Marketing to this big rugby event

I will probably be tarred and feathered and run out of town for this post but as a satellite city marketer, I haven't bought into spending great amounts on additional marketing for the rugby world cup.

We will of course put up the street flags and get the retailers and schools and rugby clubs into the swing of it.  Holding the annual winter event a bit later to make the most of the larger numbers does make sense.  Buying into a touring rugby exhibition for the city is going to be good timing and also makes sense.  But as a satellite city I'm not convinced that any special RWC websites, magazines or visitor guides are going to be worth the exorbitant prices being quoted.

Don't get me wrong, I think RWC will be fantastic for New Zealand.  It is exciting for the country hosting an international event that will draw visitors from every corner of the world to see every corner of New Zealand.  Big parts of the community will be engaged as spectators at games or through meeting their rugby heroes at school or civic engagements.  It will no doubt be the busiest spring we have ever had and our accommodation will be full several times during the event.

I get it that communities throughout the country have to invest in infrastructure upgrades; it's an international event and we need to present ourselves as a world class destination worthy of being the host.  The legacy from this investment no doubt stacks up with the ongoing benefits of improved sports grounds and transport systems being available for the rate paying communities for years to come.

I get it that the major cities need to invest in big promotions and make it the party to end all parties.  After all the event is really a massive festival and we need the energy of the people to come out in a positive and profitable way.

But as a satellite city marketer, I then get stuck when it comes to the great amounts of extra money being spent on special RWC marketing.  There won't be a game played at our local stadium, there won't be any teams staying in our hotels or even coming out to see the public.  The public and visitors will be travelling into the major city venues to see the games but after they have their rugby fix, they will have other interests like any other visitor.

I can't help but see these RWC visitors as just that - 'visitors'.  We have visitors every day of the year.  In fact from forecasts, we have more visitors in any given summer than we will have for the RWC.  Our accommodation is often full from visitors to events like the Rugby 7's or the World of Wearable Art or Visa Wellington on a Plate.  Visitors to these events find us through the same marketing material as any other visitor and I believe that RWC visitors will pick up the same marketing material and look at the same websites and visit the same i-SITEs as any other visitor.

David Hancock is the visitor development manager for Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.
http://www.huttvalleynz.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HuttCity.Wellington

New Zealand - more examples of visitors who still have it on the go now list!

Visitors keep rolling through New Zealand and many still plan to keep Christchurch on their itineraries; the staff at Hutt City i-SITE Visitor Centre are capturing their stories.  Continuing with the BLOG4NZ theme, here are some places in Hutt Valley, Wellington which are definitely OPEN and a few more glimpses at visitors keeping New Zealand on their must do now list.

The Dowse Art Museum is up there with the best contemporary galleries in New Zealand.  The team at the Dowse want you to know that New Zealand is definitely OPEN!

The size of this group at Staglands Wildlife Reserve would suggest that yes they are very much OPEN!  Love the pig wandering across the front.

Gundega and Laurent from Belgium had planned to stay in Christchurch but have decided to spend more time in other places around New Zealand now.

Sophie, Aglae and Valerie from Quebec, Canada are heading to the South Island and still plan to visit Christchurch.  Look out down south!

Robert and Camille (she was too shy for the photo) from USA are enjoying their New Zealand experience but haven't decided yet if they will still go to Christchurch.  If not, they'll just spend the time somewhere else in New Zealand.  Good to know there are options!

Yes New Zealand is definitely OPEN!

David Hancock is the visitor development manager for Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.

http://www.huttvalleynz.com/

http://www.facebook.com/HuttCity.Wellington

New Zealand - examples of visitors who still have it on the go now list!

Christchurch's earthquake has hit hard and there's no doubt that it is New Zealand's earthquake.  Personally, I have family in Christchurch with a house that will have to come down.  Everybody knows somebody who has been severely affected and this would be as far as any New Zealander could be removed from the tragedy.  New Zealanders have pulled together from being at the coalface in rescue mode through to helping to raise funds.  While I type I'm wearing my red & black Canterbury colours to at least show Christchurch remains front of mind.


Christchurch does have to be rebuilt and the country's wheels need to keep turning.  And those wheels are turning all over New Zealand.  So to help spread that message I've decided to bring together the Hutt Valley, Wellington snippets we've been sending out from Hutt City i-SITE Visitor Centre, saying that New Zealand is OPEN!

Hope you enjoy this little BLOG4NZ!



Hutt City i-SITE Visitor Centre
Information and bookings for the whole country including Christchurch


Thanks Jaimee, Pai and Linda!

This American couple from Oregon took the opportunity to hire some bikes for the day (17 March) from the i-SITE and ride the Hutt River Trail.  Biking through the Hutt Valley is one of those must do things.

The earthquake hasn't changed the plans for the Myers finishing their travels to Taupo and Napier on the north island and then heading to the south island to Kaikoura, Geraldine and Lake Tekapo via Christchurch.

Two German couples just dropped past in their campervans. They'd flown into Christchurch, travelled to Mount Cook then took two weeks travelling up the south island doing plenty of hiking.  They arrived on the ferry to Wellington today (18 March) and will be travelling the north island for another two weeks.


The earthquake hasn't affected the travel plans for Erika & Hans-Jors Pfleiderer or Traudl & Konny Hofinger.

David Hancock is the visitor development manager for Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.

http://www.huttvalleynz.com/

http://www.facebook.com/HuttCity.Wellington

The stories that would have had me buying

I've just returned from an excellent holiday in the south island of New Zealand.  'The best ever', but my kids laugh that I always crown our latest holiday as 'best ever'.  From that holiday I was reminded by my last post on the importance of stories.

Two encounters with 'sales' people from that holiday have stuck in my mind.  On one occassion I was asking to hear a story but my 'sales' person hadn't been taught how, and the other, a story I really didn't ask for ended up being one I would rather I didn't hear.


The family holiday took us down the west coast of the south island, truly one of the great drives in New Zealand.  We are always on the lookout for great food opportunities when travelling and so we were easily lured into the Hokitika cheese shop.  Not disappointed by the range of cheese or the presentation I asked our young 'sales' assistant if she had a chance to learn about the cheeses.  She explained to me that she had learnt about the cheeses but had since forgotten what she'd learnt.

Not put off by this and in pursuit of some enhancement to my knowledge of cheese and perhaps a pointer for the right cheese for me to purchase, I pushed on.  'Which is your favourite cheese?', I asked.  I was then told that she doesn't really like cheese.

So it turns out the 'sales' assistant was instead an 'order taker'.  This could be easily turned aorund with a refresher in the cheeses and where they're from and a bit of knowledge about their character and what they might go well with.

Even non-cheese eaters can have some tactics for telling a story about favourite cheeses even if they don't have one.  My 'order taker' could have told me that [while she doesn't personally have a favourite] 'the most popular cheese would have to be...and many people enjoy it with...'


At the very end of our holiday we were in the beautiful port town of Picton waiting for our ferry back to the north island.  Wandering through the shops looking for that last souvenir, we entered a store where there was an empty chip packet laying on the floor which our 'sales' assistant' hadn't seen from the safety of her counter.  I picked it up and handed it to her saying it must have blown in.  The 'sales' assistant obviously saw this as her time to launch into a story about the poor performance of the council and their upkeep of the steets.  'Thank you' would have done me.  So it turns out this 'sales' assistant was actually a store 'monitor', not even an 'order taker'.

Afterwards I couldn't help thinking about the conversation we could have had with any number of 'store monitors' in Picton.  What a golden opportunity to engage with customers.  Tourists are half way through, just starting or just finishing their holidays.  They're about to go or have just come off one of the most wonderful ferry trips in the world.  Whatever the stage of a tourist's travels there are great conversations to be had in Picton.  These conversations if probed and guided and engaged well enough will lead to sales.


Real conversations and stories are working for us at the Hutt City i-SITE Visitor Centre.  Following on from my post 'customers down, revenue up' we have now recorded eleven consecutive months of record revenue.

David Hancock is the visitor development manager for Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.
http://www.huttvalleynz.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HuttCity.Wellington