Insights


Logo Design Tips

Posted by McElfresh on February 22nd, 2012 at 7:28 pm

Things to consider before developing a logo –

1.     How is the logo going to be used?  Are you going to use it small for a website or will it be enlarged for sign usage.  A logo for a sign should be easy to read from a distance.  A program such as Adobe Illustrator where a vector file can be created should be used for this type of logo design.  Vector files can be enlarged to any size and can retain their sharp edges.  Logos designed as a jpeg or tiff file will not reproduce well when enlarged for sign usage.

2.     Does the logo clearly state what your business is about?  How many times have you seen a logo where you have said “I wonder what they sell” because it did not clearly indicate it on their logo.  For example:  Arizona Stage Stop Co. might be the legal name of your business, but for advertising purposes consider adding more information to your logo such as Arizona Stage Stop Deli & Coffee.

3.     Will it be used in both full Color and one color (Black or White)?   A full color logo in a magazine ad or on a website might look great, but if you want to put it on a shirt or on a 1-color sales sheet it might not reproduce well.  Look at the logo in both color and in black before committing to the design.

There is always the temptation to take short cuts to save time, money or both when a new logo is developed.  The problem is that down the road it may cause a ton of headaches and will turn out to be neither inexpensive or fast.  An experience professional will design the logo right the first time.

TOURISM INDUSTRY ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS

Posted by McElfresh on February 2nd, 2012 at 7:25 pm

The Tourism Marketing Industry can be a confusing place with our fondness for abbreviations and acronyms. Here are a few that you can learn that will make you sound like an industry veteran in no time.

ABA: American Bus Association

ACME: Association of Convention Marketing Executives

ACOM: Association of Convention Operation Managers

ACTE: Association of Corporate Travel Executives

ADI: Area of Dominant Influence (used to determine media markets)

ADR: Average Daily Rate (a measure of hotel profitability)

ASAE: American Society of Association Executives, and host to one of the largest convention industry trade shows in North America

ASTA: American Society of Travel Agents

BID: Business Improvement District

CAE: Certified Association Executive

Carrying Capacity: The number of visitors that can adequately be accommodated with existing infrastructure such as lodging, dining, roads, parking, etc.

CDME: Certified Destination Marketing Executive

CIC: Convention Industry Council.   An umbrella association for convention industry associations

CMP: Certified Meeting Professional

Consumer Show: Differs from a “Trade Show” as a trade show generally targets industry professionals. Consumer Shows target the consumer.

Conversion: Closing the sale

CSAE: Canadian Society of Association Executives.

CSM: Convention Services Manager

Cultural Tourism: Travel for the purpose of learning about the culture or heritage or an area

CVA: Convention & Visitors Association

CVB: Convention & Visitors Bureau

CTC: Certified Travel Counselor  (also the Canadian Tourism Commission)

Day visitors: Visitors who arrive and leave the same day (also known as “Daytrippers”)

DMAI: Destination Marketing Association International (the Trade Association for the DMO industry, formerly known as the International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus)

DMAP: Destination Marketing Accreditation Program

DMC: Destination Management Company (usually private sector)

DMO: Destination Marketing (or Management) Organization (usually non-profit or public sector)

EDC: Economic Development Council (or Corporation)

ESSTO: Educational Seminar for State Travel Officials

FAM / Familiarization Trip: A complimentary or reduced-rate travel program for travel writers, group tour operators, travel agents, airline or rail employees or other travel buyers, designed to acquaint participants with specific destinations or suppliers and to stimulate the sale of travel.

FIT: Foreign independent traveler (or Fully Independent Traveler)

Fulfillment Piece: Promotional literature, video or other material that is sent in response to an inquiry

GLAMER: Group Leaders of America

HSMAI: Hospitality Sales and Management Association International

IAAM: International Association of Assembly Managers

IAAPA: International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions

IACC: International Association of Conference Centers

IAEM: International Association of Exposition Managers

ICCA: International Congress and Convention Association

IFEA: International Festivals and Events Association

Incentive Tour: A trip offered as a prize, usually by a company to stimulate employee sales or productivity

Interpretation: Print materials, signage, narration, guided tours and anything that “interprets” the site or destination for the visitor.

ITME: Incentive Travel and Meetings Expo

Leisure Visitor: Leisure tourists, in contrast with business travelers, travel for pleasure and thus are not under any obligations to frequent specific destinations or facilities.

M & C: Meetings and Conventions

MPI: Meeting Professionals International

MTWA: Midwest Travel Writers Association

NASC: National Association of Sports Commissions

NAEM: National Association of Exposition Managers

NCBMP: National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners

NSA: National Speakers Association

NTA: National Tour Association

Occupancy rate: Percent of available hotel rooms sold during a particular span of time

PCMA: Professional Convention Management Association

Pow Wow: A Trade Show for the Group (Motorcoach) Travel Market, attended by operators and destinations from around the world

PRSA: Public Relations Society of America

Rack Card: The typical tourism brochure (sized 4” x 9”) and used primarily in tourism racks.

Rack Rate: The official cost or a room posted by a hotel (but rarely paid by groups)

RCMA: Religious Conference Management Association

Receptive Operator: Someone who plans to “receive” a motorcoach or tour group.  They may plan lodging, meals, attraction visits, etc. for a fee or commission

RevPar: Revenue per Available Room (a hotel performance measure)

RFP: Request for Proposal

RFQ: Request for Qualifications

ROI: Return on Investment

SATW: Society of American Travel Writers

SGMP: Society of Government Meeting Planners

SITE: Society of Incentive and Travel Executives

SMERF: A segment of the Convention & Meeting Market that stands for Social, Military, Educational, Religious and Fraternal.

STAR Report: A measurement (by Smith Travel Research) of hotel performance

Step-on Guide: A highly knowledgeable guide who “steps-on” an incoming motorcoach and provides narrative interpretation for the passengers

STS: Southeast Tourism Society

TDA: Tourism Development Authority

TDC: Tourism Development Council / Commission

TIA: Travel Industry Association of America

TIF: Tax Incremental Financing

TODS: Tourist Oriented Directional Signage (often the blue signs along interstates and highways

TOT: Transient Occupancy Tax  (or “Room Tax”)

Trade Show: A product showcase for a specific industry that is generally not open to the public.

TTRA: Travel and Tourism Research Association

USTA: United States Travel Association (formerly TIA and Travel Business Roundtable)

USTOA: United States Tour Operators Association

VCB: Visitors and Convention Bureau

VFR: Visiting friends and relatives

VIC: Visitor Information Center (or Welcome Center)

Wayfinding Signage: Signs to aid the traveling public in finding their way around a destination

WTM: World Travel Market

WTO: World Tourism Organization

WTTC: World Travel and Tourism Council

Where is Flagstaff, AZ?

Posted by McElfresh on January 25th, 2012 at 8:21 pm

We do business with people around the country, and those people who have never been to Flagstaff — assume that we are located in the desert because we are in Arizona.  In fact, we are located in Northern Arizona, at the base of the San Francisco Peaks — which are over 12,000 ft. high and is home to the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort. The City of Flagstaff is at approx. 7,000 ft. and is situated right smack in the middle of the largest Ponderosa Pine Forest in the world.  During the Summer, when it is well above a 100 degrees in the desert area surrounding Phoenix, it will only be in the seventies or eighties here in Flagstaff! Some of the most beautiful scenery in our country surrounds Flagstaff.  Including one of the seven wonders of the world…the Grand Canyon!

COLORS USED IN ADVERTISING DESIGN

Posted by McElfresh on January 17th, 2012 at 9:07 pm

COLORS USED IN ADVERTISING DESIGN

CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (Black) are colors that can be mixed to produce all colors used in printing. The black is referred to as “K” for key – a shorthand for the printing term key plate. This plate impressed the artistic detail of an image, usually in black ink. When creating something that needs to be printed, CMYK colors should be used. Values range from 0 to 100.

RGB:  Red, Green & Blue are the “primary colors” of light which can be mixed to produce all colors. When creating photos or graphics for websites, RGB colors should be used. Values range from 0 to 255.

PANTONE or PMS (Pantone Matching System): A set of standard colors for printing, each of which is specified by a single number.  PANTONE colors enable a print shop to exactly reproduce a desired color.

Effective Billboard Advertising

Posted by McElfresh on January 11th, 2012 at 5:44 pm

Effective Billboard Advertising

Outdoor advertising on roadside billboards, is a very effective way to reach potential customers. It is also one of the most cost-effective ways to advertise due to the fact that thousands of people per day may be exposed to your message.

Board location, Just as in any advertising, visibility, and exposure to the appropriate audience, determines the value of that advertising placement. Also, proximity to your business — the closer, the better!

Board placement, is where that board is located in relation to the roadway, and direction of travel.

  • Right-hand read: Located on the right side of the road, facing the closest lane of traffic. This is most desirable. Easier to read.
  • Left-hand read: Located on the left side of the road, facing the farthest lane of traffic. Messages on these boards should be very simple and to the point.

Digital vs Traditional (Static): Digital billboards are highly visible because of the bright, rich image of the LCD screen (day and night), and your message can be easily changed during the duration of the advertising agreement.  A digital billboard usually has 6-8 different advertisers that are shown in a continuous loop for 8 seconds at a time.  The disadvantage to digital is that your image/ad may not be up in its rotation at the time some motorist’s are passing the billboard. A traditional billboard…is static – a fixed surface that is wrapped with a printed vinyl. Every motorist will have the opportunity to view your message. These boards are sometimes illuminated with lights for night-time viewing. A disadvantage to traditional billboard advertising is the high cost of printing and installing new vinyl every time you want to change your message. Most billboard companies include one free vinyl and installation with a 12 or 24-month contract.

Get to the point.  You only have about 8 seconds to grab the motorist’s attention.  Your message should be short and memorable.  Your billboard should include the main message (the hook or call to action), your business name and where you are located.  Some of the most memorable billboards have the fewest words and three or less graphics.

QR Codes Used in Marketing

Posted by McElfresh on December 27th, 2011 at 9:23 pm

QR CODES USED IN MARKETING

QR codes (or Quick Response codes) are easy to set-up and very much like a bar code that links to a URL address, 250 characters of text, or phone number. The information is condensed into two dimensional op-art squares that connect online content to a smartphone.

With QR codes, readers don’t need to type in a URL address. They can just scan the QR code with their smartphone (using a free mobile reader application), and they are taken directly to the appropriate online source (Video, website home page, etc.). QR codes work great in printed collateral such as magazines where you want to direct a user to a specific web page or a video without requiring users to enter a long URL. QR codes can provide additional information despite space limitations.

If you are new to using QR codes, here are some tips to get started:

  • Make the landing page for that code – worthwhile; Something of value to the reader.
  • QR codes should link to a URL address that is optimized for mobile viewing.
  • QR codes should be at least one inch square in size. QR codes linked to long URL addresses need to be even larger due to the complexity of the QR code.
  • Depending on who you are targeting, you may want to provide instructions on how to use QR codes.
  • An incentive or call to action may be needed to motivate prospects to scan since they may need to install a QR code reader.

Below are several ways that QR codes can be implemented into marketing your product or business:

  • On the bottom of a receipt that links to a discount or special offer that they can use on their next visit.
  • On a trade show display that allows potential clients to bookmark your chosen contact details or website.
  • On a business card that links to a page where they can get on-line estimates or product information.
  • On a product sales sheet or catalog that takes you to the online shopping page.
  • On a magazine or newspaper ad that links to: an on-line video of a resort; a restaurant menu, a discount coupon or a map of where you are located.
  • On T-Shirts, Hats, Keychains, Drinkware, Calendars, etc.
  • On historical sites or museum artifacts to give more information on that site or artifact.
  • On your invoice that links your customers to an on-line payment portal.
  • Be creative and make it fun!

More than a third (35 percent) of all Americans now own a smartphone according to the latest report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.