1A. Change the way we market South Dakota.
·
Media Contacts: Sent invitations to 53 international
journalists and domestic/international tour operators. Worked with Native
Discovery on itinerary for Buffalo Roundup fam for these groups.
·
Tour Operators: Attended Japanese Market Sales Mission in
Los Angeles and met with 63 of the 95 Japanese tour operators in attendance.
Confirmed 16 tours (nine with four overnights and seven with three overnights)
coming to South Dakota as a direct result of that mission.
·
Buffalo Roundup: Mailed Buffalo Roundup invitations to
two inbound tour operator companies – ATI and America 4 You, and one Austrian
tour company – Americareisen.at.
1C. . . .greater use of partnerships and cooperative efforts
·
South Dakota Film Festival: Was able to work with the
production company of the movie “Into the Wild” for the South Dakota premiere
at the September 21, 2007 at South Dakota Film Festival in Aberdeen.
·
The Early Show on CBS: Besides working with The Early
Show on CBS for their live broadcast at Mount Rushmore National Memorial,
Tourism coordinated a vacation giveaway with partners, and it was awarded to
Tina Gramkow of Avon.
·
CVB Co-op:
Worked on design of the 24-page, four-color Meeting Planners Guide, a
first-ever, co-op piece in partnership with 11 of the 12 CVBs in the state.
Publication will be printed by the end of September and will be distributed by
the Office of Tourism.
1E. Capitalize on the existing outdoor opportunities in our state
·
Media Activity Highlights: Compilation of earned media:
August – estimated ad value of $99,488 (circ. of 889,089); Total 2007 –
estimated ad value of $573,815 (circ. of 17,221,167); and Fiscal Year 2008 –
estimated ad value of $144,945 (circ. of 1,588,616).
·
Hostings: Sent a story on the upcoming prairie grouse
season to our outdoors writers and editors on our database. Those responding
inquired not only about the particular story topic of the month, but also
about other outdoors opportunities. The story has already resulted in
hostings and earned media for the state.
Awards
Tourism was honored by the National Council of
State Tourism Directors with two of 12 Mercury Awards: one for the 2006 Giant
Step Cooperative Marketing Program and the $20 Bucks for the Road
Campaign. Winners were announced at a special awards ceremony held during
Travel Industry Association of America’s (TIA) annual Educational Seminar for
Tourism Organizations (ESTO) on August 18. The Office of Tourism competed
against entries from all 50 states, and Tourism was only one of two states
honored with multiple awards.
