Strengthening Southern Vermont is a campaign to drive tourism, visitation and ultimately, economic vitality in the Windham and Bennington Counties.

1. Collaborative Marketing Program
Vermont Travel Industry Conference, April 3, 2014

2. 1. What we are doing
2. Why are we doing it
3. How we are doing it
4. What we have learned on the way
5. Our creative strategy –
6. What are we asking

3. But first… grab your smart phone,
and tell us about you

4. Which celebrity does Steve Cook
remind you most of?

5. What part of Vermont are you
from?

6. What do you do professionally?

7. How important is travel and
tourism in Southern Vermont to
your business?

8. What We are Doing
1. Bringing the communities of Southern Vermont together
2. To tell a story
3. About a part of the state that has battled…
• Division within its cities and towns
• A love/hate relationship with visitors and outsiders
• A devastating flood
• Bad press

9. What geography do we represent?

10. Why We are Doing This
Our hoteliers, attractions, restaurants, and cities
and towns are:
2. Getting back on their feet
3. Worth knowing about
1. Proud

11. What we hope to gain for the region
1. Increased awareness of the region
2. Click through to a regional website
3. Additional visitation to the region
4. Growth in the working population of the region

12. How we will measure our success
Ad impressions: Click through to
website:
Site Conversions: Email
registration, newsletter sign
up, travel guide requests
8,000,000 in year 1
15,000,000 per year
12,000 in year 1
(Total annual website traffic
36,000)
22,500 per year
(Total annual website traffic
67,500)
240 in year 1
(Total annual site conversions 720)
450 per year
(Total annual site conversions 1,350)

13. How are we doing this?

14. 1. We secured a grant to provide seed funding for
Phase 1 marketing
1. Provide one on one business assistance recovery
2. Partner with the State of Vermont on an immediate short term marketing effort coordinated
through the Southern Vermont Chambers
3. Develop a logo and marketing strategy and lay the foundation for a Southern Vermont
marketing collaboration to Strengthen Southern Vermont’s tourism businesses and
employers recruitment efforts
As a result of economic recovery needs from Tropical Storm Irene - the Windham and
Bennington Regional Planning Commissions secured a federal grant to:

15. 2. We worked with private and public sector
partners, all of whom want the same thing

16. 3. We got to work
•Internal
•External
•Competition
•Insights
Research
•Audience(s)
•Positioning
•Benefits
•USP
Brand Strategy
•Logo
•Tagline
•Messaging
•Concepts
Creative
•Campaigns
•Tactics
•Timeline
•Budgets
Marketing Plan
•Website
•Advertising
•Collateral
•Events, etc.
Execution

17. What we learned along the way

18. Mature demographic:
Above average income:
Employed full-time or retired/self-employed:
Coming from:
Most not traveling with children:
Outdoors-y and adventurous:
Current Audience

19. Top Assets
• Quality of life – a top driver for both business and workforce
• Tourism assets (for both quality of life and visitor impact)
• Access to local/state government
• Higher education
• Industry clusters – tourism, energy, agriculture, precision manufacturing, education,
healthcare, and some biotech emerging
• High speed internet/power costs at or below regional rates
• Proximity to NYC, Boston, I-91 border

20. Biggest Challenges to the Region
• Workforce
• Career opportunities
• Recruiting Companies
• State taxation rate
• Isolated – access to cities via rail, airport (too remote)
• Competition in neighboring regions
• Historic resistance to growth
• Closure of Vermont Yankee
• No available properties (need businesses willing to build)
• We focus a lot on tourism, but not enough on ED or things to sustain residents
• Colleges – we don’t engage the students
• We have an awareness issue – the jobs are here, we just need the people

21. Opportunities to the Region
• Broadband – huge implications
• Ski areas – the marketing arm of our businesses
• Higher ed
– Education of existing talent
– UVM is setting up programs in SoVT
– 2 state colleges moving to downtown Brattleboro
– Work with high-schools to prepare students, as well as colleges to build the talent pipeline locally
• Tourism
– Need the visitors for the businesses here
– These visitors are the ones who have had the VT experience and move here to work or start a
business
– Events bring people here – one of our greatest recruiting tools is the Strolling of the Heifers!
– The sales pitch for most employers is the lifestyle (and accessibility to Boston, NY, etc.)
– The draw for many businesses is the association with the Vermont image

22. Differentiators
• We have a business counter-culture
• Socially responsible companies (VBSR – largest in U.S.)
• More employee-owned businesses per capita than anywhere else in the world
• Owners are passionate about keeping their companies here

23. Disadvantages
• Diversity and volume of industry
• Minimal manufacturing opportunities
• VT income taxes
• Lacks the offerings of bigger cities – hard to attract high-tech employees
• Lack of security (not many alternative options if you lose your job or want to find
something else)
• Lack of affordable housing, high cost of living
• No public transportation
• Wages are not competitive
• Lack of publicity about what opportunities are available
• Not much to do for young professionals (and most live elsewhere)

24. Visitors
Friends/family
The people
Outdoor recreation
Proximity to other
locations and
experiences
The Vermont
experience
Own a vacation
home
The unique
towns/villages
Workforce
Family ties
The people
Outdoor recreation
Proximity to major
markets
The Vermont
lifestyle
Top drivers are consistent:

25. A product labeled "Made in Vermont“…is worth 10 percent more than
the same product made elsewhere. - Paul Greenberg, The Boston Globe
Vermont-branded products command a "10-15 percent" premium in markets.
- Glenn Ravdin, Brand Consultant
My business is here because of the Vermont image association.
- Thomas Moffitt, Commonwealth Dairy
I wanted to live, work, and start a business in the Vermont counter-culture.
- Paul Millman, Chroma Co-Founder

26. “Southern Vermont offers the full Vermont experience.”
“From one side of the region to the other, you can experience the full beauty of
the state.”
“Anyone can be a Vermonter…Vermont is a mindset.”

27. The purpose of this brand:
Bringing people here.

28. Fierce independence and individual identities…
But “we cannot market our small towns against bigger competitors.”
The primary dynamics of the brand

30. “So Vermont”
Geography that drove our campaigns:

31. Brand concept that drove our campaigns

33. Insert girl in climbing the waterfall concept

34. Insert Olga concept

35. Outdoor and print
advertising executions

40. Road Block Digital Banner Ads
Display advertising

41. Facebook Feed Ad
Facebook Column Ad
Google PPC ad
Facebook and Google PPC Advertising

42. Website

43. • Work with the state communications team to pitch story ideas that are centered in Southern
Vermont.
• Ensure that Southern Vermont is included in all available media FAM tours
• Develop Southern Vermont pitch calendar
Co-Op Public Relations Tactics for this campaign

44. Marketing/Media Mix
Photo Shoot
7%
Campaign Launch Materials
3%
Direct Marketing
3%
Event Marketing
10%
Website
10%
Email Marketing and Blog
3%
Digital and Content
Advertising/Social Marketing
34%
Print Advertising
7%
Outdoor Advertising
17%
Jobs Portal
3%
Travel
3%

45. Do you believe that a regional
marketing approach is more or
less effective in attracting visitors
to the State?

46. Do you think this campaign will
drive visitation to Southern
Vermont?

47. What we are asking you:
• Help us Strengthen Southern Vermont
• By investing in our cooperative program
• Alongside the State of Vermont
Contact:
Laura Sibilia
Phone: 802-257-7731 x 217
Email: lsibilia@brattleborodevelopment.com

49. Questions