Updates from the Catalina Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau indicate they will be “ringing in the New Year” with new marketing programs designed to build on recent successes.
According to the Chamber, this year’s goal is to “drive overnight visitation to Catalina Island midweek and weekends during time periods having ample lodging availability.”
In short, the Chamber says their marketing campaign will drive consumer visitation during peak periods, which are generally spring and fall.
For the early year, the Chamber intends to “place strategic media and effective messaging to generate overnight visitation from our identified consumer personas during February – May.”
Included in the targeting will be Valentine’s Day romance packages, families traveling for spring break, millennials traveling for spring break, outdoor enthusiasts, and artsy cultural travelers that fit into the targeted demographic profiles.
Digital media will absorb a large chunk of the budget, says the Chamber, adding that digital is a measurable and effective format. Magazine and print ads will be utilized as well, “given relevant editorial content” and cost efficiency, notes the Chamber.
Interestingly, the digital campaign will also keep an eye on the weather as the Chamber says it will “promote visitation when the weather is most pleasant on Catalina Island.”
As part of the digital campaign, the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau will continue sponsor TripAdvisor and manage content on their Avalon, Two Harbors and Catalina Island destination pages.
New this year, the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau will include “Catalina Island” and similar destination search terms as part of a national paid search campaign scheduled to begin in mid-March, according to the update. Social media channels are on the rise, as communities of followers continue to build on the Facebook and Instagram pages of the “Catalina Chamber.”
The recently unveiled “Ask Lina” feature will continue, as queries will be addressed in both English and Spanish. The chamber says the Catalinachamber.com call-to-action feature is now generating more than one million hits per year.
Seeking to attract more groups and events to Catalina, the Chamber has announced a cooperative marketing plan wherein group leaders can choose benefits to their groups at gold, silver and bronze levels, all commiserate with a level of benefit.
The Chamber says this will be the third year of a cooperative marketing program which is designed to generate overnight business within the group market segment and includes business in the following categories; corporate, association, medical, incentive, social, educational, religious and tour & travel.
The cooperative program is structured to leverage local businesses marketing funds with those of the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau’s. The 2018 cooperative financial goal is $60,000.
