Marketing Shift: The New Era of Visitor Information Targeting

 In destination marketing, best practices focus on understanding and engaging your audience. As Cvent highlights, these include targeting specific audiences, building brand awareness, increasing visitor numbers, and using platforms to generate actionable data. These efforts often leverage unique selling points (USPs), geotargeting, location-based marketing, and collaborations with influencers or programs.

But what if your destination has an untapped opportunity to combine these strategies and connect with millions of visitors already within your area? Many destinations miss out on engaging a significant portion of their audience. Now is the time to bridge that gap by meeting visitors where they are and revolutionizing location-based marketing.

Let’s explore the potential of this untapped opportunity by starting with visitor behavior trends and statistics.

In-Destination Visitor Insights:

• 30% of US travelers will access a destination website when planning
• 85% of Travelers decide on travel activities after arriving at their destination
• 67% will use Google to find local information upon arrival
• 3-5% of visitors connect with visitor centers
• 37% of visitors show up without specific plans
• 17% show up without lodging confirmations

* Tourism Analytics, Longwoods, Oracle

These numbers reveal a critical gap in reaching visitors inside your destination. Let’s consider an example using a fictional destination, “St. Louie,” to illustrate the engagement potential:

• 25 million annual visitors
• 3.5 million visit the destination website (primarily for planning purposes).
• Only 750,000 visitors (3-5%) interact with a visitor center.
• 15 million visitors move between top attractions
  

If the numbers aren’t talking to you yet, on average DMOs only connect with around 20% of your destination’s visitors and that may be a generous percentage.

Current Marketing Costs and Challenges

As we get excited let’s talk about traditional marketing and then compare ourselves to some possible new channels. Most marketers often rely on traditional advertising methods, such as digital ads, magazines, and billboards, to target visitors. However, these strategies come with limitations:

Sample CPM costs:

• CPMs for Travel Organizations run $5 to $12 per click (2023)
• Average eyeballs on your Digital Ad, can be hard to segment
• Magazines run $100,000 to reach 4 million readers, with little data on conversion
  

• On average 30,000 to 70,000 visitors per day
• 71% of visitors consciously look at billboards
• 65% will retain the message
• Cost range for the city area $15k plus per month
• Little to no conversion data

Unlocking the Opportunity: Digital Signage and Omni Channel Solutions

• Build partnerships with local businesses and organizations.
• Create a marketing channel that connects directly with millions of visitors.
• Offer a platform for real-time updates, promotions, and interactive features that visitors value.
  Drive more awareness, Advertising, and Stakeholder Revenue

Why Digital Signage Works

The numbers speak for themselves:

• 94% more views for digital visuals compared to text-based information.
• 65% information retention rate after three days for visually presented content.
• 83% recall rate for digital signage (nearly double that of traditional ads).
• 47.7% increase in brand awareness effectiveness.
• 400% more views for digital displays compared to static ones.
• 75% of travelers recall seeing a digital billboard in the past month.

With over 2,000 screens deployed in destinations, airports, and hotels over the past six years, we’ve seen firsthand how impactful digital signage can be.

Key Takeaways and Actionable Steps

Destinations have an unprecedented opportunity to enhance the marketing impact with a less expensive and more effective solution than ever before. This is just as much of an immediate opportunity as it is to build a lasting legacy for the teams involved.

Here’s what to do next:

1. Identify high-traffic areas: Focus on top attractions, airports, and visitor hubs to maximize visibility.
2. Build partnerships: Collaborate with local businesses, attractions, and organizations to create mutually beneficial programs.
3. Invest in indoor and outdoor digital signage: Leverage products like Omni Kiosks for versatility and durability.
4. Integrate your systems: Ensure seamless updates and real-time messaging.
5. Offer features visitors want: Include wayfinding, event details, promotions, and interactive passes and trails. 
6. Measure success: Use data from engagement, conversions, and visitor analytics to refine your strategy.

Why This Matters:

Digital signage and Kiosks are more than just a marketing tool—it’s a combination of digital billboards, magazine ads, and interactive advertising all rolled into one. It offers:

• Enhanced engagement and conversion tracking.
• Valuable data on visitor behavior and preferences.
• A lower CPM than traditional methods while providing long-term ROI.

If you’re ready to take your destination’s marketing, advertising, and partnership programs to the next level, we’re here to help. Let’s collaborate to create a strategy that drives results and leaves a lasting impact. Contact us today to learn why we’re trusted by travel organizations nationwide.

References

• https://www.travelperk.com/blog/online-travel-booking-statistics/
• https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/consumer-journey/mobile-influence-travel-decision-makingexplore-moments/
• https://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/blogs/100-proven-roi-driven-digital-signage-statistics-2022/