December 2005

It's finally here - holiday time, holiday dollars - with City Concierge offering some great marketing opportunities to increase your business revenue. The next couple of months highlight business goals to bring in extra profit in order to cushion the slower tourism times. This January, City Concierge has an easy way for you to capture your share of visitor dollars and increase return-customer business. DON'T MISS THIS FREE OPPORTUNITY! Find out how, below, in "Mind Your Own Business." This month's "Partnership Spotlight" features someone you all know - "Sandra D" of the Mammoth Visitor Bureau. Learn how City Concierge works with Sandra's innovative special events program to improve tourism marketing to support your business goals and growth. Check out what we're up to for you! - Deborah Bendinelli, Media Relations

PARTNERSHIP SPOTLIGHT
"Sandra D" is how the Mammoth Lakes business community fondly refers to this innovative and omnipresent woman. As the Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau Special Events Manager, Sandra DiDomizio's job is to know the local businesses as she searches for, develops, and imports new and unique special events that will bring positive impacts to the town's economy. To do this, DiDomizio must work closely with local business owners to facilitate and enhance these events through their joint participation.

"We (the Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau - www.visitmammoth.com represent and support all local licensed businesses objectively by exposing them through our marketing efforts and tourism information we give to visitors," states DiDomizio.

The visitor's bureau, the marketing branch of the town, focuses on improving the local economy during lower occupancy times and promoting the area and local businesses to visitors, bringing about an increase in tourism through a variety of methods. One method is to use contracted services for various marketing projects directed at improving the town's tourism economy. City Concierge is one of those businesses, locally licensed, represented by, and contracted with the Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau for some special event's web-based marketing and promotion services.

"City Concierge created the special event website for last summer's Welcome Back Motocross Party. We were very happy with their services … they provided quick services with good follow through on marketing projects," replies DiDomizio when explaining their contractor relationship with City Concierge as a marketing services vendor. She's quick to note that City Concierge, as well as other local contractors, has to win a bidding process for these jobs. Recently, DiDomizio contracted with City Concierge to design, develop, and monitor an interactive webpage on the bureau's website that allowed where Mammoth locals and visitors to cast their vote for the Mammoth business with the best holiday decorations. These are just a few ways that City Concierge has worked with the Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau to improve local business and tourism marketing.

When asked how she developed the professional connection with City Concierge's managing director, Jefferson Lanz, DiDomizio pointed out that she first met Lanz, who has been a commissioner since October 2002, through the Mammoth Lakes Tourism and Recreation Commission. The visitor's bureau works closely with the commission, an advisory board to the town offices on tourism and recreation efforts and marketing. It was only later that Lanz contracted with the visitor's bureau to provide web-based marketing services on special event projects. Originally, the connection formed through joint effort and promotion of all Mammoth businesses.

"Jefferson is able to put on another hat, aside from the City Concierge business, and give objective comments and criticism to support all tourism-based businesses in our town," says DiDomizio. "He gives good advice and insight into the Southern California market expectations of Mammoth."

DiDomizio feels that Lanz has a unique viewpoint from the outside, as well as from the inside. She considers it a "good benefit to Mammoth" to have his understanding of the Southern California viewpoint of the guests that visit her town. Lanz's keen marketing eye looks at everything as a visitor looks at it because he can see it and know it from both perspectives. It's one of the things that DiDomizio finds valuable in her working relationship with both Lanz and City Concierge. She is dedicated to and effective at improving and increasing the local tourism economy through special events and marketing. Anything and anyone who can help her achieve those goals is welcome to join her cause. Just ask those who know Sandra D - they'll agree - she's on a mission for Mammoth.

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
Do you want a sure fire way to get hold of visitor dollars and increase return-customer business? Do you have "SWAG" - coupons, logo products, customer incentive ideas, promotional freebees - lying around? Check this deal out - City Concierge has a free, and easy, marketing opportunity for all Mammoth Lakes businesses! We are creating special event "gift bags" for a group of 120 families coming to town January 20 to the 23rd. These gift bags - with your promotional goodies inside - are an enticing incentive for these guests to shop Mammoth at your business and leave their tourism dollars with you! DON'T MISS THIS FREE OPPORTUNITY! We need to compile these gift bags during the first week of January. It's so simple! So take advantage of this awesome opportunity with very little effort on your part. Just EMAIL ME TODAY - Deborah, at Media Relations - and we will arrange to pick up your marketing SWAG that week.

SHAMELESS PROMO
"In the relatively short decade since the widespread availability of the Internet, almost all outdoor recreation [and tourism] providers have an added Internet component to their communication and information efforts," according to the California State Parks 2005 Report on Parks and Recreation Trends in California. That translates to web-based marketing for services used by tourists and recreationists, which is City Concierge's specialty and area of expertise! Our central guest reservation services and marketing website is averaging over 2,000 eyeballs or "readership" persons per day that are seeing your local Mammoth businesses on our site! We're now in the #1 position for many Mammoth keyword searches. City Concierge has the expertise and proven record of accomplishment in using the Internet as a successful marketing tool. We can help you make your marketing dollars more effective and seen quickly. Let us put the Internet to work for you!

The City Concierge provides Guest Services and Information to visitors who want to know more about your business. What's your Secret Sauce?