The document summarizes the mission and activities of the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) in Texas. The CVB aims to increase overnight visitors to drive economic growth in the region. It markets Corpus Christi and Upper Padre Island as a beach and nature tourism destination. The CVB conducts various marketing initiatives including advertising, social media, publications and sales calls to attract visitors and group events. Tourism is a major industry for the local economy, generating over $1 billion in spending annually and supporting thousands of jobs.

2. Mission To drive overnight visitor$ to the Corpus Christi area. (drive - to push, propel , or press onward forcibly; urge forward, as in visitors)

3. What is a CVB? Non-profit organization who represents a certain metro area, or destination. CVBs are primarily designed to market to and assist meeting, sports and event planners, tour operators and individual family vacation travelers (We are a Destination Marketing Organization)

4. How are we Funded? 35% of the 7% Hotel/Motel Tax Collection Paid by people who don’t live here, collected by hotels

5. Destination Branding The term "destination branding" could refer to a city or a tourist destination, and to their competition for tourists, visitors, convention delegates, etc. Destination branding is based on a strategic approach to marketing, stating that a change of image is an ongoing, interactive and wide-scale process, requiring much more than a quick change of logo or slogan In other words, brand management for a city or a tourist destination does not merely consist of attaching new labels, but consolidates the essential characteristics of the individual identity into a brand core Development of this type does not merely promote a core message, a logo or a claim to the public but additionally communicates the place brand on a long-term basis using a consistent communication concept The heightened competitive environment makes it important for places, no matter their size or composition, to clearly differentiate themselves and to convey why they are relevant and valued options source: wikipedia

6. Destination Branding (Continued) Brand development is not a logo or tag line, but instead a commitment to a community-wide strategy on what distinguished the community from others, as well as a community-wide effort to effectively communicate and create that unique destination experience to the customer source: wikipedia

7. Destination Overall Brand Our overall brand “Beaches +” highlights the number 1 reason people come to our destination and separates Galveston and South Padre Island by highlighting the significant number of visitor-friendly things to do beyond beaches in close proximity The top 5 activities providing the “+” factor include: 5 MAJOR Nature Activities Attractions Restaurants Retail establishments and expansion Entertainment, performing arts, etc.

8. Upper Padre Island Brand The term was selected from major research findings comparing the differences between “North” and “Upper” Focus groups came to the conclusion that the term “North” represented cold weather and also “had to deal with Yankees.” “ Upper” from the same focus group, intimated “cache” as “uptown”, “upper class” and “upper crust,” while displaying value-added feel The term “Upper” also pinpointed our location being above South Padre Island

9. Revenues Generated

10. Tourism Economic Impact Corpus Christi/Upper Padre Island is the fifth most popular tourist destination in Texas. As a popular leisure travel destination, Corpus Christi/Upper Padre Island continues to have a high concentration of family vacationers. An estimated total of 7.2 million visitors spent nearly 17 million days in the area in 2008, injecting over $1 billion into the Corpus Christi economy. Visitor spending in the area has increased nearly 60 percent from 2000. Did You Know?

11. Top Three Goals Increase convention and sports sales efforts to generate greater economic impact for our stakeholders. Increase group and leisure (individual and family) travel to generate greater economic impact for our stakeholders. Increase funding for the Corpus Christi CVB to strengthen marketing ability to generate greater economic impact for our stakeholders.

12. Market Segments Leisure & Group Travel Nature Tourism Convention & Sports Sales

13. Marketing Universe

14. Research consists of information gathering from the following sources: 1. Prizm Clusters 2. State of Texas & TTRA 3. CVB Funded Studies 4. Focus Groups 5. Surveys

15. Vocus - On demand software for public relations management can reach 1.4 million journalists, bloggers and media outlets Social Media - Currently use Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare (Focusing on quality of posts and readership value rather than adding as many people as possible who are not in our target market) News Releases - Combination of CVB generated and industry partner releases to attract and create ad value that we wouldn’t normally get due to advertising budget constraints e-Newsletter “Channels” - Delivered to over 3,000 subscribers encompassing the accomplishments of the Bureau as well as upcoming events Hosted 25 travel writers from United States (17), Germany (4), England (2), Canada (1), and Mexico (1)

16. Consumer Shows (5) Youth Travel Shows (2) Convention Tradeshows (4)

17. Radio - Targeting drive markets of San Antonio, Austin and Houston during peak months through ClearChannel TV - Broadcasting our value-added destination through Houston ComCast cable TV, Rio Grande Valley TV co-op and Bob Phillips’ Texas Country Reporter series of ads featured on Saturday & Sunday afternoons Magazines - Advertising through visitor magazines such as Austin Monthly, Kiteboarder, Texas Highways and Mexico marketing through Tejas y Turismo that is distributed through El Norte Online - Generated buy-in to major online websites such as CNN and Chron.com, which gives the CVB access to consumers for pennies on the dollar Outdoor - Billboards featuring our “Got Beach” give users a quick glance that brands the “Beaches +” theme and LED boards will allow the CVB to change advertising messages from a remote computer to showcase featured events

18. Media Advertising Budget

19. Media Advertising

20. Radio Advertising

21. Radio Advertising

22. TV Advertising

23. TV Advertising

24. TV Advertising

25. Print Advertising

26. Print Advertising (Continued)

27. Print Advertising (Continued)

28. Insert Co-op Advertising

29. Print Co-op Advertising (Continued)

30. Destination Planning Guide Beach & Bay Guide Corpus Christi Visitor Map “Scene It” DVD MVP Brochure

31. Holiday Beach Ball & Sales Blitz 2009 Party held December 9, 2009 at Whole Foods Rooftop Plaza - 170 attendees Actively called on 100+ clients with industry partners at the beginning of the week leading up to the party Partnered with Omni & 4 other hotels to provide “Free Beach Party” incentive with meeting booking for 2010. Sales calls generated 65 new leads Total Booked = 9,830 Room Nights = $1,526,300 Economic Impact from direct sales calls alone

32. Houston/Valley Media Blitz 6 appointments with Houston Chronicle, In Town Magazine, Cox Radio, Clear Channel Radio, & Comcast. Pitched Feature Stories for Summer & Fall Events, Beaches & Nature Tourism In Town Magazine photo feature story. -July

33. Over 150 individual sales calls in person to Austin & San Antonio in FY 09-10

34. Group Planners Sports Professionals Tour Planners Travel Writers Meeting Planners

35. Sales team booked 100,861 room nights, exceeding goal of 100,000 The conversion rate from leads to definites was 63% when comparing the 100,861 definite room nights to the 158,093 room nights in leads Austin sales office, despite starting 2 months into the fiscal year, eclipsed the previous full year’s room night bookings (29,732 vs 17,648) This success has led to the hiring of an additional Senior Sales Manager, Andrea Troncale, in a remote office 40 prospecting calls per week per sales person Economic Impact Formula: 100,000 Room Nights = 120,000 Delegates x 2.5 days x $143 = $35,750,000

36. Kiosks - 12 high tech kiosks are featured throughout the city from Violet/I-37 to the Island Website - Highest ever recorded Google Analytics were in July with over 44,000 unique visits and over 2.5 million hits Nature Tourism Portal - Showcases the top 5 nature activities and features in depth information ranging from weather to best times of the year to come TOMTOM POI Integration - Partnership with TOMTOM generated downloaded content for users to create printable directions and itineraries for users Mobile Website - AJR Media helped streamline the CVB site in an effort to provide ALL mobile users the most up-to-date information without needed a computer e-Gram - Data mining from contests and social media has generated over 24,000 consumers constantly requesting information about the area

37. Nature Tourism

38. Opportunities Broad nature tourism program development in region Electronic packaging for value-added, offseason offerings Additional co-op advertising programs online Internet and web marketing usage with corresponding e-commerce potential (pay-per-click, double-click, etc.) Cultivation of local population with influence on convention and meeting site selection MVP Program Development

39. MVP Program

40. MVP Program (Continued)

41. Economic Impact 7.2 million visitors Visitors spent 17 million days in the area in 2008 Visitor spending has increased 60% since 2000 Visitor spending: $110 per visitor per day Nature Traveler Spending: $155 per visitor per day Nature Tourism Economic Impact: $465.5 million source: Dr. Jim Lee, TAMUCC Economist

42. Summary Did You Know? Tourism is the 2nd largest private employer in Corpus Christi/Upper Padre Island Nearly 13,000 local jobs are directly related to tourism Nature tourism accounts for 40% of all visitor trips 70% leisure travelers 30% business travelers Tourism Economic Impact $1.2 billion

43. Marketing Objectives Increase visitors and their spending Build awareness of our unique brand identity for our region Maximize usage of Corpus Christi and Nueces County public facilities by visitors Strengthen collaboration with key partner members and strategic alliance partners Encourage development and growth of visitor attractions, facilities and events Assure the long-term competitive viability of the CVB

44. Team Commitment For visitors, the Corpus Christi CVB is like a key to the region. As an unbiased resource, the CVB serves as a liaison for the information and a recognized point of contact for convention and meeting planners, tour operators and leisure travelers. The CVB is a non-profit organization leading the long-term economic development of the area through a tactical travel and tourism marketing strategy. We are accountable to the City of Corpus Christi, an 11-person board of directors, and our hospitality partners. Transparency is maintained in all activities through continuous communications and reporting to these constituents. The CVB’s corporate mandate is to provide the proper environment, leadership, personnel and financing resources to grown Corpus Christi’s economy through marketing, sales and effective destination management, resulting in increased visitor spending. Partnering with strategic regional entities allows us to stretch limited financial resources and create a more comprehensive package for the traveler.

45. Team Commitment As professionals living and working in this region, the CVB staff team is committed to moving Corpus Christi/Upper Padre Island forward and growing the economy through tourism. We are committed to these core values that drive our passion for this industry, our organization and our community: Integrity: We accept only the highest ethical standards in all of our activities, including sales, marketing and accountability. Partnership: We are the “synergistic glue” engaging our region in building relationships to further our mission and promote a stronger visitor industry. Service: We commit to delighting our customers by going above and beyond their expectations for service. Innovation: We are leaders in innovative programming, sales, marketing and technology, leading the charge in positive leisure travel and economic growth. Passion: We enthusiastically promote our destination and organization, inspiring community pride in our region’s diverse assets.

46. Going Forward Together As professionals living and working in this region, the CVB staff team is committed to moving Corpus Christi forward and growing the economy through tourism. Key Actions: 1. If you are aware of something that needs to be promoted on the Island through our efforts, please formulate a list, forward it to the CVB and we will do our best to incorporate it into our marketing outreach, when appropriate. 2. If you feel there are specific ways that the CVB can communicate with the Island in a more effective manner, please formulate a list, forward it to the CVB and we will endeavor to implement your suggestions in our communications programs, wherever possible. 3. Please ask yourself, and your organizations, what you can do to better help the CVB sell the Corpus Christi/Upper Padre Island destination to visitors, convention delegates and sports participants in the future. To sign up for our electronic communications, please navigate to VisitCorpusChristiTX.org and click the “Subscribe” link on the top of the page

47. Thank you for your time and input, We look forward to continued support from you and look forward to working with you throughout the fiscal year!!!!!