BuckeyeLine

Best Practices: Today's Dads a New Breed

Last month, we learned that women, by a vast majority, are the household decision makers. However, it also is important to learn about the other half of the household—the Dads.

According to the National Tour Association’s Web site, a new study from Packaged Facts by Silver Stork Research shows that today's fathers, particularly those Generation X and Y dads, are a new breed. They are more involved with their children's lives and more likely to make day-in and day-out product purchases, not just the electronics and lawn mowers.

Marketers who are completely focused on the mom for certain family decisions should rethink their "think pink" philosophy. The report, "The U.S. Dads Market: A Unique Profile of Fathers, Their Attitudes, Values and Behavior as Consumer," is based on research conducted over a three-year period with more than 500 U.S. fathers.

Of the estimated 66 million fathers in the U.S., Marketing Daily says half report being full-time fathers, and a growing number are single-parent heads of households. The total number of fathers is expected to grow nearly 10 percent over the next decade as Gen Y's age into the parenthood years. The shift to the "new dad" mentality is happening, but it is slow. Currently, one in four fathers report being "very involved" with the daily activities of their children. However, it is a new kind of decision-maker in the family dynamic that marketers must take into consideration.

It’s true that women have a heavy hand in spending decisions. But with this “new breed” of Dads changing the way we look at marketing to this demographic, it’s still important to include them in your marketing message.

Tech Corner: E-mail Marketing

Are you using e-mail in your marketing mix? If not, consider adding it. A recent study by the Direct Marketing Association shows that the return on investment for e-mail is just more than $45 for every $1 spent.

Once you’ve decided to add e-mail to your mix, there are a few best practices you should be aware of. The first is can-spam compliance. It’s not difficult but it is important to be compliant with this federal act. Visit http://www.ftc.gov/spam/ for more information.

Now that you have e-mail added to your mix, one of the most important practices is your “from,” or sender address. Your sender address should be representative of your brand so that it is easily recognized. A 2007 study by Return Path showed that 56 percent of those surveyed indicated knowing and trusting the sender as a reason to open an e-mail. Conversely, a 2007 study by the e-mail sender and provider collation found that 73 percent of respondents would click the “report spam” button based on the sender’s address.

The second most important place in the e-mail-marketing realm is the subject line. In addition to the sender’s address, the subject line plays a critical role in getting your e-mail opened. The subject line also is a great place to promote your brand. Combining your branding with trigger words or a promotional offer will likely increase your open rate.

The key here is to test words that work for you. Many e-mail providers have A/B testing products built into their systems, so use them to your advantage. When using promotional offers, be specific with the offer. Using generic terms such as “Free” or “Act Now” may end you up in the receiver’s junk mail folder.

When e-mail is used in conjunction with established best practices, it can be an affordable, effective tool in personalized communications with your customers. 

Best Practices: Now Who’s Wearing the Pants in the Family?

From Oct. 22 – 24, members of the Ohio Tourism Division attended the Ohio Travel Association’s Ohio Conference on Tourism in Canton. Throughout the conference, attendees participated in sessions with some of the Travel Industry’s top speakers and discovered ways to market their product to the rest of the world.

“She’s Got the Power!” presented by Fran and Bill Lytle, was one session in particular that focused on brand strategies and how to market your message to include women. According to the Lytles, women account for 70 percent of leisure-travel decisions, 66 percent of all home-computer purchases and 83 percent of all product purchases. These statistics alone show a push in “girl power” and provide important information on how to market brand strategies to this group.

For example, the Lytles explained that women respond differently to certain shapes and colors than men do. Women are attracted to curves and waves because they subconsciously remind women of the shape of a baby’s face. Men are attracted to straight lines because they subconsciously remind them of the directness of the hunt.

And when it comes to colors, every hue has a specific meaning. Women are more likely to be attracted to soft, pastel colors while men respond more to dark, masculine colors. Some examples include:

• Red: Shows extroverted tendencies; impulsive and athletic; sexy and quick to speak their mind; increases metabolism
• Pink: They are red souls who don’t have the courage to choose the color in its full intensity
• Orange: The social color; cheerful, luminous and warm; friendly with a ready smile and quick wit
• Green: Symbolizes balance and normality; socially well-adjusted, civilized, conventional
• Yellow: Emphasizes mental and spiritual; intelligent, introspective, discriminating
• Blue: Shows conservatism, accomplishment, deliberation
• Purple: The color of sensitivity; shows those may feel better and higher than other people; fond of the arts, philosophy and other refined pursuits
• Brown: Conservatism to the extreme; shows a sense of duty and responsibility

Though women control the majority of expenses, it’s still important to market your brand to both sexes. If you find that you stick mostly to straight lines and dark colors (masculine), try including a softer color and curving lines to incorporate women into your marketing and vice versa. It could mean the difference in appealing to a whole other demographic!

TechCorner: BuckeyeLine Readability and Deliverability

When we launched the new format of BuckeyeLine earlier this year, we wanted to provide an easy-to-read online publication that would give readers better access to important information and deadlines from the Division. In our environment of various e-mail clients and mobile devices, the image-heavy format can be burdensome for some readers. Here are a few tips to customize your BuckeyeLine experience.

Readability: By default, BuckeyeLine is sent in HTML format. If the images and formatting bog down your system or take up too many resources for your mobile device, you may want to change your preference to receive a text-only version. To change to a text-only version, simply click on the “Update Profile” link at the bottom of the e-mail, then simply un-check the HTML preference to receive a text-only version.

Deliverability: Email can be a finicky creature, and for this reason, sending a mass e-mail such as BuckeyeLine becomes an exercise in futility. Here are some steps you can take to help ensure you receive every issue of BuckeyeLine:

• Add Buckeyeline@DiscoverOhio.com to your white list of e-mail senders. The process of adding an address will vary based on your e-mail client.  Here is a link for Microsoft Outlook.
• Bookmark www.Buckeyeline.com. In addition to sending the BuckeyeLine e-mail, we post all the information on the BuckeyeLine.com blog site. Monthly articles are normally posted the first week of each month.
• Add BuckeyeLine.com as a news feed. Because we utilize state-of-the-art blogging software for the BuckeyeLine Web site, you can also add our URL to you RSS newsfeed. New articles will be delivered directly to your newsreader.

These are just a few simple steps you can make BuckeyeLine work for you. If you have any questions about how to make the updates listed above, please contact Tourism Information Manager Eric Herzog at (614) 466-0338.

Best Practices: Let LinkedIn Help You Market Your Business

In a time when social media sites are popping up left and right, it’s sometimes difficult to decide which is right for you and your company, if any. How do you sort through the hodgepodge and figure out what will work for you?

TechCorner: Google Business Solutions

As Google continues to grow and dominate the Web sphere, it also continues to release Web-based products that not only increase productivity but also simplify how your Web site interacts with Google. Some of our favorite applications are:

• Local Business Center- Create or edit a Google Maps business listing. Add hours of operation, photos and other details. This application is similar to your BUCKEYE Database listing.
• Analytics- Analyze your Web site traffic, create easy-to-use reports and track marketing campaigns.
• Webmaster Central and Web site Optimizer-Google helps you build sites that have increased visibility and effective content.
• Checkout- Create a shopping cart to sell your products online. Checkout features free order processing, increased sales potential and fraud protection.

If any of the above Google Business Solutions are of interest, you can find more information on these and additional products Google offers by visiting www.google.com/services.

Tech Corner: Buckeye Database Listing Tips

Your Buckeye Database Listing is arguably the most important information you can share with the Division. The information from your approved database listing will appear on DiscoverOhio.com, will be available through our 1-800-BUCKEYE travel counselors and will be considered for our printed Travel Planner and Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter calendars. Below are some tips you can follow to assure your listing is all that it can be.

Best Practices: Know Your Web 2.0

One of the biggest emerging trends in marketing is the Web 2.0 phenomenon. Businesses are engaging in an Internet marketing and social media world where getting their word out is becoming easier—and more cost effective.

TechCorner: Let the Division Help you With your Web site Redesign

Are you thinking of a Web site redesign? Need more events for your calendar?

DiscoverOhio.com and the Buckeye database offer a data sharing functionality that will allow you to display or download attractions and events that have been submitted and approved in the Division’s Buckeye database. The Division can provide you with HTML code that can be placed on your site to display events or attractions in an iFrame format.

The Division can also provide a raw XML data file that can be imported into your own site database. For more information on this data sharing feature, contact Eric Herzog at eric.herzog@development.ohio.gov or Roger Barker at roger.barker@development.ohio.gov.

Best Practices: Marketing on the Run – Ypartnership

It seems that "Chapter 2" of the story of how the Internet will impact the practice of marketing in the travel industry is about to be written, and one of the headlines will undoubtedly herald the arrival of "mobility marketing."