Advertising & Promotion
Our advertising and promotions campaign continued to follow the marketing and media plan outlined for FY19, which included advertising allocated across multiple channels for each of the brands. In October, Live! Hotel & Casino launched a major campaign in Richmond, Virginia promoting the opening of the hotel and entertainment center. We supported this campaign with a Hotels at BWI branded campaign which helped to promote all the ways to Experience BWI. This opportunity was then leveraged across the brands' creative assets and website.
During the holiday season, we launched a multi-channel campaign that promoted visiting Annapolis & Anne Arundel County during certain months. The campaign “Make Your Holidays Magical in Annapolis” helped to drive 30,613 people to the site through a campaign that utilized print, digital, social, and email marketing. The campaign highlighted all the events going on throughout the season and encouraged visitors to book a trip and enjoy shopping, dining, and activities during December.
Website Traffic:
Year Over Year website sessions on our branded websites.
Oct - Dec 2017 | Oct - Dec 2018 | YTD FY 18 | YTD FY 19 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
VisitAnnapolis.org | 151,418 | 195,565 | 374,703 | 407,884 |
TheHotelsatBWI.com | 18,443 | 116,039 | 31,700 | 260,414 |
WeddingsinAnnapolis.com | 6,168 | 20,467 | 13,187 | 33,731 |
AnnapolisDiscovered.com | 22,582 | 28,086 | 44,171 | 47,416 |
MeetinAnnapolis.com | 3,288 | 2,568 | 6,370 | 5,903 |
All Sites | 201,899 | 362,725 | 463,761 | 755,348 |
October - December 2017 vs. 2018 | YTD - FY 18 vs. FY 19 | |
---|---|---|
Variance | +79% | +63% |
Event Promotions:
Top 4 events viewed on Visit Annapolis during the 2nd quarter:
Event | Month | Sessions |
---|---|---|
Renaissance Festival | Aug - Oct | 9,926 |
U.S. Powerboat Show | October | 7,591 |
U.S. Sailboat Show | October | 8,829 |
Holiday Events | December | 11,158 |
Group Sales
Industry Events Included:
- October 1-4 – TEAMS 18, Louisville, KY
- October 28-31 – Your Military Reunion Connection, Virginia Beach, VA
Sales Activities/Site Visits/Sales Calls:
VAAAC BWI/Arundel Mills Meeting Planner FAM | VAAAC 6th Annual Military Bowl Client Appreciation Event | The National Business Officers Association | Woodbury Travel | Events by Lexi | Adriana Marie Events | 2hand Studio | Society of Government Meeting Planners
Group Sales Assists:
2 sports groups, 6 wedding/social, 3 tour and travel, 2 reunion, 8 conferences and arranged 1 CRUSA itinerary
Oct - Dec 2017 | Oct - Dec 2018 | YTD FY 18 | YTD FY 19 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rooms | 10,348 | 6,266 | 37,536 | 38,070 |
October - December 2017 vs. 2018 | YTD - FY 18 vs. FY 19 | |
---|---|---|
Variance | -39% | +1.4% |
*Total number of rooms confirmed include new and existing future bookings (carried over) *On track to meet year end goal
Public Relations & Communications
Worked with the Maryland Office of Tourism Development to host 13 Korean tour and receptive operators. (October 21st-22nd)
Hosted five press trips:
- October 27th-28th– Damien Guillou, French Journalist, Les Grands Ducs
- November 3rd– Jody Arneson, Mid-Atlantic Day Trips
- November 4th-6th– Larry Kushner, China’s Tourism World Magazine
- December 10th-11th– Zarah Burstein and Sallie Taylor, Modern Luxury DC
- December 12th-14th– Reikelt Pasterkamp, Dutch Journalist, Reformatorisch Dagblad and Nederlands Dagblad
Assisted an additional 26 journalists and media outlets, including representatives from: AAA World Magazine | Travel & Leisure | Susan Moynihan, Freelancer for AirBnB Magazine | Drive I-95 | Washington Times | Group Tour Magazine | Sports Events Magazine | Baltimore Sun/Capital Gazette | Bethesda and Arlington Magazines | Capital News Service | Eye on Annapolis | Annapolis Patch
Disseminated “14 Ways to Celebrate a Magical Holiday Season” news release (October 22nd)
YTD FY 18 | YTD FY 19 | Variance | |
---|---|---|---|
Total Mentions | 1,000 | 615 | -38.50% |
Total Reach | 5.7 M | 24.1 K | -99.6% |
UVPM | 2.7 B | 396.7 M | -85.3% |
Publicity Value | $2.23M | $149 K | -93.3% |
Influencer Press Trips
- October 19 - 21 - Hosted six Macro / Micro Influencers for a weekend to #ExperienceBWI
- Influencers: James Loving (international travel photographer), Melanie Suthrada (tastemaker from New York City), Alicia Chew (lifestyle influencer), Eileen Melon (Richmond Magazine food editor), Kelli Lemon (Richmond morning DJ), and Tom McGovern (published NYC/DC food photographer).
- Through social sharing, repurposing of content, blogs, Instagram/Instastories nearly 700,000 impressions and a 2.17% engagement for #ExperienceBWI
*Influencer Trips organized by Moxe Marketing
Social Media Community
Social Media Community for Visit Annapolis, Weddings In Annapolis, and Annapolis Discovered.
YTD FY 18 | YTD FY 19 | |
---|---|---|
97,615 | 99,864 | |
12,887 | 19,274 | |
10,450 | 10,847 | |
0 | 4,400 | |
All Sites | 120,952 | 134,385 |
Partnerships
- Provided Education on New Partnership Program
- Attended Destination International Membership Summit
- New Office Hours Program Implemented
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- Held for 90 minutes every other Friday. Former, current and prospective partners can go to the Visitors Center, no appointment necessary, to discuss the program. They can receive extranet training and learn how their business can fit into the VAAAC brands.
- Hosted Monthly Organizational Meetings for Partners
- Hired a Partnership Coordinator
YTD* 2019 | |
---|---|
Net Sales | $13,250 |
Orders Placed | 41 |
Products Purchased | 69 |
*New program this Fiscal Year.
Visitor Services
- Developed an off-season educational program with Historic Annapolis, to include monthly FAM tours and Lectures
- Implemented Volunteer Scheduling Software for 100 end-users
- Installed Hi-tech People Counting Solution in Visitors Center
Visitor Count
Oct - Dec 2017 | Oct - Dec 2018 | YTD FY 18 | YTD FY 19 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Visitors | 27,339 | 27,114 | 105,223 | 91,759 |
October - December 2017 vs. 2018 | YTD - FY 18 vs. FY 19 | |
---|---|---|
Variance | -0.08% | -12% |
Brochure Fulfillment
Oct - Dec 2017 | Oct - Dec 2018 | YTD FY 18 | YTD FY 19 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brochures | 4,675 | 5,890 | 23,497 | 19,176 |
October - December 2017 vs. 2018 | YTD - FY 18 vs. FY 19 | |
---|---|---|
Variance | +26% | -18% |