September 2012 Visit California Monthly Activity Report - AUSTRALIA
Gate 7 - AUSTRALIA
TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents AUSTRALIAN MARKET OVERVIEW ............................................................................................... 2 Economy .................................................................................................................................... 2 Airline Updates .......................................................................................................................... 3 Wholesale Updates .................................................................................................................. 4 Consumer Updates .................................................................................................................. 5 OTA Update ............................................................................................................................... 7 Visitcalifornia.com.au Updates ............................................................................................. 8 Social Media............................................................................................................................ 10 CONSUMER MARKETING CAMPAIGNS ................................................................................... 12 Marketing Plan 2012/2013 .................................................................................................... 12 PR HIGHLIGHTS......................................................................................................................... 13
AUSTRALIAN MARKET OVERVIEW Economy Australia Economy
CURRENT STATS
PREVIOUS MONTH & LY (5.2% July 12, 5.3% August 11)
Unemployment Rate
5.1 % in August 2012
Consumer Price Index
+0.5% Apr 12 - June 12
GDP Growth
+0.4% Q2 2012
(1.4% Q1 12 – +0.8% Q4 11)
CURRENT STATS
PREVIOUS MONTH & LY
(1.6% April 11 – June 11)
New Zealand Economy
(6.7% Q1 12, 6.6% Q3 11)
Unemployment Rate
6.8 % in Q2 2012
Consumer Price Index
+0.3% Apr 12 - June12
GDP Growth
+0.3% Q2 2012
(1.0% April 11 – June 11) (+0.3% Q1 12 – +0.1% Q3 11)
Exchange Rates
AUSTRALIA $1
NEW ZEALAND $1
USD$1.03 (September 30 2011: $0.97)
USD$0.82 (September 30 2011: $0.76)
Airline Updates NZ North America Boost AIR New Zealand has today announced a capacity increase for services from Auckland to San Francisco, Los Angeles & Vancouver. Effective Apr, Air NZ will boost SFO services from the current five weekly to a daily operation, and LAX flights from 12 weekly to double daily - an extra third daily LA service will also operate one day a week in peak periods. Off-peak flight frequencies to Vancouver will jump from two to three weekly, & five times weekly from mid-Dec to the end of Feb. The NZ carrier said the capacity will replace more than 75% of the seats lost from the Californian market after Qantas’s withdrawal from the AKL-LAX route. Loads still high on flights to US Flights to the US are operating at near full capacity as the strong dollar continues to sway consumer choice. Qantas operated with 96% loads in June with Delta and Virgin Australia close behind with 95.6% and 95.1% respectively. United’s services to the US were 87% full. On inbound flights Qantas reported a load factor of 91%, Delta 75.3%, Virgin Australia 80.7% and United 76%. The data, collated by the department of infrastructure and transport, revealed mixed loads to New Zealand with Qantas lagging behind the three other major carriers on the route. Air NZ reported in-bound loads of 82% and outbound of almost 81% with Jetstar’s ex-Australia flights 80% full and inbound 74.5%. Virgin Australia operated both inbound and outbound flights at 74% capacity. Qantas, meanwhile, reported inbound loads of 70% while selling 63.4% of outbound seats. Air NZ invests in 777-200ER upgrade Air New Zealand has committed more than $100 million to upgrade its fleet of Boeing 777-200ER, as the airline aligns product across its three long-haul fleet types. The upgrade will bring the eight 777-200ERs, which first entered service in 2005, in line with Air NZ’s recently arrived 777-300ERs and its order of 787-9s, due for delivery in mid-2014. It will also see the aircraft installed with the Panasonic eXlite inflight entertainment system, making the airline the launch customer for the new technology. Work will start in the second quarter of 2014 and is expected to take 12 months.
Wholesale Updates Top 20 flight centre group international retail airfares sold in August 2012 (rank & destination)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LONDON PHUKET LOS ANGELES AUCKLAND DENPASAR BANGKOK NEW YORK MANILA HONG KONG HONOLULU
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
NADI PARIS SINGAPORE KOH SAMUI VANCOUVER DELHI DUBLIN CHRISTCHURCH MANCHESTER ROME
GraysEscape goes live Accommodation haggling website GraysEscape.com (formerly known as Ubid4rooms.com) has gone live with its new site today. The portal offers discounts of up to 20% at hotels, resorts, motels, B&Bs, holiday parks and hostels by bartering directly with the provider, while also featuring ‘buy now’ and ‘hush hush’ deals. “No other website allows the customer to make an offer direct to the hotel for less than the advertised, already discounted price,” GraysOnline ceo Cameron Poolman said. Hotel groups listing properties on GraysEscape.com include Rydges, Toga, Oaks, 8 Hotels, Best Western and numerous others. Agents get the LA Loew down Universal Studios Hollywood and Air New Zealand hosted this Jetset Travelworld Group of agents on a ‘Beachside chills and Hollywood thrills’ famil recently. Highlights included a baseball game at Dodgers Stadium, Cirque du Soleil’s Iris show at the Dobly Theatre, Outlet shopping & a bike ride along Santa Monica beach. The trip also gave agents a chance to experience the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica and the Loews Hollywood Hotel.
Pictured are: Narelle Hyeronimus, Dynamic Travel Grp; Lisa Gair, JTG; Sarah Howard, Platinum Travel Corp; Patrick Carey, Travelworld on King; Lisa Dunn, Air NZ; Rosalie Kim, BCD Travel; Lynette Wooleet, SPD Travel; Natalie Heuston, Jetset Warners Bay; Matthew Barros, Trans Am Travel; Bina Williamson, Travel Plans International; Teresa Christopher, iTravel; Belinda DiGuglielmo, St George Travel & Danielle Tuffield, Universal Studios Hollywood.
Consumer Updates Mammoth snow deals California’s Mammoth Mountain is putting its money where its snow will be, releasing a snow-guarantee early bird deal for the upcoming 2012-13 season. Book before opening day of 08 Nov and if snow depths are not at pre-determined five-year average levels by certain dates, travellers who have kept their booking will be given a US$100 gift card or the option to reschedule without fees.
TRADE ACTIVITY Trade Training - Visit USA Regional: Gold Coast – 100 agents trained on Visit California Trade Shows/Industry Events
- Sponsored United Airlines Trivia night in Auckland - Supported Industry Cirque du Soleil night (Opening in Sydney) Coops
- SkiMax Coop in market - ZUJI Coop planning Familiarization Visits
- Planning underway for Harvey’s Choice Holidays fam in 2013 Distribution of (not including training and shows/events):
•
California IVG (Gate 7): 6
•
California IVG (TIFS – i.e. Insider Signup): 25
•
California Maps: 0
•
Collateral: 0
Distribution of (training and shows/events):
•
California IVG: 100
•
Australian California Guide:
•
Collateral:
Running Tally 937
Meetings COMPANY •
ZUJI/Travelocity
•
Cox and Kings
•
My Holiday Centre
•
JTG
•
Flight Centre
•
Groupon
•
Harvey’s Choice Holidays
• •
Disney JTG
•
Travelzoo
• • •
Hilton Sydney Delta Airlines Virgin Australia
MEETING HIGHLIGHTS Met with Danielle Pagano to discuss online marketing coop campaign Met with Ash Jurberg to discuss possibility of Cox and Kings introducing US product Met with Tony Gothard and Kim Skilton to discuss them entering the US market, as well as res centre training and coop ideas Lunch with Mel Watts to discuss Select Partnership conference Met with Sally McFadyen to discuss partnership opportunities with Flight Centre group Met with Lisa Maroun to discuss promotion opportunity Met with Justin Smythe to discuss famil opportunity to Tahoe and Mammoth Met with Karen Prideaux for general catch up Met with Maria Ferro to discuss new JTG role Met with Sarah Corcoran to discuss online opportunities with TravelZoo Met with Josh Roberts for general catch up Met with Sarah Finn to discuss plans for 12/13 Met with Gary Manuel to discuss plans for 12/13
OTA Update •
Agent sign-ups for September: 2
•
Agent completions for September: 5
Running Tally 472/1089
DIGITAL UPDATES Visitcalifornia.com.au Updates HEADLINE/COMMENTS : Visitor Overview August 2012 Statistics
Social Media Facebook Insights
Reach
The reach graph shows how man ny y people saw any content about the Visit California – Australia page from 1 September – 30 September 2012,, and where applicable, whether these people were reached though organic, paid, or viral channel.
Frequency
CONSUMER MARKETING CAMPAIGNS Marketing Plan 2012/2013 Overview/Description
July/August/September has seen a break in our brand advertising activations – and has been a period of planning for the impending 2012/2013 Marketing Plan. Together with VCA HQ, a decision was made to move to a single burst activity plan – with a tentative start date of February 2013. Gate 7 together with Mering Carson are drafting a creative brief in anticipation of the media plan.
PR HIGHLIGHTS •
Deputy editor of Feast magazine, Selma Nadarajah, confirmed as the Australia participant for October Global Culinary fam trip.
•
REMIX magazine issue containing 27 pages of San Francisco fashion shoots and editorial goes on sale in New Zealand.
•
Ben Groundwater’s San Francisco story is published in Sun Herald’s weekend travel section and online on the Sydney Morning Herald website, www.smh.com.au
Media Trips
Journalist Name Ben McKelvey
Outlet Freelance
Regions Visited Southern California
SUMMARY OF AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND MEDIA COVERAGE Sep-12 PUBLICATION/ NETWORK
OUTLET TYPE
NAME OF ARTICLE
JOURNALIS T NAME
SUBJECT
PAGE LENGT H
CIRC/ RATINGS
GATE 7 INVOLVEMENT
PROACTIVE OR REACTIVE
ADCOST EQUIVALEN T AUD$
PR VALUE AUD$
Australian Photography
Online
Robert Keeley
Yosemite
0.5
8,077
Media Pitch and image
Proactive
$1,500
$4,500
Delicious
Magazine
Yosemite National Park Photography Education On The Road
David Prior
Sonoma
2
120,704
Proactive
$15,960
$47,880
Disney
Magazine
Road Report
NA
Disneyland
1
23,514
Assisted with itinerary options Assisted with contacts
Proactive
$4,830
$14,490
Dubbo Weekender
Newspaper
NA
Beverly Hills
0.25
5,000
Media Pitch
Proactive
$500
$1,500
E-Travel Blackboard
Online
Phone-Free Diners Get A Better Deal Universal Studios Hollywood Presents "Halloween Horror Nights"
Nahrain John
Universal
0.5
31,000
Media Pitch
Proactive
$100
$300
E-Travel Global
Online
Universal Studios Hollywood Presents "Halloween Horror Nights"
Nahrain John
Universal
0.5
49,100
Media Pitch
Proactive
$1,500
$4,500
E-Travel Global
Online
Renaissance Year Two
Nahrain John
North Lake Tahoe
6.0
49,100
Press Release
Proactive
$18,000
$54,000
Get Lost
Magazine
Holiday Ideas
Bronwen Gora
2
20,000
Assisted with information
Proactive
$8,890
$26,670
Golf Vacations
Online Newsletter
California Dreaming
Jon Underwoo d
North Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain Palm Springs
0.5
20,000
Assisted with broll
Proactive
$2,450
$7,350
Kia Ora
Magazine
Bay of Plenty
Jeremy Hansen
San Francisco
3.0
45,000
Assisted with itinerary options Assisted with itinerary options
Proactive
$34,500
$103,500
Let's Travel
Magazine
Pirate Cove Resort and Marina
Shane Boocock
Pirate Cove, Needles
3.0
12,000
Proactive
$18,000
$54,000
Let's Travel
Magazine
Jamaica Bay Inn
Shane Boocock
Marina Del Ray, Venice Beach, Santa Monica
5.0
12,000
Assisted with itinerary options
Proactive
$30,000
$90,000
Let's Travel
Magazine
Beer Tours
Glen Armstrong
San Francisco, Sonoma
2.00
12,000
Proactive
$12,000
$36,000
Temecula, Borrego Springs, Pirate Cove Resort, Needles
3.00
12,000
Assisted with itinerary options Assisted with itinerary options
Let's Travel
Magazine
The Tombstone Trail to Boothill and Back
Shane Boocock
Proactive
$18,000
$54,000
MiceNET
Magazine
The Authentic Wow Factor
Bev Malzard
Los Angeles, Universal Studios, Pow Wow
2
14,498
Pow-Wow
Proactive
$5,350
$16,050
Mindfood
Podcast
San Francisco and America's Cup 2013
Carolyn Enting
San Francisco, Sonoma
4.27 minute s
79,000
Media Trip
Proactive
$67,500
$202,500
mX Sydney
Newspaper
La La Land
NA
Los Angeles, West Hollywood
0.25
98,811
Media Pitch
Proactive
$2,351
$7,053
My Sailing
Online
NA
San Francisco
1.0
20,000
Press Release
Proactive
$2,800
$8,400
New Zealand Herald
Newspaper
America's Cup & Fleet Week to Attract Crowds A Scenic American Roadtrip
NA
Yosemite, San Francisco, San Jose, Highway One, Los Angeles, Carmel, Big Sur
0.5
346,960
Assisted with information
Proactive
$2,200
$6,600
Out and About with Kids
Magazine
Sacramento Shines Through October
Aleney De Winter
Sacramento
0.50
30,000
Media Pitch
Proactive
$2,450
$7,350
Out and About with Kids
Magazine
States Of Play
Aleney De Winter
Disneyland, Los Angeles, Anaheim San Francisco
1
30,000
Assisted with information
Proactive
$4,900
$14,700
Remix
Magazine
Postcards From San Francisco
Tina Moore/Tim Phin
22
25,000
Media Trip
Proactive
$110,000
$330,000
Remix
Magazine
San Francisco: Fog City
Tina Moore/Tim Phin
San Francisco
5
25,000
Media Trip
Proactive
$25,000
$75,000
Restaurant and Catering News
Magazine
Kiwi Tops in San Francisco
NA
San Francisco
0.25
6,800
Media Pitch
Proactive
$625
$1,875
Secret Foodies
E-Newsletter
Ms Darlinghurst's Newsletter Golden Times
Alex Adams
West Hollywood
0.5
3,494
Proactive
$500
$1,500
Mark Hughes
San Francisco, Sonoma
0.50
84,00
Assisted with itinerary options Press Release and image
Selector
Magazine
Proactive
$3,250
$9,750
Sun Herald
Newspaper
Affordable Luxury for Less in the US
NA
Los Angeles, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica Pier, Universal, San Francisco
1.25
346,960
Media Pitch
Proactive
$49,013
$147,039
Sun Herald
Newspaper
Deals
NA
San Diego
1.0
346,960
Media Pitch
Proactive
$39,211
$117,633
Sun Herald
Newspaper
4.00
346,960
Individual Media Trip
Proactive
$156,844
$470,532
Newspaper
Ben Groundwat er NA
San Francisco
Sunday Star Times
Meet The Trendy Neighbours Ask The Expert
Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Fresno, Yosemite, Sacramento, Napa Valley, San Francisco
0.50
140,608
Assisted with information
Proactive
$1,750
$5,250
Sydney Morning Herald
Online
Meet The Trendy Neighbours
Ben Groundwat er
San Francisco
6.00
6,700,000
Individual Media Trip
Proactive
$36,000
$108,000
Sydney Morning Herald
Newspaper
Smart Traveller
Robert Upe
Disneyland, Universal, San Diego
2.00
170,666
Provided information
Proactive
$119,722
$359,166
Sydney Morning Herald
Newspaper
Big America
Max Anderson
Los Angeles, Anaheim, Disneyland, Morro Bay, Big Sur, San Francisco, Monterey, Yosemite, Mojave Desert
7.00
170,666
Assisted with itinerary options
Proactive
$419,027
$1,257,081
Taste
Magazine
On A Mission
San Francisco
8.00
26,042
$51,200
$153,600
Newspaper
Old Favourites With Additions
Disneyland
3.00
76,673
Assisted with itinerary options Assisted with contacts
Proactive
The Press
Sharon Stephenso n James Croot
Proactive
$11,640
$34,920
The Press
Newspaper
Disney Resurgence
James Croot
Disneyland
2
76,673
Assisted with contacts
Proactive
$7,760
$23,280
Trade Trade New Zealand
Online
LAX Layover
Hayley Barnett
LA, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Disneyland
1.0
1,400
Assisted with LA contact for interview
Proactive
$200
$600
Travel Daily
Online
Agents Get The LA Loew Down
Guy Dundas
Universal, Santa Monica
0.25
35,000
Media Pitch and image
Proactive
$150
$450
Travel Daily
Online
Mammoth Snow Deals
Guy Dundas
Mammoth Mountain
0.125
35,000
Media Pitch
Proactive
$75
$225
Travel Daily
Online
Brochures of the Week
Guy Dundas
Lake Tahoe
0.125
35,000
Media Pitch
Proactive
$75
$225
Travel Memo
Online
Hawaiian Airlines NZ-USA Fare Deals
NA
0.5
2,550
Media Pitch
Proactive
$100
$300
Voyeur
Magazine
West Hollywood
NA
LA, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Oakland, San Jose West Hollywood
2
76,882
Assisted with itinerary options
Proactive
$22,050
$66,150
Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin
Newspaper
US and Them
Shannon Willoughby
LA, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Highway One, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Carmel
5.5
36,378
Assisted with itinerary options
Proactive
$49,010
$147,030
Total circulation
9,723,476
Total PR Value
$4,070,949
Total US$ PR Value (AUD $1.02)
$4,152,368
