses their age group.
This lends to bring Millennials to Baby Boomers and all the age groups in between to come together for a
common cause: travel to Morro Bay. This was a direction for tourism this last fiscal year, to focus more on
lifestyle than age in marketing Morro Bay as a destination and will continue under the tourism division of .
Since neo -tribalism is a fairly new term and there isn't much historical data specific to Morro Bay, tourism will
aIso derive important demographic information related to how and why specific age groups travel into the
planning process. A prime example of this comes from AARP and Boomer travel.
The Baby Boomer market has been critical for Morro Bay as well as the travel industry as a whole. As the
tourism department looked closer at the top 2016 Boomer travel trends, it shows that almost all of this age
group will travel for leisure with about half traveling domestically only. Let's take a closer look at the key
findings for 2016 from AARP:
• Practically all Baby Boomers (99%) anticipate traveling for leisure in 2016, with approximately 4 or 5
trips in the works.
• Many are planning both domestic and international trips (45%), with 5% planning international travel
exclusively.
• The desire to travel (aka vacation) comes down to three primary motivators:
o To spend time with family and friends
o To relax and rejuvenate
o To get away from normal everyday life
• Although many trips are anticipated for 2016, approximately one in ten (12%) are completely
booked by September 2015, leaving opportunity to provide resources and guidance, specifically to
the 48% for whom it is "still just an idea."
• Baby Boomers do not appear to be overly concerned about budgeting for personal travel, nor are
they hindered by the higher airfares (approximately two-thirds claim it has had no impact on their
travel plans).
• Among those with pets, few (5%) will travel with them `All the time.' What they do tend to take
with them on all trips are their medications, a comfortable pair of shoes, a camera, and sunglasses.
And different than the younger generations, Baby Boomers will also take a good book and
emergency numbers.
• And there is no surprise why personal travel is so prevalent, as travelers say that when they are on
vacation they smile and laugh more, are more likely to learn something new, and have more time
to spend with those they love.
• Of the 95% who will travel domestically in 2016, Summer Vacations, Multi -Generational trips, and
Weekend Getaways are the primary impetus behind such plans.
• Popular domestic destinations are either a city/town or a beach, with Florida, Las Vegas,
California, New York and Hawaii being mentioned the most.
9 *DRAFT PLAN
While demographics can still be an effective tool in destination planning, it's giving way to psychographic
marketing or why they buy. Going back to lifestyle interests plays a key role in creating more specific, micro -
niche markets to reach ideal clients. Mature industries, such as travel and lifestyle have led the way.
Lifestyle Immersion, New Experiences
According to Luxury Travel Magazine, since 2008, the majority of consumers had to tighten their belts, but in
the process, discovered they could live without so much "stuff'. So when they do venture out to buy, they want
a retail experience, an outing that's about more than a purchase. Tourism could assist more in connecting
offerings that entertain, educate and transform for special interest groups - from learning holidays that go
beyond the regular vacation like the newly established partnership with Nature Corps and their volutour
program.
For Morro Bay, this trend provides much opportunity to be able to deliver those types of experiences to
visitors, plus capitalize on the growing the existing business clientele. The creation and execution of the Morro
Bay Adventure Pass in 2015 was one way tourism wanted to leverage this growing trend and create a product to
help grow the businesses as well as the number of overnight rooms for the lodging community. The
organization will continue to cultivate the opportunities within the city to grow business in 2016 and beyond for
both individuals and groups. The extension of the Morro Bay Adventure Pass has now been developed for
groups. This will be another product to sell Morro Bay as a group destination.
Tourism is taking these cues more seriously as Fortune Magazine is indicating that segmentation is more
sophisticated than ever for 2016. The ability to move marketers closer to the coveted one-to-one marketing is
the new holy grail. According to the December 2015 article in Luxury Travel Magazine, experiential marketing
not only helps brands become more personal, but it also lets them stand out. Hawaiian Airlines has hosted hula -
dancing shows in New York City, built artificial beaches in the middle of bustling Beijing, and produced other
pop-up performances in unexpected places. According to Avi Mannis, SVP of marketing at Hawaiian Airlines,
these initiatives have helped the company cut through the noise and compete with bigger airlines. It's more
than creating a message. It's about crafting an authentic experience that leaves people wanting more.
Morro Bay will be looking at ways on how to create the destination feel at trade shows and consumer shows.
Through the new sales model infused into the organization in 2015, the tourism staff will bring the Morro Bay
experience live though sales missions and outreach in 2016-17. The organization will also explore more unique
ways to present Morro Bay to audiences to influence and impact their travels to the city, especially during the
shoulder season months.
Authenticity, Localism
All of these new trends that Luxury Travel Magazine published in December 2015, really speaks to the
audiences that have been and will continue attract to Morro Bay. According to the magazine, travelers desire
authentic experiences; the chance to interact in local neighborhoods by living, eating and paying local, non-
tourist prices. It's about uniqueness and escaping homogeneity. Prior to and during their stay, hotel guests look
to the hotel's social media channels for this hyper -localized, insider information. "Localism" is the new moniker,
not only in travel but also in food and socialization. Connecting this trend to a specific travel group of
Allennials, they want unique hotel experiences, according to a 2015 article in the Huffington Post. The article
went on stating that a representative from Marriott International stated that Millennial travelers prefer unique
experiences over cookie -cutter hotels. With the majority of lodginq options in Morro Bay beinq unique and
non -chain, this provides a great opportunity to attract this emerging travel group to the destination. Also, in the
launch of the new MorroBay.org website, tourism will use this tool to enable more "insider" content to be
displayed and used by incoming visitors.
10 *DRAFT PLAN
The trend of authenticity and localism continues to attract and be important to media, especially to their
audiences. The art of capitalizing on the uniqueness of a destination continues to be on trend for 2016 for
travelers, verses a more streamlined approach of attractions and other corporate chains that can be found
almost everywhere in the United States,
The Morro Bay Tourism Bureau saw this firsthand at IPW in Orlando in 2015. Professional tour companies from
around the globe were asking for unique & boutique lodging properties to have both individuals and groups
stay. In addition to that request were opportunities including culinary, site seeing experiences and unique
festivals & events their customers wouldn't receive elsewhere in the world. Morro Bay continues to see this as
well as the county to market and promote the authentic experiences found here as well as throughout the
Central Coast of California.
Hunt for Value: Entertain and Engage
The search for value became a necessity borne from a weak economy in the mid to late 2000's. This learned
behavior has continued today and has created more savvy consumers in the marketplace. Sometimes the
situation can be to find the best deal, but for some of these experienced travelers, it is about the hunt: deal
hunting for amusement. An example from a 2015 Huffington Post article states that Millennial travelers are
both high budget and low budget. Whether traveling for business or pleasure, Millennial travelers represent
diverse economic preferences. They may stay at an expensive, trendy hotel during one trip, but then opt for a
near -budget property on the next. But their demand for technology and design remains the same.
Experts are encouraging destinations and destination -related business to incorporate gamification marketing to
create brand awareness, drive user engagement and build brand loyalty. Contests, mayorships, scavenger hunts
and mystery trips are recommended to add elements of excitement and engagement to a buying experience.
The loyal following and generations of travelers to Morro Bay creates and ideal opportunity to capitalize on this
trend for 2016. In reviewing responses and replies in social media, itis evident that Morro Bay is more than just
a city to them, but a part of their history and future. Posts often times will inspire a memory that a follower is
willing to share. To many, Morro Bay feels more like a person and has a persona that resembles a friend or a
family member they can trust.
In 2015, the bureau hosted a series of different contests from Visitor Guide Cover Contest to All About That
Bay. There was a positive response to these contests on social media, through our email marketing and digital
advertising. The findings weren't so much in the winning of the actual prize; it spurred discussion and additional
engagement from the loyal following.
Crowdsourcing, Crowdpleasing
Weare living in a world where people want to be the star. Retailers are tapping into consumers' creativity and
inspiration to create and market products — baby shoes, wallpaper, fabrics, and more. In marketing, both
Vermont and the city of Detroit had citizens choose a winning ad campaign, and most recently, the Swedish
Tourist Board launched a highly innovative social campaign where citizens take turns as the official tweeter. In
Morro Bay, tourism is looking at ways on how to leverage the ability to raise the "engagement bar". One of the
ways the organization has begun testing this new way of engagement is through a guest blogger program. With
the launch of the new MorroBay.orq website in late 2015, there is an opportunity_ to create custom content on
the site through the blogging system.
11 *DRAFT PLAN
Because this trend is expected to boom as social referrals (recommendations from social communities) become
increasingly important to generate new customers and sales, the tourism department and its agency will try and
implement more programs in 2016-17 to assure both engagement and return on investment is monitored. This
is true when it comes to the new and upcoming travel market of Millennials. According to a 2015 article in the
Huffington Post, Millennial travelers believe their peers. They're less likely to listen to a straightforward
advertisement for a hotel, but they will follow the comments and recommendations of their friends and
colleagues via social media (likewise, they'll pay attention to negative comments, too). Once considered by
many as risky business, the tourism department and its agency will monitor and respond appropriately to
websites allowing online reviews of Morro Bay. We will then take that information and try and utilize it to better
marketing and sales efforts.
Family and Friends are a Priority
A lot has been written about family travel since it has consistently been one of the fastest growth areas since
9/11, fueled by a backlash dominated by 24/7 work schedules and dehumanizing technology. Since then, this
mature category has given way to subsets such as gay/lesbian parents, single parents, father/son and
mother/daughter trips, grandparents, multi -cultural families, and more. Then, there's the whole divorce market.
With over 50% of the marriages in the US ending in divorce, think about the potential. Anything that helps
foster friendships is a growing market — from ladies nights at top restaurants and communal dining tables to
girlfriend getaways and lobbies that foster social interaction will continue to be much in demand.
The "Modern Family"
As the definition of family continues to change in this country, Morro Bay cannot deny the opportunity to
attract and reach out to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) market. When looking at the
trends happening for travel, it is not so unusual to look at this sub -culture and define it as a type of neo -tribe.
According to D.K. Shifflet and Associates, LGBT travelers not only take more leisure trips, but they spend
more money than their non-LGBT counterparts, according to a national study by the company. Despite
smaller "family" travel party sizes and comparable incomes, the study found that LGBT leisure travelers spend
about 15% more per person per day than non-LGBT travelers. Furthermore, almost half of LGBT leisure
travelers stay in luxury accommodations compared to one-third of non-LGBT travelers, which for the smaller
boutique properties in Morro Bay, could be a benefit and bring in a higher TOT.
"The fact that this group is more frequent, higher spending travelers while not having larger incomes is an
indication of the priority this group puts on travel," notes Cheryl Schutz, Vice President at D.K. Shifflet &
Associates.
This new effort in making Morro Bay and all-inclusive destination began in early 2015 with the Morro Bay Bear
Weekend event in March. With a moderate start and small numbers, the weekend itself didn't appear to be a
success, but the visibility to the market and the response from the local LGBT community was astounding. It
provided a new way that the local community was able to look at Morro Bay differently. Tourism continued
with outreach by partnering with GayTravel.com and hosting one of their travel writers. The organization also
participated in the 2015 San Luis Obispo Pride event by having a booth and promoting Morro Bay. All-in-all,
the destination is making strides to attract this audience to Morro Bay. Through information gathering and local
partnerships, tourism will look to partner to offer a LGBT event verses a bear weekend to leverage the
prevalent lesbian community that exists in Morro Bay/Los Osos as well as San Luis Obispo County.
12 *DRAFT PLAN
Group Business for Morro Bay
Throughout the trends, there is one word that keeps rising to the top: groups. Whether smaller neo -tribal
groups or your typical tour and sports group, Morro Bay cannot deny that this is a great and growing
opportunity for the overall destination. With the infusion of the lead process in 2014 and the sales model in
mid -2015, the bureau has successfully began creating the foundation for more group business in 2016-17. The
partnerships with Morro Bay Recreation, Cuesta College and Morro Bay High School and working with all the
tournaments and sports competitions begged for the creation of a Sales Manager's position in the organization.
Adding the management of relationships with domestic and international travel companies who can influence
individual and group travel to Morro Bay, this position was necessary for the growth of the organization as well
as the business to Morro Bay.
The tourism department will also maximize its partnership with Visit San Luis Obispo County and the Director
of Travel Trade to further the growth of group business to Morro Bay. There will be opportunities to utilize the
leads and business sent from the county organization. There will also be an opportunity to coordinate sales
missions to feeder cities too. For Morro Bay and the county, it is important for the organization to leverage all
of its resources to influence group rooms for the lodging community to strengthen the local economy.
According to Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), the following analysis is based on a
massive collection of data from more than 100 destination marketing organizations (DMOs) representing
three-quarters of the total market. It was determined that DMOs influence 1 in 5 group rooms that occur in the
U.S. annually.
® In 2012, DMOs collectively influenced 39 million room nights for future events, growing by 4.9% from
the previous year, representing 20.1% of all group room demand
® 38.3 million group room nights actually occurred in 2012 as a result of DMO sales and marketing
efforts
Although the average number of rooms in Morro Bay is estimated at 25 rooms, the diversity of groups tourism
is trying to attract may want to stay in one property with 15-20 rooms, but the organization is making a
concerted effort to establish partnerships with groups that will bring business to smaller properties as well. This
type of partnership is evident within many of the sports leads sent out in 2015 as well as the partnership with the
Nature Corps and their 41voluntours" to Morro Bay.
The Morro Bay Tourism Bureau also partnered with the Central Coast Tourism Council on the 2015 IPW
International Tradeshow in Orlando, Florida. The goal was to influence more international travel to Morro Bay
and to partner with other destinations to bring global visibility to the destination. The findings at the show fit
more of what international tour companies wanted and what Morro Bay could offer to future groups and
individual flexible independent travelers (FIT). Since FIT has been on the rise, this provides an ideal
opportunity for Morro Bay to capitalize on two things: small unique and boutique lodging options and the
ability for a tour operator to prearranged blocks of rooms in Morro Bay for use by individual travelers. These
travelers travel independently, not in a group, usually by rental car. This type of professional prearranged travel
has the potential impact to bring future visitors in during mid -week and shoulder season.
For Morro Bay, the tourism department is trying to secure future business for the destination. Sometimes the
time and resources investment does not see a return until 1-3 years later. Similarly, the DMAI report quantifies
the impact of the DMO sales and marketing channel from 2009 through 2012 based on booked room nights
for future events, occurred event room, andthe
number of events that occurred and were booked. The analysis
is based on a massive collection of data from 116 DMOs representing over 40% of DMOs with sales
professionals dedicated to promoting their destinations, and over 70% of the total rooms booked and occurred.
13 *DRAFT PLAN
Encouragingly, DMO group room bookings continue to exceed the levels of group room demand from prior
DMO sales efforts in each year of the analysis. This indicates that the group room nights trajectory for future
years, due to DMO sales and marketing efforts, will increase in the coming years. Tourism is hoping the same
type of investment and impact will happen for Morro Bay. Attending shows like IPW, the American Buses
Association and the partnership on shows with Visit San Luis Obispo County, the tourism sales team will help
secure the business needed and influence the business to be realized mid -week or shoulder season.
What is interesting in infusing this sales model into the plan, Morro Bay was the first in the county to capitalize
on the group opportunities inside and outside of the region. There is much education and outreach tourism has
to continue to provide to help the local area understand the services the organization can provide in helping
groups more easily find and reserve overnight accommodations.
Tier 1 Markets
Morro Bay will continue reaching out to these primary markets throughout the year, taking into consideration
the key trends and lifestyle of the audience the destination is trying to attract. Overall, the tourism department
will work with the agency and establish the media plan to reach these audiences to leverage business to reach
the overall goals and objectives set in this document to the following feeder cities and areas:
• Los Angeles, California
• Central Valley of California
• San Francisco, California
• San Jose, California
• San Diego, California
There will be a slight hiatus of the marketing to the Tier 1 Markets during the summer season (June -August),
however continue outreach though in the areas of social media, email marketing and public relations. Tourism
wants to continue to evaluate where the best opportunities may be during the summer season, but also
leverage the higher traffic to influence fall and winter travel. Although there is a hiatus with the Tier 1 Markets,
this gives the tourism department and its agency an opportunity to expand their focus on the Tier 2 Markets
and influence travel to Morro Bay.
Tier 2 Markets
These markets have been identified through data collected from Morro Bay retail, restaurants and lodging. The
tourism department has also evaluated digital analytics and the indicators of travel patterns found from
historical data. The following seasonal markets will be addressed during the warmer times of year in their
regions to increase travel and expand into markets further and outside of California. These seasonal markets
include:
April -October
• Sacramento, California
• Phoenix, Arizona
May -August
• Reno, Nevada
• Las Vegas, Nevada
14 *DRAFT PLAN
® Houston, Texas
New Test Markets — will utilize public relations and some digital marketing
® Orange County
® Riverside County
® Denver, Colorado
The purpose of reaching out to these warmer markets is to appeal to the audiences to escape to a beach
setting with cooler climates. To escape the heat is one way to leverage the moderate climates of the Central
Coast, plus with most of these markets being a considerable distance from Morro Bay, it helps fulfill the goals
of increasing the overall room nights consumed, influencing mid -week business in Morro Bay and positively
impacting the economy for sales tax businesses and the City of Morro Bay.
Tier 3 Markets
In reviewing the statistics and forecast from Visit California, plus incorporating our own analytics and tracking, it
is determined that the countries Morro Bay would be most interested in are currently ones traveling to the area
or have the potential in higher frequency in the future. Time and resource investment in these markets are
crucial to stay competitive in the marketplace.
® United Kingdom
o England
® London
® Canada
o Ontario
o British Columbia
•
any
o North Rhine-Westphalia
o Bavaria
o Baden-Wurttemberg
• Australia
o New South Whales
• China
These international markets and emerging markets are ones that we cannot do outreach on our own as the
costs will be prohibitive. These will be more attainable in regards to our working partnerships with Visit
California, the Central Coast Tourism Council and Visit San Luis Obispo County.
Becoming China Ready
According to the data from Visit California, the number of Chinese visitors to California continued to outpace
all other overseas source markets in 2014, growing by 21.6 percent to a record 996,000, making China the No. 1
source of overseas visitors for California.
Chinese buying power also surged by 32.7 percent in 2014, with visitors spending $2.24 billion in California or
three times the spending of visitors from the United Kingdom and Japan —the No. 2 and No. 3 overseas
mar6ts fnr Califnrnia
15 *DRAFT PLAN
China outbound visitation hit a record high of 114 million in 2014, a 20 percent year-on-year increase. Chinese
spent more than $140 billion on overseas trips in 2014, up 20.7 percent year-on-year and making Chinese the
No.1 spenders on travel in the world.
Morro Bay has been seeing an increase in Chinese travelers via groups in motor coaches, sourced from the
California gateways of San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles. The shift from the group aspect to Flexible
Independent Travelers (FIT) will bring these travelers out of the gateways and further exploring the state of
California. The benefit to this trend will be the travel that will happen between the gateways. Perfectly
positioned halfway in between the gateways is San Luis Obispo County and Morro Bay. According to Visit
California and its survey findings, Chinese travelers have a 75 percent likelihood to visit and 37 percent interest
in the area. Why is this trend happening?
The U.S. government extended the validity of Chinese business and tourist visas to 10 years and student visas
to five years, which will result in even more rapid growth in visitation to the United States and consequently to
California, which enjoys more than 45 percent market share of all Chinese travel to the United States. The new
policy will drive significant numbers of repeat visitors to California — a trend already evident among Flexible
Independent Travel (FIT) and semi -FIT travelers — and will stimulate in-depth tours to just California. As a
result, growth in beyond -the -gateway travel across California will benefit a wider range of California partners.
The policy also is expected to shorten the length of Chinese shoulder seasons and extend peak season periods.
With continuing strong growth in the China market, the Chinese travel trade is eager to develop new California
our packages, and major tour operators are hungry for destination information to develop new products to
cater to the different needs of group and FIT travelers.
In response to the rapid growth in arrivals from China, Chinese and international airlines increased flights to
California by 6.9 percent in 2014 and further expansion is planned in 2015. In addition to airlift increases from
the traditional gateway cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, new services were added from two new
China gateways in 2014 — Chengdu and Wuhan. Greater flight capacity will allow Visit California China to
expand its efforts in developing second-tier markets and ultimately reach the entire China market with an
emphasis on establishing a foothold in West China centered on Chengdu.
Travel Trends
• China is expected to overtake the United States as the No.1 business travel market in the world in
2016 and generate 20 percent of global business travel spending.
• The Chinese traveler's is rapidly evolving with growth in the FIT and semi -FIT markets. The changing
profile of Chinese group travelers is expected to continue to take shape over the coming several years.
• Leisure travel has soared to 63 percent of China's total outbound travel market while government
travel is decreasing as a result of the central government's anti -corruption policy, which is limiting
official overseas travel.
• Package tours still account for 70 percent of leisure travel and, as the core business of Chinese travel
agencies, are expected to dominate for the next decade, though the percentage of FIT and semi -FIT
travel will continue to soar.
• Due to the new U.S. visa policy and the rapidly developing sophistication of Chinese travelers, the shift
away from package tours is accelerating as Chinese long-haul travelers embrace fly -and -drive FIT
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• The demographic of Chinese outbound travelers is also rapidly changing. Younger travelers, ages 24
to 40, are choosing long-haul destinations, with 82 percent of such travelers holding undergraduate
degrees. The exploding market segment accounts for 75 percent of China's FIT market and 73 percent
16 *DRAFT PLAN
of its luxury market. Fifty-five percent of Chinese travelers are likely to spend seven to 13 nights in the
United States on their next trip. Thirty-three percent are likely to spend 14 to 20 nights in the United
States.
® In terms of seasonality, 29 percent of Chinese travelers to the United States choose October, 23
percent opt for August, 22 percent select July and 18 percent prefer May. These trends also are
reflected in airline bookings. The booking window for Chinese travelers buying pre-packaged holidays
and guided tour packages is still very close to departure. Twenty-eight percent are most likely to make
their booking just one or two weeks before departure, 25 percent will book three to four weeks before
departure and 23 percent book one to two months out.
® Among Chinese destination selection drivers, affordability (61 percent), quality of food (58 percent)
and safety (57 percent) are the top three desired attributes. Preferred activities for Chinese visiting the
U.S. rank in order from shopping (85 percent) to sightseeing (78 percent), fine dining (48 percent),
natural parks (37 percent) and amusement/theme parks (34 percent).
Strategically, the City of Morro Bay, business community and community organizations will need to come
together with other destinations within San Luis Obispo County and begin a program to educate and be
prepared for the influx of Chinese travelers within the area. This comes at an ideal time with the potential
recession predicted for 2017.
EXECUTION OF PLAN
The tourism department of the City of Morro Bay will work in concert with the selected marketing and public
relations agency to develop an executable plan to reach the overall goals and objectives in this document. The
areas of marketing will include, but not limited to public relations, digital marketing and outreach, social media,
broadcast, print, direct mail, and shows. There will be goals established in all of these areas to assure the
investment of the stakeholders will be reach through a return on investment while staying in budget.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
The goal of any outreach is the ability to reach established goals and objectives. In the area of public relations,
Morro Bay has been fortunate to attract the right type of media to further the visibility of the destination. In the
last fiscal year, a goal of hosting (18) eighteen media to Morro Bay was reached in March 2016. There are also
other opportunities presented to Morro Bay through partnerships with Visit California, Central Coast Tourism
Council, Visit San Luis Obispo County and the Bay Area Travel Writers. Although these goals exist, media
requests that weren't a good match were rejected, due to revisiting the overall goals for the destination.
In addition to this goal, was the desire to create and distribute original press releases for additional visibility and
media coverage. As the destination marketing organization for Morro Bay, the organization and agency will
continue the diversity and coverage of business and events in Morro Bay through visiting media as well as
through press releases. In the 2015-16 year, a multi -channel, multi -lifestyle media plan was established and
executed with great success. This will continue into this next fiscal year to assure the equality of coverage.
The tourism department will work directly with the agency to establish goals for the 2016-17 year in the area of
public relations. The organization will also work on ways to reduce the overall hosting costs. There were strides
in reducing costs by establishing a media rate policy with Morro Bay lodging. Tourism was successful in utilizing
the Morro Bay Adventure Pass to bring visibility to this product, but also to reduce costs. The public relations
agency worked with this last fiscal year also helped in reducinq costs with connectinq us and sharinq costs with
other destinations on the central coast. In maximizing the needs and wants of visiting journalists, plus the desire
to reduce costs for destinations, enabled the tourism department to extend the public relations budget.
17 *DRAFT PLAN
In January 2016, Visit California launched the Gold Pass program designed to help destination partners
collaborate in bringing domestic journalists to the Golden State. For Morro Bay, Visit California can provide
airfare and car rental or mileage assistance for editorial research trips through an application process. This new
program will assist in helping reduce overall costs to the budget.
A goal to attract major media coverage has flowed over from the last fiscal year to this one. An example of the
impact of major media coverage happened over 5 years ago with a timeless article, "Road Trip: California's
Pacific Coast Highway". This article continues to be one of the top ten domestic and international referrals to
the MorroBay.org website. The organization wants to continue with these types of timeless articles to include
Morro Bay with increasing impacts to the stakeholders of the city.
Lastly, the plan, execution and results must positively impact the overall goals and objectives set for the
organization and the destination. It is important to continue connecting the goals with the execution of the
plans.
To assure oversight and accountability, all of these goals will be presented and approved by the advisory board.
DIGITAL MARKETING &OUTREACH
This area of marketing continues to change as technology changes. It is necessary for the organization to
outsource the management of digital marketing to assure the performance of advertising and to keep up with
the changes in algorithms of the digital space.
Mobile First Will Become the Norm
Mobile marketing was an add-on in the marketing mix less than a decade ago. The bulk of budgets focused in
on print and direct mail. While these mediums still have a place in the overall mix, Morro Bay will incorporate
17% of the budget to dedicate to digital marketing. Within this space, mobile marketing is at the center of this
program.
According to Social Media Week, the number of smartphone users in the United States in 2016 is estimated to
reach 198.5 million. What does this mean for the overall marketing mix for Morro Bay?
Until recently, content,and web development strategy has focused primarily on the needs of the desktop
user with mobile being an afterthought. In 2015, there was a noticeable shift in this line of thinking with many
companies moving towards a mobile first mindset. For the MorroBay.org website, the organization saw an
estimated 200%+ increase in mobile users over desktop visits. This shift was largely due in part to the sharp
increase in the number of mobile users, and the increasing amount of mobile visitors to websites. More mobile
users than ever, are using their devices to:
• Browse Social Media
• Access News and Entertainment
• Research Products and Make Purchases
• Use Navigational Apps
• Communicate with Others
• Viaw Viciml C'nntant Inrluciinn VidPnc
.._.. ..___. __..__.._ ... • Post Comments and Reviews
18 *DRAFT PLAN
This will only increase in 2016, making it a near impossibility for Morro Bay to avoid focusing on mobile this
fiscal year, especially looking at touchscreen technology in the future to connect to all the current tourism
outreach for visitors in the city.
There Will be a Focus Shift in SEO to Social Media
Continuing with Social Media Week, the online magazine claims there is a slowly developing change in user
behavior when it comes to searching out information on products and services. While using search engines to
find information is still the most common behavior, there are many users who are skipping the search engine
and performing their searches directly on social media.
There are a couple of different reasons that this happening. First, consumers know that they are more likely to
find visual content if they search on social media, and to them, this content is far more trustworthy than text
heavy content.
The other reason is that consumers value feedback from others, and they know they are more likely to find
reviews and comments on social media content than they will in other places, which ties back to the
crowdsourcing trend indicated earlier in this document. This means that marketing strategy must move beyond
"How can I get found on Google?" to "How can I get found on Google and social?"
This trend ties back to the crowdsourcing or crowd pleasing trend found earlier in this document. The new
travel expert is the actual travelers sharing their experience within a destination. How do we capitalize on the
reviews and comments on Morro Bay? For Morro Bay, tourism is interested in working with the chamber, city
and other organizations to influence or engage a quality assurance system or program with Morro Bay
businesses.
Facebook will Dominate However Their Audience Will be Older
Search Engine Journal continues to state as long as Facebook continues adding new functionality and
tightening up security, it will remain the dominant social media platform. In fact, one of Facebook's innovations
is the driving factor behind the social media marketing trends now and into the future.
This online magazine acknowledges that younger consumers are tending to use other social media platforms 4-
0
. Will this knowledge have an impact on our marketing
strategies? Or could be a deciding in factor in whether or not we should focus on other social media platforms,
especially those focused on a younger audience?
For Morro Bay, it will continue be an influencing factor on the decision makers in the household. The bureau
doesn't' want to ignore the influencers in the household that may be of the younger generation. The
organization will work with the agency on strategies on how to influence the younger demographic, especially
when it comes to the lifestyle marketing initiative tourism will continue using this new fiscal year.
Speaking of Facebook, it is also understood that the numbers continue to grow for this social media platform.
In January 2015, the number of followers on the organization's page was estimated at 35,750. This is expected a
continual growth pattern of 20% as the tourism department works with the agency on strategies using social
media ads to drive traffic, plus gain likes as well.
Digital Marketing Efforts will Increase on Newer Social Media Sites
As mentioned above, the aging of the Facebook audience is one factor driving this change. However, it is not
the only factor. Until recently, Snapchat and Instagram have been regarded as mediums for users to
19 *DRAFT PLAN
communicate with one another and to share personal content, according to the Search Engine Journal. Most
marketers and agencies didn't see either platform as a viable place for their content marketing efforts,
especially when it has been so lucrative to focus on more established platforms such as YouTube and
Facebook. Luckily the organization has had an established Instagram and Pinterest accounts for over 2 years,
which has been effective in our outreach.
Instagram is now provng advertising opportunes to a wider circle of brands, and the Snapchat Story is
already proving to be a great branding tool. Snapchat was discussed in 2015, but due to budgetary and
management logistics, it was tabled for future consideration. The future may be here if tourism wants to
influence the younger generation to come and experience Morro Bay with their families or in other neo -tribal
groups.
In the area of Instagram, the organization current has over 3,200+ followers and 260+ followers for Pinterest.
Tourism would love to see these platforms grow at least 15% this fiscal year. With most social media platforms,
it can be difficult to find the right content or formula right away as the needs, wants and desires change so
rapidly for this audience. The organization will work with the agency and create a healthy and manageable
strategy for this growth.
New Options for Publishing Content Online Will Open up Thanks to Instant Articles
Public relations will encounter a new phase to reach out with articles in 2016. According to Search Engine
Journal, Facebook launched Instant Articles the first quarter of 2016. This technology allows publishers to
instantly and constantly publish streaming content to Facebook. Essentially, the company's content
management system interfaces directly with Facebook and can seamlessly publish new content as it is ready for
release.
When Instant Articles launched, it was limited to nine major publishers including the New York Times, NBC
News, and BuzzFeed. Since that time, other big publishing houses have been invited into the fold. Now,
Facebook appears to be opening up Instant Articles even more by inviting publishers to contact them for
information about becoming Instant Articles publishers. The possibility is very real that Instant Articles will be
even more accessible by end of year 2016.
This is exciting to bring a new dimension to public relations and the ability to share the authentic and local
experiences through a social media channel that has been successful for Morro Bay.
20 *DRAFT PLAN
Social Ads
Online advertising has been rapidly on the rise this year, and in 2017 digital advertising (ad) spend is predicted
to finally surpass TV! According to Interpublic Group's Magna Global, in 2015 digital ad spend will have grown
17.2% (to $160 billion), and 13.5% in 2016, surpassing TV as the biggest advertising platform in 2017.
With a large amount of this digital spend being allocated to social advertising, this is a trend marketers cannot
ignore in 2016. For instance, eMarketer predicts social network ad spending will reach $35.98 billion in 2017,
which will make up 16% of all global digital ad spend.
For Morro Bay, about 17% of the overall budget will be utilized to focus in on digital marketing and the ability to
use social ads to drive traffic to Morro Bay. The ability to execute, modify and change based on what is
happening in the market provides the biggest appeal to tourism and the agency.
So how should Morro Bay best leverage social to gain traction on their competitors? Here's what Search Engine
Journal states for marketers to consider:
® Start by deciding which platforms are worth investing in for your audience. Are you selling beautifully
crafted handmade blankets? Then visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest may be the way to go.
Are you in the B2B space? Facebook's sophisticated targeting options could be a good option to hone
in on your target audience.
® Test your posts organically and promote the winners. Don't just randomly allocated budgets to blog
posts that your teammate authored. Instead, promote the organic winners to up the performance even
more.
® Utilize action -oriented ad formats. Think Twitter Lead Generation ads and Facebook Click to Website
ads with call -to -action buttons. Encouraging people to do something instead of just promoting your
social account will be a better use of your ad spend.
So how has Morro Bay been able to measure up to the social ad trends? When the strategy and plan in the
digital space was presented from the marketing agency, there was an emphasis on maximizing the social media
platforms to bring awareness to Morro Bay. There has also been a big emphasis on testing posts in the 2015-16
year and tracking the success. With the information in hand, the discussion between the tourism department
and the agency allowed for a more comprehensive social media calendar developed from month to month.
Lastly, Facebook advertising has been used and modified to assure it reach the goals set out for them.
All of these actions will be infused into the execution program for digital marketing.
Podcasts &Online Radio
Approximately 46 million Americans listen to Podcasts monthly, and the average listener listens to six a week,
according to Edison. Clearly, Podcasts and online radio programs are on the rise, but how can Morro Bay
leverage these in 2016?
According to Search Engine Journal, one way is to pay to play with ads. Starting your own podcast series might
seem overwhelming, and rightfully so, but companies like Squarespace and Casper have leveraged ad space
during breaks in programming on the most popular podcast programs like TED Radio Hour and "Wait
Wait ... Don't Tell Me." The marketing agency and tourism worked with in 2015-16 provided the first opportunity
for Morro Bay to participate in placing ads geographically with Pandora.
The online magazine continues to state that larger brands like GE and Netflix have recently launched their own
podcast productions, and people are actually listening! Umpqua Bank launched a podcast series with MTV
21 *DRAFT PLAN
correspondent SuChin Pak that provides financial guidance, and the first three episodes have been downloaded
over 70,000 times. The organization is also seeing a growth in podcasts from destinations and especially from
travel media.
"Creating podcasts takes more work for small-business owners, but expert00 Y they can be a powerful way to
build customer loyalty," says Dennis Nishi in the Wall Street Journal.
Could Morro Bay create a regular podcast? Of course. It would be worthwhile to work in concert with the
agency to develop a manageable program for the tourism department. This would also be an opportunity for
the organization to engage the community of Morro Bay and partner with the local radio station in making this
possibility a reality.
Personalized Pay Per Click (PPC) &Email Marketing
One-third of marketers see personalization as the most important capability to the future of marketing,
according to an Adobe study. We also just happen to live a world where the Internet knows more about you
then the coworker sitting two feet away from you.
For the last several years, paid search has been all about targeting the right set of keywords to find people who
may or may not be in -market for your products or solutions, but this strategy has a lot of flaws. From
generating irrelevant clicks and site visits, PPC can become quite expensive if your keyword strategy isn't
flawless. Even if you're targeting the most relevant set of keywords, your volume might be so low that you're
not reaching nearly enough searchers to generate new business.
If Google knows so much about each and every searcher, why is it so hard for advertisers to find the right
audience? For one, Google prides itself on protecting searcher information, but it also knows what advertisers
want, which is why Google introduced Customer Match in September 2015. Customer Match allows you to
upload a list of contacts you already have and target them through search. This feature is also available on
Facebook and Twitter, and is essentially making search and social become more like email marketing by serving
ads to people who are within a certain stage of your purchase funnel.
For instance, let's say we captured a list of emails from a recent webinar on healthcare travel. We can then
tU1 get these people on Google, Twitter, or Facebook with relevant offers. In 2016, PPC will likely become more
and more personal, which is why marketers must start utilizing these new features, like Customer Match, to
connect with their prospects and customers at the right time with messages catered to them.
The tourism department will work through the agency to use Customer Match and upload existing and future
email lists to capitalize on an interested audience. When these individuals are signed into Google Search,
YouTube, or Gmail, the organization can work with the agency to create and present them with more
personalized ads to drive their attention to Morro Bay.
While focusing in on email marketing lists, the goal is to continue to grow the lists, especially in the feeder cities
we have identified in this document. It is also a goal to clean up and provide more segmentation of the existing
email lists tourism owns and manages. By going through this process, the tourism department and agency can
better use this tool for a higher open and click through rates, plus use them to impact future travel for Morro
Bay.
Tourism has been using the existing lists to reach out to stakeholders as well as consumers. In October 2015,
the bureau began a weekly email outreach program of the Morro Bay Weekender to increase the awareness
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and influence more travel during the shoulder season. In conjunction with this program, tourism has been
evaluated and tracking the activity with what consumers has been responding to within the message. The top
areas of interest are food, wine, beer and shopping events top the list. Gathering this data will be helpful in
creating more successful consumer email marketing messages in the future.
Video Content
With the improvements of video technology on phones, tablets and other devices, there is an increased ability
to provide authentic video content of Morro Bay. As authenticity is one of the biggest trends that will continue
through 2016 and the ability to now host video content on the newly launched MorroBay.org website, the
tourism department will work with the agency on a manageable program to enable this type of content to drive
traffic to the website and to influence the activities a visitor can experience within the destination.
According to the Search Engine Journal, videos help businesses entertain and engage their audiences through
visuals, colors, sounds and/or music. More importantly, videos often humanize a faceless business, in turn
building brand loyalty and trust. This is true with the strategy of the newly launched MorroBay.org website. By
using more photos and visuals (and the onset of using more video content), the site serves as a more user-
friendly, experience -based portal to browsers.
"Marketers have learned that video is good for more than attracting attention," says Tyler Lessard, CMO of
Vidyard. "It enriched the customer journey at all stages, and it is more effective than other content at
converting buyers."
According to the Search Engine Journal, as the popularity of inbound marketing increases, so does the amount
of content available to consumers. This availability will continue to result in high expectations when it comes to
quality and when it comes to the variety of content offerings. Smart content creators will factor in users'
preference for video and image over text, their preference for informative and useful content over blatant sales
efforts, and their preference for custom content over shared content. It is important to note that these
preferences exist in the business to business (1326) sector as well as the business to consumer (132C) sector.
According to a study by the Web Video Marketing Council, 96 percent of 1326 marketers are using video in
their content strategy.
The marketing agency in 2015-16 used video content within digital advertising for the organization with much
successI There was encouragement for tourism to use more of this type of marketing, but there was an issue
with the existing website at the time that couldn't support video content. Now that the new site has been
launched and there is more working knowledge of the content management system, tourism will work with the
agency to enhance the site with more video content in 2016 and beyond.
Buy Buttons
Sometimes you need to direct a browser on what you want them to do. In the new MorroBay.org website,
tourism has incorporated a "Book Now" button to give a call to action when looking in this section. According
to Search Engine Journal, buy buttons have slowly been appearing on social sites like Pinterest and Twitter. In
July 2015, Google also confirmed its testing its own buy button. The ability to buy directly from a social site or
search engine is going to explode in 2016. The buy button serves as another means of increasing conversions,
specifically those on mobile. With the new responsive MorroBay.org website, the organization and agency will
monitor the activity on the mobile site to see if conversions into business will increase for Morro Bay.
"While mobile commerce grew more than three times as quickly as commerce on desktop websites in the first
quarter, the percentage of people who go on to buy something after clicking an ad is lower on phones than on
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desktops," says Re/code's Joshua Del may, "But if you let someone buy a product directly from the ad on
Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Google — through, say, a Buy button — the thinking is that conversion rate will
improve. And when conversion rates improve, advertisers buy more ads."
Digital Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is nothing new. As a $5.5 billion industry, marketers have clearly come to understand the
importance of utilizing automation to save time and improve productivity. Search Engine Journal provided an
example that at WordStream, they would need to double the size of our team if they didn't have automation in
place. From scheduling emails, segmenting contacts, automating social media, and managing content,
automation has allowed us to grow, reach, and exceed our goals quarter after quarter.
Since switching agencies in 2014, the bureau has been working in concert with the agencies to implement a
robust marketing automation system that actually works for the organization. As a part of the management of
the organization, tourism will continue to identify gaps in our sales and marketing funnels, and form an
automation strategy to make our jobs easier and our goals more attainable.
Website
As we sprint into the new fiscal year, the MorroBay.org website has been running a marathon. With production
of the new site that began in August 2015 and launched mid-December 2015, the website provides some
powerful tools to make it easier to do business in Morro Bay and inspire travel to the destination. This 24-hour
online billboard is just that, a billboard. It is to capture attention with more visuals and concise, but descriptive
text. The new trend in a more visual and less is more with text is the direction the organization went with the
site.
Overall, the analytics kept indicating to the organization that mobile was the rise. The reports established a
20076+ increase over the previous fiscal and tourism was losing that audience, due to an unresponsive site. A
responsive site is one that modifies its format, depending on what type of device a browser is using to view it.
With the launch of the new site, it provides a better and more consistent look and feel, plus eliminates the need
of having two separate content management systems to maintain. It is the hope of tourism, with the launch,
there will be an increased engagement in the smartphone and tablet space. There are indicators the new site is
fulfilling that goal. For the first month (December 10, 2015 -January 10, 2016) after its launch, the following
breakdown of visitors per device shows that mobile devices exceed the user experience by 14.3% over
traditional desktop computers.
• Desktop .9,011
• Mobile 7,587
• Tablet 21716
How will we use this data? As the data continues to be collected, tourism will work with the agency in
capitalizing on its findings. Knowing the trend from desktop to mobile was the primary reason of updating the
MorroBay.org website. It will also be used to create a better mobile strategy and the sharing of the data with
the business community to further the growth of the community is important. First, tourism must monitor and
understand patterns in behavior, the origin of the user and identify the seasonality of this digital neo -tribe.
Better yet, the segmentation of this audience and the use of data will help better reach the goals and objectives
outlined in this document, plus further the growth, visibility and conversion of this audience.
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Email Marketing
If you're like most, you probably think of email marketing as an out-of-date, overly spammed strategy close to
extinction. Newer technologies like social media and mobile marketing are taking their place, enticing to pour
all the budget into these emerging technologies.
Yet despite its age and lack of shine, email marketing is still considered the strongest return on investment
(ROI) channel by marketers. With the inundation of email marketing messages, email marketing experts beg
the question, "Why is your inbox full of different marketing messages daily?"
Ina 2014 Econsultancy survey, marketers ranked email as the top ROI channel, just above search engine
optimization (SEO) and far above less mature channels like social and mobile. 68% of respondents considered
email marketing ROI "excellent" or "good" compared to just 32% for social and 35% for mobile.
According to email experts, here are the trends to consider for 2016 and effective email marketing campaigns.
Focus on the journey, not the click
The e-mail is part of a series of interactions with the Morro Bay brand and we are more cognizant about where
our emails are sending the user. Tourism is spending less time sending a user to a generic home page, but to
the actual usable resource itself. The organization has also been using more custom landing pages—which send
the user directly to the item or offer featured in the e-mail which can increase conversion rates by more than 25
percent.
Also, with nearly 45 percent (usually 50 percent for Morro Bay) of all marketing e-mails today are opened on a
mobile device. With the new responsive site, there will be time dedicated to optimize landing pages for the
mobile platform. According to Google, they state that 61 percent of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site
they had trouble accessing. And, even worse, 40 percent visit a competitor's site instead.
Share the lessons
The best marketing organizations view every e-mail as an opportunity to learn more about their consumer. The
tourism department identifies clear learning objectives for each campaign, capture data, and use the
information for future success. Tourism continues to evaluate the positive responses within each consumer
email marketing message, day of week and time of day, then tracks that information within the system. It is then
evaluated and used to the advantage of the organization. Prime example: the weekly email message to hotels
goes out consistently on Wednesdays between 12:30-1:OOpm. The purpose of this consistent time was the test
to see the highest open and click through rate. When looking at the time, it is after guests check out and prior
to guests checking in. If we capture the attention of the Morro Bay lodging community during their lunch
break, tourism has seen a higher engagement from this audience.
Get personal
Standing out certainly has become more difficult, especially in the tour and travel industry. While a -mail usage
has declined, the volume of messages continues to rise: the number of marketing e-mails reached a record 838
billion in the United States in 2013, according to Forrester. It's no wonder relevancy should be a priority for
every marketer. The best e-mails feel personal and that is an area of development and fine tuning for the
organization in 2017.
According to Gilt Groupe, they send more than 3,000 variations of its daily e-mail, for example, each tailored
based on past user click-throughs, browsing history, and purchase history. Of course, building true
customization and targeting abilities is a transformative process that requires specific capabilities and
25 *DRAFT PLAN
supporting infrastructure. Customer information often lives in different parts of the organization and must be
aggregated to create a single view of each consumer. For the tourism department, Constant Contact is that
tool and the ability to segment this list and use A/B testing in emails is a possibility.
A targeting engine must be built to guide the right message to the right person. And operations need to be
ready for the change; creating and sending 3,000 e-mails a day is very different from sending one mass e-mail
blast as Morro Bay has been doing since its inception. Although it's a lot of work, it is known to drive real
returns, especially mid -week and the shoulder season in Morro Bay. One financial institution increased revenue
from target segments by 20 percent by using life -cycle events to trigger personalized e-mails to existing
customers; home -goods retailer Williams -Sonoma reported a tenfold improvement in response rates by
adopting personalized e-mail offerings based on individuals' on-site and catalog shopping behavior. If they can
do it, why can't we use this knowledge to help reach the goals?
PRINT
Most marketers would say print is dead. Print is not dead, but it doesn't have the same flexibility as in the online
environment. Although the organization has retreated in the usage of print publications over the last year -and-
-half, it it is acknowledged that each of our customers are unique and take in information differently. For some
of the lifestyle marketing, it is appropriate to focus solely in the digital space, but for other groups, the touch
and the feel of magazines, plus the ability to flag pages, use post it notes or a highlighter is preferred. The
evolution of print created a revolution where publications cross over all marketing vehicles, blurring the lines of
physical print and online formats.
Direct Mail
The document addressed email marketing, but the question remains, should you solely use email marketing as
a way to communicate your brand and message? Most seasoned marketers would say, `No.", but it is an easy
and inexpensive vehicle to use to almost instantly reach thousands of inboxes around the globe. With that ease
of use, is the ability to become numb from the messaging and disregard its content.
In today's world, how many emails do you ignore or trash each day? Without getting into all those stats and
logistics, itis reality that the effectiveness of email marketing has been declining without the recommendation
of experts detailed in the document. What do you replace this outreach to give you a return on investment you
would hope? The answer is, direct mail. With inboxes filling up, direct mail has made a comeback over the past
two years. In regards to destination marketing, it can be a highly effective tool to use to bring awareness and
drive traffic with a compelling call to action message.
Tourism began introducing direct mail through a USPS program recommended by a Morro Bay print vendor.
The organization used the Every Door Direct Mail program to promote events in January and August 2015
with positive results. The organization also utilized this means of communications to market and promote a
mid -week partnership package program with Yosemite in February 2016. Results from this program have not
been yet determined, but will use the direct mail as a way to track the results.
Leveraging direct mail to impact business for both mid -week and shoulder season can be more easily tracked
through this marketing vehicle. The utilization of promotional codes or use a redeemable portion of a direct
mail piece can track the success of the campaign. Combining direct mail in more of a comprehensive marketing
and communication program iust emphasizes the need for diversity in the marketing mix. It qoes back to the
idea that people take in information differently, hence diversity is a key to a successful campaign.
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Print Publications
There are opportunities to use print publications within key market areas throughout the fiscal year. There is
aIso an opportunity to use this vehicle as a partnership opportunity as seen with the cooperative marketing
program with Visit San Luis Obispo County and the Visit California Travel Guide. Often times print can be a
cost prohibitive method of marketing, but with these types of cooperatives, it makes it more feasible for the
organization to participate and expand its visibility in larger markets. Print can also be inflexible in the way of
lead and execution time in major print publications focused on travel, but at the same time effective, depending
on the shelf life of the publication.
When it comes to print publications, there are two opportunities the tourism department has and will take
advantage of as the plans unfold this fiscal year. One, the review the editorial calendars of the print publications
and match up the theme of that edition with print advertising. Second, leverage the editorial calendar and seize
the opportunity to submit a story idea to the publication again that matches the theme of the publication.
Lastly, the idea of identifying lifestyle publications that better pair with the Morro Bay profile like kayaking,
hiking, biking, paddle boarding, etc are ones that the organization will review with the agency and find a good
mix of both print and online publications to fold into the campaigns for 2016-17.
Any and all of these print publications have to tie back to the goals and objectives established for marketing the
destination. In February 2015 and January 2016, tourism purchased and advertorial package and was featured in
three major print publications (plus other perks) in the Los Angeles area, focusing on travel. This fits within the
goal to drive traffic during the shoulder season, but also to increase the visibility as well as credibility of the
destination.
Collateral
Tourism has set out to manage and maintain three printed collateral pieces for Morro Bay. The first is the
Official Visitor Guide to Morro Bay. This comprehensive magazine -style guide provides much inspiration and
dedication to the visitor serving businesses in Morro Bay. This advertising supported piece is used to distribute
locally through the Visitor Center as well as at shows and other distribution points throughout California. The
updated format was initiated in 2014 and then again in 2015. The goal to offset the cost of the guide is
established at 40 percent. The reason for this percentage is to assure the guide provides content the reader is
expecting, verses being inundated with advertising that sometimes will turn off the reader.
The second piece is the Morro Bay Bike Map. This pocket guide was initiated by the City of Morro Bay, the
SLO Bike Clubs and the Morro Bay Tourism Bureau in 2013. As the map has evolved and the lack of funds
from the other partners, tourism saw this was a sought after piece through distribution points at the Morro Bay
State Park, Visitor Center and other campgrounds. The organization updates and prints this piece twice a year
to assure updated information relating to the biking is included. This map is available through the stated
distribution channels, but also is available for download on the MorroBay.org website.
The third piece is the pet -friendly brochure. The evolution of the pet -friendly brochure has turned into the
Morro Bay Pet -Friendly Trail map. Understanding the use and the need of this information evolved the
brochure into a usable map, indicating pet -friendly businesses and areas around Morro Bay. In February 2016,
tourism used this new format to distribute at the Amazing Pet Expo in San Diego. It also provides this map as a
downloadable piece on the MorroBay.org website too.
SHOWS
Identifying the geographic regions and the understanding the types of lifestyles that fit the Morro Bay profile
helps establish the ideal show line up. In researching the characteristics of the destination and taking into
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consideration and success of the show history, the tourism department will evaluate and create a show calendar.
This list and calendar of shows not only needs to fit within the regions we are targeting, but needs to fit
seasonally and connect with the overall goals and objectives outlined in this document.
There are two types of shows tourism will participate in for this fiscal year. Consumer shows will serve as a way
to inspire and reach visitors directly, while educating them on the aspects and activities of the destination. The
areas of outreach for consumer shows must involve household decision makers. The types of shows considered
involve travel, outdoor adventure, family activities, women, social events, pets and the LGBT community. The
investment of time and resources, history, and tie back to the goals, plus the timing and location of the show
will dictate the selection of shows for this next fiscal year.
Tourism will then evaluate the goals established to continue with the outreach to the group market through
professional tradeshows. These shows hold a higher price tag, but at the same time, offers an opportunity for
partnership. IPW is a professional tradeshow, focusing on international travel companies. In 2015, the bureau
partnered with the Central Coast Tourism Council on a booth to share costs and bring a higher level of
visibility to Morro Bay by connecting it with other major internationally -known destinations in the state
(Carmel, Solvang, etc). In 2016, an opportunity opened up with the new tourism marketing district and Morro
Bay will be partnering with Visit San Luis Obispo County on this tradeshow in May.
The second major tradeshow the tourism department participates in annually is the American Buses
Association (ABA) conference. This is another example of a travel tradeshow where organizational
representatives meet with professional tour operators and companies during set appointments to inspire them
to bring their groups and individual customers to Morro Bay. Tourism approaches this show with a planned list
of itineraries and products to "sell' to this audience. It is also a time to listen in during the appointment time on
what tour operators are seeking and how Morro Bay can provide solutions for their group.
Both shows require time and investment before a return on investment is seen. Typically it takes an estimated
2-3 year cycle before travel companies start making a destination a regular stop for their groups or FIT
customers. For IPW, Morro Bay is already seeing business happen from this show. For ABA, there are tour
companies that have used Morro Bay as a day and overnight stop, but nothing regular in their tour schedules.
This is one of the biggest opportunities for the destination to continue reaching out to this market segment and
help secure more bus tours and FIT for Morro Bay.
Sales Goals
When the group lead process began in 2014, it set the pace with the addition of a sales manager for the
organization. In sales, it was recognized that goals needed to be established to benchmark the success and
return on investment for the organization. In 2015, the bureau established the following goals to be reached by
the sales team by the end of fiscal 2015-16:
• 40 leads
• 2,000 estimated room nights (averages 50 room nights per lead)
• $224,000 lodging economic impact (# rooms x current ADR of $112)
At the half year point, the number of leads sent out to the Morro Bay lodging community equaled 53 percent
and the number of estimated room nights and economic impact exceeded the initial ctoal by 25 percent. The
tourism department found that the estimated number of rooms per lead was more than double and adjustment
is being made for this next fiscal year. There was also an addition to these goals on the overall economic
impact to the business community in Morro Bay as reflected below. In adjusting these numbers for 2016, it is
28 *DRAFT PLAN
proposed that the numbers are modified to reflect history as well as a goal to increase group business for Morro
Bay.
• 451eads
• 5,000 room nights (averages 112 room nights per lead)
• $595,000 lodging economic impact (# rooms x estimated ADR of $119)
• $1,125,000 economic impact (# rooms x $225)
In addition to these goals, organizing two sales missions in 2016-17 and partnering with the Visit San Luis
Obispo County sales team will be expected to further grow this market segment for Morro Bay,
REPORTING
This area of the document is probably the most important piece in the overall success of marketing Morro Bay
as a destination. Currently there are reports the organization receives from the agency on performance. This
next fiscal year is to take that information and perform ongoing evaluations of all our marketing endeavors. This
will better help us prepare for existing and future marketing and communications.
The organization will employ a comprehensive reporting matrix of the following to measure overall success.
These will include but not limited to:
• City TOT Reports
• Cost per Click (or acquisition)
• Enewsletter Sign Ups
• Google Analytics
• Lead Generation
• Open Rates
• Referrals
• Redemptions
• Reservations (JdclCRabblt)
• Room Nights
• Sales Tax Reports
• Social Media Sign Ups
• Sweepstakes Sign Ups
• Website Traffic
All or portions of this information will be summarized and shared regularly with the advisory board, the City of
Morro Bay and its stakeholders and partners through meetings and written reports. The executive director will
report each month at board meetings and quarterly at city council meetings. The executive director will use his
discretion on whether or not to share information and statistics at other meetings outside of this realm
(Chamber, Merchant's Association, Visit San Luis Obispo Board Meetings, etc). The agency will provide
monthly reports to the executive director and attend the board meetings and report on a quarterly basis.
29 *DRAFT PLAN
Appendix A
(a) The advisory board shall cause to be prepared a report for each fiscal year for which assessments are to be
levied and collected to pay the costs of the improvements and activities described in the report. The report
may propose changes, including, but not limited to, the boundaries of the parking and business improvement
area or any benefit zones within the area, the basis and method of levying the assessments, and any changes in
the classification of businesses, if a classification is used.
(b) The report shall be filed with the clerk and shall refer to the parking and business improvement area by
name, specify the fiscal year to which the report applies, and, with respect to that fiscal year, shall contain all of
the following:
(1) Any proposed changes in the boundaries of the parking and business improvement area or in any benefit
zones within the area.
There are no proposed changes in the boundaries of the parking and business improvement area or in
any of the benefit zones within the area. The boundaries will remain the same as fiscal year 2015-16.
(2) The improvements and activities to be provided for that fiscal year.
The improvements and activities for the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) are outlined
within the 2016-17 Marketing & Sales Plan document.
(3) An estimate of the cost of providing the improvements and the activities for that fiscal year.
A detailed budget has been provided within the 2016-17 Marketing &Sales Plan document, outlining
the goals, objectives, market tiers and activities.
(4) The method and basis of levying the assessment in sufficient detail to allow each business owner to estimate
the amount of the assessment to be levied against his or her business for that fiscal year.
There are no changes or updates in this area.
(5) The amount of any surplus or deficit revenues to be carried over from a previous fiscal year.
As of March 1, 2016, there will be an estimated carry
over balance from the 2015-16 budget of $44,500,
plus $40,280 in financial reserve. The financial reserve will be converted from a reserve into a
contingency fund for marketing.
(6) The amount of any contributions to be made from sources other than assessments levied pursuant to this
part.
In the 2016-17 budget, there will be alternative revenue sources in relationship with advertising in the
Official Morro Bay Visitor Guide, the Morro Bay Adventure Pass and sponsorships relating to the
Outdoor Writers Association of California Conference in October 2016. This amount is estimated at
$20,000 for the fiscal year.
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The City of Morro Bay will also be providing $60,000 out of general funds to be dispersed as the
Morro Bay Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Advisory Board sees fit. In the 2016-17
Marketing & Sales Plan document, the $60,000 contribution is being dispersed amongst event and
regional grant programs.
(c) The city council may approve the report as filed by the advisory board or may modify any particular
contained in the report and approve it as modified. The city council shall not approve a change in the basis and
method of levying assessments that would impair an authorized or executed contract to be paid from the
revenues derived from the levy of assessments.
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