Branding/Tourism Marketing Committee - Initial Meeting Notes

A recap of the Branding/Tourism Marketing Committee breakout session.

1. We debated calling ourselves either the Union City Tourism Association, in deference to our historic town name and with the idea of direclty referencing that history, and the Union Tourism Association, which is more in line with how our town is known today. In the end it was decided that the word City in materials could quite likely create a mistaken impression and is probably best left out, and that this would not limit our ability to reference our history, and ground our branding in that history.
2. We agreed that a primary goal was not just collaboratively devleping visitor marketing materials and a summer event guide, but also strategies and events that will help us extend the season dramatically.
   
3. There were a variety of discussions about potential slogans or tag lines, with there being general agreement about proposing something along the lines of Union: An Unforgettable Destination. See George's valuable feedback about this in his email.
4. We discussed the duality of the markets we wish to reach: both the local (within a 20 minute drive) market, and the day-trip/overnight market, and confirmed our agreement that Seattle and Portland are the primary target areas for those day-trip.overnight folks.
5. We agreed that we needed the following collateral pieces developed, and Matthew agreed to take an initial stab at drafts of these by next Wednesday's meeting.

• Web site
• Entry to Union signage
• Visitor Center signage
• A printed, seasonal Visitor Guide that has a portion at least that is distributable electronically and printer friendly, that incorporates some sort of "passport" section that provides an incentive to visitors to check out multiple businesses and activities while visiting, is educational about the history of Union and perhaps incorporates that history into an activity (like a historical walking tour), and has a flap that allows us to customize the piece with additional inserts/rack cards that will change over a season.
  

Information on Torii

A torii (鳥居 ^?) (IPA: /ˈtɔriˌi/) is a traditional Japanese gate commonly found at the entry to a Shinto shrine, although it can be found at Buddhist temples as well.

The basic structure of a torii is two columns that are topped with a horizontal rail called the kasagi.^[1] Slightly below the top rail is a second horizontal rail called the nuki. Torii are traditionally made from wood and are frequently painted vermilion. When unbarked logs are used for the torii it is called a kuroki, or "black wood" torii.^[1] Today, torii's made of stone, metal or stainless steel can be found as well.

Torii mark the transition from the sacred (the shrine) to the profane (the normal world) (see Sacred-profane dichotomy). Inari shrines typically have many torii. A person who has been successful in business often donates a torii in gratitude. The Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto has thousands of such torii.

More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii

Recap of George's ideas from the meeting

All - I've already posted George Sharp's forward of the information from PPS.

For those not at the meeting, we were joined by George Sharp and Llyn Logan, both of the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development who were valuable contributors and who I very much hope will stay involved in our efforts. George brought a document with some rough initial ideas (which were terrific) to the meeting which afterward, he updated and forwarded on electronically. The updated version is below. MMB.

***
Hi Ned, Suzi and Val,

Nice to meet all of you last night. Great meeting and group of people, and believe me when I say that because I've been to more than 500 in my career in working with communities and organizations.

Please find below an update to the list I handed out last night. I have added information about Filming in Washington, our Tourism Office and suggestion for Weathervanes. Please share with the group and let me or Lynn know if you have any questions. We will try to answer them or find the right people to assist you.
Also-please meet Tammy Guill from our tourism office via this email. She is our International and Domestic Travel Trade Manager and can share with you ideas about International Travelers and Group Tour Business.

Thanks,
George

• Public Relations-Media, choose major daily-weekly-monthly publications and invite travel writers to your area and provide them with real life experience their readers can do. Also contact radio stations and offer items for contest and invite them to experience the area. Take them Oysters, food, examples of what people can experience. KMPS, etc… Watch for Trips on a Tank Full, Staycation ideas, etc…
• King 5-Evening News Best of Western Washington and Northwest Escapes Contest Complete by April 13, 2009 http://best.king5.com/contests/northwest-escapes/4261
• Friends and Family promotion-design a promotion for friends and family of the area to invite their friends and family to join them this travel season. Give them top 10 ideas for them to entertain their friends and family. Provide them with a post card and e-card for them to send to their friends and family. Create a loyalty and reward program for every referral they get you.
• Create several mini-festivals- and events around holidays and themes:
• Girls Trip, Guys Trip, Rest and Relaxation, Native American History, Get in Touch with Nature, Turn over the rocks and see the wildlife, Robin Hood, Music and Arts, Lunch and Learn Topics with area experts where visitors can have lunch and learn about the area, history, etc.
• Reader boards/billboards- Welcome, specials, themes, ask us about…, come back soon. Use them to make visitors fill welcome and to markets specials of the week. Try a clever saying one week and then a special the next week.
• Top 10 things to do Rack Card- shows ideas one side and map on other side. Tie this into the loyalty idea and have people get a stamp at each location and then turn in for a prize.
• Listen to NPR- and figure out how to tell your story in that format.
• Cleanest Restroom- in… Washington, America. http://www.bestrestroom.com/ Note deadline is March 31, 2009 for 2009 Awards. You still have time to create one and enter.
• Geocaching-http://www.geocaching.com/ Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment. Tie to find the item…floating balls, artwork, chainsaw carving, what is unique to Union?
• Advertise-discuss what works and do joint advertisement or agree who will advertise where to spread money out to reach more audiences. Comcast.com, travel sections of publications, Sunset.
• Direct Mail-target audience and income level who comes here now, where are they from…
• Websites- linked together and also find travel sites you should be listed on. Consider Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
• Monthly enter to win experience contest-change each month the prizes to showcase what you have to offer. Market it to all the above. Place in all establishments and get people to sign up via email so you can market to them on a monthly basis.
• Make Mini-Visitor Information Centers- at key locations that are open 7 days a week and sign them as such: Visitor Information Available Here. Train the staff to answer questions and have binder of info. Create a mini visitor information center board that can hold brochures and be taken to area events.
• Film information: http://www.washingtonfilmworks.org/
• State Tourism Office information- www.experiencewa.com/industry
• Weathervanes and Whirligigs- Google Weathervanes to see history, locate a Washington state supplier or a wholesaler etc…
• I think this could become a business for someone in Union or a fundraiser for your startup group, work with a wholesaler to order them and sell them from an existing business or non-profit. I would suggest that your group should consider putting your money in this before the flower baskets as it will set Union apart from everywhere else that has baskets and they are also year round attraction. Where you plan to put a flower basket up consider putting a weathervane up instead. Start with weathervanes that are attractions you already have: Sailing, Golfing, Wildlife, Robin Hood, Ice Cream Cone, etc. I think that if you do this project that visitors will also want to purchase weathervanes to take back home. I think that this could also be one of your first give a ways if you do a monthly contest. I really think this is a fun and fund project that will set Union apart from many other areas, create media attention and attract many Saturday and Sunday year round drivers to experience the Union Weathervane Trail. You could also check Guinness Book of work records and become the Weathervane Capital of the Northwest or the world. It would be great if you could encourage local artist to consider this project and engage with you to make money for them and your group. With Weathervanes theme you could also expand to Whirligigs and have classes and workshops where people could learn to make their own Whirligigs or purchase kits to take back home and assemble.

Additional Information from George Sharp

All - George sent this along today and it looks to be a great additional resource for idea generating. The information is from: Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public places that build communities. We provide technical assistance, training, research and other services. Since our founding in 1975, we have worked in over 1,500 communities in the United States and around the world, helping people turn their public spaces into vital community places. MMB.

***
How to Turn a Place Around - Placemaking and the Power of 10

"Placemaking" is an overarching idea and a hands-on tool for improving a neighborhood, city, or region. It has the potential to be one of the most transformative ideas of this century.
-Metropolitan Planning Council, Chicago, IL

We are currently experiencing what many of us believe will be the most significant change in our lifetimes. As our carefree, decades-long splurge becomes a distant memory, people everywhere are looking for ways to avoid meltdown and move forward in a time of increasing uncertainty.

At the same time, we at PPS see an enormous opportunity to reset the way things are done, to replace the old paradigm with one that is not so much about the individual as it is about the community, places, who we are, and what we are about. Looking back over the past few decades, development has been largely focused on shopping destinations like malls, strip centers and lifestyle centers. As a result, we failed to create the major public destinations that define cities and communities.

As we regroup around this new agenda, we have evolved the theme of our biannual "How to Turn a Place Around" training to Placemaking and the Power of 10. We have added many topics to the upcoming course that expand the agenda to encompass entire communities, cities and regions.

Topics which we will cover in more depth in April include:

• The idea of Placemaking and the Power of 10
• Creating New Types of Public Destinations - Qualities of these types of destinations, best and worst case studies, tools and techniques
• Community Process - How to effectively engage the community in the planning process
• Implementing Public Destinations - Case studies, including Campus Martius in Detroit and Discovery Green in Houston
• Developing Campaigns - Working with leadership, grassroots and public agencies to affect change in communities
• How Placemaking can be applied to cross-cutting issues such as sustainability, health, diversity, and livability
• Building community through:
• Local Economies and Markets - creating new and innovative models for public markets that are economically sustainable and attract a broad diversity of people
• Community Anchors - how to develop libraries, museums, schools, civic and cultural centers as community gathering places
• Transportation - Streets as Places and Thinking Beyond the Station, how streets can contribute to better communities

The April "How to Turn a Place Around" training is almost full--register now to secure your space! For other trainings in your area, check the events section of our blog at http://blog.pps.org, or schedule a tailored training for your community by contacting Dana Kitzes at dkitzes@pps.org.

Opening Post - Meeting Notes from 03.18.09

All,

Welcome to the VisitUnion blog - a place for us to post meeting notes, links to online resources, and share documents that will facilitate our collaboration. Additionally, I've registered the domain visitunion.com for us and set-up hosting for a web site under that URL - as I mentioned all for free.

Over the course of the weekend and the run-up to next Thursday's meeting, I'll be emailing you all some additional thoughts about what we discussed Wednesday night - as I hope you all will be as well. In the meantime, the below aren't exactly minutes per se, but some lists that I took down in the meeting of some critical items. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you all Thursday from 9am-1PM at Bonnie's beautiful place.

Collateral Marketing Materials that were mentioned:
- Monthly or quarterly events newsletter or flyer
- Postcards to help others introduce friend and family to Union
- Rack cards for each of us (and one would assume, racks themselves)
- Visitor Information Center info books/binders
- Passport/Visitor Guide (which I would design I think so that our RackCards could be stuffed into them as inserts, per George's suggestion)

We seemd in agreement on the development of:
- A web site to serve as a central clearing house for potential visitors and a universal call to action on collaborative marketing (as in, for more information, go to www.visitunion.com)
- Welcome signage at all town entrances, as well as visitor information signage at info stops throughout town - the initial list of which included: The Cameo, the Resort, the Alderbrook Country Store, the Marina, Robin Hood Village and Hunter Farms.
- A coordinated PR Campaign that would target the travel & lifestyle sections of Dailies, specific long-lead glossy magazines, and specific Broadcast including NPR and Northwest Magazine.

Events we discussed as possibilities included:
- Various contests
- The weathervane promotion
- A potential Kayak festival with collateral cycling and running events
- A Cook-off of some sort
- A potential collaboration/partnership with the car clubs that use the stretch throughout the summer (particualrly the Yesteryear club to which Lynn is affiliated)
- Arts/historical/musical mini-festivals
- A tour of homes
- A potential rename and relaunch of Union Days

Action items:
- We all seemed agreed that we wanted to collaborate with the Chamber on getting flower baskets up. Given her past experience, I'm wondering if we could ask Bonnie to drive this task? Bonnie?;
- Linda Helms, Valerie Wagner and Suzie Strugar all expressed interest in attending the Tribal Tourism gathering, May 4 & 5;
- Matthew will be touching base with Tom Strong with the Skokomish Tribe, and Leslie Johnson of the Squazin Tribe, to let them know our plans and invite their involvement; Linda Helms will do the same with Roslyn Reed of the Skokomish Tribe;