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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10022019 PACAB WS Laydown - Chamber Proposal e_ •� :ter ;.. ?a..- • 4..L cam+ ►- 4. ('� 2•.r`T" -�5:''' '�°, "toy - -. Proposal to the City of Seward Marketing and Management Services for 2020-2024 10.02.2019 Seward Chamber of Commerce 7 2001 Seward Highway 9 � � A m ok_� �i n Seward, AK 996642,5 -56 V • , 1-tv • 12s-. ‘y\o-A-i0IN 11°S-4 ()IIN`Q/*A- o\5 - Executive Summary It is our pleasure to present this proposal to continue providing community promotion services on behalf of the City of Seward in the areas of both tourism visitation and local year-round economic development. Our community enjoys a vibrant tourism industry in the summer season and an ever- growing marine support service industry in the winter. Through our efforts promoting the Seward Marine Industrial Center, The Blue Pipeline Incubator and Alternative Energy, we are seeing progress and sustainability. Our proposal for 2020-2024 includes destination management services, in addition to the destination marketing, visitor services and economic development historically included in our scope of work. The Seward Chamber of Commerce & CVB is the best choice for continuing to manage the City of Seward's marketing contract Our team is lean yet highly effective, and has a well-earned reputation as one of the strongest chambers in the state. We collaborate with Alaskans specializing in visitation promotion, alternative energy programs and the Blue Economy—that allows us to build nimble project teams and deliver more value than a private-sector marketing agency ever could. The City of Seward is our sole client. Working closely with groups like the Port & Commerce Advisory Board, we facilitate productive working relationships between local government, private industry and local residents to increase year-round jobs and economic health for Seward. We are excited about Seward's bright future and look forward to continuing our work in service to the City of Seward and our entire community. pg. 1 Our Approach Historically, the City of Seward's marketing contract has focused on three key areas: • Generating visitor demand through effective destination marketing • Managing the Visitor Information Center year-round • Administering select economic development projects Like many other destination organizations, the Seward Chamber is seeking to expand the scope of our work to include a more intentional focus on destination stewardship. The goal is to curate more meaningful visitor experiences, encourage sustainable visitor growth, and elevate the quality of life for our entire community. In order to do that, we, as a community, must do a better job of accounting for the real impacts of tourism on our local resources, including the long-term health of our infrastructure and incredible natural and cultural assets. We recommend focusing on the following service areas and specific activities during the next contract period (2020-2024). We estimate spending 40-45 percent of our marketing budget on destination marketing (yearly average over 2020-2024). Selected activities and deliverables: • Strategic planning o Develop a three-year strategic marketing plan in 2020 • Content development • Continue to curate and develop compelling content for Visit Seward's owned media channels, including original blog posts, photography, and videos • Owned media • Launch an all-new Seward.com in 2020 o Continue to develop and distribute the Seward Destination Guide • Social media Continue to administer Visit Seward's social media channels and stay on top of best practices in this rapidly-evolving field • Earned media • Continue to prioritize earned media opportunities, including: developing relationships with travel writers, pitching story ideas to publications that are aligned with our target audiences, and Identifying high-value partnerships with influencers • Paid media o Continue making strategic decisions about paid media, including: print, radio, and TV opportunities pg. 2 • Travel trade c Conduct outreach to travel industry stakeholders who are most likely to refer high-value visitors to Seward and provide them with the resources they need • Meeting sales c, Working with local industry partners, develop materials to generate demand for Seward as an ideal location for small to medium-sized groups, meetings, and events Visitor services: elevating our visitor experience We estimate spending 20-25 percent of Visit Seward's annual budget on visitor services (yearly average over 2020-2024). Selected activities and deliverables: • Continue administering the Visitor Information Center (serves approx. 17,000 visitors per year), including: Year-round staffing Building and grounds maintenance c Utilities & IT support Destination management: planning for strategic growth in our visitor industry and working towards integrated sustainability We estimate spending 10-15 percent of Visit Seward's annual budget on destination management (yearly average over 2020-2024). Selected activities and deliverables: • Facilitate the development a long-range sustainable tourism plan by 2024 Conduct extensive public outreach and stakeholder engagement meetings to identify pinch points related to our tourism industry o Identify and evaluate best practices from other relevant destinations pg.3 . Economic development projects We estimate spending 25-30 percent of the annual marketing budget on economic development projects that directly support community promotion in industries other than tourism (yearly average over 2020-2024). Selected activities and deliverables: • Continue to support the development of Seward's ocean-based economy through funding the Blue Pipeline Incubator at $25,000 per year through 2021 • Consider additional special projects for 2022 and beyond in partnership with PACAB and City administration • Facilitate and organize economic development events like Alaska Start-Up Week, Small Business Saturday, and attending industry shows like Pacific Marine Expo • Continue to collaborate with our partners - The Alaska Railroad, AVTEC, Sustainable Seward, KPTMC, ATIA, the Alaska Chamber, and the City of Seward on projects as yet unidentified A specific scope of work and budget will be submitted to City Administration each fall for the following year. The 2020 scope of work and budget will be submitted for [review/approval] after the 2020-2024 contract is approved.