South Dakota 2018 Advertising ROI Research - Image and …€¦ · A fun place for vacation An exciting place Must-see destination Lots to see and do Good for adult vacation Vacation

South Dakota

2018

Advertising ROI

Research

Background and Purpose…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Research Objectives………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………........ 4

Method…………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………….......... 5

Key Findings…………………..……….………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8

Main Findings: Advertising Impacts………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………. 11

Advertising Awareness…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….. 12

Impact on Short-of-Sales Measures……………………..………………...................................................................................... 23

Short-term Conversion……..………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….. 29

Main Findings: South Dakota’s Overall Position in the Target Market.…………………………………………………………………………. 35

Destination Visitation & Interest……………….………………………………………………………………………………………… 36

Destination Hot Buttons………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 41

South Dakota’s Image vs. The Competition…………………………………………………………………………….………………. 47

South Dakota’s Product Delivery ………………………….…………………………………………………………………….………. 76

Halo Effect of Ad Campaign……………………….……………………………………………………………………………..……… 83

Appendix: South Dakota’s Image Strengths & Weaknesses vs. Individual Competitors …………………………………………………… 89

2

✓ In early 2018, South Dakota launched a new advertising campaign in key instate and out-of-state markets.

✓ The campaign consisted of both traditional and online media including:

✓ Digital

✓ Out-Of-Home

✓ Print ads.

✓ Social media.

✓ Longwoods was engaged to conduct a program of research designed to:

✓ Measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign in bringing visitors to South Dakota during the campaign period and shortly

thereafter, and increasing intentions to visit in the future.

✓ Estimate the return on advertising investment yielded by the campaign, in terms of incremental spending in South Dakota by those

visitors, and incremental taxes generated by that spending.

✓ Through an analysis of South Dakota’s image, provide input into the development of positioning and messaging for future campaigns.

3

✓ The objectives of the research were to measure:

✓ Awareness of South Dakota as a desirable vacation destination.

✓ Awareness of South Dakota’s advertising activity, i.e., individual advertising elements.

✓ Impact of South Dakota’s advertising on:

✓ South Dakota’s image.

✓ Actual visits to South Dakota during and shortly after the campaign period.

✓ Carry-over impacts: anticipated trips planned in the next 2 years as a result of the campaign.

✓ The relative importance of image factors in getting on the destination wish list.

✓ Impact of South Dakota’s advertising on conversion and intentions to visit by media combinations and markets.

4

✓ A benchmark study was conducted after the conclusion of the advertising period to measure awareness

of specific ads, estimate the impact of advertising awareness on intentions to visit and image, and

measure short-term conversion that occurred during and shortly after the campaign period.

✓ A national self-completion survey of 1,400 respondents in the advertising markets

✓ Respondents are members of a major online consumer research panel.

✓ Adults 18 years of age and older were randomly selected from the panel, so as to ensure a representative sample.

✓ Sample was drawn to be proportionate to population by specific cities/regions, age, sex and income.

5

✓ The survey took an average of 25 minutes to complete.

✓ During the survey respondents were shown copies of the advertising materials, including video files of media-rich

ads. This was done at the end of the survey so as not to bias earlier questions on attitudes towards South Dakota

and other behavioral measures.

✓ The fieldwork was conducted in November 2018.

✓ Data were weighted on key demographic variables (region, age, sex, household income) prior to

analysis to ensure that results are representative of and projectable to the traveler population in specific

DMAs.

✓ For a sample of this size, the confidence level is + / – 2.5%, 19 times out of 20.

6

✓ The estimates of the campaign’s impacts on visits and intentions to South Dakota are conservative in

that:

✓ Trips taken/intended by people in the absence of advertising are backed out.

✓ Conservative control procedures help ensure that only advertising-influenced trips are included.

✓ Unless otherwise noted, results shown are representative of all respondents surveyed (n=1,400

travelers).

7

Main Findings:

South Dakota’s

Overall Position in

the Target Market

Destination

Visitation

& Interest

➢ Past and intended visitation numbers provide some insight into the where South Dakota sits amongst its

long-haul competitive set.

➢ Past visitation and interest were high for the destinations of Wisconsin and Colorado.

➢ South Dakota is in the middle of the pack in terms of destinations respondents have ever visits and

intend to visit in the next twelve months.

➢ For destinations visited in the past two years, South Dakota drops to 5th place

10

60

54

52

41

32

26

25

0 20 40 60

Wisconsin

Colorado

Minnesota

South Dakota

Wyoming

Montana

North Dakota

Percent

11

43

33

32

12

12

9

8

0 15 30 45

Wisconsin

Minnesota

Colorado

Wyoming

South Dakota

North Dakota

Montana

Percent

12

42

41

38

22

21

20

17

0 15 30 45

Colorado

Wisconsin

Minnesota

South Dakota

Wyoming

Montana

North Dakota

Percent

13

Destination Hot

Buttons

➢ Respondents evaluated the image of South Dakota and six other destinations on an overall basis and on a series of 53 additional detailed image attributes.

➢ To determine hot buttons for getting on the “wish list”, we measured the degree of association between the destinations’ overall image and their ratings on individual attributes:

➢ For this purpose, we used the main overall measure included in the image battery – “A place I would really enjoy visiting” – as the predictor variable.

➢ Then, in order to better communicate the results, the data were grouped into broader categories or factors.

➢ For a destination in this competitive set to get on travelers’ consideration list, it must, first and foremost, be perceived to:

➢ Be exciting – being seen as exciting means being a must-see place to visit, offering many once-in-a-lifetime experiences and a real sense of fun and adventure.

➢ Be suitable for adults and couples – which is logical, since they are paying for the vacation.

15

➢ There are several factors that individually are of moderate importance, but that in combination define the

excitement and suitability for adults that attracts vacationers to a destination:

➢ Uniqueness, including the scenery, local food, people and culture.

➢ A safe, welcoming and worry-free environment

➢ Climate.

➢ Great sightseeing, including lots to see and do, beautiful scenery, landmarks, walkability, parks, museums, etc.

16

➢ Lower priorities are:

➢ The availability of luxurious accommodations and dining.

➢ Popularity, i.e., is the place popular among vacationers? Is it well-known? Do you often see advertising or

favorable reviews?

➢ A great family atmosphere – with things to see and do that kids would especially enjoy.

➢ The opportunities for entertainment, e.g., shopping, theater, nightclubs, live music, professional sports events.

➢ Sports and recreation, including organized activities (e.g., golf, tennis), water sports such as swimming/beaches,

and other outdoor recreation.

➢ Affordability is also relatively unimportant at the wish list stage:

➢ But it tends to rise to the top of the list the closer one gets to closing the sale, as travel distance and pocketbook

issues come into play.

➢ Affordability includes both the cost of getting there/distance to market and costs once you have arrived, such as

food and lodging.

17

Exciting

Adult Vacation

Unique

Family Atmosphere

Popular

Worry Free

Sightseeing

Entertainment

Sports and Recreation

Affordable

Importance

*A measure of the degree of association between each factor and whether destination is a place “I would really enjoy visiting.”

18

Top 10 Hot Buttons

A fun place for vacation

An exciting place

Must-see destination

Lots to see and do

Good for adult vacation

Vacation there is a real adventure

Children would enjoy

Unique vacation experience

Popular with vacationers

Great place for a Classic American Roadtrip

19

South Dakota’s

Image

vs. Competition

➢ Relative to the other destinations in the competitive set for this study, South Dakota has a very positive

overall image among travelers:

➢ Across the markets survey, 4 in 10 (40%) rated South Dakota very favorably as a destination they “would really

enjoy visiting.”

➢ Virtually the same as indicated this about Wyoming.

➢ Somewhat ahead of Wisconsin.

➢ Clearly outdistancing North Dakota.

➢ On the other overall image measure, perceptions for “popularity”, the rank ordering is quite different:

➢ South Dakota comes in second to Colorado. Colorado has a big lead over the competitive set.

21

➢ When comparing South Dakota’s image versus the image of the combined competition, South Dakota’s

top image strengths are related to:

➢ Well-known landmarks.

➢ Native American culture.

➢ Authentic historical sites.

➢ Noted for its history.

➢ Great place for a Classic American road trip.

➢ Excellent national/state parks.

➢ To a somewhat lesser extent, people believe South Dakota is better than other destinations for:

➢ Sports and recreation.

➢ Entertainment and dining options.

22

➢ Colorado is the leader amongst this competitive set in most of the attributes standing out with its high

ratings for great outdoor activities (hiking, camping and snowmobiling), scenery, wilderness, abundance

of things to do and overall popularity as a well-known destination.

➢ Montana was known for its great national/state parks, wilderness, hunting and RV’ing.

➢ Minnesota ranked high for fishing and hunting and its friendly local people.

➢ Travelers felt that Wisconsin was within a good distance and not too far away for a vacation.

➢ Wyoming’s main strength is its national/state parks (Yellowstone and Grand Teton).

➢ North Dakota rated highest in only one attribute, affordable accommodations.

23

63

52

45 44

40 38

31

0

20

40

60

80

Colorado Montana Wyoming Minnesota South Dakota Wisconsin North Dakota

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

24

35

41

43

41

35

45

52

19

38

38

39

48

42

44

35

49

47

25

49

39

0 20 40 60

Exciting

Adult Vacation

Unique

Family Atmosphere

Popular

Worry Free

Sightseeing

Entertainment


Affordable

Percent Who Strongly Agree

South Dakota Competitors

* Includes North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Montana, Colorado

25

35

37

29

38

36

39

42

35

38

42

0 10 20 30 40 50

Exciting


An exciting place





26

57

43 42

35 3431

28

0

20

40

60

80

Colorado Montana Wyoming South Dakota Minnesota Wisconsin North Dakota

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

27

41

41

48

48

0 10 20 30 40 50

Adult Vacation




28

64

4947

46

41 4139

0

20

40

60

80

Colorado Minnesota Wyoming Montana South Dakota Wisconsin North Dakota

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

29

43

43

42

42

0 10 20 30 40 50

Unique




30

54

48 46

43

37 36

31

0

20

40

60

80

Colorado Montana Wyoming South Dakota Minnesota North Dakota Wisconsin

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

31

41

34

48

44

38

49

0 10 20 30 40 50

Family Atmosphere


Good for families



32

56

47 47

41 40 40

34

0

20

40

60

80

Colorado Wisconsin Minnesota South Dakota Montana Wyoming North Dakota

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

33

35

37

43

24

35

41

41

24

0 10 20 30 40 50

Popular


Well-known destination

I often notice advertising for this place



34

56

35 33 33 32 31

26

0

20

40

60

80

Colorado South Dakota Wyoming Minnesota Montana Wisconsin North Dakota

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

35

45

44

47

49

50

48

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Worry Free

Good place to relax

Friendly local people



36

5351 50 49

47 45 45

0

20

40

60

80

Minnesota Colorado Montana Wyoming North Dakota South Dakota Wisconsin

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

37

52

38

48

52

53

58

50

58

56

61

32

52

50

63

47

44

43

53

61

53

35

42

60

41

32

55

50

45

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Sightseeing

Lots to see and do Great place for a Classic American Roadtrip

Truly unique scenery Truly beautiful scenery

Excellent national/state parks Noted for its history

Authentic historical sites Great wilderness areas Well-known landmarks

Different cultures/ways of life Good for viewing wildlife/birds

Good for RV-ing Native American Culture



38

56

53 52 52

4541

37

0

20

40

60

80

Colorado Wyoming Montana South Dakota North Dakota Minnesota Wisconsin

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

39

19

18

23

15

22

25

25

31

22

20

0 20 40

Entertainment

Great live music

Interesting food and drink options

Great for theater and the arts

Exciting casinos



40

36

32

25

20 19 18 17

0

20

40

60

80

Colorado Minnesota Wisconsin North Dakota South Dakota Montana Wyoming

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

41

38

47

29

36

51

34

22

48

41

49

53

44

41

56

50

39

53

54

0 20 40 60


Great hiking

Excellent canoeing/kayaking/paddleboarding

Great cycling/off-road biking

Good place for camping

Excellent fishing

Great for boating/water sports

Excellent hunting

Great snowmobiling



42

5552

49

46 4542

38

0

20

40

60

80

Colorado Minnesota Montana Wisconsin Wyoming North Dakota South Dakota

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

43

38

39

38

36

39

41

37

39

0 10 20 30 40 50

Affordable

Excellent vacation value

Affordable accommodations

Not too far away for a vacation



44

42 42 4138 38

36 36

0

20

40

60

80

North Dakota Wisconsin Minnesota Colorado South Dakota Montana Wyoming

Pe

rcen

t W

ho

Str

on

gly

Agre

e

45

20

18

16

15

5

5

0 10 20 30

Well-known landmarks

Native American Culture

Authentic historical sites

Noted for its history


Excellent national/state parks

Difference in Percent Who Strongly Agree

* Attributes marked with a chevron indicate some of the most important image hot buttons for travelers

46

-17

-16

-15

-14

-8

-8

-8

-7

-7

-7

-7

-7

-20 -15 -10 -5 0



Excellent fishing

Great snowmobiling


Great live music


Truly beautiful scenery

Good place to relax

Great hiking




* Attributes marked with a chevron indicate some of the most important image hot buttons for travelers47

-7

-6

-5

-5

-5

-5

-20 -15 -10 -5 0

Lots to see and do

An exciting place







South Dakota’s

Product Delivery

➢ When we compare the image ratings of people who have not visited South Dakota recently versus the

ratings of those who have visited in the past two years, we have a measure of “product delivery”, i.e., the

relative satisfaction of the two groups.

➢ From this analysis we find that people who have experienced South Dakota recently were especially

impressed with:

➢ How affordable South Dakota is.

➢ The sense of excitement.

➢ How popular South Dakota is.

➢ Great for both adult and family vacations.

➢ Among the dimensions evaluated, there no areas where visitors felt South Dakota failed to live up to

expectations.

50

49

56

56

57

50

52

62

28

46

54

29

37

38

35

27

40

46

20

36

31

0 20 40 60 80

Exciting

Adult Vacation

Unique

Family Atmosphere

Popular

Worry Free

Sightseeing

Entertainment


Affordable


Recent Visitors* Never Visited* Visited in the past 2 years

51

36

28

28

27

27

25

23

23

22

21

21

20

19

0 10 20 30 40




Lots to see and do





Good for families

Exciting casinos


Great snowmobiling




52

18

18

18

18

18

17

17

17

17

16

15

14

14

0 10 20 30 40


An exciting place





Excellent hunting





Truly unique scenery




53

10

8

8

8

7

6

6

6

5

5

5

5

0 10 20 30 40

Good for RV-ing


Excellent fishing

Good place to relax


Different cultures/ways of life

Good for viewing wildlife/birds

Great hiking

Great live music

Great wilderness areas





54

THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT

PERCEIVED PRODUCT

WEAKNESSES VS. IMAGE

55

Halo Effect on

Economic

Development

Image

➢ Research has long demonstrated that tourism advertising and the visitation it inspires have a positive impact on consumers’ image of destinations as a place for leisure travel and recreation.

➢ Applying the psychological concept of the “halo effect” to tourism promotion advertising, Longwoods set out to determine if gains in image for South Dakota from its tourism advertising would extend beyond the appeal as a place to visit. Could it be that economic objectives could also be achieved, such as viewing South Dakota more favorably as a place to live, work, start a business, attend college, purchase a vacation home and retire?

➢ Longwoods International has conducted this research for multiple state and city destinations across the U.S since 2014.

➢ The research compared consumers’ ratings of South Dakota on economic development image attributes by those who had not seen the campaign or visited South Dakota with those who did see the tourism ads and/or visited.

➢ In every case, South Dakota’s tourism advertising and subsequent visitation significantly improved the image of South Dakota for a wide range of economic development objectives.

57

➢ The South Dakota tourism advertising campaign created especially strong image in those considering

South Dakota as a good place to start a business and to retire.

➢ Actual visitation produced a positive effect on people’s image of South Dakota on the economic

development “indicators”:

➢ Strongest lift on the “a good place to live” and “a good place to attend college” attributes.

➢ For each economic development objective, the most dramatic improvement in image was among those

consumers who were both exposed to the advertising campaign message and who also visited South

Dakota.

➢ The effect of advertising plus visitation was generally more than additive, improving consumers’

perceptions of South Dakota by considerably more than the sum of their lifts in each area.

58

32

19

25

23

22

28

20

12

15

15

17

18

0 15 30 45

A good place to live

A good place to start a career

A good place to start a business

A good place to attend college

A good place to purchase a vacation home

A good place to retire


Aware Unaware

59

40

25

31

32

28

32

22

14

19

18

20

22

0 15 30 45








Visited in Past 2 Yrs Non-Visitor

60

43

26

33

33

31

32

17

12

14

15

17

17

0 15 30 45








Aware + Visited Unaware + Non-Visitor

61

Appendix: South

Dakota’s Image

Strengths &

Weaknesses vs.

Individual

Competitors

➢ What helps South Dakota distinguish itself from its competitors is its well-known landmarks..

➢ South Dakota is also strong for its national/state parks and Native American culture.

➢ Among the destinations evaluated in this study, Colorado emerged as one of the image leaders, having

the advantage over South Dakota and the others for great outdoor activities, beautiful and unique

scenery and a destination with lots to see and do for both adult and family trips.

➢ North Dakota on the other hand, was at the bottom of the pack. South Dakota scored better than North

Dakota on all the attributes except affordable accommodations.

➢ Montana and Wyoming stood out from the pack with their excellent national/state parks and wilderness

areas.

➢ Minnesota was rated high for its fishing and hunting.

63

24

14

14

13

13

12

12

11

9

9

9

7

7

7

6

5

0 10 20 30











Lots to see and do



Good for families

An exciting place




-9

-9

-8

-5

-10 -5 0

Excellent fishing


Great snowmobiling



65

28

27

23

22

14

9

7

6

6

0 10 20 30











66


-38

-29

-27

-19

-17

-16

-11

-11

-9

-8

-8

-8

-7

-40 -20 0



Excellent fishing


Great live music

Great snowmobiling




Good place to relax



Lots to see and do



67

10

10

9

9

8

7

5

0 10 20





Exciting casinos




68

-13

-12

-11

-11

-10

-10

-9

-8

-7

-7

-7

-7

-6

-5

-5

-20 -10 0




Great hiking

Great snowmobiling

An exciting place

Good place to relax



Excellent fishing


Excellent hunting






33

30

29

24

18

12

12

11

11

11

0 10 20 30 40













70

9

8

7

7

6

6

5

5

5

0 10 20 30 40




Good for RV-ing



Great hiking





71

-31

-18

-17

-15

-14

-9

-9

-8

-7

-40 -30 -20 -10 0



Excellent fishing

Great snowmobiling




Great live music




72

24

13

11

11

7

6

6

6

5

0 10 20 30







Exciting casinos




73


-17

-15

-14

-14

-14

-12

-12

-11

-11

-10

-20 -10 0

Excellent hunting



Excellent fishing

Great hiking

Great snowmobiling




Good place to relax


74


-9

-9

-8

-8

-6

-5

-5

-5

-20 -10 0







An exciting place



75


21

10

8

7

6

0 10 20 30







76

-30

-30

-26

-25

-23

-23

-23

-22

-22

-22

-22

-22

-40 -30 -20 -10 0


Lots to see and do


An exciting place







Great hiking




77

-21

-20

-19

-18

-17

-17

-16

-14

-14

-13

-13

-12

-40 -30 -20 -10 0

Great snowmobiling

Great live music




Excellent fishing




Good for families

Good place to relax




78

-11

-11

-8

-7

-7

-6

-5

-40 -30 -20 -10 0







Exciting casinos



79

South Dakota 2018 Advertising ROI Research - Image and …€¦ · A fun place for vacation An exciting place Must-see destination Lots to see and do Good for adult vacation Vacation

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