October presentation to the task force

1. Eastern North Carolina
Heritage Tourism Marketing Strategies
Heritage Tourism Committee Meeting
North Carolina Eastern Region Office, Kinston
This project received support from:

2.  Branding to promote the region
 Set of universal practices
 Easily recognizable theme
 Easily adapted by county and tourism sites
 Drive tourism traffic

3.  Marketing
Strategy Recommendations –
Approved at the May 2011 meeting
 Heritage
Area Theme Categories and
Statements

4. 1) Adopt the concept of a technology-based
strategy.
2) Approve creation of marketing messages
designed for use through these
technologies. Create a “look” (graphic
design) and a message that can easily be
incorporated or adopted by tourism
agencies and heritage attractions.

5. 3) Approve a marketing message strategy
that focuses on places and people.
4) Begin developing plans to provide
technical assistance to tourism agencies
and heritage sites to fully benefit from
the technology-based marketing plans.

7. The confluence of human activity
and the interconnected waterways
of eastern North Carolina have
shaped the region’s past, defined
its unique present character and
charted a course for the future.

8. Facing untold hardship with equal
determination, early habitants capitalized
on Eastern North Carolina’s prominence on
the Atlantic coast to create a home and
livelihoods and eventually to influence the
establishment of a new nation which
encompassed the region’s inherent struggle
between freedom and enslavement.

9. Eastern North Carolina’s distinctive
landscape of coastal plain, piney
woods, banks and waters gave rise to all
manner of livelihood, from those who
scratched out a living to those who amassed
prosperity from maritime and agricultural
enterprises, shaping daily life and impacting
regional and national historical events.

10. Since its first settlement, the military has
been a strong presence in Eastern North
Carolina, giving the region a critical role in
establishing a new nation in the
Revolutionary War era, in reflecting the
struggle of a nation torn apart by Civil
War, and in defending America’s ideals in
20th and 21st century wars.

11. Present-day residents are preserving the
region’s history by carrying on traditions such
as food ways, cultural arts, religion, working
traditions and recreation that have often
been handed down in families for many
generations or sharing the region’s legacies
by preserving the built and natural
environment and interpreting stories of the
past.

16. Continues nautical theme
Speaks directly to the potential
visitor – invites them to plan a trip
Easyto use in a variety of
promotional venues

17.  Make it the “go-to” source for planning
heritage-focused travel
 Include unique and in-depth content not
found on other tourism websites
 Connect heritage sites to people – past
and present
 Highlight the region’s themes
 Serve as the foundation for social media
promotions

19. Theme and Itineraries
message Events
Introduction Photos
Special places – Restaurants
special people Socialmedia
Exploration symbols
routes Links and maps
Travel Tools

20.  Overview of the region’s
characteristics
 Why the region is a special
place to visit

21.  Buildsection as a
unique resource
to share stories of
people past and
present
 Invitesubmissions
of stories

22. Sub-themes are an entrance point
for trip planning.
Settling a New World
Living with the Land and Water
Defense of a Nation
Living Traditions

23. Settling a New World
Introduction
First Americans African Americans Colonial Life Old World Origins The Struggle to Settle
Fort Raleigh Bellamy Mansion Historic Bath Albemarle, Edenton, Bath, Brunswick Dismal Swamp
Roanoke Island Festival Park Hope Plantation Beaufort Neuse and Trent Rivers Halifax
Princeville Burgwin-Wright House
New Bern

27. Traditional tourism promotion:
Show, tell, persuade
New tourism promotion:
Facilitate, orchestrat
e,
enable

28. o Can be updated The average user:
regularly  Has 130 friends
o Interactive format  Spends 15½ hours a
month on Facebook
 Visits 40 times per
month
 Connected to 80
community
pages, groups and
events

30. A regular feature will encourage repeat visitation.
What is this and where is it?

31.  Links to new blog
entries
 Event or program
info
 Pictures or videos
of tours
 Ask “friends” to
talk about places
they visit
 Links to publicity
 Restaurant
reviews

32.  New blogs encourage regular
check-ins
 Blogs can link from all social
media avenues

33.  Behind-the-scenes for
heritage events
 Happenings at the sites
 Review books on heritage
sites and encourage
discussions
 Ask visitors to share their
travel experience –
compile responses with
the best ideas
 Share current publicity

34.  Heading to North Carolina in late
November and can’t decide – mountains
or surf? Blue Ridge or Outer Bank?
 One week road trip starts today. First
stop Outer Banks, North Carolina
 USS North Carolina turns 50: Wilmington
is marking the 50th anniversary of landing
the battleship.

35. 1. Link potential visitors to websites, blogs
or Facebook for info on activities and
special deals.
2. Monitor discussions from visitors in the
region and help them find things to see
and do.

36.  @SeattleMaven is a
“know-it-all/concierge
extraordinaire”
 Tweets about city’s
happenings
 Monitors visitor
conversations and jumps
in with suggestions of
things to see and do

38.  Used Flickr™ to create a high
quality, low cost photo library
 700+ photos submitted
 Builds photo collection for
small attractions
 Provides images for media

39. By the end of
2011, half of
Americans will
own a
smartphone.
Source: CNN report, July 2011

40.  Brochures Deadwood, SD posted QR Codes
 Interpretive on historic buildings, linking to
Signage historic photos.
 Videos

42. 1. Stand-alone website – register domain
name
2. Landing page on Coast Host

44.  Connect with
bloggers
 Collect
testimonials
 Work with travel
writers