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Member
Newsletter Archive
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Door County Visitor Bureau Member Newsletter
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Dear Phil,
Welcome to the Door
County Visitor Bureau's member newsletter.
This communication will be sent out every
other Wednesday beginning today. It is our
hope that we can share with all of you an
update on what has happened in the last two
week period. Some weeks we will have quite a
bit to discuss and other weeks a brief
amount. Regardless of the length, we hope
you will take a few minutes to keep up with
what we are working on.
Best Regards
Jack
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MARKETING & SALES:
Mary Denis, Director of Marketing & Sales
2009 Spring/Summer Campaign
The Spring/Summer advertising campaign
consists of Door County image advertising and
specific advertising for the Festival of
Blossoms campaign that runs through June 8th.
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Advertising was placed in magazines,
newspapers, TV, radio and internet
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Intention to make an emotional connection to
the customer
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Communicated the brand promise of "relaxing,
restorative maritime experience."
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$400,000 of advertising was placed.
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View all the ads at:
www.DoorCountyVisitorBureau.org/Campaign.htm
Community Branding
After the Door County level strategy
crystallized this winter, our next step was to
work with each of the community business
associations to develop the community brand
strategy. The objectives are to define the
locality's specific strategy to support the
County brand and identify specific local
elements that differentiate that city, town or
village from the other communities in the Door
County family. Participants to date are:
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Sturgeon Bay
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Fish Creek
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Ephraim
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Carlsville
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Sister Bay
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ADMINISTRATION: Sally Everhardus,
Director of Administration
From the Field test on April 23rd onward, the
CTA (Certified Tourism Ambassador) training
sessions have exceeded our expectations and
the mission of the program is to strive to
exceed customer expectations! Our Marketing
and Administrative assistant, Michelle Bailey,
has been key to maintaining the momentum of
this initiative. Stay tuned for additional
training opportunities.
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Original goal was to certify 120 Tourism
Ambassadors in 2009
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Demand has prompted the addition of new
sessions
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Requests exceed the number of spaces
available
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To date we have 188 either certified or
registered for the training
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157% of goal, even before scheduling the
fall sessions
The new phone system is largely debugged and
we are able to track phone traffic in a number
of ways. We apologize for any inconvenience
you may have experienced during this
transition. This system is a VoIP (Voice over
Internet Provider) which will save
approximately 75% on outgoing calls and
somewhat less on incoming calls. Thanks to
our IT Manager, Randy Lewen for this
cost-saving suggestion and implementation. In
the future, we will
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Have the ability to compare call volume from
year to year
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Track surges in call volume following ad
placements
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Track calling by area code
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Know how many people we touch personally
over the course of a year
Direct Lines: Many of our staff members
can now be reached via direct line. View
Staff Directory
Although at this point the information is
experiential rather than statistical, the
Welcome Center has experienced greater
activity in May of 2009, causing us to call in
extra staffing earlier than in prior years to
take care of increased telephone and walk-in
lobby traffic.
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COMMUNICATIONS & PR: Jon Jarosh, Director
of Communications & PR
In May we worked with 22 media outlets to
provide images, information and support
for Door County based articles and
stories. Highlights included WISC-TV CBS
Channel 3 in Madison, WBAY CBS Channel 2
in Green Bay, WFRV ABC Channel 5 in Green
Bay, M Magazine, the Indianapolis Star
(newspaper), Midwest Features Syndicate
and travel journalists from California and
Germany.
Earned media highlights for Door County in
May included USA Today (newspaper),
Houston Chronicle (newspaper), Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel (newspaper), Los Angeles
Times (newspaper), Chicago Tribune
(newspaper); TV stations in Madison,
Milwaukee & Green Bay; Midwest Destination
Guide (magazine), Geico Direct (magazine),
Readers Digest (magazine), Midwest Living
(magazine) and others. Also, view our "In
The Press" page on DoorCounty.com to view
a few selected media stories that Door
County has received.
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MEMBERSHIP:
Phil Berndt, Membership Director
Visitors have discovered the convenience
of the ready-to-print PDF Brochures so
many of you have posted on your InnLine
Page on DoorCounty.com. (If your
brochure was posted last season, please
verify that your time sensitive
information is up-to-date.) New
and updated brochures/flyers can be
e-mailed to Phil Berndt at:
phil@doorcounty.com. Ideally,
your brochure should be distilled for web
use, with file size kept under 500KB.
If you have questions or need help, please
let me know.
Our organization continues to grow
stronger with the addition of 43 new
members added to our ranks since
January 1st - without a single loss of
existing memberships - THANK YOU!
Visit our New Member Page to help
welcome our newest members.
Help spread the word!
For less than $1/day Bureau members
are featured on DoorCounty.com; promoted
through our Welcome Center and invited to
participate in valuable programs and
promotions that strengthen business and
our community. Perhaps you will be
the reason your business neighbors join
our efforts to promote Door County with a
unified voice. Encourage them to
join today!
(Give us a call to request an appointment
at your place of business)
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Door County Visitor Bureau | PO Box 406 | 1015 Green Bay
Road | Sturgeon Bay | WI | 54235
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June 17th, 2009
Door County Visitor Bureau Member
Newsletter
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Dear Members,
We will soon be starting to plan the
2010 Visitor Guide. Each year we
strive to improve the book and make
it more user friendly. By now I am
hopeful that all of you have had a
chance to go through the 2009 guide.
Please
email any ideas you may have on
how to make the guide better. We put
all ideas in a folder and then go
through them at the time we start
planning the next year's book. We
will give every idea serious
consideration.
Best Regards
Jack
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MARKETING & SALES:
Mary Denis, Director of Marketing &
Sales
2009 Spring/Summer Campaign
See updates of new advertising
placements on
www.DoorCountyVisitorBureau.org/Campaign.htm
Festival of Blossoms Update
Over 287 Festival of Blossoms' hotel
packages were sold this spring,
resulting in 574 room nights tied
directly to this 2009 promotion!
Niche Brochures
We have just completed designs for a new
family look for our niche brochures. The
first to be updated is our Lighthouses
of Door County brochure. We have also
redesigned our Bicycle Map. The new map
is expanded to include bicycling and
other silent sports of
Door County. We are
in the process of updating the other
niche brochures to include: Lighthouses,
Watercraft Rentals and Charter Fishing,
Antique Guide, Dining Guide & Fish
Boils, Wineries and Apple/Cherry
Orchards & Farmers Markets. We will be
designing a new brochure for Wedding
Planning. All the brochures will be
available to download in PDF format
online from DoorCounty.com.
Attended TAP
I attended Travel Alliance Partners
annual marketplace from May 31st through
June 4th to represent
Door County to tour
operators. They received a profile on
Door County, an
itinerary built around the Harbor Towns
and an itinerary developed by Circle
Wisconsin around the theme of "Wisconsin
European Style." I had appointments with
30 operators all who also belong to
National Tour Association (NTA). We are
now conduction follow-up mailings.
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ADMINISTRATION:
Sally Everhardus, Director of
Administration
Certified Tourism Ambassador Program
The CTA
(Certified Tourism Ambassador) program
continues to exceed our expectations
with over 220 Ambassadors either
registered or certified. Call Michelle
Bailey at 243.1127 to be placed on a
waiting list for sessions before July
13. The program will resume this fall
and continue over the winter for people
who winter in Door County wishing to
complete the program. Several spring
2010 session will be offered.
Spring Bulb Program
As a
result of the strategic planning,
customer requests and the commitment
made to the Door County USA daffodil,
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Spring Bulb Program is being
reintroduced this year, largely through
the online Insider Tip newsletter. Press
releases will be sent to the Advocate,
Pulse and Washington Island Observer to
promote the program locally. It is our
hope that in the future local business
associations will partner with nearby
nurseries to combine spring bulbs with
long-lived perennials to continue
beautification that enhances the annual
Festival of Blossoms promotions. The
Bureau will provide spring bulbs to the
business associations at cost.
NOTE:
Bulb orders must be received by Carole
Counard on or before June 29th, 2009.
carole@doorcounty.com
or (920) 743-4456 / (800) 527-3529
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COMMUNICATIONS & PR: Jon
Jarosh, Director of Communications &
PR
Media
Through the first half of June,
have worked with 7 media outlets
to provide images, information and
support for Door County based
articles and stories. Highlights
included assisting a journalist
working on multiple stories for
the Chicago Tribune and putting
together a research trip for a
journalist working on a story for
Disney's Family.com.
Earned Media
Earned media highlights for Door
County in the first half of June
included: National Geographic
Traveler (on-line), Minneapolis
Star-Tribune, Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel, Green Bay
Press-Gazette, Stevens Point
Journal, South Florida Sun
Sentinel, WLUK Channel 11, WFRV
Channel 2, WTMJ Channel 4,
Lakeland Boating, Camping Life
Magazine, Readers Digest and
Wisconsin Trails.
Explore The Door
Finished producing and premiered
the 19th episode of Explore The
Door, a video travel show about
Door County. The show's primary
viewing portals are on-line at
DoorCounty.com, on iTunes, on
YouTube and other on-line video
sharing sites. The show can also
be seen on local access cable TV
throughout Door County.
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MEMBERSHIP:
Phil Berndt, Membership Director
Printed Brochures
As we roll into our
high season, please make sure the
Visitor Center has enough of your
printed brochures on hand to get
them through July and August.
Feel free to stop in or call ahead
to find out if your stock needs
replenishing: (920) 734-4456 or
(800) 527-3529 or e-mail Jennifer
Levendusky at:
jennifer@doorcounty.com
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Display racks will accommodate
brochures up to 4" wide and 9"
tall.
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Suggested Quantities:
Retail/Service - 200;
Attraction/Lodging/Restaurant -
500
Visitor Guides
Remember to order your Visitor
Guides NOW for the 4th of July
holiday, (25 per case.)
To order, contact Carole Counard at:
carole@doorcounty.com
or by calling (920) 743-4456 or
(800) 527-3529. Please be sure
Carole has your Business Name, a
Contact Name and Daytime Phone
Number (for driver questions) and
the number of cases you are
requesting.
Gift Certificates
Please remind your staff that
Door County Gift Certificates
should be treated like CASH.
As of November 1st, 2008, all
Door County Gift Certificates
are redeemable for 100% of their
face value. (Even though
the certificates are printed
with a disclosure of "Not
redeemable for cash. No cash
refunds.", you are encouraged to
treat certificates as cash and
refund any remaining difference
in cash to facilitate gratuities
and/or additional purchases.)
Click HERE to see an example
of the Gift
Certificates and/or learn more
about their promotional value to
your business and our community.
More than 800 Strong
Our membership is growing rapidly as
we work to get everyone onboard and
working together to really promote
Door County for all it has to
offer. If you know of anyone we
should contact, please let us know -
we're here to help.
Membership Information available
online at:
www.DoorCountyVisitorBureau.org
or, request a visit - we're happy
to meet with you here, or at your
place of business!
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Door County Visitor Bureau | PO Box 406 | 1015
Green Bay Road | Sturgeon Bay | WI | 54235
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www.doorcountyvisitorbureau.org/home.htm
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