HomeMy WebLinkAboutPACKET Town Board Study Session 2012-10-09* Revised
NOTE: The Town Board reserves the right to consider other appropriate items not available at the time the
agenda was prepared.
STUDY SESSION
TOWN BOARD
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
4:30 p.m.
Rooms 202/203
170 MacGregor Ave.
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Baja Franchise Agreement.
Visit Estes Park (LMD) 2013 Operating Plan.
Email Retention.
Future Agenda Items.
6:30 p.m. Meeting Adjourn – Prepare for Board Meeting.
River Oaks Communications Corporation
Colorado Springs Office:
3 South Tejon, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903
Telephone: (719) 477-6850
Fax: (719) 477-0818
E-Mail: tduchen@rivoaks.com
Denver Office:
6860 South Yosemite Court, Suite 2000
Centennial, Colorado 80112
Telephone: (303) 721-0653
Fax: (303) 721-1746
E-Mail: bduchen@rivoaks.com
AGENDA FOR OCTOBER 9, 2012
STUDY SESSION
WITH THE TOWN BOARD
The following are matters to be discussed with the Town of Estes Park (“Town”) Board
and River Oaks Communications Corporation (“River Oaks”). These are in conjunction with the
development of a Cable Television Agreement and Pole License Agreement with Baja
Broadband Operating Company, LLC (“Baja”). In order to facilitate the discussion, several
matters are listed in outline form below. River Oaks, which is based in Denver and Colorado
Springs, has worked with numerous jurisdictions in Colorado and has represented Larimer
County for many years in the drafting and negotiation processes, including work with Baja.
Cable Television Franchise Agreement
• Existing Cable Television Permit Agreement entered into in 1993.
• Baja is Upgrading its System with respect to video, voice and data.
• The new Draft of the Cable Television Agreement is about 58 pages long and contains
numerous legal and business related matters.
• Federal laws, FCC Regulations and State laws all come into play including the Cable
Communications Policy Act of 1984, the Cable Consumer Protection and Competition
Act of 1992 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
• The Franchise Fee should be 5% of Gross Revenues with an expansive definition of
Cable Service Gross Revenues. Baja will be required to provide Quarterly Fee Reports
and payments.
• Customer Service Standards are included as part of the Agreement.
• Numerous provisions are included with respect to Right-of-Way Management. These
impact areas such as Construction, Restoration of Rights-of-Way, Maintenance and
Workmanship, Undergrounding, Responsibility for Work of Contractors and
Subcontractors and several other matters.
• The Term of the Agreement was discussed between Baja and the Town. The Term is
done in conjunction with the overall Agreement.
• Complimentary Cable Service is to be provided to the Town Buildings and Schools.
• The Town will have its own Channel for Governmental Access Programming. The
subjects of Return Lines, Access Channel identification, PEG Grants and PEG Fees
(although Baja is concerned about increased costs) need to be discussed as well.
• Protections will be included for the Town with respect to remedying Agreement
violations, Indemnification, Insurance and Bonding requirements.
• Technical Performance, Inspection of Construction and Cable System Performance
Testing are included.
• Density and Line Extension requirements are included in the Agreement.
• Numerous other substantive and procedural matters are included in the Agreement.
Pole License Agreement
• Discuss previous Pole Agreement.
• Address the rates which are being charged by the Town to Baja ($3.00 per pole) and
CenturyLink (about $10.00 per pole).
• Discuss Colorado Law regarding Pole Attachments and FCC Regulations.
• Upon the recommendation of River Oaks, the Town has retained Local Government
Services, LLC to assist the Town to determine rates using the FCC Formulas.
• River Oaks has contacted numerous jurisdictions in Colorado to ascertain the varying
amounts which are charged for Pole Attachment Fees. These numbers vary dramatically
and will be discussed with the Town Board.
• River Oaks has prepared a draft of a Pole License Agreement for review by Baja. The
Agreement is about 22 pages in length and contains numerous substantive matters. The
draft of the Pole License Agreement is being reviewed with Frank, Greg and Reuben.
• Baja is concerned about an increase above the $3.00 per pole rate, per year as well as the
impact a Town rate increase might have on Baja’s pole fees with CenturyLink.
• Some of the substantive areas in the Pole License Agreement include the Term, No
Property Rights in Poles, License Not Exclusive, Rates and Charges, Application
Process, Engineering, Design Documents, Town Oversight, Make-Ready Construction,
Construction by the Town, Construction by Licensee, Clearances, Tagging, Customer
Interaction, Liability and Indemnity Provisions, Insurance and several other matters.
River Oaks looks forward to discussing these and other matters with the Town Board.
Estes Park Local Marketing District: Visit Estes Park
2013 Operating Plan
September 24, 2012
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Introduction
While the Estes Park Local Marketing District (LMD) is still the legal entity under which the 2%
lodging tax is submitted, in January, 2012, we changed our DBA name to the more user-friendly
‘Visit Estes Park’. An increasing number of official Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO’s)
have adopted the name ‘Visit’ preceding their destination, making the shift a natural move
toward this emerging industry standard. As a result, the organization will sometimes be referred
to as Visit Estes Park throughout this document, but the two names are essentially
interchangeable. As this 2013 Operating Plan will outline, the Visit Estes Park Board of
Directors and staff have again made significant progress in 2012, and we are planning for
continued success in 2013.
The Local Marketing District (LMD) Model
According to Colorado State Statute, the Local Marketing District may provide any of the
following services within the district:
Organization, promotion, marketing, and management of public events;
Activities in support of business recruitment, management, and development;
Coordinating tourism promotion activities.
(II) No revenue collected from the marketing and promotion tax levied under section 29-
25-112 may be used for any capital expenditures, with the exception of tourist
information centers.
(f) To have the management, control, and supervision of all the business and affairs of
the district and of the operation of district services therein;
(g) To appoint an advisory board of owners of property within the boundaries of the
district and provide for the duties and functions thereof;
(h) To hire employees or retain agents, engineers, consultants, attorneys, and
accountants;
(i) To adopt and amend bylaws not in conflict with the constitution and laws of the state
or with the ordinances of the local government affected for carrying on the business,
objectives, and affairs of the board and of the district; and
(j) To exercise all rights and powers necessary or incidental to or implied from the
specific powers granted in this article. Such specific powers shall not be considered as a
limitation upon any power necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and intent
of this article.
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Visit Estes Park (LMD) Organizational Structure
Key Players
Visit Estes Park Board of Directors
Visit Estes Park Staff
Town of Estes Park Government Officials
Town of Estes Park Staff
Larimer County Officials
Rocky Mountain National Park Leadership
Community Stakeholders
Organization
The formation of the Local Marketing District and the 2% lodging tax were approved by District
voters in November 2008 and lodging tax collections went into effect on January 1, 2009.
Staffing and operations began in January 2010. The Visit Estes Park Board focuses direction
directly to the President & CEO of the Visit Estes Park staff. All Visit Estes Park Board direction
will be focused through the President & CEO, other than ordinary involvement in committees, in
order to keep reporting direct and focused without confusion. We believe this is very important
to keep individual agendas from getting involved in the direct line of reporting and direction that
could cause confusion. Any necessary communication and direction to be given to the President
& CEO during periods between Board meetings will be handled by the Visit Estes Park Chair
with a follow-up summary to the entire Board. In the absence or incapacitation of the Chair, this
responsibility will be handled by the Vice Chair.
Visit Estes Park (LMD) Board of Directors
Kathy Palmeri, Chair
Bill Almond, Vice Chair, YMCA of the Rockies
Scott Webermeier, Secretary/Treasurer – National Park Village
Lindsay Lamson – Rocky Mountain Resorts
Lee Lasson – Front Desk Consulting
Lynette Lott – Valhalla Resort
Chris Wood – McGregor Mountain Lodge
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Visit Estes Park (LMD) Staff
Peggy Campbell - President & CEO
Suzy Blackhurst - Operations & Finance
Brooke Burnham - Public Relations, Communications, & Social Media
Peter Marsh - Advertising
Janice Mason - Group Sales & Services
Kirby Nelson - Stakeholder Relations, Sales & Services
Mike Oline - Administrative Assistant
Visit Estes Park Mission, Vision, Core Values
Mission: Attract visitors to the District through effective and efficient marketing in order to drive
year-round economic growth.
Vision: To be a year-round tourism and group destination that supports our healthy mountain
community with a balance of financial success, memorable experiences for visitors and quality
of life for our residents and employees.
Core Values:
Accountable
Ethical
Proactive
Respectful
Responsive
Transparent
2012 Operating Highlights
As planned, in January 2012, Visit Estes Park became an independent Destination Marketing
Organization, complete with the new name of Visit Estes Park. Due to office space limitations,
we moved our offices from the Estes Park Visitor Center to 1200 Graves Ave. With the move
came a new address, new phone number, new email addresses, and our own independent IT
infrastructure. In addition, we created and implemented our own Employee Handbook/HR
policies and our own separate PERA (Public Employees Retirement Account) and payroll
processing service. This resulted in our own brand identity and independence from the Town of
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Estes Park. Visit Estes Park staff, through an IGA with the Town of Estes Park, continues to
participate in Town benefits, for which we pay 3% administration fee. Visit Estes Park continues
to enjoy an excellent partnership with the Town of Estes Park.
In 2011, the Town of Estes Park, recognizing the importance of tourism to the local economy
and Town sales tax revenue, committed to an investment of $85,000 to support Visit Estes Park
marketing efforts in 2012. This investment enhanced Visit Estes Park’s ability to provide
exceptional destination marketing services, which in turn directly affects the Town’s sales tax
collections. The Town of Estes Park 2013 marketing investment in support of Visit Estes Park
efforts has not been determined as of this writing.
On July 10th, the Visit Estes Park Board approved an additional $75,000 in immediate summer
advertising in response to the loss in business due to the Estes Park structural fire and the
Colorado wildfires. The Board determined that the additional funding would come out of the
emergency reserve fund balance, thereby reducing the emergency reserve from $500,000 to
$425,000. Visit Estes Park staff worked with advertising agency Hill Aevium to put together a
thoughtful advertising campaign to supplement campaigns already in place. The campaigns
focused both on our in-state markets and our out-of state markets. (See 2012 Marketing
Highlights beginning on page six for details).
An add-to-staff was approved by the Visit Estes Park Board of Directors in April, and as a result,
a new employee was added to staff on August 27, 2012. In addition, a temporary person,
managing Visit Estes Park’s group sales and services efforts was converted to a full time
employee, bringing the total number of employees to seven. The President & CEO continues to
report directly to the Visit Estes Park Board and directs the staff.
In September 2012, an IGA between the LMD and Larimer County was developed. The
‘Agreement for Distribution of Payment Between Larimer County, Colorado and Estes Park
Local Marketing District’ will result in payments by the County to the District. The IGA was
formed because the parties disagree as to whether the LMD lodging tax is applicable to the
County for use of camping and cabin accommodations located within Hermit Park Open Space.
Both parties desire to amicably resolve those differences through a Payment in Lieu of Taxes
(“PILT”). The County will pay the Estes Park LMD two percent (2.0%) of all camping and cabin
rental fees and charges collected from accommodation users of Larimer County’s Hermit Park
Open Space. Payments to the Local Marketing District will begin for the cycle of September 1,
2012 – December 31, 2012.
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In 2012, Visit Estes Park again earned a clean financial audit (for the year 2011) from
independent auditors, Swanhorst & Co, LLC.
In 2012, we produced the 2011 Visit Estes Park Annual Report which was completely
redesigned to include brand new photography, a new format, new creative look and feel, and
more interesting and relevant information for our stakeholders.
The Visit Estes Park Board of Directors and staff truly appreciates our strong working
partnership with the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County and Rocky Mountain National Park.
2012 Marketing Highlights
2012 has been a year of challenges and successes for Estes Park and all destinations in
Colorado. The catastrophic Colorado wildfires over the summer garnered much unwanted
national and international news recognition. These fires coupled with severe statewide drought
conditions caused a ban on open fires including most fireworks throughout the state. When
Estes Park’s popular Fourth of July Fireworks display was cancelled, Visit Estes Park took a
proactive approach to the situation working closely with the business community to gather
factual visitor information and engage the community with new promotional efforts. As
mentioned, additional promotional emergency reserve funds were allocated and a special
promotion for the 4th of July, called ‘Red, White & Cool’ was initiated. A great example of
partnership with the Town of Estes Park, the Town took the lead on the new event at the
Fairgrounds, and Visit Estes Park took on quickly rolling out a thoughtful advertising campaign
for the Red, White & Cool event. Advertising included online banner ads on Denverpost.com,
Colorado.com, as well as pay-per-click campaigns and Facebook ads. To target business for
the remaining summer and fall season, a supplemental media campaign was created to target
overnight visitation from Denver, Colorado Springs, Western Kansas, Western Nebraska and
Southern Wyoming, all within a day’s drive. The Visit Estes Park TV commercial “Take Flight”,
which won a coveted Telly award in 2012, was aired to help with the promotion along with a new
radio spot. Television featured the first time use of cable networks to target potential visitors
demographically and geographically. Buys included extensive Olympic coverage and the
Denver Broncos first pre-season game coverage. Broadcast was followed up with a targeted
custom eblast to 312,000 subscribers through the Denver Post network database. As a result of
this effort, Visit Estes Park has seen a 6% increase in website visitation from the Colorado
market and 7% increase specifically from Denver. Our advertising agency, Hill Aevium was
instrumental in creating a successful supplemental campaign.
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In addition to supplemental advertising efforts in response to the effects of the Colorado
wildfires, Visit Estes Park’s Public Relations efforts sprung into high gear to mitigate the
negative publicity created by national coverage of the High Park fire west of Fort Collins, the
Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs and the Woodland Heights structural fire in Estes Park.
Media advisories, daily communications to Estes Park’s stakeholders and industry partners that
included talking points, social media postings, and interviews with Denver area media have
been integral to the efforts. Visit Estes Park created crisis-related copy for the Colorado.com
home page and connected with car rental agencies in Denver and 1-800-COLORADO operators
who we learned from our stakeholders were distributing incorrect negative information about the
conditions in Estes Park. Through Visit Estes Park’s initiative, a travel blog reporting incorrect
information about the fires related to Rocky Mountain National Park was corrected. Cooperative
efforts with the Colorado Tourism Office resulted in Visit Estes Park’s participation in the state’s
“The Colorado Pledge” initiative, and in August, Visit Estes Park became one of eight partners
in the “Share the Love” promotion. The Share the Love promo showcased Colorado
destinations most affected by the wildfires. Turner Public Relations, our PR firm, was
instrumental in helping with our PR efforts.
The overall 2012 advertising budget focused on doing more with less and making sure that each
dollar spent worked harder than ever before. Primary and secondary target markets of
Colorado, Texas, Illinois, California, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri were reached
through an integrated blend of communication mediums, including consumer magazine
advertising, pay-per-click ads, online display advertising, television, radio, e-newsletters, social
media and website landing pages. The year-round visitor study completed in 2011 indicated the
importance of the destination market as well as new data showing the importance of the
Colorado overnight visitor. Families continued to be the primary summer focus followed by
empty nesters and singles/couples during the fall, winter and spring seasonal periods. The
overall media mix of 65% off-line and 35% on-line continued through 2012 allowing Visit Estes
Park to nimbly reallocate efforts where needed.
The Spring, Fall and Winter seasons brought an increased focus through added packaging and
promotions. Each seasonal effort incorporated its own landing page promoting specific specials
and lodging packages further driving the message of staying overnight in Estes Park. The
creative established in 2011 was reused where possible updating each ad or online banner,
landing page and e-newsletter with the new photography gained in 2012. A goal of increasing
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the photography that is owned by Visit Estes Park was accomplished with photo shoots during
the winter 2012, capturing iconic images that complement those taken during the summer.
Tracking and reporting continued to monitor the return on investment for each initiative allowing
adjustments where necessary. From the 2012 Marketing Plan, each major goal and objective
continues to be monitored and tracked and success is currently on par with the achievements
from 2011. Final 2011 key indicators revealed that Visit Estes Park exceeded every major goal.
Lodging tax increased by 7.45% and the Town of Estes Park sales tax increased by 9.18%. Visit
Estes Park’s public relations effort, which generated $4,163,003 in PR value, increased by
474%, while VisitEstesPark.com website visits increased 9.32%. So far in 2012, our Key
Indicator Report dated August 13, 2012 indicates that we are exceeding all of our major goals.
LMD Lodging tax is up by 25.04%, Town of Estes Park Sales tax is up 29.29%, Visitor
eNewsletter Subscribers are up 4.2%, Facebook fans are up 622.57%.
Building strong partnerships between Visit Estes Park and the community continues to be a
major focus. Engaging industry partners, stakeholders, tourism associations, and other
community members enables us to market Estes Park as a vibrant, one-of-a-kind destination.
Visit Estes Park’s Brand Strategy project, has significantly led the way in establishing these
connections and relationships. As of this writing, Visit Estes Park has completed three of the
four phases of the Brand Strategy project, concentrating on sharing each phase in depth with
the community. Together, with extensive work completed by the Estes Park Destination Brand
Team (comprised of key community leaders) and partners BrandStrategy, Inc. and MMGY
Global, Visit Estes Park has created a BrandPromise® (the emotional distinctiveness of the
community) and a Brand Blueprint (marketing creative designed to communicate distinctive
brand messages). Extensive work has begun on the fourth and final phase, Brand
Culturalization. This phase, which will be rolled out beginning in the fall of 2012, will continue to
engage the community on a widespread level, involving a variety of methods to educate the
entire Estes Park community on delivering the destination promise to our residents and guests
alike. Duane Knapp of BrandStrategy, Inc. was instrumental in creating a successful brand
strategy.
In addition to reaching out to stakeholders regarding our brand strategy program, Visit Estes
Park builds relationships through other avenues. Stakeholders and industry partners are
encouraged to engage with the DMO via a variety of easy and accessible channels. Visit Estes
Park produces a monthly stakeholder newsletter with information about recent advertising
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campaigns, upcoming events, and “need to know” topics relevant to tourism in Estes Park. Visit
Estes Park Board meeting reminders are sent out a few days prior to encourage stakeholder
attendance. Lodging properties have an opportunity to participate in the Rocky Mountain
Lodging Report, which gives Visit Estes Park trending information such as occupancy and
average daily rate. Industry partners can and do participate in various purchased Visit Estes
Park advertising services, like brochure rack space at the Visitor Center or enhanced listings on
the official website. Other opportunities for exposure are available, e.g. seasonal landing pages
where current industry partner packages and promotions are highlighted. Stakeholders can join
the conversation on official social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, submit events for
our complete on-line calendar of events, and reach out to any Visit Estes Park staff for one-on-
one discussion. Individual meetings with Stakeholder Relations, Group Sales, Public Relations,
and President & CEO are a common and encouraged method of communication with the DMO.
Since we believe that input from our stakeholders and industry partners are critical to the
success of our DMO, staff spends significant time reaching out to stakeholders, communicating
current campaigns and offering opportunities for involvement.
The Visit Estes Park annual stakeholder meeting took place in May and garnered attendance of
over 100 stakeholders. Over 300 industry partners participate in Visit Estes Park advertising
services. Kirby Nelson, our Stakeholder Relations & Communications Manager represents Visit
Estes Park on the board for Estes Park’s business association, Estes Valley Partners for
Commerce. In a variety of ways, the DMO has focused on open communication and advocacy
to and among Estes Park business stakeholders and residents.
Group sales increased in 2012, up 9% mid-August 2012 compared to all of 2011. Eighty-nine
groups have booked to date, representing 5,884 room nights. Visit Estes Park has been
capturing group data in a database (ACT!), so we now have quantifiable information regarding
Estes Park’s group market. The market breakdown is 39% for weddings; 34% for reunions, and
27% for meetings. There have been a total of 196 leads generated year to date. Sales and
marketing efforts include a much stronger emphasis on providing exceptional guest service,
stronger cooperative partnerships with group business venues, and additional focus on the
Estes Park weddings market. In addition, group marketing efforts have been fine-tuned and
include print and on-line advertising, social media, and a strong public relations effort.
With the addition of a part-time temporary social media consultant, Visit Estes Park significantly
increased our presence in Social Media. As of this writing, Facebook, Twitter, Flicker and
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YouTube increased by triple digit percentages each over the same period last year. In 2012, we
launched Pinterest and Google+ social media channels.
Coverage resulting in Visit Estes Park’s public relations efforts has garnered more than
$560,000 in advertising value since the beginning of the year. Nearly 1 million people have
viewed those stories. Special coverage generated by Visit Estes Park has appeared in USA
Today, CNN, Smart Meetings, Denver Post, CBS4, Association News, Meetings Focus West,
Chicago Magazine, Sugar Loco, AOL Travel, American Cowboy, Outside.com, BBC.com,
Forbes.com, Snowshoemag.com, Yorkshire Post, KWGN-2, 5280 and Colorado Parent. To
generate future coverage of Estes Park, 23 familiarity tours (fam tours) have been hosted
through Visit Estes Park.
Work to produce the next year’s Official Visitor Guide is fully underway and is on schedule to be
available for distribution on December 21, 2012. While Visit Estes Park contracted with the
same designer and editor who worked on the publication last year, to produce the magazine, ad
sales have been conducted in house this year.
Visit Estes Park continues to invest in research, having retained Summit Economics for the
research study The Economic Impact of Tourism on the Estes Park Economy, which was
completed in August 2012. This important research study resulted in quantifiable data regarding
the impact of tourism. We confirmed that tourism is the basis of the Estes Park economy and it
is the #1 job creator. We learned that tourism saves each Estes Park resident $418 in taxes,
which is significant, especially when compared to the State which saves $364 per family. We
also learned that Estes Park welcomes approximately 2,000,000 visitors annually.
The VisitEstesPark.com website is almost eight years. Before we spent considerable resources
including staff time and significant funding to develop a new website, Visit Estes Park identified
several critical strategic initiatives that needed to be accomplished first: Year-Round Visitor
Study (completed in February 2011), Estes Park Perception Study (completed in October 2011),
and Estes Park Brand Strategy (the phase needed to define web strategy was completed in July
2012). Through the important efforts of a small committee of committed industry partners,
working alongside Visit Estes Park staff, a website provider has been selected.
2013 Operational Plan
The Estes Park Local Marketing District continues to be organized by Intergovernmental
Agreements (IGA’s) between the LMD and the Town of Estes Park and the LMD and Larimer
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County. In addition, the previously discussed IGA between the Local Marketing District and
Larimer County for the PILT payment for Hermit Park will be also in effect.
The primary funding source for the district continues to be the 2% lodging tax which is collected
by district lodging properties from their guests for stays of less than 30 days. This tax is remitted
to the Colorado Department of Revenue on a quarterly basis and then distributed to the Estes
Park LMD. LMD 2% lodging tax collections were $1,250,623 in 2010 and $1,343,774 in 2011.
Estimates for 2012 are too early to accurately forecast as only the 1st and 2nd Quarter’s
distributions have been received. The first two quarters of 2012 however, did see a 25.04%
increase over the same period in 2011. Third quarter lodging tax, which represents our high
summer season, will be received from the State on or around November 15, 2011, at which time
2012 revenue forecasts will be more reliable. Due to the Colorado wildfires, summer sales tax
collections are expected to be lower than the summer of 2011. Revenue is also received as a
result of offering advertising to our stakeholders to promote their business through Visit Estes
Park. We expect this to be about $210,000. As discussed, the Town of Estes Park has also
provided funding for our marketing efforts, however, the 2013 amount has not yet been
determined.
A seven (7) Member Board is appointed with five (5) members appointed by the Town of Estes
Park Board of Trustees and two (2) by Larimer County Board of County Commissioners.
Regularly scheduled Destination Leadership meetings began in 2012 between two Visit Estes
Park Board members, two Town of Estes Park Trustees and staff leaders of each group. The
purpose of the meetings is to open the lines of communication regarding developing a long term
strategy for the destination with an eye toward driving year round economic growth. Our goal is
to continue to strengthen this partnership and information sharing process.
Staff continues to work closely with Visitor Services and Events, both of which are funded and
managed by the Town of Estes Park, and are a part of the Town’s Community Services
Division.
In September, Advertising Manager, Peter Marsh, announced his retirement effective at the end
of 2012. A seasoned veteran with the Town of Estes Park and Visit Estes Park, Peter’s twenty-
two years of successfully advertising the area has been so appreciated. Transition of Peter’s
responsibilities is in progress.
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2013 Marketing Plan
The marketing plans developed in our first three years of operation have laid a solid and
successful foundation for current and future destination marketing efforts. The 2010 Marketing
Plan developed by Hannah Marketing and the 2011-2013 Marketing Plans developed by the
Visit Estes Park team will continue to serve us well on our road to destination marketing
excellence.
2013 Marketing Strategies
We will focus our 2013 Marketing strategy by following the 2012-2013 Marketing Plan dated
March 2012. Changes for 2013 are in two key areas – implementing the brand strategy and
launching a new website.
Brand Strategy will focus on rolling out the 4th and final phase to the entire Estes Park
Community. The Brand Culturalization or ‘Delivering the Estes Park Brand Promise’ consists of
interactive training sessions to educate the entire community in delivering the Estes Park Brand
Promise to our guests.
The existing VisitEstesPark.com website is almost eight years old. In 2013, our goal is to launch
an advanced, powerful, creative, feature rich website, utilizing the latest technology and
destination marketing best practices. In other words, a website/mobile site that will dramatically
improve internal efficiencies, provide real value to our stakeholders, reflect our brand promise,
delight the consumer planning their trip, effectively compete with any other destination website,
and measurably increase visitor conversion. Functionality will include a booking engine,
language translation, mobile site, itinerary builder, and social media integration. The new
website will require engaging our industry partners along the way, as advertising options will
change resulting in significantly improved promotional opportunities.
The 2013 media allocation will capitalize on 2012 successes and continue the shift towards
more electronic media with a continued focus on the overnight visitor. Goals and objectives will
be updated and tracking and reporting will continue for each marketing initiative using research,
goal setting and conversion analytics. Public Relations will continue to identify unique story
ideas to support the effort of attracting more overnight visitors.
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2013 Media Plan Synopsis
Partnering again with Visit Estes Park, Hill Aevium was retained to complete the research and
development of the 2013 media plan. Following is an overview of the integrated marketing
effort for 2013 as well as specific media objectives, strategies and tactics.
Integrated Marketing Effort
The advertising plan developed is not meant to be a static or singular document. It was
developed as part of a larger integrated effort being implemented by Visit Estes Park that
includes:
Public Relations
Social Media
Advertising
Direct Marketing & Sales
Stakeholder Partnerships
Research
Destination Branding
Website, Digital Marketing, SEO
Collateral Development
Tracking and Reporting
Adjustments will be made during the year as market demands or conditions change. Tracking
and reporting will utilize Google Analytics as well as 800 number calls, visitor inquiries, click
through rates, impressions and a series of vanity URL’s. Landing pages will be created where
appropriate to further assist with tracking.
The Guest Research, Inc. Visitor Study has again been used as a basis for the media decisions
along with the results of 2011 and 2012. The Visitor Study includes 13 months, providing even
more information on shoulder and winter seasonal attributes.
Using Research to Drive Media Selection
Who Is Coming to Estes Park and Why?
The data from Guest Research, Inc. indicates that 63% of visitors to Estes Park are staying
overnight. Day visitors make up only 37%. On average, overnight visitors spend $500-$860 per
day depending on the season, vs. the day visitor’s daily spend of $83-$102. 43% of all visitors
are from Colorado.
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Rocky Mountain National Park and a relaxing mountain getaway trade one and two positions as
the reason most visitors come to Estes Park. Wildlife viewing, outdoor recreation and low
cost/good value follow this.
Primary Target Demographics
The largest visitor age group ranges between 45 and 54 years of age. Average household
income is $110,000-$149,000 and the majority of people in this group are married and have
children, 26% of people in this group did not have children, 39% had children at home, and 35%
have children that no longer live at home. Travel Party indicated 43% were couples and 54%
were families. This changes dramatically by season.
These people are highly educated with 84% having a college degree or post-graduate degree.
They are coming to Estes Park from CO, TX, NE, KS, MI, IL, IA and CA.
Seasonally
We now have the data to look at the makeup of the visitor by season in Estes Park. Note that
due to multiple answers to the same question, e.g., who were you traveling with?, certain
questions may not result in a total of 100%.
The summer day and overnight visitors are age 45-54 with a tie for second at 38-44 and 55-63.
60% are Families (3-10) and 59% are Individuals/couples (1-2).
The fall day visitor is 45-54, with overnight visitor in the 55-63 age group. 59% are Couples (1-2
people) and 46% are Families (3-10 people).
The winter day and overnight visitors are age 45-54 followed closely by those 55-63. The travel party
status shifts even more to the Individual/couples at 64% followed by Families at 43%.
Group Target Demographics
The Group audience for Estes Park comes primarily from the Front Range drive market.
Tracking in 2012 indicated the group market breakdown at 39% for weddings; 34% for reunions,
and 27% for meetings.
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Media Objectives for 2013
Increase overnight stays while maintaining traffic from day visitors
Increase overnight stays from within Colorado
Increase seasonal guest stays
Increase conversion of Visitor Guide inquiries
Increase website visitation to new website
Increase group business from Front Range drive market
Increase percentage of “new” visitation
Increase social followers
Expand email database
Media Strategy
Eliminate publications that did not perform in 2012 while re-investing in publications that
focus more directly on the 2013 target audience.
Reallocate 5% of traditional media to online media creating a 60% allocation to
traditional media and 40% allocation to online media outreach.
Continue to piggy-back on the Colorado Tourism Office efforts to expand awareness of
Estes Park in targeted geographic U.S. and international markets
Target Families in the Spring and Summer / March – Mid-August.
Target Empty Nesters in the Fall and Winter / Mid-August – March.
Increase media spend in Colorado to target overnight visitors.
Drive decision makers to the Visit Estes Park website as well as increase the email
database.
Increase online presence in the growing Mobile and Tablet markets.
Use Comcast cable to specifically target key markets.
Allocate budget for Group business focusing on primarily social type groups, e.g.,
weddings and reunions.
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0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
2010 2011 2012 2013
Media Breakdown by Year
Magazine
Newspaper
Radio/TV
Online/PPC/SEO
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Page 18
Estes Park Local Marketing District
2013 Budget ‐ Annual Operating Plan
Budget Projected Budget
2012 2012 2013
Revenues
Intergovernmental (Visitor Guide) $185,000 $160,000 $160,000
2% Tax 1,390,800 1,382,090 1,438,000
Stakeholder Services 230,000 230,000 210,000
Town of Estes Park Marketing Investment 85,000 85,000 85,000*
Other 0 0 0
Investment 0 60 0
Total Revenues $1,890,800 $1,857,150 $1,893,000
Expenses
Personnel Services $502,321 $560,000 $629,608
502,321 560,000 629,608
Marketing & Operations 1,705,993 1,548,313 1,470,392
Total Current Expenses 2,208,314 2,108,313 2,100,000
Total Expenses $2,208,314 $2,108,313 $2,100,000
Excess (deficiency) of revenues over ($317,514) ($251,163) ($207,000)
expenditures
Other financing sources (transfers in) 0 0 0
Other financing uses (transfers out) 0 0 0
Increase (decrease) in fund balance (317,514) (251,163) (207,000)
Beginning Fund balance 971,882 971,882 720,719
Ending Fund balance $654,368 $720,719 $513,719
RESTRICTIONS
TABOR Reserve: 3% of expenditures $66,249 $63,249 $63,000
*$85,000 is a placeholder, pending decision by the Town of Estes Park.
To: Honorable Mayor Pinkham
Board of Trustees
Town Administrator Lancaster
From: Jackie Williamson, Town Clerk
Date: October 1, 2012
RE: Future Town Board Study Session Items
October 23rd
Policy Governance I - Governance
LMD Branding
November 13th
Strategic Plan Initiative
Policy Governance II – Board/Staff
Linkage
November 15th
Comprehensive Plan – Joint PC/TB
November 27th
Policy Governance II- Board/Staff
Linkage
Policy Governance III- Staff Limitations
December 11th
Policy Governance III- Staff Limitations
Use of FOSH Funds
Other Items Not Currently Scheduled
for Town Board Study Sessions
• Economic Development – Town Role
• Town Real Property Assets Policy
• Logo Policy – Town Brand
• Town Administrator Job Description
• Finance Options for Town Projects
Town Clerk’s Office Memo