The Power of Leveraging Money

The Money

Tier One

Dollar for dollar match up to $5,000

Tier TwoTwo dollars from partners and one dollar from VTC from $5,001 to $25,000

Reimbursable

• Payments issued after proof of placement, payment, and other documentation

The Rules• Eligible expenses can include…..

– “Traditional advertising”– Printed materials– Website development– Electronic marketing– Fulfillment costs– Tradeshows and displays

The Rules…continued

• Ineligible include …….– Administrative expenses– Promotional items– Event startup costs– Website maintenance– Travel expenses– Directional signage

GuidelinesPage 4

Scores 80 and above

Program Description

Your Partners• Minimum of three financial partners• One partner must be the lead partner• Good explanation of roles• Regional projects and partners

encouraged• A vendor cannot be a partner• DMO role• Write as if you are telling the story to a

stranger

Program Content

Target Audience and Research

Your Research

• Why do your project?• Who is your audience?• Why did you choose that audience?• What do you have to support why

you chose that audience?

Finding Your Research• Local tax/revenue data • http://www.vatc.org/research• Visitor Logs• Partners Data• Website stats• Comparable projects• Ties into your performance measures

Research and Performance Measure Plan

Your Marketing Message and Program Plan

Your Message

• What is your message?• Is it clearly stated?• Does it reach your audience?• Does it cut through the clutter, or is your

message cluttered?

Your Plan

• Details, details, details• Does your plan reach your audience?• Is it realistic?• Have you done your research?• Tie your plan components to your research• Does it tie into VTC/VIFL marketing?• Does it show how your/VTC funds will be used?

Your PlanPage 8

VTC Marketing Initiatives• Participation in VTC consumer and/or trade cooperative media buys listed on

VTC marketing calendar. Please refer to http://www.vatc.org/advertising/coopadprog/partneradvertising.asp for complete partner media buy information.

• Placement of advertising in the Virginia Travel Guide, Group Itinerary Planner, and/or the Meeting Planners Directory

• Providing travel product on Virginia.org website for group tour, meetings and sports product for the professional trades

• Participation in the Canadian “Balance” program• Participation in VTC promotion opportunities• Placement of brochures, translite, or Welcome Center Blitz in the Virginia

Welcome Centers• Participation in VTC consumer show program• Participation in VTC domestic trade show opportunities for AAA, group tour,

meetings and sports as noted on VTC Marketing Calendar

Your Success

A. K. A. - Performance Measures

Your Success

• How will you measure it?• Do you have baselines?• Do you have targeted projections?• Are your measures realistic?• Key for your final report

Research and Performance Measure Plan

Give us a shout!

• Draft review due October 12 (yikes!)• Call us, e-mail us

Angela Wiggins804-545-5553awiggins@virginia.org

Steve Galyean804-545-5517sgalyean@virginia.org

Deadlines

• Thursday, October 28, 2010by 5:00 PM

• No electronic submissions• Award notification in

mid-December 2010• 18 month completion of program• Final report within 60 days of

completion

But wait there’s more!

• Tourism and the Arts• Sesquicentennial Tourism Grants

Questions?