Read Part One
It’s a sparklingly clear morning — this morning, Friday August 13, 2010. The meadow grasses — freshly greened by the rain from a string of unexpectedly thorough, afternoon thunder showers — are coated with a layer of dew, and the sky looks like it will start the day free of clouds.
The kind of morning that brings tourists back to Pagosa, year after year.
When I sat down with realtor Mike Heraty the other morning — an accidental meeting at Riverpointe Coffee Café — we discussed the Town Tourism Committee’s latest approach to the “Official Visitor Guide” controversy. Mike is consistently one of the highest producing realtors in Archuleta County, and lately his office has expanded its reach to the west and been successful selling property in Durango.
 We discussed the TTC and the “Official Visitor Guide” developments. A couple of years ago, Mike and a group of local professionals were urging the TTC to make a significant investment in “special event” projects like the Pagosa Quality Fishing trout stocking program and perhaps a signature, nationally marketed footrace event — events that might not only attracted people to Pagosa — to "put us on the map" so to speak — but also give visitors a special experience while they were here.
To the disappointment of Mike’s group, the TTC focused much of its energy, and its budget, on a glossy magazine to be mailed out free of charge to anyone asking for one.
As Mike pointed out during our brief interview, the TTC’s beautiful “Official Visitor Guide” makes Pagosa Springs appear to be a high-class mountain resort, comparable perhaps to Vail, Aspen, Telluride and Breckenridge. But when people arrive here for the first time, they find a modest little town with a hot springs — and not much else, in the way of cultural amenities.
(We do, however, have sparklingly beautiful mornings following a thunderstorm.)
Mike advertised his real estate company, Pagosa Source, in the 2010 Summer issue of the SUN’s “Official Visitor Guide” — with an ad featuring an attractive young woman searching the new Source website for vacant land, perhaps, or a great deal on a home with a view of Pagosa Peak. Continued...
(For some reason, the Pagosa Source ad was juxtaposed to a page showing Pagosa mayor Ross Aragon getting a haircut. Mr. Aragon seems to be thoroughly enjoying his haircut, but I wonder if the SUN is honestly trying to sell Pagosa Springs as a great place to get a trim? Okay, so Pagosa doesn't have much in the way of cultural amenities, but golly gee whiz... a haircut?)
Despite his glossy ad in this summer's guide, however, Mike says he is slowly phasing out print advertising. The future — of real estate advertising at least — is online.
While a glossy magazine ad might catch people’s eye, Mike explains, the “transaction” usually stops there. There is nothing more the customer can do to get additional information, unless he wants to immediately put the magazine aside and pick up the phone or log onto the Internet.
Basically, print advertising is a “dead end.” It presents, by itself, no simple way for the potential customer to interact with the advertiser, to get more information.
By contrast, Mike says, Internet advertising — which includes a company website plus all the advertising and organic links that lead to that website — presents a flow of interactive activities that allow the customer to dig deeper and deeper into the subject at hand, be it a piece of real estate, or a hotel booking, or a hot air balloon adventure.
And, he says, Internet advertising is easily “trackable.” With minimal effort, the advertiser can collect contact information and data about exactly which links are producing the most “leads.” That's something almost impossible to do with print advertising.
The tax-funded TTC has, to some degree, embraced those same ideas this year. Rather than continue with a fat, glossy magazine connected to a rather modest magazine website — as produced for the past two years by the Pagosa Springs SUN — the TTC has switched to a different company, the Cassio Group, and a proposal to have a somewhat less prominent magazine connected to a much more active and vibrant website.
This switch has caused some confusion among the Pagosa business community (which by now ought to be familiar with our local governments changing direction every few months.) And I suppose that confusion is, to some degree, the fault of the TTC and the Chamber of Commerce.
Three weeks ago, the Chamber of Commerce sent out an email promoting the SUN’s current “Official Visitor Guide.” The email said nothing at all about the switch to the Cassio Group. It mentioned only the SUN and its current magazine.
”The Official Visitor Guide™ is the fulfillment piece used by the Pagosa Springs Visitor Center for all phone and online visitor center requests. The guide has readers and requests from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and more than 35 foreign countries including Canada, Mexico, Australia, The United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, South Africa, Russia, Iran, Iraq, India, Argentina, Columbia, Brazil, China and Japan.”
In other words, the TTC and the Chamber are mailing an expensive, glossy magazine, free of charge, to Ireland, South Africa, Russia and Iran. You might think the Pagosa Springs Town Tourism Committee was made of money.
The Chamber email went on:
“ExplorePagosa.com and TTC combined mailing requests have averaged almost 2,500 per month since April 2009. The Official Visitor Guide™ is available in over 20 Colorado welcome centers, chambers of commerce and visitors centers. In addition, the guide is sent to all Pagosa Springs SUN subscribers and is available in local newsstands and businesses.”
The email mentioned nothing about the Cassio Group and its proposed products for 2011. I’m not clear why the Chamber chose to promote an advertising product for one of its members (the SUN) when it has other members who also sell advertising products, but I’m sure they were just trying to be helpful.
Then this past Wednesday, the Chamber sent out a new email, promising to help clarify some of the confusion created by the TTC’s switch in visitor guide vendors. (And perhaps they also wanted to apologize for promoting only the SUN's products in that previous email?)
“Dear Chamber Member,
"The Chamber staff has received numerous calls from the membership and business community requesting an explanation and guidance regarding the Town Tourism Committee's (TTC) decision to develop another Pagosa Springs Visitor Guide. The production of the "Pagosa Springs Official Visitor Guide", designed by The SUN Publishing Corporation is now in its fourth edition. This 160 page piece is an excellent representation of our community. However, outside of advertising sales, the TTC is still required to supplement the cost of the production of the guide at a significant expense.
“In addition, between winter and summer guides, almost 50,000 pieces are sent out at a cost of approximately $1 per magazine. Other design companies, in and out of the community, felt that they could produce a guide of equal caliber and so because of this request and the cost of the guide production, the TTC put out a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) for production of the 2011 guide. Two companies were considered, the SUN and the Cassio Group. After numerous TTC subcommittee meetings, the Cassio Group was selected to produce the 2011 guide.”
The lengthy explanatory email finally concludes:
“We know that the SUN publication will continue to be a first class production. We expect that the TTC/Cassio production will also be first rate as the Cassio team is working very hard to capture the beauty and charm of Pagosa. As an advertiser, you will need to choose a publication or spread your marketing dollars to place an ad in both guides and/or relative supplements based on the target market and/or distribution. If we can be of assistance to answer any questions, please contact the Chamber or attend a TTC subcommittee or monthly meeting; they are open to the public.”
To learn more about your Visitor Guide advertising options, attend the Chamber “Business Bites” luncheon this coming Tuesday.
(Or call the Pagosa Daily Post, 970-903-4280, for great local online advertising, or for your spot in the monthly Pagosa Post magazine!)
|