Sunshine Matters

As the official tourism marketing corporation for the state, VISIT FLORIDA is committed to providing leadership that will ensure Florida’s tourism industry remains competitive and sustainable.  In order to accomplish this, it is important for VISIT FLORIDA to position itself as a thought leader and valuable resource to key Florida tourism stakeholders.

One way VISIT FLORIDA serves this role of educating and engaging Florida’s tourism industry is by hosting our annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism.  This year’s event, held at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood September 25-27, offered the opportunity for more than 750 members of the travel industry from across the state to obtain critical research data, share best practices and receive powerful hands-on marketing solutions for their destination marketing challenges.

This year’s conference focused on 10 Steps for Florida’s tourism businesses to get the most out of VISIT FLORIDA’s marketing programs.  Below are some highlights of the presentation we gave on this topic with links to help you take the best advantage of each opportunity:

Step 1 – Partnership:  VISIT FLORIDA strives to be the catalyst for the Florida tourism industry to work together with the goal of becoming the No. 1 travel destination in the world.  Creating and leveraging partnerships that add value for the industry is a key component of this effort.  Some examples include VISIT FLORIDA’s strong relationships with a host of state and industry trade associations, as well as major marketing partnerships with companies such as Kodak and Mazda.  Each of the partnerships VISIT FLORIDA cultivates provides an opportunity for the industry to extend their reach and relevance through involvement in our programs.  The best way to accomplish this is by becoming an active VISIT FLORIDA Partner.  We invite you to join a committee, participate in webinars, be a part of Tourism Day at the Capitol, sign up for News To Use or follow Sunshine Matters.  To learn more about getting the most out of your partnership with VISIT FLORIDA, email our Industry Relations team.

Step 2 – Co-op:   In order to maximize the reach of the shared Florida brand, VISIT FLORIDA is committed to providing co-op opportunities in all our marketing efforts.  This focus on expanding Florida’s presence in front of consumers is facilitated by VISIT FLORIDA negotiating cost-effective advertising buys that are then offered to Partners through our Co-op Marketing Planner.  The planner includes more than 150 advertising, sales, promotions and public relations options from which to choose.  We are expanding from a traditional print co-op model to new digital and social media co-ops, including Facebook, mobile, SEM and re-targeting co-ops, as well as upcoming hyper-targeted broadcast buys and Google co-ops.  VISIT FLORIDA is committed to providing a broad range of co-op opportunities that include offerings for all businesses.  If you have co-op marketing ideas that could create and add value to your efforts and don’t see them on the Co-op Marketing Planner, please email them to Kathleen Bouchelle, VISIT FLORIDA’s Co-op Marketing Administrator.

Step 3 – International:  The U.S. Department of Commerce ranks Florida second among all 50 states in total international visitation, but according to a 2010 report from VisaVue Travel, international visitors spend more in Florida than any other state.  One way VISIT FLORIDA is working to increase our share of the growing international travel market is through our Air Team Florida initiative to help Florida communities secure new international flights.  Another is through our involvement with the Corporation for Travel Promotion, modeled after VISIT FLORIDA’s public-private partnership and officially launching its new “U.S. Brand” later this month at World Travel Market.  By partnering with VISIT FLORIDA and taking advantage of the new multiple-level co-op programs we can create with the CTP, you now have more opportunities than ever to get your business in front of international travelers.

Step 4 – VIVA FLORIDA:  We have seen tremendous growth in recent years in Latin American visitors, as well as Hispanic demographics in the domestic market.  Florida has a unique opportunity to be relevant to this growing audience as we commemorate the state’s 500th anniversary in 2013.  In partnership with the Department of State, VISIT FLORIDA has launched a revamped VIVAFLORIDA.org website.  We have also brought on a Spanish-language editor and a bi-lingual Insider who will be updating content in both English and Spanish throughout the year.  This initiative provides an opportunity for tourism businesses to tap into a hub of cultural heritage content by showcasing their own local historical stories and events.  We invite you to send any related story ideas you may have to Kevin McGeever, VISIT FLORIDA’s Senior Editor, and submit your event write-ups for inclusion on the site directly through VIVAFLORIDA.org.

Step 5 – Social:  The role of marketing in the digital world has changed fundamentally – we have to interact with our customers whenever and wherever they want to find us.  With more than 250,000 Facebook  fans, 15,000 Twitter followers and 675,000 YouTube views, VISIT FLORIDA knows it’s not just about having fans, but how we engage them.   Our Florida Live social media platform provides the opportunity to integrate your local social media content directly onto VISITFLORIDA.com, the No. 1 state DMO website in the country.  We’re using our platform – and the strength of our marketing campaigns that drive fans to those pages – to give your social media efforts more exposure.  Check out these 5 Tips on how to expand your digital footprint by partnering with VISIT FLORIDA.

Step 6 – Mobile:  There are now more mobile devices than there are computers, yet according to Google, 79% of the largest online advertisers do not have a mobile-optimized website.  Mobile is truly the next frontier in digital marketing, with people now using their mobile devices throughout the travel planning process for researching options, booking and even sharing their travel experiences.  Launched one year ago, VISIT FLORIDA’s mobile site now gets 75,000 unique monthly visitors.  To assist you with reaching potential visitors through our highly-visible mobile platform, VISIT FLORIDA has put together a host of mobile advertising packages and co-op programs.  Take a look at all our Co-op Marketing Planner mobile opportunities, or contact Kathleen Bouchelle, VISIT FLORIDA’s Co-op Marketing Administrator, to suggest additional options.

Step 7 – Content:  It’s all about the unique stories we tell that inspire visitors to choose Florida over other competing destinations.  In a move signaling our commitment to digital content, VISIT FLORIDA has brought on a Senior Editor to build a network of award-winning journalists, photographers and videographers.  This new team has already generated 60 news stories, videos and photo essays that are being picked up as editorial by major media outlets.  We also have our team of VISIT FLORIDA Insiders who continue to engage with travelers by blogging, posting videos and answering questions on VISITFLORIDA.com, Facebook, Twitter and other relevant sites.  These talented individuals serve as the Florida tourism industry’s content team, providing an opportunity to get the local story told and distributed on a grand scale.  Please share your story ideas and event information with the team, by emailing Kevin McGeever, VISIT FLORIDA’s Senior Editor, and the Insiders.

Step 8 – Research:  Succeeding in today’s environment is all about understanding people’s passions – and marketing to them based on those passions.  This makes research, and the insights it provides, the foundation for everything we do. One key research product VISIT FLORIDA compiles is our annual Marketing Plan.  This plan contains extensive data about Florida’s visitors which allows us to be more strategic and effective in our marketing efforts. VISIT FLORIDA’s research team is constantly enhancing our research offerings, including a new market locator program from the Airline Reporting Corporation that lets us determine which zip codes around the country produce the most travelers to specific cities in Florida.  Much of this information is made available free to our Marketing Partners, but the Marketing Plan and other research is online for everyone to peruse.  To learn more, please send an email to Vicki Allen, VISIT FLORIDA’s Research Manager.

Step 9 – Destination Matters:  In 2010, business travelers attending conventions in Florida increased by 7.4% over the previous year and their average expenditures per person per day were $212.30, up 10.1% from 2009.  As a way to create and add value to the process of bringing increased meetings and conventions to the Sunshine State, VISIT FLORIDA developed our Destination Matters platform.  This program includes facilitating trade shows and VIP events for meeting and incentive travel professionals, managing a Citywide Convention Grant process to help our CVB Partners bring in new major meetings, and providing our original Cover Your Event insurance for named storms that force the rescheduling of a planned conference.  Our latest initiative is the funding of Metropol Research that will result in the compilation of the first-ever statewide meetings research data in the country.  If meetings matter to you, take full advantage of the resources VISIT FLORIDA provides to help close the deal.

Step 10 – Share a Little Sunshine:  This grassroots platform VISIT FLORIDA created two years ago is all about harnessing Florida’s greatest fans to help promote tourism, support our economy and create jobs.  With every 85 visitors supporting one Florida job, 18 million Floridians can do a lot to help the economy.  We know there is nothing more powerful in tourism marketing than a personal invitation, so we made it the call to action for all our Share a Little Sunshine initiatives.  To date, there have been more than 90,000 invitations sent through SALS, each carrying with it special offers that link the recipients back to local tourism businesses and the deals they offer.  The latest SALS initiative going on this football season is the Florida Fan Game, a competition in which six of Florida’s universities vie for the title of “Florida’s No. 1 Fans” by seeing who can send the most invitations to friends and family all over the country.  Here are some simple tips on how you can take full advantage of the Florida Fan Game to gain added exposure for your business.

There are innovative and cost-effective ways for Florida’s tourism businesses to participate in each one of these 10 steps.  I personally invite you to get involved in one or more of VISIT FLORIDA’s programs today.  To learn more, view this interactive 10 Steps webpage and don’t hesitate to reach out directly to our staff to suggest ways VISIT FLORIDA can serve as a more valuable resource to your business.