NOTMC 2007 Annual Report

New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation growing leisure tourism. strengthening our economy.

growing leisure tourism. strengthening our economy

“New Orleans is beautiful because of the spirit here!”

Al Roker, The Today Show, September 6, 2007

“The food, the music, the greatest architecture—this city is just so beautiful!”

Emeril Lagasse, Live with Regis & Kelly, November 8, 2007

“New Orleans—the real New Orleans —is the soul of the country.”

Wynton Marsalis

“What’s New Orleans without music?

And what’s music without dancing?”

“You get a taste here in New Orleans that you don’t get anywhere else in the country.”

Ellen DeGeneres, The Ellen Show, February 20, 2007

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Regis Philbin, Live with Regis & Kelly, November 8, 2007

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Submitted in accordance with Ordinance Calendar Series No. 26,852 Mayor Council Series, 22,982, April 1, 2008

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Who We Are New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) serves as the City of New Orleans’ official leisure travel promotion agency. NOTMC is a private economic development corporation created under Louisiana State Law to foster jobs and economic growth by developing the tourism industry in New Orleans. Our Board of Directors includes representatives from throughout the City’s tourism industry.

What We Do For New Orleans Our job is to boost hotel occupancy when tourism is slow. Historically, the slow periods include the summer months and the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Yet—although much progress has been made—we are still feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina and our job is now an all-out, year-round effort. We market New Orleans as a leisure tourism destination— directly to leisure tourists—through a broad program of advertising, public relations, Internet marketing, promotions, and research.

NOTMC designs and launches a major summer promotion; three simultaneous niche efforts aimed at cultural, family, and multicultural travelers; and a fall campaign promoting Christmas New Orleans Style. In addition, we produce New Orleans’ official travel publications: the New Orleans Official Visitors Guide and the Christmas New Orleans Style Guide. And we produce and manage NewOrleansOnline.com, the City’s official leisure tourism website, as well as NewOrleansMuseums.com and HearNewOrleansMusic.com.

Our Funding We are funded by the City’s hotel room occupancy tax and the City of New Orleans general fund, and we receive additional funding from the RTA/hotel tax and from Harrah’s Casino’s agreements with the City of New Orleans and the hotel industry. While we invest the majority of our budget on marketing New Orleans, in accordance with a council ordinance we also fund entities that include the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, the New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network, the Mayor’s Office of Film & Video, the Mayor’s Office of Music Business Development, and the Mayor’s Office of Tourism & Arts. Administration accounts for less than five percent of our budget.

Board of Directors Richard “Dickie” Brennan, Jr., Chairman New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau Ronald Pincus, Vice Chairman Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association Melvin J. Rodrigue, Treasurer New Orleans Restaurant Association Chimene G. Connor, Secretary New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network Hon. James Carter New Orleans City Councilmember Hon. Jacquelyn Clarkson New Orleans City Councilmember-At-Large

NOTMC Staff Hon. Michael Darnell Acting Councilmember-At-Large Joel Dondis New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau Hon. Arnie Fielkow New Orleans City Councilmember-At-Large Mary Fitzpatrick Preservation Resource Center Hon. Stacy Head New Orleans City Councilmember Don Hubbard Mayor’s Appointee

John Payne New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau Ashish Verma Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association Kent Wasmuth Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association

Sandra S. Shilstone President/CEO Lea Sinclair Director of Communications Grace Wilson Communications Associate Nathan Williams Interactive Director Jeremy Cooker Interactive Marketing Jean-Paul Gisclair Interactive Designer Brady Bordelon Executive Assistant Tiffany Jackson, CPA Accountant

Table of Contents Industry Trends

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NOTMC Performance

6

Summer Campaign

7

Arts & Culture Campaign

10

Family Campaign

12

French Quarter Campaign

13

Multicultural Campaign

15

Gay & Lesbian Campaign

17

Online Advertising

18

Christmas New Orleans Style

24

Communications and PR

26

Corporate Funding

31

A Big Thank You to Cox Communications

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Barter Advertising

33

Value Report

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Financial Report

36

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From Our Chairman and President Dear Friends, This year our mission was clear: let the world know that the New Orleans that has inspired poets and songwriters for centuries is back. If a recent joint poll by TravelandLeisure.com and CNN Headline News is any indication, we’ve accomplished that mission. In 2007, Travel + Leisure named New Orleans one of “America’s Favorite Cities.” In fact, we were ranked #1 in eight categories: Overall Fun, Cocktail Hour, Good Eats, Live Music, Wild Weekends, After Dark, Antiques and Markets.

In 2007, we got our message of recovery out there in ways both conventional and unconventional.

When the going gets tough, the tough get creative. We’re proud of the advertising campaigns we implemented and the PR buzz we generated on high-profile shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Live with Regis & Kelly. NOTMC and Harrah’s Casino & Hotel scored a major success when we convinced the producers of Live with Regis & Kelly to broadcast five consecutive shows live from New Orleans in May. All told, the promotion of the event, the broadcasts themselves and the web coverage brought in a value of $30 million in exposure for our city. And that doesn’t include all the regional press coverage we enjoyed. It simply isn’t possible to buy that kind of publicity.

We’re also pleased with our online efforts in 2007, which allowed us to track response rates like never before and establish a continued relationship with the consumer. Our official website, NewOrleansOnline.com, is the #1 result for “New Orleans” on Google.com.

All in all, 2007 was a year to be proud of, but we couldn’t have done it alone. Like the song goes, we got by “with a little help from our friends.” We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those who donated to our cause this year, including Mayor Ray Nagin and the New Orleans City Council.

Big thanks go to Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu and the Louisiana Office of Tourism, our collaborators on the “Come Fall In Love” campaign. With their support, we were able to expand our advertising and secure additional Community Development Block Grant funding. It is because of teamwork like this that our leisure traveler numbers continue to grow. In fact, leisure visitors have increased more than 70% since 2006.

In addition, we’d be remiss if we didn’t say a special thank you to Cox Communications’ Vice President and Region Manager, Greg Bickett, for spearheading an initiative that led to cable companies across the country donating an unprecedented $14 million-plus worth of advertising time to NOTMC. Research suggests that this $14 million will result in $1.3 billion in visitor spending.

And we’re already seeing the effects of this, as we near the end of a highly successful first quarter in 2008.

We’d also like to thank our entire Board of Directors, the NOTMC staff, and our agencies: Peter A. Mayer Advertising, Phillip Collier Designs, GMc + Company Advertising, Frances Partners and the London Company. Together, we are showing the world that New Orleans is, was and will always be joie de vivre personified.

Sincerely,

Dickie Brennan

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Sandra S. Shilstone

Chairman

President/CEO

New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation

New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation

INDUSTRY TRENDS IN 2007

New Orleans is coming back! The city saw a 90% increase in visitation over this time last year.

Visitation and Spending

Visitor Profile

According to the 2007 UNO Visitor Study (jointly commissioned by

New Orleans continues to draw visitors from

NOTMC and NOMCVB), total visitation for 2007 was more than 7 million,

far and near. On a national level in 2007, they

well above last year’s 3.7 million. Visitor spending in 2007 was almost

came from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles

$4.8 billion, up from $2.9 billion in 2006; however, due to the increased

and Washington, D.C. We saw strong numbers

cost of doing business, hoteliers and business owners have yet to feel the

coming from the regional markets where

full impact of this spending. To put it in perspective, spending in 2004

NOTMC advertised—primarily Texas,

(pre-Katrina) reached $4.9 billion. In other words, we’re almost there!

Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. While we saw a smaller percentage

Visitors (in millions) 2004 2006 2007

of visitors from New York, California and

10.1

Illinois in 2007 than we did in 2006, the numbers still surpass 2004 numbers.

3.7 7.1

Of the 7.1 million visitors who came to

Source: 2007 UNO Hospitality Research Center

New Orleans in 2007, 70.6% were here for leisure, 25.1% for meetings/conventions/ trade shows/other business, and 4.3% for

Total Visitor Spending (in billions) 2004 2006

hurricane-related reasons. More than

$4.9

3.1 million stayed in hotels, with the average lodger staying for 3.8 nights. There were

$2.9

over 1.4 million day-trippers, totaling 20.7%

$4.8

2007

of overall visitations, up from 18% in 2006.

Source: 2007 UNO Hospitality Research Center

Of overnight visitors, 55% stayed in a hotel/ motel while 35% were visiting friends or relatives.

Reasons for Visitation

Dramatically decreased hotel rates in 2006, which resulted in less spending on lodging,

Hurricane-related Reasons

played a significant role in the 14% decrease in per-trip spending among all leisure visitors

4.3%

who paid for lodging. The good news is that

Meetings/Conventions/ Trade Shows/Other Business

88% of visitors had an overwhelmingly positive experience and said they were likely

25.1%

to recommend New Orleans as a destination.

70.6%

Leisure Travel Source: 2007 UNO Hospitality Research Center

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INDUSTRY TRENDS IN 2007

38,238

31,611 31,888

Where Visitors Choose to Stay (in millions) 27,192 FAMILY & FRIENDS 2.0 3.1

HOTELS

1.4 DAY-TRIPPERS

.6 OTHER

Source: 2007 UNO Visitor Profile Research

2004 2005 2006 2007

Available Hotel Rooms Source: New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau

Airport Performance Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is once again taking off. The airport offered 123 flights daily in 2007 and served 38 cities. The airport served 88% of the cities it did before the storm, and filled 68% of seats. ExpressJet recently began flying out of New Orleans, with 10 daily flights. And Southwest Airlines added flights to eight major cities, including Birmingham, representing a 30% capacity increase for Southwest in New Orleans.

Source: Louis Armstrong International Airport

Top 10 Average Daily Rates in Competitive Markets 2006

2007

San Francisco

$138.56

$148.59

San Diego

$131.29

$138.89

pre-Katrina numbers, but up almost 4,700 from immediately after

Chicago

$122.94

$129.36

the storm.

New Orleans

$118.26

$116.05

Orlando

$101.65

$105.82

was 66.3% in 2007, down slightly from 67% in 2006. New Orleans’

San Antonio

$97.12

$101.56

hotel occupancy was at 57.4% in 2007, down from 62.1% in 2006.

Dallas

$85.89

$91.60

The average daily rate in our top ten competitive markets was

Houston

$84.68

$91.38

$110.43 in 2007. New Orleans’ average daily rate was $116.05 in

Nashville

$84.35

$91.12

2007, down from $118.26 in 2006. Only three cities—San Francisco,

Atlanta

$86.01

$89.93

Source: Smith Travel Research 4

Hotel Occupancy and Average Rate

In 2007, New Orleans added approximately 277 hotel rooms, for a grand total of 31,888. This is still down 6,350 rooms from our

In our top competitive markets, the average hotel occupancy rate

San Diego and Chicago—had a higher average daily rate.

INDUSTRY TRENDS IN 2007

Perceptions and Expectations Qualitative research done in 2007 gave us insight into what people need to hear and see about New Orleans. Surveys by Market Dynamics Research Group show that people want our advertising to highlight open attractions and upcoming events. They want reasons to visit now. And while some may feel uncomfortable visiting a recently damaged city,

iPerceptions This year, NOTMC added an important

they need to know that locals are eager to welcome them back. What’s

new dimension to our website analytics

more, tourists want reassurance that what they are seeing are recent

efforts by partnering with iPerceptions, a

images of tourist attractions—not something that might have been

top online customer satisfaction research

destroyed by the hurricane. And the messages they want to hear are that New Orleans is a “fun and lively” place to visit, that it is safe and clean in tourist areas, that we offer reasonably priced hotel accommodations and attractive vacation packages.

provider in North America. The partnership will provide NOTMC with rich behavioral and attitudinal information about our website visitors on a continual

It came as no surprise that they considered our strongest attributes to be our food, unique experiences, and historical and cultural attractions.

We also discovered that our most likely visitor is a frequent traveler and a recent visitor to New Orleans who has been exposed to our

basis through the end of 2008, which will help inform content and design decisions for NewOrleansOnline.com.

advertising.

The iPerceptions data also gives NOTMC Our perception tracking research, which is conducted quarterly, also reveals that we’re clearing up some misconceptions. The perception that the French Quarter and other historic districts were damaged is

an additional layer of visitor research, providing a deeper understanding of how

declining in key markets and nationwide. All other negative myths

potential visitors feel about our city, and

continue to decline as well. Prospective visitors are less likely to believe

what they need from our website to plan

that there is still standing floodwater, that our air and water are

a visit or be persuaded to visit.

contaminated, and that there is a lack of police presence.

Top 10 Occupancy Rates in Competitive Markets

2006

2007

San Francisco

73.0%

75.2%

San Diego

73.3%

72.9%

Orlando

67.7%

67.9%

Chicago

67.5%

67.6%

San Antonio

68.3%

66.2%

Houston

65.2%

66.1%

Nashville

66.6%

65.8%

Atlanta

64.4%

63.2%

Dallas

61.6%

60.3%

New Orleans

62.1%

57.4%

Source: Smith Travel Research 5

NOTMC’S PERFORMANCE IN ’07

Belief in Myths – Nationwide

Lack of police presence:

Standing floodwater:

Water not safe to drink:

Historic districts severely damaged:

August ‘06 November ‘07

Contaminated air:

0

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Source: 2006 and 2007 Perceptions Studies, Market Dynamics Research Group

Our year-round marketing efforts pulled in 1,587,184 inquiries Our NewOrleansOnline.com booking engine alone generated over $1 million in total revenue. The total number of page views for 2007 was 10,163,784, with the most requested content including:

NewOrleansOnline.com Unique Visits 2003 2004

Travel searches – 532,325

2,034,175

2005 2006

Cuisine – 646,766 page views

1,503,338

1,886,789 852,367

2007

1,587,184

French Quarter – 472,814

Travelocity Bookings

Hotel Revenue Manager Meetings

2005

32,620

NOTMC attends the GNOHLA Hotel Revenue Manager meetings to gain insight on hotel occupancy levels and forecasts from the front lines. We utilize that information in our marketing and planning efforts. By fostering direct relationships with these professionals, NOTMC has been able to execute online promotions easily and also consistently attain additional information on the state of our industry throughout the year.

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2006

25,826

2007

40,832 Source: Travelocity

SUMMER CAMPAIGN

Television Our TV ads updated last year’s campaign by promoting great hotel deals and adding in more celebrities. Working with a total budget of $1,091,680, NOTMC was able to run television ads in May and June in Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Jackson, Memphis, Mobile, Montgomery, Nashville, Pensacola, and San Antonio. Thanks to the cable consortium, we were also able to run our ads throughout the nation.

At the same time, the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation &

A Cool Campaign To Heat Things Up Using an updated version of our 2006 campaign, we featured celebrities with

Tourism (LCRT) ran their television campaign in national markets.

strong associations to New Orleans in New Orleans settings to promote travel during the summer months. In 2007, Paul Prudhomme, Dr. John, and Peyton and Eli Manning joined John Goodman, Wynton Marsalis, Allen Toussaint, Patricia Clarkson, Emeril Lagasse, and others in making personal appeals to invite visitors back to the city. Our message was simple: New Orleans is ready for business. We partnered with LCRT to complement the state’s message while maximizing our reach.

Newspaper Campaign To remind the region that New Orleans is “The Special Events Capital� and that there is always a great reason to visit, we ran newspaper ads promoting our unique events and festivals. Ads ran in May, June, and July in Atlanta, Austin, Beaumont, Birmingham, Dallas, Fort Worth, Hattiesburg, Houston, Huntsville, Jackson, Lake Charles, Memphis, Meridian, Mobile, Montgomery, Nashville, Pensacola, Port Arthur, San Antonio, and cities across Louisiana.

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and culture go hand in hand. From White Linen Night and Tales of the Cocktail to Satchmo SummerFest, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a celebration going on. Enjoy the music, enjoy the food, enjoy New Orleans. Call 800.519.NOLA or visit NewOrleansOnline.com to book your trip today.

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* Per room per night. Visit NewOrleansOnline.com/book/packages for details. This project is funded in partnership with the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, the Louisiana Office of Lt. Governor/Dept. of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, and the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

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SUMMER CAMPAIGN

Newspapers First This year we launched an integrated campaign combining newspaper and online advertising. We ran the campaign three times in 2007, with each run coinciding with a major event in the city. There were seven newspapers involved, including those in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Nashville, and San Antonio. Each newspaper featured a sweepstakes with weekend travel packages to New Orleans as prizes, supported with paid newspaper ads, added value newspaper ads, email blasts, online banners, and contest landing pages sponsored by each newspaper. Considerable added value was provided in the campaign, totaling over $342,532. =D3 E7B6 1=;3 4/:: 7< : =D3@ /5/7< <3E =@:3/<A /:: Ă&#x2021;Npekfe DXijXc`j AXqq Kildg\k\i

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Magazine Advertising NOTMC placed a total of $1,163,191 in print advertising during the summer, pairing iconic images of celebrities and a romantic couple along with tactical rates. Print ads ran in April, June, and July issues of the publications below, both nationally and regionally:

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AAA Southern Traveler (LA, MS, AR)

Flower Magazine

AAA TourBook (AL, LA, MS)

Food & Wine

Architectural Digest

Instinct Magazine

Arthur Frommerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Budget Travel

Jezebel Magazine

Austin Monthly

Ladies Home Journal

Better Homes & Gardens

Midwest Living

Coastal Living

O, The Oprah Magazine

Collinson LTPA Newspaper Insert

Shermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Travel Magazine

Collinson Travel Planner

Southern Accents

Cooking Light

Southern Breeze

Cottage Living

Southern Living

Country Living

Texas Monthly

ESSENCE Magazine

The New York Times T Magazine: Travel

Executive Travel Sky Guide

Traditional Home

Facility Management Journal

Travel + Leisure

SUMMER CAMPAIGN

2007 Visitors Guide In 2007, we partnered with the NOMCVB to create the Official Visitors Guide. This free guide, written and designed locally, was sent to 700,000 potential visitors. It provided maps, descriptions, history, hotel listings and coupons. It gave local businesses a way to reach tourists with cost-effective co-op advertising administered

by Weaver Publishing, who also printed the guide twice this year. In response to research findings, the guide answered questions about places that were open and what was happening now.

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Magazine Insert/Direct Mail To reach the affluent cultural traveler, we created this four-page color insert, which ran in Travel + Leisure.

It was mailed directly to American Express Cardmembers.

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ARTS & CULTURE CAMPAIGN

Art & Antiques and Art in America Ads

Welcome back to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;cradle of culture.â&#x20AC;?

Cultural travelers represent a vital niche for New Orleans tourism. These visitors tend to stay longer, dine out more, spend more, and come back again and again. By strengthening the relationship between

To cater to the upscale consumer and to assist our galleries and shops in the French Quarter, Arts District and on Magazine Street, we ran this two-page spread ad in two top arts and culture publications.

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the arts and tourism, NOTMC is helping

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In 2007, we continued our existing partnership with local museum and art centers to promote New Orleans as a cultural destination. With 42 museums, and some major exhibitions this year

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including Femme, Femme, Femme at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Vatican

Mosaics at the Old Ursuline Convent and the expansion of the National World War II Museum, we had much to promote.

Museums Magazine Produced with LTB Media, this piece featured seven major museums and 18 galleries and studios. 500,000 copies were printed in May and distributed

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as a fulfillment piece online and as newspaper inserts in our major markets, including New York, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. They were also poly-bagged with copies of Museums New York and Gallery

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Guide, and distributed onsite at several expos and art fairs.

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10

3/20/07 12:45:28 PM

ARTS & CULTURE CAMPAIGN

Community Arts Award We’re proud to announce that the Arts Council of New Orleans named NOTMC as a 2007 Community Arts Award recipient.

Shirley Trusty Corey, president of the Arts Council of New Orleans, said, “NOTMC has given many hours and many dollars to support the arts, and the organization has long recognized the part that the art industry plays in New Orleans’ economic development.” For our part, NOTMC is proud to be singled out with all other deserving winners including George Dunbar, Dr. Stella Jones, Wardell Quezerque, KID smART, offBEAT magazine, and Barbara Motley. The country of France also received a special Chairman’s Award for sharing its cultural resources with New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Museums Magazine Online The Museums magazine was sent out as a fulfillment piece when requested on NewOrleansOnline.com this year, and the Our arts-themed television spot ran nationally.

demand was overwhelming. Within a record three weeks, all remaining copies of the guide were distributed. In response, NOTMC developed an interactive online version of the guide to provide for the continued online demand, year-round.

NewOrleansMuseums.com Travelers were able to book hotel stays on NewOrleansMuseums.com, a NOTMC website designed to promote New Orleans as a cultural destination; give descriptions, hours, locations, and exhibit information; and provide maps for New Orleans’ major museums, historic homes, gardens, natural attractions and more.

NewOrleansMuseums.com ranks number one on Google and Yahoo! for the keywords “New Orleans Museums.”

11

FAMILY CAMPAIGN

WeJustGotBack.com

New Orleans is still fun for the whole family.

With the return of the Aquarium of the Americas in 2007, the city was ready to promote family travel to New Orleans again. With our television and online presence, we let the world know that families can still enjoy the things they’ve always loved about the city—the Audubon Zoo, streetcar and buggy rides, steamboat excursions, the Louisiana Children’s Museum and other museums, the French Quarter, Magazine Street and more.

WeJustGotBack.com is an online travel resource for families, with articles and advice from families. In the summer of 2007, NOTMC sponsored a section on the website entitled “25 Reasons to Visit New Orleans,” and also created several family-themed banners to run on the site. The article was later featured on the family section of MSNBC.com and many other websites.

Our family-themed television spot ran nationally, showing the country that New Orleans is once again safe for families. Highlights of the campaign included brothers Peyton and Eli Manning at a family crawfish boil.

12

ival

FRENCH QUARTER CAMPAIGN

Promoting the crown jewel of the city!

Ne w Orleans

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When people think about New Orleans, they think of the treasures of the French Quarter,

French Quarter Brochure and Direct Mail We printed 50,000 copies of our French Quarter brochure.

one of the oldest neighborhoods in America.

The Vieux CarrĂŠ offers more than 100 blocks of art, antiques, hotels, restaurants and music clubsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not to mention some of the best festivals in the world.

The piece was direct-mailed

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to a target demographic

To promote shopping and dining in the French

and distributed onsite in

Quarter in 2007, NOTMC created a special

welcome centers.

French Quarter campaign. It included a brochure, billboards, direct mail, media FAM trips, sponsorships of brass bands and more.

1)

Shop, dine, and live it up in the cultural heart of New Orleans.

Dine All Day

Play All Night

Grab some beignets and cafe au lait at CafĂŠ du

With its eclectic mix of music clubs, cabarets,

Monde. Dive into gumbo and po-boys just about

and bars, Bourbon Street is the French Quarterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

anywhere, anytime. For dinner, indulge at one of

most famous nighttime row. Just three blocks over,

the Quarterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100-year-old restaurantsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Antoineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s,

Decatur Street pulses with the sounds of the whole

Galatoireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Tortoriciâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, and Tujagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or pick up a

world. Catch a play or musical at the newly renovated

restaurant guide for the latest award winners. Gospel

Le Petit ThĂŠatre du Vieux CarrĂŠ. Get in line for

and jazz brunches abound on the weekend. Or sail

traditional jazz at the legendary Preservation Hall.

off on a dinner jazz cruise aboard the Steamboat

Then follow the locals down to Frenchmen Street at

NATCHEZ.

the edge of the Quarter for jazz, Latin, hip-hop, and hookahâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and groove deep into the night.

Year of Festivals Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a festival spirit in the French Quarter, with celebrations happening year round. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the French Quarter Festival. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss it! Our festival calendar also includes Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, the Tennessee

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Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, Satchmo SummerFest, Southern Decadence, Halloween in New Orleans, Words and Music Festival, and Christmas New Orleans Style. Visit NewOrleansOnline.com to find out whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be happening when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in town.

Living History Start with a carriage ride. Breezing beneath lacy iron balconies, make a list of the shops youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll want

For dessert, catch one of the annual events

to come back to. Back in Jackson Square, get your

dedicated to food, like the New Orleans Wine &

portrait paintedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;then take a peek inside historic

Food Experience, French Quarter Fest, New Orleans

St. Louis Cathedral. Next door is the Cabildo, where

Seafood Festival, Creole Tomato Festival, and

the Louisiana Purchase transfer was signed. On the

Tales of the Cocktail. Dine your way around town

other side of the church is the Presbytere, which takes

at COOLinary New Orleans, a three-month

you to the heart of Louisianaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mardi Gras year round.

celebration of New Orleansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; restaurants. And savor

Just a few blocks away, The Historic New Orleans

the season with Reveillon feasts all December.

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Collection presents one of the best introductions to New Orleans history you can get.

Lee Tucker, http://www.jackson-square.com/tucker

13

FRENCH QUARTER CAMPAIGN

Thank You, CBS Outdoor!

CBS Outdoor generously donated five billboards in and around the city. NOTMC created these boards to promote shopping in the French Quarter.

Shop the original mall.

SHOP THE FRENCH

new orleans

forever

NewOrleansOnline.com

new orleans

forever

NewOrleansOnline.com

QUARTER

new orleans

forever

NewOrleansOnline.com

Our food court serves gumbo and crawfish.

SHOP THE FRENCH

new orleans

forever

NewOrleansOnline.com

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forever

NewOrleansOnline.com

QUARTER

new orleans

forever

French Quarter Festival is one of the

NewOrleansOnline.com

many unique New Orleans events that NewOrleansOnline.com promoted on the site

The only mall thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a museum.

SHOP THE FRENCH

new orleans

forever

NewOrleansOnline.com

14

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QUARTER

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NewOrleansOnline.com

and through e-newsletters. We consistently demonstrate to online visitors that great events are always happening in New Orleans.

MULTICULTURAL CAMPAIGN

ESSENCE Campaign

Multicultural Campaign

NOTMC continues to be a proud sponsor of the ESSENCE Music Festival. In 2007, 90,000 tickets were presold for the event, with an estimated over 200,000-plus people in attendanceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both numbers exceeded previous yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; totals.

African-Americans made up a significant

In addition to our online and media efforts, we had a booth at

portion of total visitors to the city in 2007.

the festival itself, where we distributed tourism information.

Our blended ad campaigns and targeted multicultural program continue to reach out to African- and Hispanic-American travelers with

ESSENCE Radio

relevant messages and incentives. While our

To drive traffic to hotel deals during ESSENCE on

primary campaigns invite all visitors to New

NewOrleansOnline.com, we ran an aggressive regional radio campaign in June. In addition to on-air commercials, tickets

Orleans, NOTMC creates niche campaigns to

were utilized as a promotional element. The commercials ran

attract multicultural visitors.

in key urban marketsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Atlanta, Houston and Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and, according to ESSENCE officials, there was an increase in ticket sales that directly correlated with the timing of the radio promotion.

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As part of our agreement with ESSENCE, NOTMC received two full-page advertisements in ESSENCE Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a $151,800 valueâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;absolutely free. The first ad invited readers to come to both the ESSENCE Music Festival and the Satchmo SummerFest. The second ad thanked visitors for making the ESSENCE Music Festival a success, and invited them to come back for the State Farm Bayou Classic in November.

AT HOTEL RATES STARTING

$79*

(April 13-15) to Jazz Fest ns! From French Quarter Fest Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festival time in New Orlea and fun. And with hotel rooms food, , music of fill your get (April 27-29 & May 4-6), come trip. Call 800-519-NOLA or is the perfect time to book your starting at $79 a night, now times rolling. good the get and e.com visit NewOrleansOnlin

In a city where parties are common, thanks for giving one that was anything but.

*Per room per night. Visit NewOrleansOnline.com/book/packages for details. This project is funded in partnership with the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, the Louisiana Office of Lt. Governor/Dept. of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, and the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

but this one is still going on.

Most parties last a few hours, the food, and the fun of Experience the sights, the music, us at another great event, the the festival all year long. Join more fun and excitement, For Bayou Classic on November 24.

NewOrl eansOn line.com . and to book your hotel, visit

15

MULTICULTURAL CAMPAIGN

Multicultural Internet Promotions This year, NOTMC created and implemented several successful multicultural Internet promotions on BlackAmericaWeb.com and Latina.com to increase our current African- and Hispanic-American databases, as well as to drive traffic to NewOrleansOnline.com.

African-American Media Familiarization Tour (Congo Creole Press Tour) The Congo Creole Press Tour took place in New Orleans in the fall. National writers, broadcasters/producers, and bloggers were taken to locations such as Musicians’ Village, Loretta’s Authentic Pralines®, and Royal Heritage Gallery, and on private home tours in Treme. The tour was centered around the Congo Square Rhythms Festival.

As a result of the tour Uptown Magazine ran multiple feature stories.

SoulOfAmerica.com expanded the New Orleans section in their U.S. City Guide.

They have also updated their image gallery with images that were taken during the tour.

AOL Black Voices produces segments focusing on the rebuilding of the city.

Odyssey Couleur is working on a spread for the publication, and we are working with them on a continuation trip in partnership with Hummer.® American Urban Radio Networks® continues to profile New Orleanians who are rebuilding our city, such as Leah Chase and the comeback of Dooky Chase restaurant.

16

GAY & LESBIAN CAMPAIGN

New Orleans Navigaytor For the first time ever, NOTMC and Altus Group produced the New Orleans Navigaytor, a guide to gay-friendly New Orleans.

Featuring an NOTMC ad with New Orleans-born actor Bryan Batt, a star of American Movie Classicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mad Men, the Navigaytor was distributed as a fulfillment piece for our online marketing efforts.

Attracting the affluent gay & lesbian market

CITY NAVIGAYTOR GAY TRAVEL GUIDE

In 2007, we began a campaign to bring gay and lesbian travelers to New Orleans. The city has always been an attractive destination for this target, as the success of the Southern Decadence Festival and Halloween attendance proves year after year.

According to research, gay and lesbian travelers tend to take many vacations, spend more on travel, and enjoy fine dining and shopping.

AMERICAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CULTURAL EDEN SITES NOT TO BE MISSED PAGE 8

The majority of the campaign was focused onlineâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;promoting dining, HOT NIGHTS OF COOL JAZZ PAGE 14

music, shopping, and hotels.

CAJUN & CREOLE CUISINE PAGE 18

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17

ONLINE ADVERTISING

Travelocity Newspaper Co-op Travelocity shared 50% of the cost of newspaper ads to promote New Orleans in markets we could never afford before (see below). The insertions were placed in Sunday travel sections in July and November.

The ads promoted a MasterCard/Travelocity partnership in which consumers received $50 off a trip to New Orleans when booking online with their MasterCard. Ads ran in the following issues of The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, as well as in major market newspapers.

NOTMC’s official website, NewOrleansOnline.com, is the #1 result for “New Orleans” on Google.com.

Online advertising is a huge tool in the NOTMC Internet team’s arsenal. There is no better way to track response rates and to establish a continued relationship with the consumer. In

Wall Street Journal/ USA Today Atlanta Chicago Dallas/Ft. Worth Los Angeles Philadelphia/Washington, D.C. Houston New York

Major Market Newspapers Chicago Tribune Dallas Morning News Ft. Worth Star-Telegram Houston Chronicle The New York Times Newark Star-Ledger

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Sample prices include $50 discount but do not include taxes and/or fees and are subject to availability. Sample prices gathered on X/XX/07 for travel X/XX/07 through X/XX/07.

Other restrictions apply. See www.travelocity.com/neworleans for details. MasterCard and the MasterCard Brand Mark are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated. ©2007 Travelocity.com LP. All rights reserved. TRAVELOCITY, the Stars Design and The Roaming Gnome are trademarks of Travelocity.com LP. CST# 2056372-50.

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addition, online advertising, unlike print media, allows us the flexibility to promote a variety of events and offers.

AirTran Airways Email NOTMC partnered with AirTran to create an email blast promoting a contest in which consumers entered to win a trip to New Orleans. The email blast reached 2.8 million potential visitors to New Orleans with a goal to generate new leads for the NewOrleansOnline.com e-newsletter and Official Visitors Guide. The campaign piqued interest via an exclusive Mardi Gras Sweepstakes offer, then made it “one-click simple” to request additional information about New Orleans.

Google AdWords We developed a comprehensive set of New Orleans-centric keywords driving targeted traffic to specific areas of NewOrleansOnline.com containing more detailed information on those terms. Those pages also included opportunities to book travel to New Orleans as well as to opt in for e-newsletters and Official Visitors Guides.

18

ONLINE ADVERTISING

NOLAFunGuide.com & Hotel Partner Program This year, NOTMC partnered with the Arts Council of New Orleans (ACNO) to launch a comprehensive events calendar for the City of New Orleans. NolaFunGuide.com is based on a proven arts marketing platform developed by the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, funded by a generous contribution from the Pew Charitable Trust and represents a tremendous gift to New Orleans’ cultural economy.

NolaFunGuide.com is fully staffed by the Arts Council to keep the website filled with hundreds of events, large and small, ranging from our city’s famous culinary arts, to live music, art openings and exhibitions, and community and sporting events. All event data featured on NewOrleansOnline.com is provided by NOLAFunGuide.com, and this site is well-positioned to be our city’s calendar of record for the years to come.

Additionally, NOTMC and the ACNO worked together to create a partner program for industry partners to carry NOLAFunGuide.com’s great event data in co-branded microsites customized for hotels, attractions, and other organizations, to help spread the word about New Orleans’ vibrant cultural scene.

PointRoll NOTMC developed interactive, expandable ad units using PointRoll technology, to better engage potential visitors through interactivity in the online advertising space, highlight fresh images of “New Orleans NOW” and simplify online reservations.

Video Ads NOTMC embedded engaging video variations on our celebrity campaign into online video ad units on Travelocity.com and TripAdvisor.com to allow viewers to see as well as hear from our famous spokespeople that New Orleans is “Open for Business.”

19

ONLINE ADVERTISING

TripAdvisor.com Our online summer campaign with TripAdvisor.com featured geo-targeted display ads in key markets and content-targeted display ads that reached visitors seeking Louisiana or New Orleans information.

Yahoo! Monster Unit Our online summer campaign with Yahoo! included an extensive array of display ad units, behaviorally targeted to Yahoo! site visitors with an interest in New Orleans. We used Yahoo!â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Monster unit, a jumbo interactive ad, to showcase upcoming events and activities in the context of our celebrity campaign.

Each event featured a drop-down information bar that appeared when the viewer moved the cursor over it.

20

ONLINE ADVERTISING

Summer Promotion Landers & Banners NOTMC’s online summer promotion “Stay two nights, get a third night FREE!” featured our celebrities in our banner advertising as well as on our promotional landing pages, ensuring a tight cohesion in imagery and messaging between our online and offline campaigns. Wynton Marsalis, John Goodman and Bryan Batt were outstanding hosts for visitors who came to our site to learn more about New Orleans summer hotel promotions.

Events & Festival Microsites NOTMC provided online marketing support in the form of microwebsites to promote our fantastic New Orleans events, such as Tales of the Cocktail and the New Orleans Seafood Festival.

These sites were promoted through our online channels, showcased the highlights of the events, and made it easy for potential visitors to book a trip to New Orleans to attend.

21

ONLINE ADVERTISING

Consumer E-newsletter

Web Promotions

NewOrleansOnline.com pioneered the first email marketing program

Live with Regis & Kelly (May) — Promoted on radio

for the City of New Orleans. Our database of potential visitors has

and TV in regional and national markets, including

grown to over 370,000 subscribers. As a point of comparison, the

New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Chicago

New York Times Great Getaways database was estimated in 2007 to

New York City Summer Stages Festival Giveaway

have 360,000 subscribers.

(August) — in conjunction with FQBA and Summer Stages, NYC

Our e-newsletters showcase the wide array of rich New Orleans

Voodoo Music Experience (October)

events that occur throughout the year, as well as special offers from

Travelocity (October, November)

hotels. Each newsletter also links to our booking engine. This tool is

Mardi Gras 2008 (November, December)

designed to keep awareness of our destination high and motivate our subscribers to come and visit.

Industry E-newsletter NOTMC publishes regular updates to tourism partners through its industry e-newsletter. Not only does it provide vital statistics on our city’s recovery, it provides exciting opportunities for cooperative marketing and advertising efforts.

22

ONLINE ADVERTISING

NewOrleansOnline.com/CVB Site Merger NOTMC began working with NOMCVB to merge NewOrleansOnline.com and NewOrleansCVB.com into one comprehensive website for the New Orleans tourism industry. The new site will be built on the existing NewOrleansOnline.com domain, and include an extensive array of content and tools for leisure and group travelers, meeting planners, media and more.

RadioFreeNewOrleans.com RadioFreeNewOrleans.com (also RFNO.com and HearNewOrleansMusic.com) brings high-fidelity New Orleans music to desktops and laptops around the globe. We redeveloped RFNO.com in 2006 with new hand-built, up-to-the-minute streaming technology, featuring new back-end music management and reporting tools. The site’s music player offers promotional opportunities by cycling New Orleans editorials and hourly promos that drive traffic back to NewOrleansOnline.com.

Bringing New Orleans to LIFE Online NOTMC added engaging personalities to nearly every section of our website to introduce 17 colorful, thematic videos designed to inspire people to visit New Orleans.

We showcase our food, live music, art and architecture, festivals, attractions, history, shopping, and, of course, the French Quarter. Through music and video, and images of locals beckoning visitors to “book a travel package today,” we highlight all the reasons New Orleans is a truly unique destination.

23

Christmas New Orleans Style (CNOS) Campaign

CNOS Guide This year, 125,000 Christmas New Orleans Style Guides were printed and distributed in hotels and welcome centers throughout the Gulf Coast, in New Orleans and as a fulfillment piece online.

Included is a guide to participating hotels that offer discounted Papa

Christmas New Orleans Style

Noël rates in December. This is just another great example of how our industry works together.

December is a month full of traditions.

Unfortunately, it’s traditionally a slow month for tourism. To change all that, we created a $1,035,216 Christmas New Orleans Style campaign. We sponsor the events that attract

CNOS Celebrity Consumer Magazine It takes more than the 12 days of Christmas to fit in the 305 events that take

the visitors. This year’s events included daily

place during Christmas New Orleans Style. Because there is so much going on

cooking demonstrations, nightly concerts, and

all month long, we tooted our own horn with an advertorial format this year to

the Living History Project, which employs local actors during December.

give us room to fit it all in. Our media buyers negotiated 2/3-page advertorial for FREE when buying a 1/3-page ad — a value of more than $200,000. Ads ran in September, October, and November issues of the following regional and national publications: Atlanta Magazine Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel Austin Monthly Collinson Publishing Cottage Living D Magazine Ft. Worth Texas Magazine Houston Magazine Jezebel Magazine The New Yorker Points North Sherman’s Travel Magazine Southern Accents Southern Breeze Southern Living Texas Monthly

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CHRISTMAS

New Orleans Style Join us for a month long celebration of the season and the senses.

Meet You in New Orleans Only in New Orleans can you enjoy Reveillon feasts, free concerts, unique shopping, riverboat cruises, and more—all December long. Join us for Celebration in the Oaks-two million sparkling lights adorning City Park’s ancient oak groves. Special Papa Noël hotel rates let you stay longer and see it all.

Savor the Season ‘Tis the season of the Reveillon, an old holiday dining tradition where restaurants citywide serve multiple courses at a special prix fixe that will delight your palate and your pocketbook. Learn the secrets at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré, where local chefs reveal their secret recipes at free cooking classes.

Follow the Music Head to historic St. Louis Cathedral for free evening concerts featuring some of the world’s best gospel, jazz, and R&B musicians. Take a stroll through the French Quarter as carolers shower you in song. On Christmas Eve, enjoy caroling in Jackson Square.

Shop For Treasure Some of New Orleans’ best holiday shopping can be found right in the heart of the city, in the French Quarter. Browse the fine antique shops, unique art galleries, and world-famous restaurants on Royal Street—or head to the Arts District and Magazine Street for more fresh art, funky fashions, antiques, and folksy Louisiana crafts. There’s no better place to make headway on your holiday gift list.

Join in the Cheer

Sports fans, arrive early for the State Farm Bayou Classic (Nov. 24). Kick off the college bowl season at the New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 21). Catch the Hornets and the superstar Saints in regular season. Ring in the New Year and catch a live fireworks display before heading to Harrah’s Casino. Don’t miss out on the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day and the BCS National Championship Game (Jan. 7, 2008).

Come and experience an authentic holiday tradition that’s uniquely New Orleans!

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Christmas New Orleans Style (CNOS) Campaign

CNOS Celebrity TV By adapting our celebrity TV campaign, we were also able to promote CNOS events on television in November in regional markets including Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Jackson, Memphis, Mobile/Pensacola, Montgomery, Nashville, and San Antonio. Why shop at your boring old mall when the unique shops of the New Orleans French Quarter, the Arts District and Magazine Street await?

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Hotel Rates Starting at $79* This holiday season, treat yourself Christmas New Orleans Style. From shopping in the French Quarter to caroling in Jackson Square, the city offers plenty of festive activities to get you and your family in the Christmas spirit. Call 800.519.NOLA or visit NewOrleansOnline.com to book your trip today.

*Per room per night. Subject to availability. Visit NewOrleansOnline.com/book/packages for details. This project is funded in partnership with the U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Development, the Louisiana Office of Lt. Governor/Dept. of Culture, Recreation and Toruism, and the Louisiana Recovery Authority

CNOS Newspaper In November, we were able to entice visitors to New Orleans by running newspaper ads promoting great Papa NoĂŤl rates and festive CNOS events. The ads ran in Atlanta, Austin, Beaumont, Birmingham, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Huntsville, Jackson/ Hattiesburg, Lake Charles, Memphis, Meridian, Mobile, Montgomery, Nashville, Pensacola, Port Arthur, and in cities across Louisiana.

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Communications & PR

What We Do As the city’s leisure travel communications department, we make writing travel articles about New Orleans easy. Our staff of experienced journalists is ready to

NOTMC’s efforts in 2007 generated more than $104,000,000 in media exposure for the city.

In 2007, our media relations efforts produced excellent results. Our press

help visiting media find or enrich

pitches generated consistent editorial coverage in top-tier media in our

the assignment they’ve been given.

key markets. We were talked up positively on CNN, Good Morning

We provide press releases, press

America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and other national shows. Perhaps

kits both physical and online, unique story angles, insider interviews, contact information,

our biggest coup took place in May when, with the help of Harrah’s, the producers of Live with Regis & Kelly agreed to broadcast live from Fulton Street for five days. The impact of Regis and Kelly telling the story of New Orleans far exceeds any advertising we could have done.

high-resolution still photography, television field production and location scouting, broadcast b-roll, itineraries, press trips, and accommodations.

NOTMC regularly partners with other tourism interests including supporting the Mayor’s office of communication in their tourism-related activities. This year, events included holding a news conference for an award from the National Register of Historic Places, and the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon. We also assisted in producing the city’s Merci Beaucoup event. During Jazz Fest, NOTMC partnered with the State of Louisiana and Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu to host a media breakfast and tour. NOTMC also joined with the NOMCVB in executing and running the Katrina second-anniversary media center in August. When the Hearst Corporation’s top 90 magazine editors visited as volunteers to work on the Preservation Resource Center’s Rebuilding Together project, NOTMC was there to provide information to all editors.

Altogether, we directly assisted more than 3,000 journalists in 2007, generating some 34,600 mentions in print and broadcast media.

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Communications & PR

Live with Regis & Kelly For five days in May, more than 15 million viewers per day watched Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa showcase the progress that had taken place in the city since Hurricane Katrina.

PR Value: Priceless.

The communications team spent four busy months planning for multiple days of national exposure. Some of the duties included conducting scouting trips, helping to produce stories with Regis and Kelly in the field, providing contact names and numbers to the staff, and working as production assistants for the show. We also created a successful Web promotion to tie it all together.

Guests of the show were all either fans of New Orleans or from New Orleans. Spotlighted were Emeril Lagasse, Paul

“I am having a love affair with New Orleans!”

Kelly Ripa

Prudhomme, Leah Chase, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Rockin’ Dopsie, Pete Fountain, John Stamos, Luke Wilson, and Martina McBride to name a few.

“The French Quarter looks even better today than I remember it.”

“I love it here! Let me just start by saying I’ve been here so many times and this is my favorite city in the United States!”

John Stamos

Regis Philbin

The end result was $30 million in exposure for our city, and that doesn’t include all the free regional press coverage. It doesn’t get any better than this!

The Ellen DeGeneres Show One of New Orleans’ brightest stars on the national scene is Ellen DeGeneres, who has never forgotten her roots. In early January, NOTMC partnered with the show and brought 50 New Orleanians to Burbank, CA for Ellen’s February 20th Mardi Gras show, where we also took the opportunity to promote the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Broadcast in 211 American markets and over a dozen foreign countries, Ellen is seen by over 3 million viewers daily. Harry Connick, Jr. was Ellen’s guest and the two talked about their love of New Orleans and the need for people to visit the city. PR value: $61,325,000.

More quotes applauding New Orleans:

“What’s New Orleans without music...and what’s music without dancing?”

Ellen DeGeneres

“You need to go to New Orleans…that will help more than anything...”

“Jazz Fest is an amazing experience. If you guys get a chance, you should go. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen.”

“The tourism is what we depend on, so spend your money and rejuvenate the economy down there.”

Ellen DeGeneres

Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr.

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Communications & PR

Television Field Production In addition to assisting the City of New Orleans Film Commission on several shoots in 2007, the communications team also worked in the field producing national television coverage taped here. We worked with the following programs and others, making sure the camera captured New Orleans at her very best: Satellite video news release for Mardi Gras Taped at the beginning of the carnival season in February, information about Mardi Gras was sent across the nation.

Total viewers equaled 11,612,190.

ABC Good Morning America ABC did a Mardi Gras live shot on Fat Tuesday from Jackson Square and NOTMC was there to help.

Total viewers: 8,872,000. PR value: $262,187 Katrina Anniversary Coverage In August, Good Morning America again did a live shot from New Orleans and NOTMC was there to assist in the production.

Total viewers: 3,496,000. PR value: $185,250.

GMA Town Hall Meeting Diane Sawyer was the host of this live town hall meeting with John Edwards in July. NOTMC convinced the crew to shoot at the Cabildo and in Jackson Square and again helped in the production.

Total viewers: 7,565,000. PR value: $181,687, Travel Channel Not Your Average Travel Guide shot two episodes in February and September.

Total viewers: 834,000. PR value: $31,727.

America, the Wright Way This 30-minute episode starring Adam Wright, shot in late 2007, will air in Spring 2008.

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Network Syndication Laura McKenzie Traveler Three episodes were shot in December with NOTMC providing a producer. Laura McKenzie appears in 210 markets and on the Travel Channel. She also will promote New Orleans on the CBS Early Show in 2008 as well as mention the city in USA Today Weekend.

Fox and Friends A segment was done on location at the Voodoo Music Experience on Fox and Friends in July with NOTMC helping with coordination and onsite assistance.

Total viewers: 2,502,000. PR value: $100,000.

CNN and CNN.com Deal of the Day Christmas New Orleans Style was highlighted as a deal of the day in December. The three-minute segment aired at noon.

Total viewers: 393,000. PR value: $32,850.

CBS Early Show When John Edwards announced for President in New Orleans in the Ninth Ward, NOTMC was there. Our staff person was the on-site field producer for CBS. Total viewers: 2,749,000. PR Value: $21,000.

NBC Today Show Peter Greenberg promoted New Orleans in September, and called NOTMC for extensive research. His coverage landed on NBC-TV, PeterGreenberg.com, and AOL.com.

Total viewers: 8,696,000. PR value: $350,000.

In November, the Today Show did a three-day feature on the Gulf Coast and named New Orleans the 2nd most beautiful city in America. NOTMC did a scout trip with the network ahead of their telecast.

Total viewers: 8,696,000. PR value: $350,000.

Communications & PR

Print Production Work NOTMC always assists journalists, but this year was exceptionally busy. We captured some great coverage for New Orleans with these and other major national outlets. Here are just a few:

Magazines:

Newspaper:

Alarm Magazine

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Architectural Digest

Chicago Tribune

Austin Monthly

Houston Chronicle

Bon Appétit

Inside Entertainment

Condé Nast Traveler

New York Post

Cottage Living

New York Times

Delta Sky

San Antonio Express-News

Elle

San Francisco Chronicle

Entertainment Weekly

USA Today

ESSENCE

USA Weekend

Every Day with Rachael Ray

Wall Street Journal

InStyle National Geographic Traveler Passport People Southern Breeze Southern Living South Mississippi Living Spirit (Southwest Airlines) Texas Monthly Today’s Groom Town & Country Travel + Leisure Vogue

NOTMC Lays Foundation for Cottage Living House Cottage Living, a widely circulated national magazine, chose New Orleans as the site for its 2007 “Idea Home.” After being contacted by NOTMC, the magazine selected an Uptown neighborhood as the site for a 2,370-square-foot modular home reflective of the unique architectural styles of New Orleans. Proceeds for tours of the house were donated to the Preservation Resource Center, which is committed to preserving the city’s architectural legacy. Additionally, the house features furniture and art from local artists and craftsmen. Proceeds for sale of the house went to the Operation Comeback Revolving Fund, which supports the Holy Cross Development Project.

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Communications & PR

Familiarization Trips (FAM Tours) FAM Tours provide a way for NOTMC to familiarize journalists with the city firsthand. Small groups of writers and broadcasters are brought to the city to demonstrate our authenticity and uniqueness. In 2007, a value of more than $600,000 was realized from the print and broadcast coverage the trips generated. Web clips added another $8,000 in value to that, bringing the total to more than $608,000.

The six NOTMC press FAMs showcasing New Orleans featured arts and culture; the French Quarter Festival; the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience; the New Orleans Seafood Festival; Tales of the Cocktail; and our Multi-cultural Creole heritage.

NOTMC also partners with other groups and supplies press kits, information, and staffing for their FAM Tours. This year’s partners were Harrah’s, Marriott, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, and Hilton Riverside.

A Note About PR Values NOTMC value reports capture opportunities generated as a direct result of FAM Tours, story pitches, and publicity efforts.

A conservative industry standard formula is used to determine the value of specific coverage. The formula takes into account a media outlet’s advertising rate and the length of the coverage received.

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CORPORATE FUNDING

Corporate Funding Working with the local hospitality industry, NOTMC undertook several initiatives in 2007 that helped us fulfill our mission in specific and important ways. NOTMC provided grants for marketing and promotion of the following events: New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve Fireworks Mardi Gras Marathon New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival ESSENCE Music Festival Tales of the Cocktail New Orleans Seafood Festival Satchmo SummerFest Krewe of Boo French Quarter Festival French Quarter Business Association Brass Bands Series New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation

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A Big Thank You To Cox Communications and Greg Bickett!

Cox rocks! When Hurricane Katrina hit, Cox and ten of the leading cable companies across the country stepped up to donate over $14 million in advertising time to invite people to fall in love with New Orleans all over again. Cox Communications spearheaded this effort and involved their fellow cable companies, including AdLINK, Bresnan Communications, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast, Insight Communications, Mediacom, Suddenlink, and Time Warner Cable. As a result, NOTMC was able to create seven different TV spots with themes such as family, festivals, food, music, art, and neighborhoods. .

We ran our general spot, as well as niche spots with emphases on food, music, art, and other assets of the city.

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BARTER ADVERTISING

Barter Advertising London Company worked with the

2007 Barter Advertising Placement

New Orleans hospitality industry to coordinate $905,011 in hotel inventory,

MARKET

General

CNOS

Total

Alabama

$68,800.00

$34,000.00

$102,800.00

Arizona

$3,315.00

$ -

$3,315.00

Arkansas

$6,900.00

$2,000.00

$8,900.00

spending a single dollar on media. The entire

California

$47,040.00

$ -

$47,040.00

amount is paid for with complimentary hotel

Florida

$66,903.00

$ 22,000.00

$88,903.00

Georgia

$47,476.00

$15,000.00

$62,476.00

Illinois

$31,000.00

$ -

$31,000.00

Indiana

$21,279.00

$ -

$21,279.00

Kentucky

$29,322.00

$5,000.00

$34,322.00

Louisiana

$103,600.00 $47,000.00

$150,600.00

Mississippi

$87,290.00

$20,000.00

$107,290.00

Missouri

$49,200.00

$5,000.00

$54,200.00

New York

$29,400.00

$ -

$29,400.00

Ohio

$27,847.00

$ -

$27,847.00

Oklahoma

$9,050.00

$1,600.00

$10,650.00

Tennessee

$4,489.00

$5,000.00

$9,489.00

Texas

$80,500.00

$35,000.00

$115,500.00

TOTALS

$713,411.00 $191,600.00 $905,011.00

restaurant vouchers, and attraction tickets bartered in exchange for television, radio, newspaper, and print advertising. Using barter advertising, we can place ads without

accommodationsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;excess rooms contributed by participating hotels.

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RTA

RTA Back on track!

Nothing says New Orleans is back quite like the sight of the historic green streetcar once again rolling up St. Charles Avenue! By connecting Uptown, the Garden District, Downtown, and the French Quarter with City Park, NOMA, and the historic Mid-City neighborhood, the RTA has made exploring New Orleans even more rewarding.

Our partnership with RTA continued in 2007.

NOTMC receives 40% of revenues generated by an RTA/hotel tax. Half of this amount is dedicated to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, while 16.55% is dedicated solely to tourism marketing. The Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Tourism receives 3.45%. In return for its investment, the RTA streetcar receives great exposure in public relations and our ads (one celebrity ad featured John Goodman as a streetcar driver), online marketing, and public relations. The value of that exposure in 2007 was $5,472,442.71.

2007 Value delivered to RTA Summer Campaign Christmas Campaign Internet Public Relations Barter Total Value Received

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$3,120,147.93 $579,160.72 $1,665,518.96 $8,064.10 $99,551.00 $5,472,442.71

HARRAH’S

Don’t miss the world-class gaming, dining and entertainment that have made Harrah’s® New Orleans Casino the most visited attraction in the South for years.

Harrah’s Harrah’s New Orleans Casino continues to be a major marketing partner of NOTMC. Together, we were able to convince the producers of the nationally syndicated talk show Live with Regis &

Kelly to broadcast live for five consecutive shows last May. Harrah’s Hotel was a big sponsor and Fulton Street was the set! Bringing the show to New Orleans allowed us to get our message to “come visit” to over 14 million people each day. < 22 >

N E W O R L E A N S T O U R I S M M A R K E T I N G C O R P O R AT I O N

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12/19/07 10:16:28 AM

As part of Harrah’s agreements with both the

2007 Value delivered to harrah’s casino

City of New Orleans and the hotel industry, the

Summer Campaign

casino’s payment of $2 million annually to

Christmas Campaign Internet

$3,206,667.65 $124,425.92 $8,836,354.73

Public Relations

$73,500.27

Barter

$99,551.00

Total Value Received

$12,340,499.57

NOTMC goes directly towards marketing efforts, allowing us to broaden the effectiveness and reach of our campaigns.

The tax-based portion of our funding varies from year to year, but the contribution from Harrah’s remains constant. In 2007, Harrah’s received $12,340,499.57 in marketing value from exposure in our ads, online marketing, and public relations. It’s a good bet and a win-win situation for everyone involved.

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FINANCIAL REPORT

Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for Year Ended 12/31/07-unaudited revenues Base Funding/City of New Orleans Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax

$1,000,000

*$250,000 received after Dec. 31, 2007

$3,341,601

*$921,390 received after Dec. 31, 2007

RTA/Hotel Tax

$2,206,618

*$613,550 received after Dec. 31, 2007

Casino Funding/Leasing Agreement with City of New Orleans

$1,000,000

Harrahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marketing Fund (Agreement with Hotel Industry)

$1,000,000

*$83,333 received after Dec. 31, 2007

HUD/LOT Community Development Block Grant

$4,689,390

*$1,229,230 received after Dec. 31, 2007

Other Revenue (Co-Op Sales & Partnerships)

$155,239

Interest Income

$222,939

TOTAL REVENUE

$13,615,787

expenditures Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

$1,103,309

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau

$976,860

New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network

$325,620

Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Tourism and Arts New Orleans Film and Video Commission Corporate Funding Agency, Sales, Barter Fees Summer/General Media

$76,128 $150,000 $5,000 $964,728 $3,931,580

Summer/Museums Niche Media

$182,000

Christmas New Orleans Style

$947,198

ESSENCE/Multicultural Campaign Internet Marketing

$364,506 $771,230

Public Relations

$1,029,521

Production

$779,486

Telemarketing

$17,496

Fulfillment

$96,904

Research

$105,084

Promotions/Festival Support Marketing Technologies General and Administrative TOTAL EXPENDITURES Excess of revenues over expenditures *Total amount received subsequent to December 31, 2007 was $3,097,503.

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$124,377 $15,316 $355,433 $12,321,776 $1,294,011

And The 2007 Award Goes To…

New Orleans!

Travel + Leisure named New Orleans one of “America’s Favorite Cities.”

In fact, we were ranked #1 in eight categories in a Travel + Leisure/CNN Headline News poll.

Orbitz Insider Touted New Orleans as a Top Travel Pick for 2007

Expedia.com Named New Orleans as a Top 25 City to Visit in America

Porthole Cruise Magazine Named New Orleans Comeback Port of the Year

ZAGAT Named New Orleans 2nd Most Affordable Restaurant City in America

National Trust Recognized New Orleans with Special Award for Achievement in Heritage Tourism

And the lists of honors continues…

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“I really love this area and the idea of moving here.”

Kelly Ripa, Live with Regis & Kelly, November 8, 2007

“New Orleans is coming back!”

Paul Prudhomme, Live with Regis & Kelly, November 8, 2007

“This town—everyone’s optimistic, everyone is happy to have us here, everything’s open.”

“New Orleans is my essence, my soul, my muse...”

Harry Connick, Jr.

John Stamos, Live with Regis & Kelly, November 8, 2007

“Every block has got some sights to see here!”

Regis Philbin, Live with Regis & Kelly, November 8, 2007

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One Canal Place | 365 Canal Street, Suite 1120 | New Orleans, LA 70130 | Phone 504.524.4784 NewOrleansOnline.com | NewOrleansMuseums.com