Situational Analysis, Visit Philadelphia

Running head: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS: VISIT PHILADELPHIA 1
Situational Analysis: Visit Philadelphia
Jesse S. Rathner
Temple University
October 2014

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS: VISIT PHILADELPHIA 2
Executive Summary:
Visit Philadelphia’s purpose is to market the City of Philadelphia as a destination for
leisure tourism. According to its mission, “Visit Philadelphia increases the number
of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do. These
efforts enhance the quality and sense of pride for residents” (Visit Philadelphia,
2014). The purpose of this situational analysis is to evaluate how effective Visit
Philadelphia is in achieving its mission based on who it targets, its current
campaigns and activities, the internal and external factors that influence its
performance, and how societal trends play a role in its success.
After conducting research and evaluating the factors mentioned above, it is
clear that there are significant gaps in Visit Philadelphia’s target marketing strategy.
Specifically, Visit Philadelphia identifies who its segments are and how it goes about
attracting them, yet the average customer of the city falls outside of these profiles.
This indicates that Visit Philadelphia is not allocating its resources effectively in who
it targets and is thus limiting itself on reaching the individuals that do have the
means of helping Visit Philadelphia achieve its mission.
Therefore, based on the information and facts presented throughout the
situational analysis, Visit Philadelphia’s major opportunity for success is through
target marketing by specifically expanding its segments and including other age
demographics as well as the international market. The evidence presented in the
following report demonstrates the value and reasoning behind this concept and
shows that this is a feasible and viable endeavor for Visit Philadelphia. This will
ultimately allow Visit Philadelphia to achieve its mission more effectively.

Table of Contents
Situational Analysis: Visit Philadelphia
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................4
2.0 Situational Analysis ...............................................................................................4
2.1 Internal Analysis................................................................................................................................................5
2.1.1 Organizational Overview..........................................................................................................................5-6
2.1.2 SWOT Analysis ...............................................................................................................................................6-9
2.1.3 Customer Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 9-10
2.2 External Analysis............................................................................................................................................10
2.2.1 PESTE Analysis..........................................................................................................................................10-13
2.2.2 Industry Analysis.....................................................................................................................................14-16
2.2.3 Competitor Analysis................................................................................................................................17-21
2.2.4 Target Market...........................................................................................................................................22-23
2.3 Situational Analysis Summary...........................................................................................................23-24
3.0 Marketing Opportunity ..................................................................................24-27
References...........................................................................................................28-32
Appendices..........................................................................................................33-36
Appendix A: SWOT Analysis for Visit Philadelphia .................................................................................33
Appendix B: PESTE Analysis for Visit Philadelphia.................................................................................34
Appendix C: Industry Analysis – Porter’s Five Forces for Visit Philadelphia ...............................35
Appendix D: Competitor Analysis for Visit Philadelphia.......................................................................36

1.0 Introduction:
The Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), Visit Philadelphia, was founded in
1996 at the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) with the
intention of marketing Philadelphia as a destination for leisure tourism (“Visit
Philadelphia, 2014). It is currently one of two DMOs that serve the city; the other,
the Philadelphia City Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), focuses on conventions and
business tourism (Butkovitz, 2014). Visit Philadelphia is set up in a flat
organizational structure, led by President and CEO, Meryl Levitz (Visit Philadelphia,
2013). Ultimately Visit Philadelphia answers to its Board of Directors, comprised of
various opinion leaders and executives at the city and state level including the
Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, and the Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom
Corbett (Visit Philadelphia, 2014).
2.0 Situational Analysis:
A situational analysis aims to develop an understanding of the internal and external
factors that shape the environment of an organization with the goal of gaining
insight into what factors will help create a successful future for that organization
(Lorette, 2014). Some of the tools utilized to gain this understanding are an internal
analysis, an external analysis, an industry analysis, and a competitor analysis.

2.1 Internal Analysis:
An internal analysis assesses the factors within an organization that either support
or hinder its success (Kotler et al., 2014). These characteristics are examined in an
organizational overview, SWOT Analysis, and Customer Analysis.
2.1.1 Organizational Overview:
Visit Philadelphia is involved in a number of campaigns, initiatives, and programs
that are designed to encourage tourism in Philadelphia. On the Social Media side,
Visit Philadelphia runs a total of 15 different platforms to interact with its following
(Visit Philadelphia, 2014). These programs, teamed with Visit Philadelphia’s
website, www.visitphilly.com, and its blog, www.uwishunu.com, have been
considered extremely successful. In 2013, Visit Philadelphia received the Social
Media in Travel & Tourism Award (SMITTY) for achieving 45,000 followers on its
Twitter account, beating out hundreds of other domestic and international DMOs
(Bean, 2013).
Visit Philadelphia also has a number of annual marketing campaigns it
activates including, With Love, Philadelphia, XOXO – displayed advertisements that
highlight distinct aspects of Philadelphia aimed at travelers, Con Cariño,
Philadelphia XOXO – a Hispanic version of the With Love campaign communicated
through Visit Philadelphia’s twitter account, Philadelphia – Get Your History
Straight and Your Nightlife Gay – targeting the lesbian, gay, transgender, and
bisexual (LGTB) demographic to bring awareness to Philadelphia’s Gayborhood,
With Art Philadelphia – aimed to bring awareness to Philadelphia as a destination

for art, Philadelphia Neighborhoods – launched in 2013 and the newest of Visit
Philadelphia’s initiatives, it is designed to educate both residents and travelers on
the unique features and amenities of Philadelphia neighborhoods, and Philly 360 - a
technologically driven initiative to reach the Millennial Generation specifically and
bring awareness to the creative culture of Philadelphia (Visit Philadelphia, 2014).
2.1.2 SWOT Analysis:
A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis is a tool used
in the evaluation of an organization’s internal and external environmental dynamics
that affect its success (Kotler et al., 2014). As Visit Philadelphia is a DMO, the factors
taken into account will be of its own as well as the product it markets, the city of
Philadelphia. For additional reference, see the SWOT Analysis table in Appendix A.
Strengths:
The city of Philadelphia has a number of strong characteristics that assist in Visit
Philadelphia achieving its mission. First, Philadelphia is geographically accessible as
it sits between and is almost equidistant from two large metropolitan markets in
New York City and Washington, DC. It is also only a few hours drive from either
location, making it a natural stopping place between the two.
Next, Philadelphia is historically relevant as it is the birthplace of the United
States, thus offering tourists an experience that cannot be received anywhere else.

Philadelphia is also more affordable compared to other major metropolitan
cities and therefore makes it a more economical destination for tourism (Cable
News Network, 2014).
Finally, Visit Philadelphia’s commanding Social Media presence has made the
city more accessible for prospective tourists to access relevant content (Visit
Philadelphia, 2014).
Weaknesses:
However, there are also a number of weaknesses that Visit Philadelphia must be
aware of that could hinder its success. One of the biggest issues Visit Philadelphia
faces is that it does not own Philadelphia. This means that Visit Philadelphia cannot
simply create new features of the city to market as it has to work with what it has.
This includes the less desirable aspects of the city which could hinder tourism if not
monitored. This includes Philadelphia’s poverty rate being the highest of any other
major metropolitan city in the country (Lubano, 2013). One does not have to walk
very far in the city before encountering at least one homeless person; this can
ultimately hurt Philadelphia’s image and dissuade tourists from visiting.
Additionally, Visit Philadelphia is one of two Destination Marketing DMOs
within Philadelphia; both with distinct marketing campaigns for the city (Hepp,
2014). This can ultimately cause confusion for how tourists view Philadelphia.
Moreover, Philadelphia lacks international attraction, as it is the only major east
coast city that does not attract at least one million foreign visitors per year (Hilario,
2014).

Opportunities:
There are a number of opportunities available to Visit Philadelphia that could assist
in helping to fulfill its mission. First, Philadelphia’s hotel industry is growing
(Blumenthal, 2014). As the new hotels open, there will be more rooms for tourists
to occupy.
Second, if Visit Philadelphia were to merge with the PHLCVB, it would have
more funding available to allocate in achieving its marketing goals (Hilario, 2014).
Currently the hotel tax that funds both Visit Philadelphia and the Philadelphia City
Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) is split to accommodate both DMOs. If the two were to
combine, approximately one million dollars could be redistributed to marketing
tourism efforts (2014).
Third, Philadelphia is in the trial period of offering consistent late night
transportation on the weekends (Nussbaum, 2014). If this is successful, tourists will
have a permanent means of exploring the city’s nightlife without being stranded and
may be more encouraged to spend more time participating in city activities knowing
there is reliable transportation available.
Last, Visit Philadelphia could also expand its reach by creating specific
campaigns targeted at other age demographics. According to the VP of
Communications for Visit Philadelphia, Visit Philadelphia’s messaging is targeted
towards the Millennial Generation specifically (Oates, 2014). Therefore, there are a
number of individuals outside of this demographic that are being left out of Visit
Philadelphia’s scope that could otherwise contribute to increasing booked hotel
room nights.

Threats:
There are also outside threats that Visit Philadelphia must be aware of; while there
is nothing Visit Philadelphia can do about them as they come externally from the
organization, they can still get in the way of Visit Philadelphia realizing its mission.
First, the city of Philadelphia has to compete with the attraction of the nearby major
metropolitan areas of Washington, DC and Boston, MA; these destinations will
always be there and continue to compete for tourists.
Next, Visit Philadelphia’s target audience, the Millennials, faces more
economic problems than any generation prior (Pew Research Center, 2014). This
makes it more unlikely that the Millennials will be able to contribute to satisfying
Visit Philadelphia’s mission of staying more nights and participating in activities
around the city that bring in revenue.
Additionally, Visit Philadelphia’s reputation has been jeopardized due to the
recent news of its former CFO embezzling over $200,000 (Bergman, 2014). This
could lead to a lack of trust by the tourist community in both Visit Philadelphia’s
messages, as well as the product it represents, the city of Philadelphia.
2.1.3 Customer Analysis:
A customer analysis identifies who the company or organization will market its
services to specifically (Kotler et al., 2014).
Visit Philadelphia’s customer:
 Is a leisure tourist (“Building The Brand”, 2014)
 Is educated and has discretionary income (2014)

 Resides within the United States, predominately on the upper east coast
(2014)
 43.6yrs. old (2014)
2.2 External Analysis:
An external analysis evaluates the opportunities and threats outside of an
organization that could impact its overall success (Ballowe, 2008). Three methods
that are utilized in understanding this data are a PESTE Analysis, an Industry
Analysis, as well as a Competitor Analysis.
2.2.1 PESTE Analysis:
A PESTE Analysis is a tool that examines the external factors of an organization’s
environment that can impact its overall success (Brooks, 2013). This specifically
includes information and trends in the political, economic, social, technological, and
environmental fields. For a visual representation, reference the table in Appendix B.
Political:
The pressure by the City Controller to save tax revenue and merge Visit Philadelphia
with the Philadelphia City Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) and ultimately create one DMO
for Philadelphia, if approved, would change Visit Philadelphia’s scope. Ultimately,
this single DMO would have to service both leisure and business travelers, thus
diluting Visit Philadelphia’s mission of catering towards leisure travelers specifically
(Butkovitz, 2014).

On the other hand, the US Visa Waiver Program could have positive
implications for Philadelphia receiving more international tourists. Due to
diminished wait times for foreign travelers to receive their Visas, there is hope that
there will be more of an inclination to visit the United States for tourism
(Department of Homeland Security, 2014). Should this be successful, Philadelphia
will have the opportunity to host more tourists, and thus increase the number of
nights stayed in the city by these individuals.
Economic:
The reauthorization of Brand USA is positive news for all DMOs across the nation as
this entity provides guaranteed tax revenue for each DMO to operate (Keefe &
Morris, 2014). Ultimately with more funding, Visit Philadelphia can devote
increased marketing efforts towards fulfilling its mission.
Furthermore, the recent addition of Qatar Airlines to the Philadelphia
International Airport has brought more global attention to the city (Loyd, 2014).
Thus, this opens the door for new foreign leisure travelers to stay nights and
experience Philadelphia, which would bring in new sources of revenue to the city
(2014).
However, something that could be severely problematic for Visit Philadelphia
is that its target market, the Millennials, are faced with more debt than any other
generation prior to it (Pew Research Center, 2014). This could hinder Visit
Philadelphia from fulfilling its mission because it has implications that this

generation will have minimal, if any, discretionary income to spend on visiting the
city let alone spending nights.
Social:
By the end of this year, all of the Millennials, will have entered adulthood (Pew
Research Center, 2014). This means that Visit Philadelphia will be reaching an all
adult population, one that is capable of making its own decisions, and can choose if
and when it visits the city, thus either contributing to or hindering Visit Philadelphia
in achieving its mission.
Additionally, support for same-sex marriage is continuing to grow (Pew
Research Center, 2014). This is positive news for Visit Philadelphia as it has just
celebrated its 10th anniversary of its lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
campaign (Visit Philadelphia, 2014). This makes Philadelphia a desirable
destination as it is supporting a current social trend.
Technological:
As technology is continuing to advance, a trend that has emerged is one where
travelers are utilizing mobile platforms more frequently as they allow for the
flexibility of updating plans at a moment’s notice (Workman, 2014). Visit
Philadelphia must be cognizant of this behavior because if the city’s hotels and
attractions do not offer mobile platform capabilities, prospective tourists may look
to other travel destinations.

Furthermore, as the world has become more technologically connected,
complimentary Wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) has become a major factor in determining
where individuals book their hotel stays. Last year, Hotels.com took a poll of
hoteliers and approximately 34% rated free Wi-Fi as the most important amenity in
choosing a particular accommodation (Hotels.com, 2013). Knowing this, Visit
Philadelphia needs to be aware of how many of the city’s hotels offer the free Wi-Fi
accommodation as it is a major determinant in Visit Philadelphia fulfilling its
mission.
Environmental:
The Millennial generation values sustainability of the environment (Rayapura,
2014). This is crucial for Visit Philadelphia to be aware of because it has identified
the Millennials as a segment of its target market. To further emphasize the
importance of green initiatives in today’s society, more hotels are finding that
environmentally conscious campaigns have become an evaluation factor in guests’
decisions to book a hotel room (Johnson, 2014). This is crucial information for Visit
Philadelphia to be aware of because whether or not the hotels in the city have
sustainability programs could play a major factor in the amount of room nights sold,
thus impacting an aspect of Visit Philadelphia’s mission.

2.2.2 Industry Analysis:
An Industry Analysis evaluates the competitive nature of the environment in which
the organization resides (WebFinance Inc., 2014). Using Porter’s Five Forces is an
effective way of evaluating Visit Philadelphia’s competitive advantage within its
market. Porter’s Five Forces works under the premise that there are five distinct
industry forces that ultimately influence the success of an organization; this
includes, the barriers to entry, the threat of substitute products or services, the
bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, and ultimately the
threat amongst existing competition (Kim & Oh, 2014). Reference the diagram in
Appendix C for a visual representation.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers:
The bargaining power of a supplier is influenced by the level of saturation within its
industry compared to that of the buyer’s (Wilkinson, 2013). According to its
mission, Visit Philadelphia measures its success by how many nights visitors stay in
Philadelphia (Visit Philadelphia, 2014). Therefore, the hotel industry would be
considered the supplier for Visit Philadelphia because it provides the rooms for
these individuals to stay in. This is interesting given that Philadelphia has been
green lit to receive a number of new hotel properties within the next few years. This
includes a W Hotel and an Element by Westin, as well as a Kimpton Hotel that will
be taking over the old Family Court Building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
(Blumenthal, 2014), (Jenkins, 2014). This indicates that there is strong demand for

rooms, which gives the suppliers a high advantage in being able to charge what they
want.
Bargaining Power of Customers:
A high bargaining power for customers occurs when, “their purchases represent a
large part of the supplier’s revenue, [and]…a large part of their own costs”
(WebFinance, Inc., 2014). This is the case for Visit Philadelphia’s customers. Due to
there being many hotel properties in the city to choose from, as well as the
possibility of finding other alternatives for places to stay including friends and
family, Visit Philadelphia’s customers’ bargaining power is high; they are not at the
mercy of the hotel industry to spend nights.
Substitutes:
Substitutes are, “goods that, at least partly, satisfy the same needs of the consumers
and, therefore, can be used to replace one another” (WebFinance, Inc., 2014). Due to
the tourism industry depending on the discretionary income of its customers for
survival, the ability to travel, including spending nights in a destination, competes
with other non-necessity outputs including eating out at restaurants, shopping, and
going to the movies (Crouch et al., 2007). Therefore, due to the many choices
customers have on where to spend their discretionary income, the threat of
substitutes for Visit Philadelphia is high.

New Entrants:
The threat of new entrants can be classified as the likelihood of new competitors
entering the organization’s industry (Wilkinson, 2013). As Visit Philadelphia is a
DMO, a new entrant would have to be a new DMO that threatens the success of Visit
Philadelphia. The likelihood of this happening is extremely slim due to the many
factors and costs that go into creating a DMO and destination for that matter. To
give an idea of what this would cost, Michael Nutter’s, the Mayor of Philadelphia,
proposed Fiscal Year 2015 Budget has expenses for Philadelphia totaling at $4.49
billion (Nutter, 2014). Furthermore, this is the expected cost for maintaining a
current destination. The likelihood that anyone or anyplace would have the capital
in an amount equal to or in excess of this monetary figure, as well as the space to
develop a new destination, is extremely slim. Therefore the threat of new entrants
entering Visit Philadelphia’s market is extremely low.
Existing Competition:
The existing competition for Visit Philadelphia includes the DMOs of the other major
metropolitan areas on the East Coast. Due to their close proximity and manageable
commutes from Philadelphia, the DMO of Washington, DC, Destination DC and the
DMO of Boston, MA, The Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GBCVB),
Visit Philadelphia’s competition is high (Destination DC, 2014), (Greater Boston
Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2014). To further emphasize this, these other
destinations have the size, infrastructure, global recognition, and suppliers to attract
tourists to their respective locations and keep them from coming to Philadelphia.

2.2.3 Competitor Analysis:
The competitor analysis of an organization evaluates the commonalities, strengths,
and weaknesses between itself and its outside competition (WebFinance, Inc.,
2014). The following will examine the similarities and differences between Visit
Philadelphia and its two competitors, Destination DC and the GBCVB, as well as offer
areas of improvement for Visit Philadelphia. Refer to Appendix D for a visual
representation.
Similarities:
The cities of all three DMO’s compare in that they are all located on the East Coast,
each have a distinct and rich connection to the history of the country, and all offer
public transportation in local busses and subways. Additionally, each offers tourists
attractions through their excursion opportunities, professional sports teams, as well
as distinct iconic locations (Destination DC, 2014), (Greater Boston City Visitors
Bureau, 2014), (Visit Philadelphia, 2014). Furthermore, each city is accessible by
car and mass transit operations including planes, and trains. Moreover, each city
has at least one body of water that acts as a distinct feature of the destination. Last,
all three destinations share a similar climate structure throughout the year in
experiencing four distinct seasons.

Differences - Visit Philadelphia:
The biggest difference in regards to organizational layout between the three DMO’s
is that Visit Philadelphia is the only one that specifically handles leisure tourism and
not business tourism as well (Hilario, 2014). Furthermore, Visit Philadelphia has
the most widely utilized website out of any other DMO in the country (Visit
Philadelphia, 2014). This indicates a likelihood that tourists have at least heard of
Philadelphia. On another note, of the three destinations, Philadelphia is the only one
that still relies on the token system primarily for public transportation (Blumgart,
2013). Last, Philadelphia offers its own signature meal in the, “Philadelphia
Cheesesteak”; people will travel to Philadelphia just to get what is considered an
authentic cheesesteak.
Differences - Destination DC:
Destination DC has an advantage in attracting tourists to its city because it offers
free admission to all of the museums in the area (Destination DC, 2014). Moreover,
Washington DC is nationally and internationally known due to it being the face of
the nation and its association as the political center of the country. Furthermore,
Washington DC is known to some of the most iconic monuments of political
figureheads in the United States (2014).

Differences GBCVB:
Due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, Boston is able to offer whale-watching
tours as a unique sightseeing opportunity that both Philadelphia and Washington,
DC cannot (Greater Boston City Visitors Bureau, 2014). Furthermore, Boston is
home to the oldest functioning stadium in Major League Baseball, Fenway Park,
making it a destination for any fan of the game (Ballparksofbaseball.com, 2014).
Last, Boston has utilized its waterfront to facilitate the development of the Seaport
area where higher scale retail and shopping centers have recently developed (Baker,
2012).
Areas of Opportunity – Visit Philadelphia:
Based on the similarities and differences between Visit Philadelphia, Destination DC,
and the GBCVB, it is clear that there are areas that Visit Philadelphia and
Philadelphia excel in, such as Visit Philadelphia’s strong presence in Social Media, as
well as opportunities for improvement that will help both the DMO and city stay
competitive. A major prospect for Visit Philadelphia would be to merge with the
Philadelphia City Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) and create one DMO for Philadelphia.
In doing so, tourists will have a one stop shop for everything they need to know
about the city. Furthermore, the merge would save Philadelphia an expected one
million dollars in administrative costs that could be redistributed towards
marketing efforts or other initiatives that encourage tourism to the city (Hilario,
2014).

Another opportunity for Philadelphia would be to evolve past the token
system for access onto the city’s public transportation (Blumgart, 2013). By
adopting a transit card system, time would be saved because travelers will no longer
have to wait in line to buy tokens every time they need to access the busses or the
subway.
On an observational basis, Visit Philadelphia could also make its website
more user friendly. One does not have to go far into the website to feel
overwhelmed by the amount of information presented. Furthermore, if Visit
Philadelphia were to segment its website by the type of leisure travel (ie:
adventure–leisure, culture–leisure, relaxation-leisure, etc.), only the necessary
information would be displayed to each individuals’ specific needs; ultimately
allowing for a better understanding of what Visit Philadelphia and Philadelphia
offer.
Last, Philadelphia’s level of unemployment is significantly higher than either
Boston’s or Washington, DC’s. In 2012, Philadelphia had the second highest
unemployment rate in the country, only behind Detroit (The Pew Charitable Trusts,
2013). If Philadelphia can improve in this area, it will help rehabilitate its image and
increase tourism to the region.

(The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2013)

2.2.4 Target Market Analysis:
A target market is defined as the segment or segments that an organization aims to
serve with its campaigns (Kotler et al., 2014). Furthermore, when an organization
selects a target market, it has ideally done this by segmenting the market into
groups that are easily identifiable by common characteristics that will ultimately
resonate with the organization’s values (King, 2014).
In the case of Visit Philadelphia, it has chosen to segment its market based on
the type of tourist, as well as geographic and age demographics. First, Visit
Philadelphia states that its marketing is geared toward the leisure tourist
specifically and that its customers come from all over the world (Visit Philadelphia,
2014). This means that if tourists are coming to Philadelphia for leisure, no matter
where they originated, they are targets. However, the reason specifically has to be
for leisure; other types of tourism, such as business, are not priorities to Visit
Philadelphia.
Next, Visit Philadelphia breaks this segment down further by focusing on an
age demographic, specifically the Millennials. According to the Vice President of
Communications for Visit Philadelphia, Paula Butler, when talking about the
organization’s strategy she said, “ The city itself is 40% millennial, and our office is
very much millennial…we kind of go out of our way to not just think about what
media we go into but the message that we that will appeal to Millennials” (Oates,
2014). Not only does this indicate that Visit Philadelphia specifically targets the
Millennials demographic, but also that there may be a predisposition towards this

group due to Visit Philadelphia’s staff being comprised mostly of this age bracket.
Therefore it is clear that Visit Philadelphia targets Millennial leisure tourists from
any part of the globe.
This is particularly interesting given that in the customer analysis, Visit
Philadelphia’s current clientele is an average of 43.6 years of age, which is older
than the Millennial demographic, and is predominately traveling from the East
Coast. (Visit Philadelphia, 2014), Furthermore, Visit Philadelphia makes no mention
of the international market in its data. These two instances indicate that there are
discrepancies between who Visit Philadelphia says its market is and what it is in
actuality.
2.3 Situational Analysis Summary:
Based on the information presented in the above sections, it is clear that Visit
Philadelphia is in a unique position as an organization. First its product is intangible
in that it cannot be purchased, taken home, etc. Next, Visit Philadelphia’s
competition is firmly cemented as it consists of other DMOs and cities that have and
will always be in existence. Furthermore, due to its product being a destination,
Visit Philadelphia cannot only consider the trends that affect Philadelphia, but also
those at a state, national, and global level. Moreover, the success of Philadelphia
being chosen as a place for leisure tourism, rests firmly on Visit Philadelphia’s
shoulders even though it cannot control the factors, such as infrastructure and the
destination itself, that ultimately influence those decisions (Line & Runyan, 2014).

However the one aspect that Visit Philadelphia can control is who it chooses
to market the city as a leisure destination towards. This is important because if the
scope of its target market is off, then Visit Philadelphia will not be successful in
influencing leisure tourists’ decisions to visit Philadelphia.
3.0 Marketing Opportunity:
Based on the information presented in the above sections, it is clear that Visit
Philadelphia excels in certain areas, such as its use of social media to communicate
to its current customer base and its affordability compared to other major
metropolitan areas (Bean, 2013), (Cable News Network, 2014). However while Visit
Philadelphia has been successful in this regard, there are still prospects for growth.
This is evident from the customer analysis that Visit Philadelphia’s actual consumer
does not fit into the scope of its current target market. Based on this discrepancy,
Visit Philadelphia’s major opportunity is to adopt a new target marketing strategy.
Target marketing is the process in which an organization identifies one or
more marketing segments it shares natural connections with and tailors specific
messaging to resonate within those prescribed groups (Kotler et al., 2014). There
are three components to target marketing. The first step is to identify the
segmentation variables, or what categories will be used to separate the markets
(King, 2014). Once this is complete, the organization should then develop profiles
for each segment that allow for a thorough understanding of their unique factors
that includes the commonalities and distinctions between one another (2014). Last,

once the previous two steps are complete, the organization can then identify the
appropriate strategy to reach these segments (2014).
In the case of Visit Philadelphia, its mission is to increase leisure tourism to
Philadelphia and measures that success through the amount of nights stayed within
its geographic parameters (Visit Philadelphia, 2014). Consequently, if Visit
Philadelphia adopts the target marketing process described above while keeping it’s
mission top of mind, then there will be a higher likelihood of achieving success
because Visit Philadelphia will only be targeting those who have the ability to satisfy
its goals.
Therefore, when looking to implement a target marketing strategy, there are
different components that Visit Philadelphia must take into consideration. First,
Visit Philadelphia needs to decide how it wants to segment its market. Based on the
difference between the age of who Visit Philadelphia’s current customer is, 43.6yrs.
old, and what Visit Philadelphia considers its current target market to be, the
Millennial generation, 18-33yrs. old, it is clear there is an opportunity to add
additional segments based on age demographics (Visit Philadelphia, 2014), (Oates,
2014), (Pew Research Center, 2014). This would be a worthwhile consideration for
Visit Philadelphia because, as it was mentioned in the PESTE analysis in section
2.2.1, the Millennials are facing more debt that any prior age group (Pew Research
Center, 2014). Therefore it is arguable that the Millennials may not be the most
appropriate segment to be targeting because they do not have the economic security
and, by virtue of this, the discretionary income to help fulfill Visit Philadelphia’s
mission. An option to alleviate this predicament would be to look at the generations

older than the Millennials and develop campaigns geared specifically towards them.
Specifically, this would include Generation X as it is the demographic that currently
represents the average customer of the city (Taylor & Gao, 2014). This change could
lead to more of the current average age tourists of Philadelphia visiting the city and
thus better assist Visit Philadelphia in achieving its mission.
Another opportunity for Visit Philadelphia would be to create a segment
based on the international tourism market. Referring back to the SWOT analysis in
section 2.1.2, a weakness of Philadelphia is that it is the only major city on the upper
east coast to not attract at least 1 million foreign travelers per year (Butkovitz,
2014). Therefore, it can be argued that international tourism is needed in
Philadelphia to stay competitive with other cities. Moreover, Visit Philadelphia has
the means to do this in its recent procurement of the Persian Gulf airline, Qatar
Airways, which offers direct flights in and out of Philadelphia (Loyd, 2014). This
acquisition gives Visit Philadelphia a specific geographic region to market to that
has a guaranteed accessible form of transportation to Philadelphia, thus making the
tourists from that area a segment to target.
Next, now that the new targets have been identified, Visit Philadelphia can
begin to craft strategies that will speak specifically to the values and characteristics
of the individuals that make up these groups. If this is effective, Visit Philadelphia
could potentially attract new forms of revenue from a variety of sources to fund its
efforts (Goovaerts et al., 2014). However, this is not a task that should be taken
lightly. According to the article, Literary Tourism: Opportunities and Challenges
for the Marketing and Branding of Destinations?, “the challenge for any destination

branding strategy is the need to develop a suitable “umbrella” approach to appease
and excite multiple markets and multiple market segments” (Hoppen et al., 2014).
Therefore, no matter how many segments Visit Philadelphia chooses to market
towards, it needs to keep in mind feasibility as well as crafting a consistent brand
image that is at the root of all of its campaigns to avoid confusion about what the
city, as a destination, offers.
Ultimately, taking into account its mission, its current customer profile and
its intended market, Visit Philadelphia should look to expand its target market to
include additional age demographics as well as international tourism. Based on its
own research, Visit Philadelphia has identified that the average age consumer
visiting Philadelphia is older than the Millennial generation (Visit Philadelphia,
2014). However, despite this fact, Visit Philadelphia acknowledges that all of its
efforts are geared towards this demographic (Oates, 2014). Further, Visit
Philadelphia never discusses what it does to specifically attract the international
market despite having the infrastructure and mediums to do so. Therefore, if Visit
Philadelphia were to add these segments into its target market, Visit Philadelphia
would reach more prospective tourists with higher potentials of assisting in the
fulfillment of Visit Philadelphia’s mission than that of its current scope.

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Appendix A
SWOT Analysis: Visit Philadelphia
Strengths:
 Geographically accessible
 Historically relevant
 Affordability compared to other
major metropolitan areas
 Commanding social media /
digital presence
 Booming Restaurant industry
Weaknesses:
 Does not physically own its
product
 One of two DMO’s in
Philadelphia
 Only major east coast city to not
attract at least 1 million
international visitors per year
 High poverty rate
Opportunities:
 Growing hotel industry
 Merge with PHLCVB and become
more efficient as a single DMO
overall
 Consistent late subway
transportation on weekends
 Overseas Marketing /
Partnerships (Qatar Airways)
 Reach new target market(s)
Threats:
 Competition of nearby major
metros
 Target market faces more debt
than any previous generation
 Former CEO embezzled money
 Has to share its revenue source
with another DMO
 Price increases in air travel
 Lower convention demand = less
leisure
 Inconsistent government
support
 DA investigation into money
embezzlement scandal
(Rathner, 2014)

Appendix B
PESTE Analysis: Visit Philadelphia
Political Economical Social Technological Environmental
 US Visa Waiver
Program
 Brand USA
reauthorized by
legislation
 Pressure by City
Controller to
create one DMO
for Philadelphia
 Mayor Nutter
unsuccessful in
creating a new
Hospitality
Advisory board
 Growth of China’s
middle class
significantly
alters the tourism
landscape
 Millennials are
more politically
independent
 Travel creating jobs
faster than any
other sector of the
US economy
 Brand USA
reauthorized
leading to more tax
revenue for every
state
 Increase in
International air
carriers
(Philadelphia
specifically)
 Philadelphia has
highest poverty rate
in the country
 Foreign travels are
continuing to spend
more money in the
US
 Airbnb starting to
grab more market
share from hotels
 Millennials
are entering
adulthood
 More people
with higher
levels of
education
 Marriage
rates slowing
down
 Younger
generation is
more liberal
 Higher
support for
same-sex
marriage
 Less available
time
 Safety is a
major concern
 Mobile
platforms are
increasing in
popularity for
all facets of
life
 Apple Pay
 WiFi is no
longer an
amenity, it is a
necessity
 Sustainable
transportatio
n continues to
be relevant
 Sustainability
is a high
priority
 Hotels are
working to
have lower
carbon
emissions
 Seasonality of
the city could
impede
tourism
certain times
of the year
(Rathner, 2014)

Appendix C
Industry Analysis – Porter’s Five Forces: Visit Philadelphia
Existing Competition
(Other destinations
and DMO’s) - High
Supplier
Bargaining
Power
(Hotels) -
High
New Entrants (Brand New
destinations and DMO’s) - Low
Customer
Bargaining
Power
(Tourists) -
High
Substitutes (Other
Opportunities to spend
discretionary income) - High
(Rathner, 2014)

Appendix D:
Competitor Analysis: Visit Philadelphia

Visit Philadelphia /
Philadelphia
Two DMOs
Most visited website of andy
DMO in the country
Token system for public transit
Signature food named after city
GBCVB /
Boston
Unique ocean excursions
Developed waterfront
Underground highway
system
Oldest functioning MLB
stadium
Destination DC /
Washington, DC
Free museums
Global awareness
Vast amount of parks and
recreation space
Face of the nation
political figurehead
monuments
(Rathner, 2014)

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