Purpose of the Plan

Provide a road map which will guide actions, activities, and programs.
Identify key strategic priorities for the next 5 years.

Organization Membership

The counties as defined by the I Love NY program and/or the Bylaws.

Mission Statement and Vision

To increase tourism visitation to the Adirondack Region.
To be recognized as a unique, multi-season destination.

Strategic Priorities

• Consistently and effectively promote the Visit Adirondacks brand
• Increase visitation and spending in the Adirondack Region
• Expand tourism season to maximize economic benefit
• Generate high quality inquiries for all members
• Recognizing our strengths, aim to disperse visitation throughout the Adirondack Region
• Provide low cost advertising opportunities and promotional tools for tourism constituents throughout the region

Marketing Activities

Brand Marketing – Job #1
Develop and Promote the Visit Adirondacks brand through:

• advertising, collateral, trade marketing, internet, public relations, strategic partnerships

Public Relations

• Media relations and visits
• Traditional PR – writer assistance and story pitching
• Press release creation and distribution

Visitor Services

• Branded Information Centers
• Comprehensive Information Services – Internet, Print, Fulfillment
• Community Management – Inquiry Response, Q/A, Brand Marketing

Education and Advocacy

• Education programs for tourism businesses
• Liaison with Organizations and Stakeholders
• Position Statements on Tourism related issues

Research and Analysis

• Develop Metrics for Internal Measurement
• Gather and Report Tourism related Economic Indicators
• Aggregate and Analyze Available Tourism Research
• Conduct Original Research

Situational Analysis

Strengths – Our USP

• Adirondack Park | Forest Preserve | Wilderness | Scenic Beauty
• Proximity to Feeder Markets
• Safety and Security
• Authentic Americana
• Value

Challenges and Threats

• General Economic Conditions | CCI Decline
• Cost of Doing Business | Taxes | Energy | Labor | Regulation
• Tourism Infrastructure | Cell Coverage | Broadband
• Traditional Transportation Barriers | Costs
• Seasonality | Weather
• Environmental | Conservation Issues | Invasive Species
• Budget | Funding | NYS | ARTC

Opportunities

• Availability of the Internet to enhance and extend the region’s market reach
• Canadian Exchange / Demand
• Demographic Changes | Boomers | Gen – X/Y

Marketing 2008

Target Markets

• Boomer/Mature, Shoulder-season Travelers, Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts, Scenic Touring, Family
• NYC Metro, Canada, NYS Feeders, All Others

Spring – hike, raft, bird, fish, bike, events
Fall – foliage, hunt, paddle, hike, bike, shopping, events
Winter – snowmobile, ski (dh & xc), snowshoe, spa, shopping, events
Year-round – Events, Group Tour, SMERF

2009 -2012

Continue to Develop and Implement the Visit Adirondacks brand.

(via The very eclectic EJForbes.com)

ANCA Reveals New Scenic Byway Logo for the Central Adirondack Trail

Under the leadership of the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) communities from Warren, Hamilton, Herkimer and Oneida Counties along the Central Adirondack Trail Scenic Byway will now have a new theme and logo to set their special travel route apart from other New York State Scenic Byways.  The new logo reflects the “Waterways Crescent Connection” theme that was developed by ANCA,  Fuller Communications and community representatives who participated in a regional marketing and branding project that explored the many sites, attractions, and activities located along the Byway that are so appealing to today’s travelers.

The project originated in direct response to community leaders who had asked ANCA to create a new design that would resonate with Adirondack North Country visitors and illustrate the enormous variety of water resources that tourists and residents can enjoy while touring the 153-mile route from Glens Falls to Rome, New York.  These water resources have played and continue to play an integral role in the settlement, development, and economies of the diverse cities, towns and villages along the way.  The various water bodies—natural and man-made, easily accessed along routes 9, 28, and 365 provide four-season recreational opportunities.

Davidson Design, Inc. worked with ANCA and a Central Adirondack Trail Marketing Team comprised of twenty members from across the four counties with expertise in tourism, marketing and community development during the design development phase.  The design firm created new artwork that focuses on the true intrinsic values of resources named in the Central Adirondack Trail’s Corridor Management Plan.  The logo suggests the many waterway connections that parallel or intercept the route which are desirable assets for the various locales looking to bring visitors to their community.

ANCA and Central Adirondack Trail stakeholders will use the new design and theme in future marketing and interpretation projects to support tourist exploration with the goal to stimulate interest in new and repeat visitation in the twenty-nine Scenic Byway communities.   Byway stakeholders want visitors to become aware of the close proximity of the roadway to significant water features from the Glens Falls Feeder Canal and Hudson River in the east, to the long list of lakes, ponds and rivers that edge the route within the Adirondack Park, to the Erie Canal at the western terminus in Rome.

Staff from the New York State Department of Transportation Scenic Byways Program have approved the new logo which will be used at ANCA’s Adirondack North Country Scenic Byways website, on interpretive signs, maps, and brochures, and will eventually appear on official route signs that mark the roadway for travelers.  Considerations for use of the logo appear at the “Info for Partners” section of the Byways website.

This important destination enhancement was made possible with project funding from the Federal Highway Administration which is administered by the New York State Department of Transportation.  To learn more about Scenic Byways visit adirondackscenicbyways.org and to learn more about ANCA’s Energy, Forests, Agriculture, and Local Culture programs visit www.adirondack.org.

A little cleavage doesn’t hurt either.

Link
(Thanks to @virtualDavis for this excellent piece of advertising.)

I put together the following outline which would be my considered “bare minimum” for a comprehensive destination-marketing online program. While this may apply to a theoretical “Adirondack” program, it can easily be adjusted to work for any destination or brand. Obviously, each item is worthy of long discussion and debate. Would love to hear your opinion, and any items which I may have omitted.

Template for Website Design and Promotion

Website Promotion and Marketing Goals

• Provide Branding, Inspiration, Tools to Education and Convert Potential Travelers
• Promote, Maintain, and Enhance Brand Equity and Recognition (and Sponsors)
• Increase the Frequency, Lengthen the Duration, Expand the Scope of Travel
• Take advantage of Position and Role to Gain Revenue

Organic Optimization

• Search Engine Crawlability – No Frames, Reduce/Eliminate Flash, Robots.txt,
• Clean and Unique Titles and Descriptions for all Pages, Pretty Permalinks, Headings, Metatags
• WC3 Compliant, Accessibility Compliant
• 301 Redirects for Legacy or Relocated Content
• Site Map – HTML and Standards Compliant XML file

Usability

• Simplify and Improve Directory Structure
• Aesthetically superior design (but still, blue, underlined links, top and side menu bars, logos in the top, left-hand corner), White space
• Breadcrumb Navigation, Text Links, Categories and Tags, 404 page
• Fast loading, All Browsers, 1024-wide or more.
• Avoid use of: Input Forms, Session ID’s in URL, Pages Restricted by Cookies, Frames, Logins

Content Management System

• Open Source preferred, Robust, Database-driven – i.e. Self-hosted WordPress
• Scalable for future growth/shrinkage, Upgradeable
• User-friendly Administration – Easy Format and Publication
• Extensible Features, Template-driven design
• Distribution and Syndication via RSS, Atom
• Image Gallery – Self-hosted – i.e. Gallery2

Website Features

• “I LOVE NY”, and Local Database – various archive views, effective display of “listings”
• Content – “The Digital Footprint”
• Photo Gallery – Self-hosted
• Mapping – KML or Spreadsheet-driven maps
• “Hot Deals” – Packaging, Special Offers
• Advertising, Shopping, and Purchasing – Partnership/Affiliate, Reservations,
• Trip Planner – Saveable, Exportable, Shareable, Group Collaboration

Traditional Promotion
Offline Advertising, Public Relations, Paid Online Advertising

Social Media Marketing – Brandstreaming Your Destination
Expand use of Networks and Publishing Platforms to Improve the the Digital Footprint of the Brand and Help Deliver it to our Audience.
Interact with Potential and Converted Customers Before, During, and After Purchase Cycle.

The Process

1. Monitor – Buzz, Feedback, Brand Content, Competition,
2. Interact – Participate in Brand Conversation, Visitor Services,
3. Evangelize and Lead – Community Building, Publish Unique and Aggregated Content, Conduct Reputation Management, Generate Numerous and High-Quality Inbound-links

Considerations

• Important Networks – YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Niche Blogs, Google Maps
• Strategy and Policy – Web 2.0 activities should be be conducted within Defined Guidelines
• Resources and Commitment – Scope and Scale of Effort should be Defined
• Languages – Anchor Content should be translated into relevant foreign languages
• Mobile Platforms – Content, Site Design should include access from mobile devices

I’d like to acknowledge the tremendous community which helped to educate me about these topics. That mean you SEO folks, Web 2.0 marketers, Travel-bloggers, and everyone else who I’ve interacted with on this topic. Please contact me if you have any interest in learning how you can implement this for your brand.