© 2011, educational institute chapter 8 advertising to the meeting planner convention management...

© 2011, Educational Institute

Chapter 8 Advertising to the Meeting Planner

Convention Management and ServiceEighth Edition

(478TXT or 478CIN)

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Competencies forAdvertising to the Meeting Planner

1. Describe how hospitality companies use print media and technology to advertise.

2. Identify the purpose and types of collateral materials hospitality companies use in advertising.

3. Explain how to conduct a direct mail campaign.

4. Summarize the process of planning an advertising strategy.

5. Describe how public relations and publicity can help a property reach meeting planners.

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Why Advertise?

• Supplements your direct sales efforts

• Reaches a vast audience

• Can be targeted to specific market segments

• Demonstrates your competitiveness and allows planners to compare features and benefits

• Begins the process of building interest and desire for your property

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Advantages of Print Advertising

• Color print

• Good reproduction

• Magazines have a long reading life and can be shared with others

• Easy to focus on target markets

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The AIDA Principle Attention

• To attract attention, make your ad stand out from the rest.Interest

• To interest the reader, text should be specific and concise.Desire

• To build desire, present features as benefits and show how your property is different from others.

Action• To facilitate action, include a way for readers to contact

you.

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Elements of Ad Design• Color—creates stimulation and has eye-catching

“stopping power”

• Photos—communicate realism

• White space—use freely, avoid cluttered look

• Text—should support the headline

• Position on the page—eye tends to be drawn to upper part of right-hand page

• Size—depends on budget

• Frequency (single shot versus campaign)—generally requires several exposures to get response

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Headline

Illustration

Copy

Logo

Headline

Illustration

Copy

Logo

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Technology and Advertising

• The Internet

• Property websites

• Social media

• E-mail

• Fax transmissions

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Internet Advertising

• Growing in popularity• Websites can include text, graphics, audio, video, and

interaction with users• Properties can make their own websites, link them to

meeting-related websites (e.g., CVB websites), and/or advertise on other sites likely to be visited by targeted segments

• Properties can be listed in the electronic directories of travel service firms

• You must drive traffic to your website to be effective

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Internet Advertising

• Allows e-mail advertising

- Inexpensive

- Fast

- Best to use “permission marketing” (create an opt-in form on your website

- Can be used to nurture customer relations via e-mail newsletters (relationship marketing)

• Banner ads are the dominant form of advertising on the web

• Properties can be listed in the electronic directories of travel-related firms

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Social Media

Online Networking Communities• LinkedIn• Twitter• Face Book

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E-Mail Advertising

• E-mail is widely used by meeting planners to send requests for proposals (RFPs) and to communicate with vendors

• E-mail is fast and inexpensive, but like any media program, it must be carefully planned

• Best to use “permission marketing,” whereby planners opt-in to receive mailings

• Can be used to nurture customer relations via e-mailed newsletters

• E-mail yields a greater customer response than direct mail and is an effective lead-qualifying tool

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Collateral Material

Differences from Other Advertising Materials

• Directed specifically at decision-maker

• Brochures usually provide more details than ads do

Types

• Convention brochures

• Video brochures

• CD-ROMs

• Others: postcards, fliers, maps, menus, tent cards, newsletters, etc.

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Convention Brochures

Purpose and Characteristics• Inform the decision-maker• Give the planner enough information to

begin planning• Information must be detailed, clear, concise,

and pertinent• Include it in a meeting planner’s kit• To develop one, get ideas from competitors

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Video Brochures and DVDs

Video Brochures• Very versatile and effective• Can show the property at different times of

the year• Captures service aspect• Can show a variety of meeting setups• Usually 4 to 6 minutes long• Use a professional firm for development

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Video Brochures and DVDs

DVDs’ Advantages over Video Brochures• Can store more information• More durable• Cannot be erased by magnetic fields• Easily and inexpensively reproduced and mailed

DVD Development• Use a professional firm• Reuse website material to save on

development costs

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Direct Mail—Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages• Flexible—can be used to screen prospects, follow up

on advertising leads, and make printed sales presentations

• High volume possible• Easily cost-controlled, easily tested and measured• Cheaper than print or broadcast advertising• Can be targeted to the most promising prospects• Personal and can be designed for prospect involvement

and action

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Direct Mail—Advantages and Disadvantages

Disadvantages• Increasing postage and production costs• Low interest (seen as junk mail)• Costly and time-consuming to maintain

mailing lists

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Planning Direct-Mail Campaigns

Planning a Campaign and Forming Lists

• Lead sources: internal records, directories and publications, circulation lists, convention bureaus

• Plan follow-up strategy

• Develop a general list of all prospects and a preferred list of screened prospects and past customers

• Campaigns are more effective than one-time mailings

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Planning Direct-Mail Campaigns

Contents

• Sales letters, surveys, postcards, and visual aids

• Keep sales letters personal—they are the most important part of the mailing

• First letter should be an attention-getter

• Next letters should creatively build on first letter’s theme

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Elements of an Advertising Strategy

Factors to Consider• Marketing plan• Budget• Target market(s)• Choice of media• Reach• Frequency• Timing: continuous, pulsing, or flighting• Consistency

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Elements of an Advertising Strategy

Tips• Use a media chart• Plan your follow-up strategy• Monitor and evaluate your plan

Special Options• Exchange trade advertising• Cooperative advertising, strategic partnerships• Advertising agencies

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Advertising Agencies

• Many convention-oriented hotels hire advertising agencies for creative design, ad production, media placement, and research.

• Agency must work within the hotel’s marketing plan and become the hotel’s marketing partner.

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Public Relations and Publicity

Public Relations (PR)• Communicate favorable information about

property to create positive image• Plan PR and implement it properly• May use internal PR staff or external firm, or both• Often involves community outreach—donations of

surplus products to charities or schools, for example

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Public Relations and Publicity

Publicity• Gratuitous mention of property in media• Communicating with media: finished pieces and

press releases• Press kits—news releases, fact sheets,

photographs, news clippings, and other materials designed to give the news media background information about a property

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