Fire Response Update
Dear Sonoma County Partners,

Following the Oct. 8 firestorms, Sonoma County Tourism has been working hard to implement a dynamic fire-response strategy.

This transformational time brought out the best in our industry, but we know the months following the fires have been incredibly difficult for some of our partners. 

We hope you've seen many of the advertising, sales, and public efforts that have been done; we know it's important to share these with you on a frequent basis. 

We commit to you that our communication regarding this critical issue will be more frequent. Below is an update on what we have done as well as what is to come.

Sonoma County Tourism will continue to monitor sentiment about the destination among our main travel segments (leisure, group meeting, and tour and travel) and be proactive in encouraging visitors to choose Sonoma County.

We are also committed to working closely with residents as we contribute to rebuilding Sonoma County.
 
If you have ideas or comments for us please let us know by emailing me at cvecchio@sonomacounty.com or calling 707-522-5804.
 
Our entire team looks forward to working with you.

- Claudia
 
Claudia Vecchio, CEO
Sonoma County Tourism
cvecchio@sonomacounty.com
Sonoma Strong is one of many videos that show Sonoma County is still beautiful and open for business. Links in the MARKETING section below will show videos and photos that were taken after the fires.

RESERVES
Sonoma County Tourism's board of directors had the prescience to implement a reserve policy for our sales and marketing funds, mindful that destinations often meet challenges from natural disasters and other revenue interruptions.

Immediately after the fires, the SCT board made the decision to use our reserves to combat negative perceptions about Sonoma County and augment anticipated losses to our revenues because of them. The goal was to keep people coming to Sonoma County to support the small businesses in the industry who may not themselves be able to promote after the event.

With $750,000 approved to be allocated from our catastrophic reserves, staff have already began implementing programs that total almost $500,000 in initial investments (these are outlined below).
RESEARCH
We have conducted two studies: The first is a nationwide consumer survey of 800 potential travelers, the second a survey of local hospitality businesses.

The consumer survey shows that consumer perceptions vary: Some travelers think there was total devastation, others think there was relatively little. This translates also into how they will choose to travel or not - some have said they will come (and indeed some have already planned to do so) in order to support Sonoma County, others said they will wait until they know they should come. 

This sentiment is what we meant when we talked about providing "permission to travel" for visitors, letting them know that not only are we open for business but that we also want them to come visit us. We will continue to monitor consumer sentiment via our owned and influenced social media channels.

The survey of local businesses is still underway, but preliminary data show a similar divergence - some businesses suffered because of the fires, other businesses saw an increase or no change. From their customers, some are seeing people staying away, while others are seeing customers coming out to support a region they love.
The insights we get from these surveys will help us as we target our marketing message and make sure we have the right message for each audience.

SCT has been active in marketing Sonoma County as open for business and ready to accept visitors.
MARKETING

 

  • Mailed 50,000 special postcards to potential visitors who have ordered visitors guides in the past three years, with a message to revisit Sonoma County
  • Email updates provided to the entire consumer database
  • New videos and photos showing current Sonoma County imagery, including testimonials from travelers visiting from out of town
  • New promotion with BedandBreakfast.com to spotlight smaller lodging properties
  • Increased ad spend on Google and Facebook, including serving ads to consumers who had recently visited our website
  • Increased ad buys as part of the "Sonoma Sneakaway" campaign, our Q1/Q2 promotion that promotes off-season promotion
  • A new "loyalty" program will launch very soon that will encourage visitation and then for visitors to stop in at local visitor centers and smaller businesses that are being negatively affected by the aftermath
  • New Facebook Live video series showing Sonoma County tourism attractions to reinforce that we are open
Visitors from North Carolina visited Sonoma County. Click the image above to see the video.

PUBLIC RELATIONS
Our first responders were honored at the Grateful Table, a fund-raiser held in conjunction with Visit California, Legendary Napa, Sonoma County Tourism, and Outstanding in the field. Click the photo above to see more pictures from the event.
  • Worked with Visit California on the "Grateful Table" PR event on the Sonoma/Napa border showcasing we are open - this event gained great traction on social media and brought the California travel industry to our region
  • Dedicated pitches to journalists regarding status of area and why now is a good time to visit
  • Media visits in Los Angeles, partnering with Napa to co-host events
  • Media visits in New York, and attendance of scheduled travel show in UK
  • Hosting conference of outdoor and adventure writers
  • Hosting familiarization tours of journalists from Bay Area and areas likely to yield short-term visits
  • Host influencers with social media following to promote Sonoma County

This full-page ad ran in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, inviting the Bay Area to visit Sonoma County.

SALES
This ad appeared in the December 2017 issue of Meetings Today. It targets meeting planners with the message that Sonoma County is open for business.
  • New #SonomaStrong sales incentive for meetings has booked six meetings through April with an estimated $345,261 economic impact for the county.
  • Dedicated emails to tour operator database
  • Sponsored events with Meeting Professionals International and other trade groups throughout the U.S. allowing for dedicated Sonoma County messaging
  • Client event for Bay Area meeting planners
  • Dedicated communications to meeting planners and tour operators regarding new incentives and why now is the time to book Sonoma County
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Sonoma County Tourism produced this video to show the efforts of the hospitality industry. Click on the image
above to see the video.
  • Distributed thousands of "Sonoma Strong" and "Open for Business" posters
  • Met with hundreds of businesses to promote resources in the Sonoma County Tourism communications toolkit and how to get accurate information to the public
  • Worked with FEMA, Sonoma County EDB, the Small Business Administration, and other supporting organizations to provide support to small businesses
  • Produced video history of how Sonoma County hospitality assisted during the aftermath of the fires