September DOS Meeting by Visit Milwaukee

SEPTEMBER DOS MEETING

Friday, September 22, 2023

Employee Recognition

Laura Lutter Cole Associate Director of Sales

Smart Women in Meetings 2023: Stellar Performer

Laura’s efforts to spotlight Milwaukee as a premier destination have helped secure large-scale meetings and events such as the 2024 Republican National Convention, Alpha Kappa Alpha Regional Conference and SimpleView Summit, driving thousands of attendees to our city every year.

ASAE Recap

August 5 – 8, 2023 Atlanta, GA

ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition

• August 5-9 Atlanta, GA-

• Activation: Tailgate with Milwaukee

• Beer & Brats

• 355 Planners scanned at the booth

ASAE Annual Meeting

Connect Marketplace Recap

August

24, 2023

–

Minneapolis, MN

Connect Marketplace Recap

• Activation: Pop to Milwaukee

• Pete’s Pops & Sprecher Root Beer

• Lunch Room Sponsor

• Carvertize

• 152 appointments with planners

• Basketball Free-throw sponsor

Connect Hotel Committee

• Goal of the team

• How to join

Connect Marketplace

August 22 – 24, 2023

Minneapolis, MN

STR Update

Lead & PACE Update

2023: 941 RNS 2024: 35,000 RNS 2025: 5,600 RNS 2026: 16,000 RNS

RNC Contributes 90K of the RNS in the 202K Booked

We are at 112K RNS on the books when you remove the RNC

51% of our goal

2023 2022

Monthly Newsletter Discussion

Connect 2024

–

August 26

28, 2024

Milwaukee, WI

Customer Advisory Board Meeting

September 11-13

PCMA Strategic Partnership

2024 Travel Opportunities

• PCMA Convening Leaders – Jan. 7-10

• RCMA – Jan. 9-11

• Connect Spring (Diversity & Citywide) - April 2-4

• Sports ETA – April 22-25

• IPW – May 3-7

• ASAE – Aug. 10-13

• Connect Marketplace – Aug. 27-29

• TEAMS – Sept. 23-26

• IMEX – Oct. 7-10

• Connect Faith & DC – Nov. 19-21

• Holiday Showcase – December

• Expo Expo - December

Fall FAM Tour

• November 1-3, 2023

• Targeting 20 Planners (16 Confirmed)

• Combination of Meeting Planners & Meeting Media Writers

Upcoming Travel

• September 26: Q4 PCMA Spark

• Washington, DC

• September 26 – 28: MPI Bingo Event & PCMA

Heartland Chapter Meeting

• Nashville, TN

• September 26 – 29: Fall DC Sales Mission

• Washington, DC

• October 16-20: IMEX

• Las Vegas, NV

• November 27-29: Connect DC & Connect Faith

• Washington, DC

• December 5th-8th: : Expo Expo

• Dallas, TX

Around the Room

• Renovation Updates?

• Portal updates

Sports Milwaukee

Marissa Werner

Upcoming Travel

• September 27-28, SMA Sponsorship Mastery Summit

• Chicago, IL

• October 2-5, TEAMS '23 Conference

• Palm Beach, FL

• October 9-10, DI Education Week

• Little Rock, AK

• October 16-19 IMEX America

• Las Vegas, NV

NFL Draft – Green Bay 2025

• Sports Milwaukee with VISIT Milwaukee will support Discover Green Bay and the Green Bay Packers with any potential needs

• Our team will maximize on this opportunity to market Milwaukee

• Hotel blocks will remain in the Green Bay area, including Fox Cities

• Minimal corporate blocks

• Downtown Kansas City only averaged 82% occupancy Wed - Sat

• MKE should expect higher airport traffic displaced group business from the Green Bay and Fox Cities area

• Different from 2021 PGA Ryder Cup

• Tickets are free

• NFL, along with GBP will keep Draft and Draft related events on campus in Green Bay

USA Triathlon

• 6,510 athletes competed over the weekend

• 15,000+ spectators over the course of the weekend

• Preliminary viewership numbers from the US Open.

• 6.1 million on Eurosport

• 11 million+ video views across social media

• 140k across O&O Streaming live (Youtube/PTO+)

Updates

• 2025 USA Fencing Nationals & July Challenge

• June 27 – July 6, 2025, 13,340 Room Nights

• US Women's Open 2025

• May 29 – June 1

• Need rates to be $190 - $200 max

• (5) Annual events with Meetingmax 2024

• Wisconsin Juniors Winter Classic

• Midwest Twisters Events

• Badger Region Volleyball Championships Week #1 and Week #2

• Wisconsin Juniors Grand Slam

• US Junior National Girls Basketball Windy City Classic

• April 19-21, 2024, 4,490 Room Nights

Marketing Team Updates

Josh Albrecht

City of Festivals

65 total festivals (June – August)

Top 10 Festivals

• 4th of July Fireworks & Festivals (9,868 page views)

• Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival (8,525 page views)

• Summerfest (8,117 page views)

• German Fest (4,482 page views)

• Puerto Rican Family Festival (3,793 page views)

• Weird Fest (2,196 page views)

• Wisconsin State Fair (1,990 page views)

• Caribbean Festival 2023 (1,925 page views)

• Tacos and Tequila Fest (1,911 page views)

• Art64 (809 page views)

Cream City Convention Pass

Launched May 10

40 partner businesses featured (within a 1.5-mile radius of the Baird Center)

220 sign-ups since launch; 32 total redemptions

AX Update

• 2 Local Artists

• 10 NFTs

• 65 total minted

• 50 Members

• Members = unique individuals who follow the AX program & receive updates about new additions to the AX verse

• Connect Marketplace 2024 Campaign

• Promoted in follow up email to nearly 150 2023 Connect Marketplace attendees

• Enter to win a VIP Experience in Milwaukee at Connect Marketplace 2024

It's Alive On The Riverwalk

• Kicked off with a Press Conference on July 19th

• Buskers every Wednesday 11-2 & 4-7, Saturday 3-7 through 9/16

• Partnered programming with Blue Bat and Lakefront Brewery

• Secured sponsorship from Saint Kate, City Lights Brewing, RiverWalk District, & Radio Milwaukee

• Nearly 60 buskers booked!

• Sample of media coverage:

• Urban Milwaukee

• Milwaukee Magazine

• Milwaukee Record

• OnMilwaukee

• TMJ4

• CBS58

• Journal Sentinel

• Radio Milwaukee

Bobby Portis Finds a Summer Gig

• Filmed July 17th with No Studios & Eye Media

• Locations Featured:

• City Tours MKE

• Milwaukee County Zoo

• North Point Lighthouse

• Indeed Brewing

• Best Place at Pabst

• Black Cat Alley

• Thelma Carol Wine Merchants

• Wolskis (Thanks All Staff!)

• Zocalo Food Truck Park/Mazorca Tacos

Milwaukee Made: Grace Weber

• Filmed August 8th with Visionary Studios

• Locations Featured:

• Pabst Theater

• UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena

• Blu at the Pfister Hotel

• Exchange Recording Complex

• Radio Milwaukee

• Gilles Custard

• 414 Mural

Joshing Around Milwaukee (YTD Performance)

VISIT presents Joshing Around Milwaukee, a free form podcast and vlog celebrating the people and places that make Milwaukee special. Hosted by Josh Albrecht (of VISIT Milwaukee) and Josh Albrecht (of 97.3 The Game) the show allows VISIT to highlight the city's must-do's in a fresh format.

We've launched 9 episodes since May 1st, featuring partners such as: Whirlyball, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee Milkmen, Summerfest, Luxe Golf Bays, Roundhouse Beer Garden, and Harley-Davidson Museum.

• Facebook views: 8,158

• YouTube views: 1,395

• Landing page views: 507

Good Things Brewing (YTD Performance)

Landing Page

• Pageviews: 11,361

• Avg engagement time: 21s

Online Video Views

Facebook

• Total Views: 6,688+

• Top viewed video: Episode 1

Social Media

• Impressions: 743,121

• Engagements: 21,634

• Total Audience: 1,578

- Jesus Gonzalez & Paul Bartolotta

YouTube

• Total Views: 5043+

• Top viewed video: Episode 1

- Jesus Gonzalez & Paul Bartolotta

Drink Wisconsinbly Travel Show

VISIT is the presenting sponsor of six short episodes for Drink Wisconsinbly’s travel show favorites. All programming is posted on Drink WI social channels, website, and streamed in Drink WI's pub. Sponsorship plan includes three program categories, two episodes per:

• Explore Wisconsinbly – Milwaukee's own Christopher DeAngelo Gilbert explores unusually awesome places

• Brady Street Festival

• Sherman Phoenix

• Wisconsinbly Live – live performances in unlikely spots

• Trapper Schoepp at 3rd Street Market Hall

• REYNA at Grohmann Museum

• Bloody Mary – Comedian Mary Mack drinks and reviews best Wisconsin bloodies

• Crafty Cow (Wauwatosa)

• The Explorium Brew Pub (Greendale)

Travel

All digital advertising opportunities on VISIT's website are now managed by Destination Travel Network (DTN). We work with DTN to execute a sponsored content program on our website that will message to visitors and convert more customers. The program offers a variety of content placements and can be tailored to meet specific marketing goals and budget.

Website ad placements began running

Website Performance

June through August shows

we get the most website visitors on weekends and the least visitors mid-week

Sources driving traffic to VM.org

Top pages by pageviews

Hotel Booking Widget

VISIT's hotel booking widget was able to bring in an estimated 1,466 rooms and 2,911 room nights in June alone. Note, VISIT switched to a new website and booking widget in July which disrupted some data collection.

June – August Performance:

• Referral Clicks: 2,448

• Unique Searches: 2,992+

• Avg. Length of Stay: 2.7 nights

Top Referrals by City:

1. Chicago

2. Milwaukee

3. Dallas

New Website Launch

VISIT partnered with SimpleView to create a new visual identity and site redesign to better represent the city and its people, as well as target leisure travelers, meeting planners, and sports enthusiasts.

The website redesign goals were to:

• Showcase Milwaukee experiences via an interactive thematic map

• Launch microsites for Meetings & Conventions and Sports Milwaukee

• Increase RFP submissions

• Increase hotel bookings (utilizing the Book > Direct widget)

• Increase e-newsletter sign-ups, Visitor Guide requests, and member/partner referrals

• Create a robust content hub to house blogs, videos, and podcasts

• Increase the visibility of events and user-generated content (UGC)

• Highlight diversity via content, photography, videography

• Ensure the website can be easily accessed by all users and that it continues to meet the latest compliance standards

2024 Official Visitors Guide and Map

Advertising sales for our 2024 Official Visitors Guide and 2024 Visitors Map have begun! Don’t miss this opportunity to be seen in our official print publications.