Why Idlewild

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Why Idlewild?
Rosalyn J. Jones, MBA
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Positive Image SWOT Analysis

• Idlewild community members believe they must
  move forward with what they have and leverage it
  where they can identify resources.

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Questions to Consider

• Why would someone spend money to visit Idlewild
  today?
• What am I coming to see and do?
• Resort areas Florida, Jamaica, Virginia Beach,
  St. Simons Island
• Black Heritage Tours DC, Baltimore
• Festivals Traverse City Film Festival
• Golf at Arcadia Bluffs or Bay Harbor
• Boating,fishing in the Lake Huron area

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Todays Discussion

• Marketing ObjectivesBuild momentum for 2012
  Centennial celebration
• 4 Ps of Marketing

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Marketing 4 Ps

• Product Programming tracks, e.g. History
  Heritage, Nature, Arts Culture
• Place
• Promotion How can I reach my target audience?
  How do I tell them about the offer?
• Price

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Target Marketing

• The ultimate goal match the right product or
  service with the right market or audience

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Target Audiences

• Specific groups or clientele most interested in
  your product
• Specific marketing objectives for each segment

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WHO are my customers?

• Baby Boomers (45-64), Millennials (18-24), Gen
  Xers (30-44), Youth, Children, Matures (65)
• Which segment am I trying to reach?
• Leisure
• Academia, e.g. Writers Conference

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Inventory existing resources

• Youth Children
• Work with DNR and US Forest Service
• Work with Lomas Browns group
• Young Adults Engage key people to create and
  deliver quality programming
• Housing Work with Positive Image to inventory
  lodging options

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African American Travelers

• Likely to visit family and friends (41)
• Likely to take kids (21)
• More likely than other Americans to take group
  tours (10 vs 4)
• On average stayed 3.1 nights on their most recent
  trip
• Most often stayed in hotels, motels or
  bed-and-breakfast lodges (45)
• About 32 stayed at private homes
• Black Enterprise, Dec. 1996 by Marjorie
  Whigham-Desir

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WHAT are they like?

• Demographic Information2009 Work with local
  business owners and event sponsors to collect zip
  code information
• Lifestyle Profiles

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WHERE can I find them?

• Leverage Pure Michigan campaign in Travel
  Michigans primary out of state markets, i.e.
  Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton,
  Indianapolis, St. Louis and Milwaukee

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Recommendations (Ranked in Priority Order)

• Trademark the name Black Eden
• Engage highly regarded historians to record oral
  histories for use on the Web

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Recommendations

• Feed content to michigan.org Places to Stay
  Things to Do
• Prioritize new programming based on ROI, e.g.
  disposable income, availability of public sector
  funding, university relationships, etc.

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Recommendations

• Marketing Budget How much do you have to
  spend?
• Create a pool of marketing and communications
  talent, e.g. graphic artists, Web designers, copy
  writers, event planners, media relations, public
  relations

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Recommendations

• Create a host committee to help plan and
  prepare the region for hosting local welcoming
  events
• Invite Lomas Brown to participate

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