2015 Marketing & Media Effectiveness Study Prepared by
Project Overview PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to measure the incremental impact Tri- County Lodging Association’s Marketing Campaign had upon area visitation and spending, as well as to calculate the campaign’s ROI. H2R Market Research conducted this research using an online survey and a professionally managed third-party email panel of the general population which was screened for travelers and decision makers. TARGET AUDIENCE The Tri- County Lodging Association’s 2015 Marketing & Media Effectiveness Study was conducted among leisure travelers living in Kansas City, St. Louis, Des Moines, Columbia, Springfield, Omaha, and Central/Southern Illinois. The research was conducted in October (the same as in the past) to provide an accurate and contextual measurement of the marketing ROI. SAMPLE A total of 1,204 respondents were interviewed in this study. This sample size provides for a maximum margin of error of +/-2.8% at a 95% confidence interval overall. 2
Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Pages 4-11 01 02 03 04 05 Marketing Efficiency Incremental Impact Advertising Lake of the Ozarks Competitive Evaluation Traveler Profile Landscape Pages 12-20 Pages 21-27 Pages 28-36 Pages 37-46 Pages 47-52 + Aided Paid Media + Incremental Travel + Ratings of Creative Appeal + Top of Mind Awareness + Opinion of Destinations Awareness + Incremental Trips + Impact on Consumer + Activity Participation & + Intent to Visit Destinations + Marketing & Media Reach Behavior Functional Drivers + Incremental Travel Spending + Destination Differentiators + Marketing Efficiency + Marketing Messages’ + Overnight Visitation + Incremental Impact of Ad + Other Advertising & PR Impact on Intent to Visit + Cost Per Household Campaign + Visitor Satisfaction Awareness + Sources Subscribed to in + Return on Investment (ROI) + Net Promoter Score Past 3 Months + Incremental Room Nights + Visitors’ Demographic Profile 3
Executive Summary
Marketing Efficiency ▪ Overall awareness of the Tri-County Lodging Association’s 2015 Marketing Campaign was strong at 40% overall, and 34% for print media alone. Awareness for print media held steady with 2014, and overall awareness was much better than the H2R Industry Norm* (29%). ▪ Extrapolated across the population of traveler households, overall awareness reached approximately 1.3 million aware traveler households in the target markets, 1.1 million of which had seen only the print advertising. ▪ The Tri-County Lodging Association invested $289k in the traditional media evaluated in this study (Print, Radio, Television, Vacation Planner and Billboard Advertising). Given the total market reach of 1.3 million, the average cost per aware traveler household was excellent at $0.21 — considered very efficient by industry standards. Print media also generated a cost per aware household of $0.12 — similar to 2014. *Paid Media Norm for destinations with marketing budgets <$500,000. 5 5
Incremental Impact ▪ The 2015 marketing campaign produced incremental visitation of 4.1%, on par with the H2R Industry Norm of 4.7% incremental visitation for similar destinations. ▪ Extrapolated across aware households, incremental visitation accounted for more than 46k additional trips to the area, resulting in more than $36 million in incremental travel revenue that would not have been generated for Lake of the Ozarks this year had the campaign not occurred. ▪ Given direct ad expenditures totaling more than $289k, Tri- County Lodging Association’s (TCLA) 2015 marketing campaign generated an ROI of $198. Print media by itself generated an ROI of $267, up slightly over last year’s $252 ROI. ▪ TCLA commissioned this study because of their desire to make research-based marketing decisions. This is no longer a MDT requirement. However, had it been, MDT’s adjusted ROI* would have been projected at $121. *See appendix 6 6
Advertising Evaluation ▪ Travelers found the Tri- County Lodging Association’s advertisements appealing with 64% of overall respondents rating the ads positively. Additionally, two- thirds (66%) of travelers felt the advertisements made Lake of the Ozarks seem more appealing. Both of these metrics were 9 points higher than the H2R Industry Norm. ▪ The primary messages taken away from the advertisements were that they make the area seem like a great outdoors destination (83%) and a great place to relax and unwind (82%). ▪ The ads also inspired action. They encouraged 56% of travelers to search online for information and 53% to visit the official Lake of the Ozarks website — both increases over 2014 levels. Most importantly, the ads generated a positive lift in intent to visit the area in the next 12 months (+8%) — higher than the H2R Industry Norm for lift (+6%). 7 7
Lake of the Ozarks Visitors ▪ The top activities that Lake of the Ozarks’ visitors indicated they visited or participated in this year were shopping (49%) and outdoor activities such as boating (41%), fishing (27%) and visiting a state park (23%). ▪ The area’s primary functional drivers (activities that motivated the visit) continue to be the activities most participated in and used in Lake of the Ozarks’ ads. Shopping (30%), Boating (22%) and Fishing (17%) dominate the top 3 spots. ▪ Most of Lake of the Ozarks’ satisfaction metrics stayed on par with 2014; however, slight declines drove overall satisfaction down slighlty (-0.09). The variety of outdoor activities earned the highest satisfaction ratings overall (4.20). ▪ After dipping slightly in 2014, the Net Promoter Score for Lake of the Ozarks rebounded in 2015 to 46%. An increase of Promoters gained from the neutral category fueled this increase. Very few (3%) of those who indicated they would not promote the area indicated they would actually detract from it. 8 8
Key Takeaways ▪ Print advertising continues to be a primary driver of visitation for Lake of the Ozarks . However, all traditional media as a whole was successful. The new digital billboards in the Kansas City market generated a 27% awareness in their first year — comparable to the H2R Industry Norm of 29% awareness for any one ad. While it takes time to generate traction, this year’s performance indicates this medium may have promise. ▪ Additionally, the messages and images in the advertising resonated with travelers. The activities featured in the ads are the ones that drive most travelers to visit the area. Continuing to market to this same audience helps to not only drive visitation, but also appears to strengthen Lake of the Ozarks’ brand. ▪ Finally, visitors are more likely than ever to promote the Lake of the Ozarks area to their friends and family. Leveraging visitors who promote Lake of the Ozarks organically is important in growing visitation in the future. According to Stan Phelps* customers generated through word of mouth have lifetime values worth four times more than customers generated through any other type of advertising. Lake of the Ozarks should consider ways to proactively identify brand promoters and provide them with the information and resources necessary to help them promote others to visit (e.g., insider info for Facebook Fans and newsletter subscribers, etc.). 9 *Author of Find Your Purple Goldfish 9
Tri- County Lodging Association’s 2015 PRINT Marketing Campaign Key Performance Indicator Trends LOTO Key Performance 2015 2014 2013 Historical Indicator Average* Tri- County Lodging Association’s 2015 Travel Households 3.4M 4.2M 4.2M 3.9M Print Marketing Campaign generated an ROI of $267, a 6% increase in return over Aided Awareness 34% 34% 26% 31% 2014. Aware Households 1.1M 1.4M 1.1M 1.2M Several mediums were used in the Tri-County Increment +4.1% +3.8% +3.7% +3.9% Lodging Association’s marketing campaign in 2015. However, the print campaign provides Incremental Trips 46.9k 54.3k 40.9k 47.4k the best contextual comparison because it has been the only medium measured over time — Incremental Revenue $36.6M $44.9M $35.3M $38.9M which is why we have focused on it here. Media Investment $137k $199k $176k $164k Please note that the cost per aware travel Cost/Aware Household $0.12 $0.12 $0.16 $0.14 household for the print media has continued to decrease in recent years. Return on Investment $267 $252 $201 $240 *The Historical Average for Lake of the Ozarks has been developed from Marketing & Media Effectiveness Studies 10 conducted for the Tri-County Lodging Association over the past 3 years.
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