HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-01-18; City Council; ; Report from Visit Carlsbad on the Carlsbad is Calling Campaign Meeting Date: Jan. 18, 2022
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Staff Contact: David Graham, Chief Innovation Officer
david.graham@carlsbadca.gov, 760-434-5992
Matt Sanford, Economic Development Manager
matt.sanford@carlsbadca.gov, 760-607-2923
Subject: Report from Visit Carlsbad on the Carlsbad is Calling Campaign
Districts: All
Recommended Action
Receive a report from Visit Carlsbad on the 2020/2021 Carlsbad is Calling campaign.
Executive Summary
The Carlsbad is Calling campaign, funded by the City Council as part of the early response to the
COVID-19 crisis, was brought about in partnership with the City of Carlsbad Innovation &
Economic Development Department, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, the Carlsbad Village
Association, and Visit Carlsbad – the destination marketing organization for the city. The City
Council allocated a total of $250,000 from the Economic Recovery and Revitalization Initiative
funds toward economic recovery messaging in the tourism and hospitality sector. The funds
were used to market and promote Carlsbad as a safe destination and to stimulate the return of
tourism business to Carlsbad.
Discussion
Visit Carlsbad conducted the “Carlsbad is Calling” campaign from mid-September 2020 through
June of 2021. In addition to the city funds committed to the campaign and tourism promotion,
Visit Carlsbad allocated an additional $150,000 towards the campaign and other forms of
advertising, including the creation of campaign content, pay-per-click funding, broadcast
sponsorship, email sponsored campaigns and other tourism marketing efforts. The campaign
was briefly put on hiatus from December 2020-January 2021 due to a surge in COVID cases that
triggered additional state and county restrictions. City funds were leveraged together with Visit
Carlsbad resources to execute campaign integrated marketing that included search engine
marketing, desktop and mobile video, broadcast television, in-home connected TV, advertising
retargeting based on traveler intent data, social media ads, digital radio spots, and dynamically
targeted online banner ads.
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 1 of 43
After the campaign concluded, Visit Carlsbad used a third-party evaluation firm to perform a
marketing effectiveness study (Exhibit 1) that measured the results of the campaign, with
outreach to the key destination markets where the media ran. The results showed the
campaign was responsible for reaching 2.41 million households and brought 52,100
incremental trips to Carlsbad, providing a total of $35.1 million in incremental revenue to the
city. Analysis by Visit Carlsbad determined that for every dollar spent on the Carlsbad is Calling
campaign, $124 was returned to the local economy. Additionally, hotel occupancy increased
17.3% year-over-year between 2020 and 2021, with average daily rates also up 45%. Revenue
per available room, a metric used in the hospitality industry to measure hotel performance,
increased 70% year-over-year. This measure is calculated by dividing a hotel’s total room
revenue by the total number of available rooms in the period being measured.
By all measures, the campaign was successful at bringing travelers to Carlsbad, marketing the
destination as a safe place for family vacations during the pandemic and generating revenue
not just for hotels but for other visitor-serving businesses, which had also been significantly
impacted by the pandemic and the resulting public health orders. (All indicators for 2019 had
shown a significant drop in tourism and hospitality revenue, threatening the viability of
businesses in those industries.)
After the conclusion of the campaign, as COVID-19 case rates fell dramatically in the summer of
2021, Carlsbad tourism rebounded to levels higher than the seasonal average. However, due to
increased case rates and concerns over new variants, the tourism industry in Carlsbad
continues to experience pandemic-related challenges.
Fiscal Analysis
This is an informational item with no fiscal impact.
Next Steps
Staff will continue to work in collaboration with Visit Carlsbad to determine ways to support
hospitality and tourism.
Environmental Evaluation
This informational report does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California
Environmental Quality Act under California Public Resources Code Section 21065 in that it has
no potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably
foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Public Notification
This item was noticed in keeping with the Ralph M. Brown Act and it was available for public
viewing and review at least 72 hours before the scheduled meeting date.
Exhibits
1. Report – Visit Carlsbad 2021 Marketing & Media Effectiveness Research
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 2 of 43
1
2021 Marketing & Media Effectiveness Research
Exhibit 1Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 3 of 43
2
Marketing Efficiency
Incremental Impact
Advertising Evaluation
Traveler Profile
Project Overview
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 4 of 43
3
Executive
Summary
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 5 of 43
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Marketing Efficiency
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Incremental Impact
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 7 of 43
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Return on Investment
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 8 of 43
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Advertising Evaluation
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 9 of 43
8
Visit Carlsbad’s 2021 campaign
generated awareness in more
than half of the target market
households—translating to a
market reach of 2.4M traveler
households.
Visit Carlsbad 2021 Campaign
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Summary
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 10 of 43
9
Marketing
Efficiency
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 11 of 43
10
Marketing Efficiency
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 12 of 43
11More than 70% of travelers in the target market have been
exposed to some form of travel advertising.
Travel Ad Awareness
San Diego, CA
Palm Springs, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
Newport Beach, CA
Carlsbad, CA
Assisted Ad Awareness*
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 13 of 43
12More than half of travelers saw a paid Carlsbad advertisement,
with Display Banners and Video ads achieving the highest levels
of aided recall.
Aided Ad Awareness*Aided Ad Awareness by Medium
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 14 of 43
13
Market Reach
Overall, the Carlsbad campaign
reached 2.4M Travel Households—
driven in large part by the LA
DMA.
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 15 of 43
14
Media Expenditures
The Carlsbad campaign had a total
budget of just over $282,000, with
$255,000 going directly toward
consumer-facing ads.
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 16 of 43
15
Marketing Efficiency
The Carlsbad campaign was
extremely efficient at a cost of just
$0.11-$0.12 per household.
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 17 of 43
16
Incremental
Impact
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 18 of 43
17Incremental Impact
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 19 of 43
18The Carlsbad campaign generated incremental visitation in all
three advertised markets.
Carlsbad Conversion Rates by Ad Awareness in 2021
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 20 of 43
19
Incremental Visitation
Without the marketing efforts of
Visit Carlsbad, there would have
been 52,000 fewer visits to the
area since September 2020.
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 21 of 43
20
Incremental Revenue
Party spending averaged $674 on
each of those incremental visits to
the area—providing for
incremental revenue of $35.1M for
the Carlsbad area.
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 22 of 43
21
Return on Investment
With an investment of just over
$280k, the total return on the
marketing investment was $124 for
every dollar spent.
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 23 of 43
22
Incremental Room Nights
The 2021 Campaign generated 22.5k
incremental room nights from those staying
overnight in Carlsbad at a Hotel, Motel,
B&B, Inn, Condo, Cabin, Cottage, Vacation
Rental, Campground, RV Park, Resort, or
Airbnb that would not have occurred
otherwise.
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 24 of 43
23
Advertising
Evaluation
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 25 of 43
24There was a significant increase in the appeal of Carlsbad’s ads in
2021—driven by higher income families with children.
% Top 2 Box Appeal of Ads % Top 2 Box Appeal by Consumer Segment
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 26 of 43
25The 2021 ads performed even better making Carlsbad more
appealing to travelers—especially 35-54 year olds.
% Ads Make Carlsbad Seem
More/Much More Appealing
% Makes Carlsbad More Appealing by
Consumer Segment
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 27 of 43
26The increases in awareness and impact of the campaign is likely
due to the significant increases in relevance of the ads among
targeted travelers.
% Ads are Somewhat/Very Relevant % Top 2 Box Relevance by Consumer Segment
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 28 of 43
27Travelers across all segments agreed that the ads fit very well with
the Carlsbad brand. Families with children were especially
impressed with the brand fit this year.
% Ads Fit Somewhat/Very Well
with Carlsbad Brand
% Top 2 Box Brand Fit by Consumer Segment
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 29 of 43
28Differentiation scores saw the most significant increases over the
2019 campaign which likely impacted the high relevance for
consumers.
% Ads are Somewhat/Very
Differentiated
% Top 2 Box Differentiation by Consumer
Segment
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 30 of 43
29
Travelers were also significantly better able to identify the ads as
being for Carlsbad—especially families with children.
% Pretty/Very Easily Identify
Carlsbad w/ Logo Removed
% Top 2 Box Identification by Consumer
Segment
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 31 of 43
30Travelers still agree that the ads make Carlsbad look like a great
getaway and are more likely than ever to want to get more
information about the area after seeing the ads.
% Agree/Strongly Agree with the Following Statements
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 32 of 43
31Travelers were significantly more likely to take actions such as
searching for information and booking a trip after seeing the 2021
ads –compared to their actions in 2019.
After Seeing These Ads Travelers Probably/Definitely Would…
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 33 of 43
32Post-ad exposure intent to visit Carlsbad increased by 12 points,
with intent to visit in the future highest among San Diego
residents.
Lift in Intent to Visit After Seeing Ads
Intent to Visit Carlsbad in the Next
12 Months
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 34 of 43
33
Traveler
Profile
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 35 of 43
34Carlsbad and Santa Barbara were the only two destinations to see
an increase in visitation over the past 3 years.
Destinations Visited in the Past 3 Years
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 36 of 43
35
Even before seeing advertisements for the area, travelers were
significantly more likely to indicate they planned to visit Carlsbad
in the next 12 months than they were in 2019.
% Probably/Definitely Will Visit Destinations in the Next 12 Months
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 37 of 43
36
Area Activity Participation
Dining at local restaurants is by far
the favorite activity to participate
in when visiting Carlsbad. This is
followed by Carlsbad Village and
Boutique Shopping.
28% |21%
22% |16%
18% | 13%
Functional Drivers of Visitation
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 38 of 43
37Overnight visitation increased significantly since 2019, as did the
number of nights in the area.
Overnight Visitation Nights in the Area
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 39 of 43
38Travelers staying overnight were much more likely to choose
outlying areas like Oceanside or San Marcos instead of Carlsbad
this year.
City/Area Spent the Night In Overnight Accommodations
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 40 of 43
39Not only has Carlsbad increased visitation to the area it has also
continued to deliver on the expected experience. Recent visitors are
more likely than ever to recommend the area to family/friends.
42%
Net Promoter Score
48%
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 41 of 43
40Carlsbad’s current Brand Advocates are slightly older than those
most impacted by the ads this year—indicating that Carlsbad’s
future visitor may begin to look different if this trend holds.
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 42 of 43
41
GET IN TOUCH
WITH US
GET IN TOUCH
WITH US
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #4 Page 43 of 43
Tammy Cloud-McMinn
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Teri Jacobs <tjacobs86@pacbell.net>
Tuesday, January 18, 2022 1 :26 PM
City Clerk
1/18 Agenda Item #4
All Receive -Agenda Item# .i_
For the Information of the:
CITY COUNCIL
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Mayor Hall, Mayor Pro Tern Blackburn, Council, Mr. Chadwick, and Staff,
The Area Activity Participation report from the Agenda Packet clearly shows that those visiting
Carlsbad come for Dining at LOCAL Restaurants and The Village. Please consider how this area
looks to visitors and residents alike. If possible work in conjunction with NCTD to make the
Village Coaster Station inviting. Address the homeless situation and the abundance of trash.
Look at the sidewalks, planted areas, etc. We need to invest in the beautification of the Village
but more importantly the safety of our residents and our visitors.
Regards,
Teri Jacobs
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