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HVCB’s seasonal
marketing paying off
Targeted promotions helped
By Russ Lynch
increase visitor expenditures,
an executive says
Star-BulletinTelevision viewers in Chicago this winter were told to drop their snow shovels and go to the Northbrook Court mall, where they could learn how to make a lei, taste island delicacies, practice the hula, and possibly be persuaded to book a trip to Hawaii.
That is the kind of seasonal, targeted marketing that the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau showed off for island travel executives yesterday at a luncheon of the local chapter of the Travel & Tourism Research Association.
David Preece, HVCB vice president for North America, said using such carefully aimed promotions to support the overall selling of Hawaii as a "brand" is working.
Taking visitor expenditure calculations done by the state government, Preece said total visitor expenditures have continued to rise in recent years despite flatness in the overall number of tourist arrivals.
Breaking up the figures into three-year blocks to even out oddities such one-time slumps or booms, Preece said visitor expenditures totaled $32.6 billion in 1996 through 1998, up from $30.9 billion in 1993-95, $29.9 billion in 1990-92 and $24.7 billion in 1987-89.
The Chicago promotion he described, with video clips showing newscasters enthusiastically describing their experiences of Hawaii at the mall, is part of the "Experience Aloha! Hawaii on Tour" promotion, in which a mobile display supported by teams of people from Hawaii is visiting 25 shopping malls across the country this year.
The tour started in Chicago on Jan. 28. The marketing program includes Hawaii videos prepared for the HVCB which are given to local TV stations to add color to their descriptions of the mall activities. At the malls, would-be travelers can put on audio-visual head sets and take a virtual tour of the islands, try foods from the best island hotels and restaurants, and talk directly to visitor industry representatives. The mall visits are backed by television and print advertising and public appearances elsewhere in the target areas by Hawaii celebrities, dancers and chefs.
Preece said the HVCB uses a "shotgun and rifle" approach, attacking mass markets with images and attractions of Hawaii while also going to specialized magazines and TV shows with niche marketing that targeted audiences such as those who like to dine out or those who are interested in nature, culture and the arts.
Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau
