Marketing Opportunities

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP

We are always looking for ways to promote our Members - Here are just a few of our most popular marketing opportunities.

Printer-friendly Marketing Opportunities Worksheet

Co-op Marketing: VIEW 2013 Opportunities  Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 920-243-1127 

Seasonal Promotion participation information: Holidays & Holly Nights and Nature of Romance

2013 Visitor Guide Changes

Changes for next year's Visitor Guide

Formatted Ad Samples

2013 Official Visitor Guide Ad Contract 

DOORCOUNTY.COM:  Backed by our award winning Marketing Campaign and combined with the features of InnLine, our website is the most complete resources for Door County travel information.  We are continually working to improve our site as more and more of our visitors turn to the web for their travel information needs.  In fact, The Chicago Tribute Travel Section recently said that the Door County Visitor Center were among the "Best Responders" to inquiries via the Web.   We're not going to stop there.  www.DoorCounty.com

(Read below to find out how to add your business to our website.) 

Click HERE to view our current Statistics

INNLINE PAGE:  The most powerful tool in your membership toolbox is your customized page on DoorCounty.com.  The Bureau's website receives more than 3 Million visits each year and many members report referrals from DoorCounty.com constitute more than 85% of total traffic to their own websites. This customized page on DoorCounty.com is known as your "InnLine Page" and you control the content!  A basic page includes the following: 

• Main Photo

• Business Logo

• Contact Information

• Links to your e-mail and website address

• Brochure PDF (printer-friendly version of your brochure or rack card)

• 500 characters of Descriptive Text

• Custom Map & Driving Directions

• Presence on the In-County Kiosk System  (Kiosks available 24/7 at: Door County Visitor Center, Northport Pier, Egg Harbor, Sister Bay, Fish Creek and Baileys Harbor)

• Link your InnLine page to you Social Media pages on Facebook, Twitter and/or add a link to your promotional YouTube Video to engage potential customers.  

AVAILABLE INNLINE UPGRADES:  Additional enhancements are available at a cost of $50/year, per feature:

• Four Additional Photos

• Unlimited Descriptive Text

• Vacancy Calendar  - Allows Welcome Center staff (and Website and Kiosk users) to share your availability with potential guests.

• Display; web-based Contact Page.   

Here's an example of a member who is utilizing all four additional features to enhance their presence on DoorCounty.com.

For more information, see our InnLine information page and/or contact Cathy at (920) 227-2159 or via e-mail at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)   

EVENTS CALENDAR: As a Bureau member you can promote your events on our online Events Calendar by e-mailing your event information to Cathy Lynch at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

WELCOME CENTER:  Wrapped in the charm of an old country home, the rocking chairs that grace the front porch of our Welcome Center are a reminder that it's time to relax.  During cooler months a warm fire glows in our hearth with the scent of cider or hot coffee inviting them to take their time as they browse through brochures about Door County.  Our lobby is open 24/7 to welcome guests whenever they arrive and our Information Specialists are on hand to answer questions and help with directions throughout the day. 

In recent years the number of visitors using our Welcome Center has jumped from 40,000 visitors each year to more than 65,000!  Anicdotally, we are continually amazed at the high number of people who are here for the very first time and how many of them stop back on their way out of town to tell us what a spectacular time they had!  They also collect information for future trips and information to take home to friends and family so, don't underestimate the continued value of printed promotional materials - even as more and more people are looking to the web to plan their vacation.  As a member of the Door County Visitor Bureau, you are invited to provide us with printed Rack Cards/Brochures/Flyers for distribution in our Welcome Center Lobby.  As a rule of thumb, we have enough room to keep 500 pieces on hand at a time but it's always best to contact Yvonne Torres to find out what she needs from you.  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 920-743-4456

In addition to all of our walk-in traffic, our Welcome Center Staff personally respond to more than 20,000 e-mail inquiries in addition to tens of thousands of phone calls they receive each year.

Our Welcome Center served more than 14,000 people in July 2010 alone!!!

PRINTED BROCHURES/RACK CARDS: A benefit of membership is your ability to reach the more than 40,000 visitors who use our Welcome Center annually.  Printed materials need to fit easily into a 4" x 10.5 " holder and we have enough room to store up to 500 pieces at a time. If you are printing your own brochures, feel free to drop off a few at a time but, keep in mind that distribution hits its peak when you are busiest so, plan ahead to keep your brochures available. Questions about Brochures should be directed to Yvonne at: (920)743-4456 ext. 117  or via e-mail at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

BROCHURE PDF:  Another benefit to membership is your ability to post a printable PDF of your Brochure/ Rack Card, on your InnLine page.  e-mail your PDF to Phil Berndt at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  

PLEASE NOTE: Total file size needs to be kept under 500KB. Reducing the resolution helps.

If you used a professional printer, they may have e-mailed you a proof that may work for this purpose or, may be willing to forward a PDF proof to you.

If you are creating something on your own, it's recommended that you resize your graphics for web use before you create your PDF. FREE Photo Resizer  If you don't have a copy of Adobe Acrobat to create your PDF there are several FREE PDF programs available.: doPDF    PrimoPDF   PDF Converter   PDF995

GIFT CERTIFICATES: In recent years, the popularity of Door County Gift Certificates have soared - with over $100,000 issued each year.  Door County Gift Certificates are redeemable at 100% of their face value; please treat them like cash when customers present them.  Giving change back facilitates gratuities and encourages additional spending.  

ALIAS E-MAIL ADDRESS:   As a member you may choose a branded "alias" e-mail address at DoorCounty.com   (i.e. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))  An alias e-mail address redirects any incoming mail to your current e-mail account.  Your alias makes it easy to remember your business name and automatically associates your business with Door County.  Should you change your e-mail account, we can easily update your forwarding address so your customers will always find you.   Contact Yvonne Torres at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your request.

THE WINTER ACTIVITY GUIDE:  To encourage visitors to discover the beauty of Door County during the Winter, we compile an extensive list of Winter activities and businesses open to visitors year round.  Even if your hours are reduced, this guide will help visitors find you when you're open to welcome them. Questions about the Winter Activity Guide should be directed to Michelle at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or by calling (920) 243-1127.

BUSINESS DIRECTORIES:  Your completed InnLine page is also tied the online Business and Yellow Page Style Directories within DoorCounty.com. 

NEED VISITOR GUIDES FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS? Visitor Guides are available in boxes of 25 each and can be delivered to your door. Contact Jennifer at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or by calling (920) 743-4456 ext. 109 to request your guides.

TRAVEL GREEN WISCONSIN CERTIFICATION:  To encourage tourism based businesses to "green-up" their business practices, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism offers promotional benefits to businesses certified by Travel Green Wisconsin.  (NEWLY REDUCED FEE AND SIMPLIFIED RENEWAL PROCESS!)     Click HERE for a list of TGW Certified business in Door County and click HERE to learn more about this innovative program.

MEMBER ONLY MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES

OFFICIAL VISITOR GUIDE: As a DCVB member you can choose to advertise in the annual comprehensive visitor guide. Our guides are designed to appeal to today's sophisticated traveler in a single, perfectly bound, volume.  The Official Visitor Guide is the ONLY Door County publication mailed to potential visitors free of charge - and 240,000 copies are distributed throughout the county and state.   This publication and its online version on DoorCounty.com, exposes your business to more potential customers than any other.   Ad contracts are made available in early August with a deadline of September 30th.   Contact Yvonne Torres for Advertising Sales & Services at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (920) 493-0435    For production questions, please contact Cathy at: (920) 227-2159 or via e-mail at:  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 Download a copy of the 2013 Official Visitor Guide Ad Contract HERE  

Click HERE to read about Important Changes for Members Advertising in the 2013 Official Visitor Guide 

View samples of Updated Formatted Ad layout

SEASONAL PROMOTIONS: As part of our current mission to establish a more stable and sustainable local economy, the Door County Visitor Bureau  was charged with the task of promoting the shoulder and off seasons of our area to balance out the year and lessen the intense impact of the overcrowded summer months.  To accomplish this goal, Seasonal Promotions have been created to bring out the unique qualities of each season.   An example of a past participant request letter can be found HERE.

Upcoming Seasonal Promotion opportunities are announced in the Marketing section of our Member Newsletter.  If you aren't receiving our Newsletter every other week, you can Subscribe HERE or contact Phil with questions: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (920) 227-2140            Watch our Member Newsletter for upcoming opportunities.  Newsletter Archive

Co-op Marketing Programs: Click HERE for our 2012 Co-op Opportunities  Contact Mary Denis with any questions you may have: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 920-227-2153.

GROUP TOUR MARKETING: Contact Michelle Rasmusson to find out how your business can take advantage of our efforts to capture the group travel market.  Michelle can be reached at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (920) 227-2153

INSIDER TIP NEWSLETTER: Over 4 Million copies of our monthly Insider Tip will land in the inboxes of people who have voluntarily signed up to receive our popular newsletter - filled with detailed travel tips - and you can't imagine the popularity of the monthly contests we run. Each of these contest offers an opportunity for you to promote your business by spot lighting your product or service as one of the prizes! Contact Michelle Rasmusson: michelle@doorcounty.com or (920) 227-2156 to find out how you can put your business in front of our subscribers.

MEDIA MARKETING PROGRAM: This is one of our single most effective promotional programs to date and the ROI has been outstanding. The goal of this program is to introduce respected and prolific travel journalists from the Midwest and across the country to Door County by inviting them here to visit and experience all that we have to offer as a travel destination.  In turn, they inform their readers about Door County through articles and stories they write based on their trip.  Since 2007 the DCVB has worked with a national PR firm (Geiger & Associates Public Relations) to coordinate this media marketing program, and press trips are typically held in every season of the year.  Between 2007 and the end of 2011, over 350 journalists have visited Door County on editorial research trips resulting in over 700 articles that have garnered more than 132 million impressions with an ad value of nearly $5.3 million dollars.

Local tourism member partners have the opportunity to host travel journalists at their business during our press trips. If you're interested in participating in an upcoming press trip, contact Jon Jarosh, the DCVB's director of communications & PR, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to find out how you can help make one of our future press trips even more memorable and help us continue generating quality earned media coverage for Door County. 

WWW.JOBSINDOORCOUNTY.COMIn cooperation with the Door County Economic Development Corporation, we are able to offer online Job Posting and Application/Resume resources free of charge to our Members.  These sites are promoted throughout Wisconsin and the Mid-west as well as College Career centers - especially those featuring a focus in hospitality.  No matter the job or employee you are looking for, make sure you have posted it here. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Phil at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  P.S. When you create your employer profile, drop me an e-mail so I can activate your profile right away.  (you can also send me a logo for your profile)

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER PROMOTION

e-Mail Blast:  Bring our business community up-to-date with your business or event by sending out a Member-to-Member e-mail blast.  Our list reaches almost 1,000 business members who have expressed an interest in receiving Member-to-Member news and Event information - all for only $25.  (Public announcements only - no hard solicitations - please contact Phil Berndt at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (920) 227-2140 for details and guidelines or review our Posting Procedures online.

SIGN UP: Stay in the know by subscribing to our member e-mail list. Or, Enter your address to modify your subscription.

We're Here To Help

We are always ready to help you take full advantage of everything we have to offer so don't ever hesitate to contact us with any questions or suggestions.  Our organization is a Member Driven organization - we are here to help in any way that we can.

Travel Green Wisconsin Certified Members!  

"I would highly recommend the Travel Green Wisconsin certification process to other Door County businesses. At The Cookery, we decided to complete the certification because we felt that the application process would provide us with a useful tool to help us analyze ways in which we are already sustainable as well as new practices and initiatives that could be implemented to lessen our environmental footprint. Although you can certainly "green" your business without this certification, the application process prompts you to think of new avenues to become more sustainable and it is also unique in that it encourages you to educate your staff and customers of the certification and your initiatives. I think this education piece is particularly important because a ripple effect will hopefully be felt as employees and customers realize that some of your efforts could also be performed in their own lives." --- Courtney Skare, The Cookery Restaurant

Click HERE to read more about The Cookery's Green Practices

Learn more about the benefits of  Travel Green Wisconsin certification today!

Misc Resources

QR Codes: We have all noticed the increased use of QR Codes used to instantly connect Smartphone users to web-based information.  As a rule, the shorter the URL, the easier the QR Code is to read - especially by older phones - and the smaller you can make the code.  With a shortened URL, I have had success with the code being as small as .7".  Before you create a code, I recommend that you reduce the size of your URL with the help of a URL Shortener like: https://bitly.com    http://goo.gl/

And, if you're curious like me, you would like to know how your customers are finding your information.   On Bitly.com you can create a free account that keeps track of your shortened URL's and reports their use.   (you can even use the same long URL - like your website - to create different shortened ones)  Then use the shotened URL's to create separate QR Codes for your Printed Brochure, an In-store Sign, Newspaper Ad, etc.    If you have any questions about this, please contact Phil Berndt at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 920-227-2140

Here are a couple Free QR Code Generators that I've found: QR Code Generator: http://goqr.me/     http://qrcode.kaywa.com/     http://createqrcode.appspot.com/  (Bitly and other URL shorteners often create a QR code automatically.)

How to Create a QR Code Business Card

Here is an example of a QR Code that will take the user to our DoorCounty.com Mobile site.