Sigma - Mexico Tourism Board Final Campaign

Derek Franklin | Research Director Isabel Finn | Account Director Tessa Beeler | Media Director Sophie Nathan | Creative Director Alisa Lollino | PR and Promotions Director

Our mission at Sigma is to utilize our vast expertise across the board to bring our clients the very most personalized, effective and impactful advertising. The greek symbol for Sigma is used in math and science to note the sum of terms. At Sigma, we extend that meaning to how our agency creates great advertising through the sum of our wide-ranging expertise integrating seamlessly to provide a product greater than the sum of our parts.

contents situation analysis

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campaign strategy

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media plan

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creative plan

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pr and promotions plan

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appendix

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derek franklin | research director

isabel finn | account director

tessa beeler | media director

sophie nathan | creative director

alisa lollino | pr and promotions director

situation analysis derek franklin | research director

History of the Company The Mexico Tourism Board is the organization entrusted to coordinate, design and develop the national and international strategies for tourism promotion for Mexico. They are also in charge of promoting the numerous destinations and activities that Mexico has to offer, as well as Mexico’s natural and cultural locales. The Mexico Tourism Board was created in 1999 as an executive agency for the Mexican Secretariat of Tourism, which is the government department in charge of the promotiom and development of the nation’s tourism. Claudia Ruiz Massieu heads the department. The Mexico Tourism Board has offices located in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York, and Washington, D.C. dedicated to supporting wholesalers, travel agents, airlines and hotel chains that serve Mexico (The Center for Association Leadership).

Recent setbacks for the Mexico Tourism Board have included the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis and the prevalence of violent crime. According to the U.S. State Department, 81 U.S. citizens were murdered in Mexico in 2013 and more than 130 kidnappings of U.S. citizens were reported between January and November 2014.

Industry Trends Mexico is the most visited country by American tourists. Mexico is also the second most visited country for cruise travelers. In 2011, Mexico ranked 43rd in World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitive Index (TTCI), which measures factors that make it attractive to developing businesses in the travel and tourism industry. Mexico ranked 79th in the subcategory of ground transport infrastructure, 64th in insufficient health and hygiene, 64th in insufficient health and hygiene and 128th in security concerns.

International tourist arrivals across the world increased by 5 percent from 2012 to 2013. 53 percent of inbound tourism in 2013 arrived by air, 40 percent by road, 5 percent by water and 2 percent by rail (UNTWO). The United Nations World Tourist Organization (UNWTO) expected growth to continue in 2014 at rate of around 4-4.5 percent.

In 2013, 52 percent of inbound tourists cited leisure, recreation and holidays as the purpose of the visits, 27 percent said visiting friends and relatives, health, or religion, and 14 percent citing business and professional purposes (UNWTO).

Tourism has been on the rise in Mexico. Mexico possessed 6 percent of the total market share for international tourism. After steadily declining following the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the number of Americans traveling to Mexico went up for the first time since the crisis in 2012 (National Travel and Tourism Office). Total arrivals of non-resident tourists for Mexico was up 1.4 percent from 2012 to 2013 (UNWTO).

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Business tourism is a big priority for Mexico. Mexico became the third country behind Canada and the U.S. in 2011 to measure revenue generated through convention, incentive groups and trade shows (Mexico Tourism Board Meetings Toolkit). They found that 194,400 meetings were held in 2010 and that participants spend $10.5 million (The Economic Significance of Meetings in Mexico). The study also found that meetings in Mexico contributes to 1.43 percent of the national GDP ($12 billion) and generate $32.5 billion in sales. 7 percent of the total number of tourists came from another country and provided 11 percent of total tourist expenditures.

Geographical Insights Upper class families and honeymooners are most effectively reached when they are in large, yet not the biggest cities. Our Simmons research indicates that the 11-25 biggest metropolitan areas make up just about one fifth (19.5 percent) of Americans who have taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years. They are also 62 percent more like to have taken one than the general population. The top five metro areas make up 12 percent and are 3 percent more likely than the general population. To us, that presents a win/win opportunity as we can spread out our money and reach more consumers by penetrating cheaper markets.

For business executives, we remain in the top five metropolitan areas because they have a higher concentration of that audience. While Americans in those areas don’t have quite as high Simmons indexes, they still are 3 percent more likely than the general population to have taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years.

The two biggest regional hotbeds for American visitors to Mexico are the South and Pacific U.S. regions.

According to Simmons, 31.7 percent of Americans who had taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years were from the South, while 30 percent were from the Pacific. However, the South is a much more competitive region for Mexico than the Pacific. Southerners are 3 percent less likely to have taken a trip, while Americans in the Pacific Nielsen region are 57 percent more likely.

The top five states that supply the most American visitors to Mexico according to Simmons are: 1. California (18 percent) 2. Texas (10.4 percent) 3. Florida (6.96 percent) 4. New York (4.96 percent) 5. Illinois (4.04 percent) While the most populated states delivered the most tourists, their likelihood of taking a trip to Mexico over the past three years compared to the general population was strongly correlated to proximity. Out of the five states above, California and Texas, the closest states to Mexico, had the highest indexes (Cal: 148, Tex: 127), while citizens of New York, the furthest state from Mexico, were 15 percent less likely than the general population to have taken a trip in the past three years.

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Competitive Analysis Mexico’s biggest competitors in the international tourism industry are the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Costa Rica and the Bahamas.

The Dominican Republic’s pitch to tourists relies extremely heavily on their tropical amenities. Of the six photos featured on the homepage of their official tourism site, four feature tropical water accompanied by green grass or white sand beaches. This an example how their strategy prioritizes their “beachy” reputation, while making other types of tourists attractions a secondary focus.

Jamaica does a better job than the Dominican Republic on their official tourism website by diversifying their pitch to consumers, but we believe that to be to Mexico’s advantage. While Jamaica aims to showcase a wide array of amenities, they simply do not stack up to the appeal and historical significance that Mexico’s non-beach attractions offer. Essentially, Jamaica seeks to beat Mexico with this strategy, but Mexico simply has better cards in their hand.

Costa Rica is unique in that they rely heavily on promoting their tropical amenities. Instead of prioritizing beaches and relaxation, their website showcases nature and wildlife such as their renowned tropical rainforests. This pitch would appeal to tourists who are looking to be extremely active and adventurous.

While these characteristics are what some of our desired consumers are looking for, this strategy would be a hard sell for less adventure-seeking consumers, whom Mexico is much more effective at appealing too.

Mexico is also a cheaper financial option for the average tourist than the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Costa Rica and the Bahamas.

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Average Daily Expenses Per Person of Travelers (budgetyourtrip.com): 1. Mexico: $50.71 2. Costa Rica: $69.85 3. Bahamas: $121.84 4. Jamaica: $138.96 5. Dominican Republic: $138.96 2012 Top Destination for U.S. Residents Traveling Abroad (Number of U.S. outbound tourists, percent change from 2011) (UNWTO): 1. Mexico (20,308,000, +1 percent) 2. Dominican Republic (2,252,000, +34 percent) 3. Jamaica (1.5 million, 2 percent) 4. Bahamas (1,363,000, -4.1 percent) 5. Costa Rica (757,000, N/A) U.S. Census Region Responsible For a Majority of American Tourists in Each Competing Country, According to Simmons: 1. Mexico - West 2. Bahamas - South 3. Dominican Republic - Northeast 4. Jamaica - South 5. Costa Rica - South The South is one of the top regions for multiple competitors, which indicates an elevated degree of competition. This helps explain why southerners are less likely to take trips to Mexico relative to the general population; however, southerners still travel to Mexico in relatively high numbers.

Mexico’s two biggest domestic competitors in the U.S. are Florida and California. Along with offering beautiful weather and beaches, Florida and California bring in the most domestic vacation travelers than any other state. According to Simmons, 12.1 percent of all Americans who took a domestic vacation in the past three years went to Florida, which was the most of any state. California was second with 9.2 percent, and the next closest state, Texas, was a full three percentage points lower. Florida is an extremely popular destination for Americans in the Northeast and South regions. Northeasterners were 40 percent more likely than the general population to have taken a trip to Florida in the past 12 months, while Southerners were 25 percent more likely (Simmons). California is the most popular destination spot in the West because Americans in the West census region were 170 percent more likely than the general population to have taken a trip to Florida in the past 12 months.

While Florida and California can offer nice weather and beaches, Mexico can offer nicer weather and beaches. Mexico is able to outperform Florida and California’s biggest selling point, the two states have nothing similar to the appeal of Mexico’s unique culture and tourist attractions. Even though Mexico is an international travel destination, it is a cheap option compared to other international locations. Therefore, we do not expect Mexico’s cost to deter people from visiting the country.

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Primary Current Consumers: Wealthy Vacationing Families RR RR RR RR RR RR RR RR RR

Caucasian and/or Hispanic Ages 35-44 Business/Financial head of household Household income of $100,000+ Married with kids ages 6-17 College educated Favorite vacation activities include: spa, beach, sightseeing, tennis, etc.

Social media users, but mild consumption Live in 11-25 biggest metropolitan areas

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According to our Simmons research, 35-44 year olds were estimated to make up 21 percent of the population who took a trip to Mexico in the past three years and are 20 percent more likely to have taken a trip than the general population.

Our primary consumers are also White and Hispanic. Simmons estimated that 76 percent of Americans who took a trip to Mexico in the past three years were White. It is also estimated that Whites are 3 percent more likely than the general population to have taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years. Americans of Hispanic origin make up significantly less of the population who have taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years (3 percent), but are 204 percent more likely than the general population to have taken one. On the contrary, African Americans are 41 percent less likely to have taken a trip to Mexico. In addition, they make up 7 percent of the American tourist population to Mexico in the past three years. Additionally, Asians are 18 percent less likely than the general population and only make up 3.91 percent of tourists (Simmons).

This group also includes heads of households with a college degree. Simmons found that individuals that graduated four years of college were 24 percent more likely than the general population to have taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years. High school graduates were 30 percent less likely than individuals with only 1-3 years of high school education were 23 percent less likely to travel to Mexico (Simmons).

Simmons indicated that married individuals make up 66.9 percent of Americans who have ventured to Mexico in the last three years and are 25 percent more likely than the general population to do so.

This audience makes up the biggest proportion of our current consumer, and they have the biggest opportunity for growth. Millions of people, similar to our current primary audience, are already in business with our Caribbean and Florida competitors. While a lot of these families already vacation to Mexico, there is an opportunity to convince more by drawing them from our competitors.

Secondary Current Consumers: Business Executives RR RR RR RR RR RR RR RR RR

Caucasian Ages 35-54 Male Household income $150,000+ Married with kids College educated Favorite vacation activities include: sightseeing, golf, beach, spa, etc.

Staying two nights Live in five largest U.S. metropolitan areas

According to a 2004 University of Wisconsin study, the majority of S&P 500 CEOs are in their 50s. We will incorporate a full age range of 35-54 to account for younger decision makers that are not CEOs yet or are young CEOs. We believe that this group of consumers have a very high household income ($150,000+) because Simmons indicates that over 60 percent of Americans with the job title President/ CEO/Publisher contain a household income of $100,000 or more. According to Mexican government findings, the average business tourist stays 2.06 nights, so we plan to take this into consideration.

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Our Simmons findings indicate that this audience enjoys sightseeing, golf and spa activities during their free time on business trips.

Targeting this group also presents an opportunity for Mexico to position itself as the top foreign destination for business trips. According to Simmons, 11.3 percent of people who made a trip to Mexico in the past three years traveled for business reasons or business and personal reasons. That number may at first seem inconsequential, but it becomes notable considering 51.3 percent of Simmons respondents that made a foreign trip in the past three had also had taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years. That correlation indicates Mexico has the potential to occupy the top stop for foreign destinations for American business trips.

Secondary Audience: Young Honeymooners RR Ages 25-34 RR Male and Female RR Married with no children or young

children RR Household income $75,000- $99,000 RR Favorite vacation activities include:

spa, water sports, beach, camping/

hiking, sightseeing RR Live in 11-25 biggest U.S.

metropolitan areas RR Not looking to spend over $5,000

Our additional secondary consumers are college educated young adults, who have just very recently been married. Our key insight about this group is that they are more adventurous and versatile in terms of what they want to do on trips. Along with enjoying relaxing on the beach, the “Young Honeymooners� have an enhanced affinity for water sports, boating and camping/hiking. We want to inform this group of all of the activities they can participate in on a trip to Mexico. According to Simmons, 25-34 year olds make up 20 percent of Americans who have taken a trip to Mexico the past three years and are 14 percent more likely than the general population to have taken one.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, just over 2.1 million marriages took place in the United States in 2011. The 2010 U.S. census found that the median age for men to get married for the first time was between 27-29. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that a relatively low number of first marriages happen after 35, so that is why the age range for this secondary audience is of 25-34.

Household income ranges fairly evenly across the spectrum, but our core 25-34 consumers have a household income of $75,000-$99,000.

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These consumers still enjoy relaxing on vacation seeing as 48 percent of 25-34 years olds said they like to go to the beach (Simmons). However, they are more active on vacation than any other age group. According to Simons, 58 percent of 25-34 year olds enjoy sightseeing on vacation. They were also found to be 20 percent more likely than the general population to enjoy camping/hiking and 23 percent more likey to do water sports.

We expect these consumers to spend a high amount of money on their trips to Mexico, but not as much money as our other target audiences. According to Simmons, both 35-44 year olds and 45-54 year olds are at least 20 percent more likely than the general population to spend $5,000 or more on a foreign trip, while 2534 year olds are 5 percent less likely than the general population to do so. However, 25-34 year olds were still found to be 14 percent more likely than the general population to spend between $3,000 and $4,999, which is still a sizeable travel budget.

Brand Analysis Current Brand Perception Consumers perceive Mexico as a major dichotomy. On one hand, Mexico provides vacationers with the full package of paradise including beautiful beaches, archaeological attractions, traditional cuisine and a vibrant nightlife. In contrast, many consumers perceive Mexico in a more negative light, associating it with drug cartels, violence and kidnapping.

In light of Mexico’s conflicting perceptions, we decided to conduct our own research. We distributed a survey via social media that asked consumers questions regarding their personal experiences and opinions of Mexico. While we are aware that our survey does not accurately represent the current and potential consumers, we believe the insights are invaluable. We were able to survey 116 people, of which 26 percent were male and 74 percent were female. The average age of the respondents was between 19-24. In addition, 84 percent of our respondents were from the Midwest.

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When respondents were asked, “What do you think Mexico offers that other tourist destinations do not?” most answered with one of the following responses: all inclusive resorts, rich culture and history, good food, nice beaches and weather. After viewing these perceptions in relation to Mexico’s competition and consumers, we become more aware of the importance of capitalizing on diverse opportunities for all kinds of people traveling to Mexico.

In addition, respondents were asked to respond to the following question: “What brands do you associate with Mexico?” The responses were overwhelmingly liquor and food brands, specifically Corona. However, none of the participants mentioned associating the Mexico Tourism Board with Mexico. Therefore, our company must work to bring our brand into the forefront by learning from the current brands that are strongly associated with Mexico. In addition, after learning of the strong brand association between Mexico and Corona we ran a Simmons analysis. The analysis showed that people who drink Corona are 70 percent more likely than the general population to take a trip in Mexico. In light of this information we think that we can capitalize on this brand association.

Current Branding Efforts Live It To Believe It: In 2013, the Mexico Tourism Board launched the “Live it to Believe It” Campaign in both the United States and Canada. The campaign intended to target individuals ages 35 to 65 with a household income of $100,000, in addition to consumers ages 25 to 45 with a household income of $75,000 (Travel Weekly).

The campaign hoped to increase tourism by promoting Mexico’s unique culture, food, history and diversity by evoking powerful emotional responses (Travel Agent Central); “We want to make it unexpected, personal, surprising, and emotional, with focus on the experience,” said Gerardo Llanes, the Mexico Tourism Board’s chief marketing officer. Overall, the audience reactions to the ads were positive.

Past Branding Efforts Mexico Taxi Project: In 2011, Mexico, seeking to tackle consumer’s safety concerns, launched a $30 million dollar campaign. It featured Americans traveling home after their trip to Mexico, while candidly talking with a professional actor acting as a taxi driver. For example, one of the ads feature the paid actor asking the tourists returning from Mexico if they felt safe. In response the tourists replied that they felt safe despite the negative media coverage (Elliot). This hidden camera, confessional campaign was supposed to create positive conversations about Mexico in a viral manner (Elliot).

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The Place You Thought You Knew: In 2010, the Mexico Tourism Board launched “The Place You Thought You Knew” campaign in order to combat negative associations with Mexico such as the drug war and violence.

Instead, this campaign sought to conjure images of beauty and culture, while correcting misperceptions of Mexico’s unsafe environment (Ogilvy Public Relations). The financial investment in the campaign was 30 percent more than what was spent in 2008 and targeted 50 percent of the population (Business Wire). The campaign was successful in terms of promoting shifts in perception and increasing positive media (Ogilvy Public Relations).

Media Analysis Facebook When searching for “Mexico Tourism Board” on Facebook, a variety of Facebook pages appeared. Mexico Tourism Board created different Facebook pages according to the region the organization targeted. The regions that had Facebook pages were: 1. Los Angeles, CA (2,467 “Likes”) 2. Washington, D.C. (229 “Likes”) 3. Western Canada (362 “Likes”) 4. Canada (395 “Likes”) 5. Montreal, QC (167 “Likes”) 6. Non-regional (350 “Likes”) Each Mexico Tourism Board Facebook page shows a variation of their national logo, which does not lend for a fully integrated marketing effort. In addition, 84 percent of our respondents were from the Midwest.

A Facebook search was conducted using the words “Visit Mexico” because that is their website address.

With this new search, another Facebook page for Mexico Tourism Board came up called VisitMexico. This Facebook page has 3,396,130 “Likes” and appears to be their national Facebook page.

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Twitter Twitter also has different accounts for select target regions: 1. Regional office of North America (31.5K followers) 2. Canada (1,044 followers) 3. Non-regional (126K followers) 4. Los Angeles, CA (14K followers) 5. Los Angeles, CA- Second Account (158 followers) 6. Non-regional (103 followers) Mexico Tourism Board’s variation of Twitter logos also created an inconsistency of branding.

Other Media

RR Instagram: there are two Instagram accounts for the Mexico Tourism Board.

- VisitMexico-LosAngeles: 7,741 followers - VisitMex: 6,914 followers RR Pinterest: 3,133 followers RR Google+: 263 followers RR YouTube: 11,004 subscribers

Past Media Campaigns The Place You Thought You Knew This campaign took place five years ago. Advertisements were run through the following media: print, television, online (YouTube) and outdoor. This campaign did not specify their budget.

Live It to Believe It This campaign ran two years ago. Advertisements were placed on television, print and digital media. The campaign worked with a $36 million budget.

Media Consumption Statistics With the world growing more technologically advanced, media can be consumed in a variety of different ways. A Simmons was run on the media consumption of our current primary and secondary consumers to determine which media they most commonly use.

Primary Current Consumers: Wealthy vacationing families RR Television - They consume television for less than a half an hour a day during 8p.m.-9p.m.

RR Magazine - This media is not commonly used by this audience with an index of 95.

RR Newspaper - They do not commonly read newspapers with an index of 86.

RR Radio - They often listens to a half hour of radio during the week from 3p.m.-7p.m. This

consumer also listens to the radio from 6a.m.-10a.m.

RR Social Media: Ages 35-44 tend to be large consumers of this media with an index of 122.

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Secondary Current Consumers: Business Executives RR Television: Men tend to view television as often as women and the most common time for

men to watch television is between 5p.m.-7p.m. for about 2 hours.

RR Magazine: Women read magazines more than men, but ages 45-54 is the most popular

consumer with an index of 100.

RR Newspaper: While both males and females read newspapers about the same amount,

consumers ages 45-54 (104 index) tend to read newspapers more often than ages 35-44

(86 index). But both age groups do not have a high newspaper readership.

RR Radio: Males generally listen to the radio more frequently than females. Ages 45-54 most

often listen to the radio for one hour during 6a.m.-10a.m. and 3p.m.-7p.m.

RR Social Media: Males tend to consume less social media than females, and ages 45-54 do

not actively engage in social media with an index of 97.

Secondary Current Consumers: Young Honeymooners RR Television: This secondary audience watches more television during 8p.m.-9p.m. than 5p.m.-

7p.m.

RR Magazine: This consumer is not a popular reader of magazines with an index of 89.

RR Newspaper: This audience is the least likely to read newspapers with an index of 62.

RR Radio: This consumer listens to around 2+ hours of radio during the week from 3p.m.- 7p.m.

RR Social Media: This audience is the most likely to use social media with an index of 141.

Creative Analysis Through their website, The Mexico Tourism Board is trying to show the wide variety of fun and adventure Mexico has to offer. Mexico is trying to move past being just a beach destination and into being viewed as an adventure and culture filled country.

The website displays the motto: “Been there, haven’t done that.” This saying represents Mexico’s ability to provide people with new experiences and amazing adventure.

The Mexico Tourism Board website is vibrant and full of life. It is set up in a way that presents all that Mexico has to offer based on various categories. For example, you choose between wedding, meetings, nature, magical towns and golf. After clicking on the category that best suits you, you are redirected to a page that provides you with more information on that topic. The website for Mexico’s Tourism Board is very organized and presented in a way which makes it easy for viewers to follow along.

The Dominican Republic Tourism Board’s website, one of Mexico’s competitors, is more difficult to navigate than the Mexico Tourism Board’s website. The categories are much more vague, which means tourists must know what they want to do specifically before planning their trips. For example, the Dominican Republic Tourism Board’s tabs are categorized by locations, activities and hotel accommodations, which is too vague for unknowing prospective travelers to use. Since the Dominican Republic Tourism Board’s website is not as lively or organized as the Mexico Tourism Board’s website, we plan to capitalize on the fact that our viewers will find our website to be more aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.

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Public Relations and Promotions Analysis Public Opinion Mexico’s positive public opinion has decreased over the years since there has been an overbearing amount of violence and crime in the news. Being familiar with public opinion is important for the ongoing success of the Mexico Tourism Board.

From murders and kidnappings to carjackings and theft, Americans are falling victim to violence in Mexico. It was reported that 81 Americans were murdered in 2013 and that number rose to 85 in 2014. Around 130 U.S. citizens were reported kidnapped in Mexico just between January and November of 2014.

Even though a significant amount of crime has been reported, Americans are not being deterred from visiting Mexico. More than 150 thousand of U.S. citizens still visit Mexico each day (U.S. Department of State). The World Travel and Tourism Council also reported that 11.8 million people visited Mexico, which increased 9 percent since 2012.

Furthermore, according to a survey we did, when respondents heard the word Mexico, more thought about the words “vacation,” “Mexican food” and “beaches,” than they did “political unrest,” “drug war” and “unsafe water.” Out of 88 respondents, travelers are more than likely to return to Mexico.

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Stakeholders Stakeholder analysis is very important because when Mexico tourism thrives, our stakeholders benefit and vice-versa. When we create beneficial relationships with them, travel to Mexico will increase.

Current and Future Travelers Any person can be a potential traveler to Mexico. Having strong branding and positioning will be key in finding future travelers. It is also important to entice past travelers to return to Mexico. If they had a great experience, we want them to share that and find ways to get them to return. If it was a bad experience, we want to fix that and offer ways to ensure they have a positive trip. Getting people to travel to Mexico is the key component to our success.

Travel Industry Partners RR Airlines: United, American Airlines, Delta, US Airways, Southwest Airlines, jetBlue, Spirit Air

lines, Virgin America, Aeromexico, Alaska Airlines, Interjet, Volaris, Frontier Airlines, Sun

Country Airlines, Viva Aerobus, Aeromar, Seaport Airlines RR Hotel Chains: Westin, W Hotels, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Marriot, MGM Resorts

International, Mayan Resorts, Palace Resorts, Aloft, Avalon, Camino Real, Crowne Plaza,

Dreams, Fairmont, Four Points, Four Seasons, Gran Bahia Principe RR Cruise Lines: Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Norweigan Cruise Line, Holland America

Line, Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises RR Travel Agencies: Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Kayak, Bookit.com, Priceline, Hotels.com,

TripAdvisor, Hotwire.com The Media RR RR RR RR RR

Website Bloggers Travel Websites Travel Magazines Reporters Editors

Government Agencies RR US Department of State RR American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico RR Mexican Embassies and Chambers of Commerce RR The Mexican Secretariat of Tourism

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S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths

Weaknesses

Diverse product that offers unmatched blend of relaxation, amazement and adventure

Well-publicized concerns about safety and violent crime

Proximity to the west coast, allowing relatively easy/affordable travel for Pacific Region Americans

Distance from East coast markets

Strong government commitment to investing in tourism

Opportunities

Threats

Own the U.S. Pacific region

Fellow competitors that are closer to consumers

Position as the best balance of beaches and remarkable tourist attractions Penetrate medium-sized markets

Perception that Mexico is unsafe Fluctuating economic landscape

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Key Issues and Implications Our campaign positions Mexico as the best vacation destination for our audiences. We want our consumers to know that our Caribbean competitors, with similar climates, cannot compete with all the tourist attractions Mexico has to offer. Since Mexico has both tourist attractions and relaxing beaches, this destination is like no other.

In order to persuade our audiences that Mexico should be there travel destination, we must overcome three key issues: safety, distance and beachy reputation.

Key Issue of Safety As much as our audience may be enticed by what we are promising in our campaign, it does not change the fact that safety needs to be considered. If we cannot assure the mother, who is planning the family vacation, that they will be safe, our ultimate message will not be effective. In order to combat this, our research recommends that avoiding danger in Mexico is no different than avoiding danger in everyday life. The key is not trying to pretend it does not exist, but instead making it clear that it is not a threat to our audience. We recommend our safety strategy emphasize that most incidents occur on the country borders, which are a two-hour plane flight from popular destinations like Cabo. The overall tone when addressing this situation must be serious, educated and confident that this is our number one priority and we treat this issue with the utmost importance.

Key Issue of Distance According to Simmons, southerners make up 31.7 percent of the total population of Americans who have taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years, yet are 3 percent less likely to have taken one than the general population. However, Southerners are 34 percent more likely than the general population to have visited the Bahamas in the past three years. Americans in the Northeast have an even higher Simmons index for the Bahamas (134) and lower index for Mexico (67). We believe this has to do with proximity. When these eastern Americans are considering a warm weather international vacation, they are more inclined to pick a destination that is closer to them. This is often due to financial and logistical reasons. To combat this issue, we must sell our audiences on the idea that Mexico’s unique balance of relaxation, sightseeing and adventure cannot be achieved in any other destination.

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Key Issue of Beachy Reputation Before our consumers can understand Mexico’s balance between relaxation and adventure, they must first be informed about all the tourist destinations and attractions that Mexico has to offer. They may have a general sense, but that is not enough to compel anyone to book a vacation.

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campaign strategy isabel finn | account director

Consumer Target Primary Target: Deb Tracy and the Tracy family, vacationing family RR RR RR RR RR RR

College educated Parents are between the ages of 35-44 Caucasian or Hispanic Parents are married with kids ranging in ages 6-17 Upper class family Lives in South or Pacific U.S. reigion

Deb Tracy and her husband Steven live in Houston, Texas. Deb and her husband have three children, Megan (age 13), Eric (age 11) and Sarah (age 7). Deb and Steven both work in order to support their family. Deb works as a dental hygienist for Signature Smiles Dental. Mr. Tracy works as an accountant for Pannell Kerr Forster of Texas, P.C. Together, their average household income is approximately $137,000 dollars. While Deb works as a hygienist, she values spending time with her family. During the week, Deb lives a very busy lifestyle. She wakes up early to make her children school lunches, goes to work and always makes sure to be home in time to take Sarah and Megan to dance and Eric to football. Despite this, she likes to maintain strong personal relationships with her husband and her friends. Every few weeks, Steven and Deb go out for dinner. In addition, Deb takes part in a monthly book clubs with her best gal pals and checks her Facebook every so often.

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Deb and her family have never taken a trip to Mexico, but they recently visited the Bahamas. While Deb enjoyed her stay, she wished there were more adventurous opportunities for her family to take part in, such as zip lining and visiting historical sites. However, Deb does not want to sacrifice opportunities to go to the spa, tan on the beach and play tennis. Deb is always planning vacations online and ahead of time to accommodate her family’s conflicting schedules. She knows that her family can only spend about six nights on vacation and wants to make sure that their experience has a little bit of something for each family member to enjoy. Deb greatly values and bases her opinions in accordance with her peer’s experiences.

Therefore, she is usually dislikes things that her friends dislike.

Deb is concerned with the safety of traveling to Mexico, especially because of her three younger children. She knows that there have been incidents of kidnapping and drug violence, however Deb has various friends who have taken trips with their families to Mexico in the past. Since Deb’s husband is an accountant, they have a flexible budget. However, Deb is always looking to get the most bang for her buck.

Key Insights: Middle-aged family with various children RR They are an active family with various interests. They need a place that has a little

bit of everything in order to accommodate each family member.

RR They are incredibly busy and have conflicting schedules; it is not easy to plan leisure

time.

RR They are willing to spend money, however like to feel like they got a deal for what

they purchase.

RR The family has taken trips to other vacation destinations, whether close or inside of

the United States. These destinations include: Florida, California and Jamaica.

RR They take into account the safety of a destination in planning.

RR They enjoy spending time with their children, but also enjoy their alone time and

socializing with people in their age group.

RR They learn about brands through their peers and make judgments accordingly.

Brand association is relatively strong in this way.

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Secondary Target: Larry Garner, successful, traveling businessman RR RR RR RR RR RR RR

Male College educated Married with kids Upper-middle class Between the ages of 35-54 Staying for shorter durations (two nights) Lives in South or Pacific US region Larry Garner is a 45-year-old married man and father of two.

He lives with his family in Tampa, Florida, but spends a lot of his time on the road traveling for business. He works as a Vice President of his division at Busch Entertainment Corporation located in Orlando. As the Vice President of his division, Larry reigns in on average over $150,000 per year.

Larry finds himself often making trips to and from Mexico to meet with business partners and potential clients. His iPhone is always on him and put to use. Whether he is sending emails, preparing for meetings or Facetiming his children, he is always on his phone. While business is incredibly important to Larry, family comes first. Larry tries to attend his children’s sporting and school events and cracks as many cheesy dad jokes as possible. Therefore, traveling to Mexico is convenient as it is only a few hours by plane away from home. In the past, Larry has had great experiences attending conventions and meetings in Mexico. He is not confined to the meeting room. He is instead able to engage with his clients on the golf course or over an authentic Mexican meal.

Larry truly believes that holding meetings and conventions in Mexico gives him a competitive advantage.

Key Insights: Successful, traveling business man RR Travel is usually at the expense of the company.

RR They are usually staying for shorter amounts of time.

RR They are career and family oriented.

RR Traveling to Mexico to hold business meetings serves as a unique alternative to

holding conventions in the United States.

RR They are often dependent on their cellular phones and portable devices.

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Secondary Target: The Webers Couple, vacationing newlywed couple RR RR RR RR RR RR RR

College educated Heterosexual couple Caucasian Married with no children Middle class Both between the ages of 25 and 34 Lives in South or Pacific U.S. region

Ali and Chris Weber are recently married and have no children. After graduating from the University of Washington and getting married, the couple moved to Seattle, Washington with intentions of starting a family in the near future.

Ali works as a preschool teacher in the local school system and Chris works as a technology consultant. They love to travel and meet up with their college friends for dinner and enjoy a night out on the town.

When they are not socializing with their friends, the couple can usually be found watching ABC in the comfort of their own home or partaking in outdoor physical activities, such as morning jogs or walks with their dog Buster.

They truly love spending all their leisure time with each other. However, the rainy weather is getting to them, and they are both in desperate need of some fun in the sun for several days.

With a household income of $80,000 dollars the couple is looking to plan their vacation on a relatively tight budget. Additionally, they are looking to set aside money to start a family, which leaves even less room for spending. They are looking to have a great time, yet not at the expense of their wallets, so they are trying to find the best value at minimal costs.

Between the two, Ali is usually the planner. She really enjoys searching the web to find and compare the best and latest deals. Ali and Steve are not just beach bums. Other than cost, they are primarily concerned with the alternative outdoor activities the vacation spot offers. Both have an affinity for water sports, boating, camping and hiking and are looking to experience some of these things on their trip. They have heard people talk about Mexico, but they have yet to visit themselves. They think that Mexico might be a good option, but they want to ensure the location offers their likes at an affordable price. Because this is probably the last trip the couple will take without a child, they are also concerned about taking a vacation that is family oriented. They do not want to spend a majority of their time surrounded by children. They instead would really enjoy a quieter, adult oriented environment. They are really looking for that special alone time.

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Campaign Strategy Business Objective We aim to promote Mexico’s versatility. We hope that our consumers will understand and appreciate Mexico’s customizability according to tourists’ interests and dislikes. In addition, we hope to discourage tourists negative identifications with Mexico and safety. We want to enhance the features of Mexico that are currently overlooked, such as Mexico’s deep rooted history and Mexico’s adventurous outdoor opportunities.

Competitive Advantage Mexico has very strong competitors within the international tourism industry: the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Costa Rica. Yet despite their strong competition, Mexico continues to prove itself as the most popular tourist destination amongst U.S. residents. In 2012, more than 20 million people traveled to Mexico. We hope to maintain these statistics by emphasizing the vast opportunities each and every tourist has in Mexico.

Therefore, we aim to differentiate Mexico from its competitors by stressing “where happiness happens.” This motto is representative of Mexico’s ability to offer each traveler with something that makes them happy; this includes providing tourists with historical attractions, adventurous outdoor opportunities, authentic cuisine, outstanding beaches, a vibrant culture and an exciting nightlife.

We hope that stressing Mexico’s versatility will allow us to reign in more business, while potentially stealing business from Mexico’s competitors.

Using the phrase “where happiness happens” will be beneficial for the following reasons: RR Symbolizes fun and excitement RR For our primary audience this slogan represents that each family member can each

enjoy participating in activities that are catered to their specific interests RR For our targeted business executive audience this motto signifies diversifying a

business trip and appeasing clients with a more fun and interactive experience RR For our honeymooners target audience this phrase exemplifies a place where they

can partake in adventure and relaxation while enjoying each others company

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Examples of opportunities and locations in Mexico that depict “where happiness happens”: RR Horseback riding in Playa del Carmen RR Ziplining in Mazatlan RR Visiting the Mayan Ruins of Tulum RR Scuba diving in Cozumel RR Hot air ballooning in Guanajuato RR Relaxing on the beach in Los Cabos RR Eating authentic cuisine in Oaxaca RR Dancing the night away in Cancun Mexico also has a main competitive advantage in terms of proximity. Mexico is one of the closest countries to the United States, therefore it will be important to emphasize Mexico’s convenience factor.

Current and Desired Positioning Currently, Mexico lacks strong positioning in the market. Some of their efforts include stating traveling to Mexico is as an experience full of warmth, color and magic. On the website, it says, “Again and again, Mexico will surprise you with new experiences: a different flavor, a new adventure, a spot waiting for centuries to enchant you.” They do not have a clear message or position portrayed on their website and these elements are not clearly displayed on the front page. Currently they only focus on the different places in Mexico and have no clear position that sets them apart from their competitors.

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The element we are trying to emphasize is that traveling to Mexico will bring our target markets happiness. Mexico Tourism Board currently has no clear position, but we make this the main point for our campaign and make Mexico stand out among other popular vacation spots. Our tag line, “where happiness happens,” is going to be our position in this market.

Mexico has everything; they have relaxation, history, tourist attractions, they have fun things for kids to do, they have places that are well-suited for adults, they have activities like hiking and ziplining and much more. Many other popular destinations have relaxation, but no century-old tourist attractions, places suited for older people, but not young kids. Compared to our competition, our position in the market is that Mexico has something to please everyone; this makes everyone happy.

Current and Desired Branding Currently, Mexico proves to be a major dichotomy. Some tourists believe that Mexico is an incredible vacation destination that provides travelers with a little bit of everything. However, others view Mexico more negatively. In light of Mexico’s recent events, tourists may view Mexico as a dangerous brand, associating it with violence, kidnapping, murder and drugs.

Since 2013, Mexico has tried to increase tourism with their “Live it To Believe It” branding efforts.

This campaign was created with intentions of evoking powerful emotional responses by focusing on individuals’ unique experiences in Mexico.

While these branding efforts and advertisements were generally received positively, we are hoping to take branding efforts to the next level. Through our branding strategy we hope to increase communication, raise awareness and educate our target markets.

With our branding efforts, we want to make it clear to our audiences that Mexico is where happiness happens for everyone you are traveling with. As stated in the positioning efforts, Mexico has something for everyone. We hope to create a clear message to our target audiences through not only our turtle logo and tagline, but through partnerships and promotions.

We will have partnerships with Corona and National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation and will bring on Pharrell Williams, singer of the song “Happy,” as a spokesperson to aid branding efforts. We hope audiences will receive our message more positively and strongly due to this association. Through Instagram promotions, we will include the elements of happiness. Lastly, our brand is making our logo and tagline synonymous with our brand. Our logo is of a turtle, which not only reminds people of the sea and paradise, but also is a symbol for happiness.

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Media Media Scope We believe that running a pulsing strategy for our campaign will be the most beneficial. We know that we can effectively reach our primary and secondary target audience through selecting high intensity moments of advertising, while also continually promoting our brand.

When planning the scope of our campaign, we took a variety of factors into consideration. First, we looked into the cheapest times to fly to Mexico. While neither our primary nor secondary targets have a low budget, people always look for the best deals when it comes to flights. Since Mexico is a warm weather destination, people tend to travel there when it gets cold. According to USA Today, the cheapest times to fly to Mexico are between September and December and between late April to the end of June. To get the best deals, travel websites advise starting to search for tickets at least two months in advance.

Second, we had to take into consideration that our primary target has children. School schedules are very tough to plan around because there are usually not a lot of long breaks. Most middle and high schools have half a week off for Thanksgiving, two weeks off for a holiday break (usually between December 20 to January 3), a week off for spring break (usually a week in middle to late March) and around three months off for summer (beginning the first week of June and ending in the middle of August).

Third, we researched Mexico’s weather patterns because our primary and secondary target audiences are mainly traveling to Mexico for vacation. Mexico’s rainy season usually runs from May to September, so this would be a bad time to push tourist to visit.

Taking all of these factors into consideration, we hope to run two periods of high intensity advertising. The first period will run from early August until mid October. This time frame will give our primary and secondary target audience an opportunity to be exposed to our brand leading up to some of Mexico’s cheapest travel months. We believe that November and December will be our most traveled months because of the built in breaks it has for middle and high school children.

Adults will be more likely to take off from work during the holidays because that time is usually centered around family. This travel time is also not during Mexico’s rainy season, which is an added benefit.

The second period of high intensity advertising will run from the middle of December to the end of February. We hope that this campaign timing will persuade travelers to visit Mexico during the months of March and April.

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While this is not the cheapest time to fly, it does provide our primary and secondary audience a time to travel outside of Mexico’s rainy season. March and April are also the months that school aged children have spring break, so it coincides well with family traveling. A campaign running from December to February will also reach people in the north during their cold months, so they will be more receptive to a warm weather trip. In addition, an added benefit to the second advertising campaign is that people who like to plan their trip a year in advance will begin seeing TV and sponsorship advertisements in December to plan their trip for the following year.

While our high intensity periods are designed to specifically reach our primary and secondary audience, we hope that our constant existence in the media will help us reach new groups of people.

Media Regionality While we plan on having a variety of national advertising campaigns, we also anticipate running targeted geographic campaigns in select areas.

According to our Simmons data, our two biggest regional targets should be the South and Pacific U.S. regions. 31.7 percent of Americans who have taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years were from the South, and 30 percent were from the Pacific U.S. The Pacific U.S. region should have an added advertising emphasis because Americans are 57 percent more likely to have taken a trip to Mexico than the rest of the population. Our regional markets correspond well with our target audience because all of them are from the Pacific U.S. or South. Our primary target lives in Houston, Texas and our secondary targets live in Seattle, Washington and Tampa, Florida.

Of those two regions, we will specifically target California and Texas. California and Texas are the states that supply the most American visitors to Mexico. They are also the states that have a higher likelihood of taking a trip to Mexico over the past three years compared to the general population (California: 148 index, Texas: 127 index). California and Texas are also both close to Mexico, which makes traveling there more convenient for them than the rest of the population.

In the South and Pacific U.S. regions, we will target advertising to large, but not the biggest metropolitan areas. We will focus on the 11-25 biggest metropolitan areas because they make up 19.5 percent of Americans who have taken a trip to Mexico in the past three years and are 62 percent more likely to have taken one than the general population. The specific cities we will target in these areas are: Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Riverside, California; San Diego, California; Portland, Oregon; Orlando, Florida; Tampa, Florida; and Houston, Texas. Targeting these markets will be beneficial to our advertising campaign because it will allow us to reach a variety of people while not paying the excessive prices it would require to reach the biggest metropolitan areas.

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Media Mix Year round we will run radio, online and print media advertising. During our periods of high intensity, we will run spot radio during drive times, television, outdoor and event sponsorship advertisements including year-round efforts.

Radio Since radio is a cheaper form of advertisement, we think that it will be beneficial to run it year round and during our period of high intensity. In total, we will be designating 24 percent of our budget to radio. We plan on having our advertisements played on the radio in the morning when people are driving to work (7a.m.-8a.m.) and in the late afternoon when people are driving home from work (5p.m.-6p.m.). According to CityLab, 84 percent of people drive to work in the morning. Since all of our targets have jobs, this would be a prime time to run advertisements. According to a survey done by Nielsen, on average people aged 35 to 49 tend to listen to 14 hours of radio a week. This is beneficial to our campaign because our primary and one of our secondary audiences fall between this age range.

Online Online advertising will also be a good medium to use year round because it allows an instantaneous connection between our brand and our targets. The Internet has become a massive market for advertising because of the amount of time people are spending online. We plan on reaching our target audience through keywords, targeted sites and social media. Pew Research Center reported that 74 percent of online adults use social media networking sites, so we plan on having a large social media presence. Since social media is a free form of advertisement, we believe that this will be a good medium to have a steady flow of promotion.

Print We plan to reach our target audiences by placing advertisements in both male and female oriented magazines. While this is a more expensive form of advertising, magazines have high credibility, strong pass along factor and a good information potential. According to Simmons, consumers ages 35-55 most often consume magazines for media, therefore we have decided to spend 25 percent of our budget on advertisements in popular magazines.

Outdoor Media We plan to on spending $1.4 million on billboards and ambient media around our target metropolitan areas and more specifically near airports. Billboards and ambient media are relatively low cost advertisements that will allow us to target different geographical regions during our two periods of high intensity.

Television We plan on spending 46 percent of our budget (not including the Grammy Awards) on various television platforms. We are allocating the most money to cable television because it hosts a variety of outlets including: news channels, entertainment channels and specialized channels. Since our primary and secondary target audiences are in the middle and upper class, we believe that they will already have a television that has cable.

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Creative Strategy Slogan: “Where Happiness Happens” Today, the brand has redefined itself. As you can see in our new Mexico logo, we went with a more significant, impactful and meaningful representation of what Mexico has to offer. The sea turtle is a symbol of both resilience and persistence. The turtle is an ancient symbol that also represents creation, endurance, determination, stability and longevity. Because of this, we incorporated the turtle into the Mexico Tourism Board logo because we want to show that Mexico has so much to offer. Despite the fact that the majority of tourists consider Mexico to be unsafe and dangerous, we are here to represent Mexico in a positive light. Most importantly, we want consumers to realize that sea turtles can bring happiness, which is why our logo is centered around this animal.

Campaign Tone The key word is happiness. People who travel to Mexico, for whatever reason, should enjoy themselves while they are there. We want our target market to feel excited about taking a trip to Mexico. We want to draw them towards booking a vacation to Mexico and to think about all of the opportunities the location has to offer. We hope that they will instantly realize that Mexico is in fact safe, fun, adventurous and offers a wide variety of attractions.

Creative Media Execution All of our advertisements will depict happiness. If people can see the happiness Mexico brings to tourists, they will want to plan their next trip there. In order to show this, we will run commercials that relate to our print advertisements. We plan on doing two-page magazine spreads that will show what your life is like without a trip to Mexico, and then how amazing your life could be if you plan your next trip to Mexico. We have an advertisement catered to each of our targets, in hopes that each audience can identify with a specific ad. We are keeping the print advertisements basic, so they will be easily identifiable even if you have not seen the commercial it relates to. Mexico is where happiness happens and these various advertisements will show that perfectly.

Mexico’s diverse activities allow for a variety of different people to find happiness in the same place. We are trying to emphasize Mexico’s versatility by focusing on the wide variety of activities Mexico has to offer. Mexico has everything: adventure, relaxation, historical attractions and kid friendly activities. This is why Mexico is the perfect place to find happiness.

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media plan tessa beeler | media director

Objectives We believe that exposing our target audience to captivating advertisements at specific times throughout the year will best influence them to travel to Mexico. We plan to run a pulsing strategy with two periods of high intensity to best reach our primary and secondary audiences. Throughout the year, we will keep a constant flow of advertisements to attract people outside our target audience, but during our times of high intensity we plan on specifically appealing to our target audiences. During our times of high intensity, we will increase media distribution to favorable demographic areas. Our goal is to have a high frequency and a medium reach campaign. We plan on frequently exposing our target audiences to advertisements during our two periods of high intensity, while maintaining a medium reach to the whole population throughout the year. We hope to run a highly integrated campaign with our PR and Creative team by coordinating the launch of our PR and Creative events and promotions with our two periods of intense media distribution.

The Campaign Our first period of high intensity will run from August 1 until October 15. According to CheapAir.com, in order to get the best travel deals you should book your flights at least two months in advance. While many people believe that certain days of the week affect the ticket prices, Buzzfeed’s article, “When Should you Actually Book Your Next Vacation?� says that the overall day of the week only brings a 1-2 percent difference in price range. This means that when families are planning on traveling over thanksgiving break they will most likely book their flight during the first week of October. When families are planning on traveling during holiday break, they will book during the first or second week of November. USA Today says that one of cheapest times to fly to Mexico is between September and December, so this coincides well with our first period of high intensity. Starting our campaign in August will give our audience two full months of advertising exposure before they book their vacation.

Our second period of high intensity will run from December 15 until February 28. We hope that exposing our audience to advertisements during this period will persuade them to travel to Mexico during spring break. While spring break for school aged children is usually set around the end of March or the beginning of April, people who do not have children also enjoy traveling around this time because it is typically during the colder months in the United States. For people planning on traveling during this time, they will want to book their trip sometime in early February. This will give our audience a month and a half of advertisement exposure before planning their trip.

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Media Platforms We are beginning our campaign with a $60 million budget. Initially, we are putting $3 million aside for contingency. The rest of budget is split between a variety of media platforms to obtain the greatest exposure.

Thoughout the year, we will be running advertisements through:

Radio During the year, we will be allocating 16 percent of our conventional media budget to national radio morning and evening drive times. This will enable people anywhere in the United States to hear our radio advertisements during routine rush hour travel times. Since radio has high gross rating points and low cost per rating points, it is a great media to reach a wide variety of individuals.

Online We believe that online is an important media to target throughout the year. According to the Nielsen, the average American adult spends 11 hours a day on digital media. That is why we decided to advertise through search engine optimization, keywords, targeted sites and social media.

Search engine optimization is a free form of advertising that will boost traffic to our website. Since major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo have web pages that are ranked based on what the search engine considers the most relevant to users, we believe that this will be a medium that will help viewers find our website. Ten key words that we will embed in our site to increase our rankings are: Mexico, tourism, beach, adventure, happiness, turtle, family, relax, excitement and convenient. While search engine optimization is a free way to get more traffic to our website, we also plan on purchasing keywords on three search engines for 12 months to guarantee traffic to our website.

While targeted site advertising is the most expensive form of online advertising, we believe that it will be the best way to reach our target audience. Target site advertising works by tracking consumer’s online activities and then placing ads in locations that are consistent with consumers Internet activity. It will only target individuals who have the means and desire to travel to Mexico, so this form of advertising will not waste our money on consumers who are not interested in our brand.

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Social media is an extremely important media to be engaged and present on because according to Simmons, 65.4 percent of people who have traveled to Mexico in the past three years are social media users. Social media drives heavy engagement because people are very active on it. 1/5 of leisure travelers worldwide turn to social media platforms for inspiration within different categories of their travel planning. The most common thing a traveler looks for on social media is where to go on a trip. According to Simmons, people ages 25-34 use social media three times or more a day, while individuals ages 34-44 use social media 4-6 times a week.

Currently, Mexico Tourism Board’s social media presence is extremely unorganized. While they understand the advantage of being on social media, they do a poor job of creating an integrated campaign. The main problem is that they have different Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for specific regional offices around the United States. They also have different logos for each social media page. In order to achieve a more integrated social media presence, we plan on creating one Mexico Tourism Board page per social media platform: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and Google+. We believe that having different social media accounts for different regions confuses our audience and they will be able to engage better with us if we have one account per platform. Here is an example of what our Facebook page would look like with our new logo:

Print According to the Gusty Traveler, women make 80 percent of all travel decisions. Women make the travel decisions regardless of who they travel with, who pays for the trip or where they go. In accordance to this information, we are allocating 20 percent of our budget to National Women’s Magazines and 5 percent to National Men’s Magazines. An additional benefit to putting advertisements in National Women’s Magazines is that it has a cheaper cost per rating point than National Men’s Magazines. After running a Simmons, we determined that the best magazines to place advertisements in for women ages 25-44 are: Woman’s Day (180 index), Woman’s World (170 index), O, The Oprah Magazine (173 index) and Shape (161 index).

We also decided to put 5 percent of our budget to National Men’s Magazines because one of our secondary audiences is only male. According to Simmons, the best National Men’s Magazines to place advertisements in for men ages 35-54 is: Men’s Journal (156 index) and Men’s Fitness (170 index).

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During our periods of high intensity we will be slightly increase our year round content and add:

Spot Radio Drive Times We are allocating 8 percent of our media budget to spot radio drive times. Spot radio will give us the ability to target specific demographic areas during our two periods of high intensity. Since our target audiences work throughout the day, we believe that running radio advertisements during the morning (7 a.m.- 8 a.m.) and the evening (5 p.m.- 6 p.m.) driving times will be the most beneficial to our campaign.

We will run radio broadcasts in South and Pacific U.S. regions and more specifically: Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Riverside, California; San Diego, California; Portland, Oregon; Orlando, Florida; Tampa, Florida; and Houston, Texas.

Television We plan on allocating 46 percent of our budget to television.

This is divided up into four different categories: 18 percent cable television primetime, 13 percent spot cable television primetime, 9 percent national television primetime and 6 percent rerun syndicated television. We are also purchasing advertising space on the major award show: Grammy Awards.

We will be allocating 18 percent of our budget on cable television primetime.

We also decided to spend 13 percent of our budget on spot cable television. Using spot cable television will allow us to run advertisements in specific geographical areas to focus on our target audience during our two periods of high intensity. For women, we plan on placing advertisements on networks such as: ABC Family (132 index), TLC (123 index) and Bravo (123 index) and for males, we plan on placing advertisements on the networks: ESPN (157 index) and History (131 index). Running advertisements on ABC Family will also help us appeal to children. According to Simmons, households with children under the age of 18 are 121 times more likely to watch ABC family. The average child watches about four hours of television a day and is exposed to more than 20,000 commercials a year (American Academy of Pediatrics). According to The Future of Children, youths have become a huge market over the past couple of years because they have influence over billions of dollars of spending a year. Much of that money they have influence over will be spent on travel. According to a survey Corus Entertainment did, 92 percent of moms said they care about how their child feels when it comes to vacation decisions.

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We will spend 9 percent national television primetime because these are popular channels for people to receive their news. We will be specially targeting NBC because this station hosts the popular television show “The Voice”. This show currently has our spokesperson Pharrell Williams as a judge/coach, so we believe that it will create a positive spokesperson-brand relation.

We chose to target primetime national and cable television because it coincides with the time our target audiences will be home from work. Primetime television usually runs from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., which will give our consumers time for a family dinner before turning on the television.

We are also allocating 5 percent of our budget to rerun syndicated television shows because females are high consumers of this type of television. Since women are the ones who make a majority of the travel plans, we want to convince them that Mexico is where they should plan their trip. According to Simmons, women are more inclined to watch syndicated television shows about entertainment news (125 index) and talk/interview (133 index). We plan on placing ads on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “Live Kelly & Michael”. According to Variety, “The Ellen DeGeneres,” is one of the top syndicated talk shows for women 25-54, while zap2it reports that “Live Kelly & Michael” has had the largest year-to-year gains among the top-tier talk shows. Since syndicated television shows usually run during the daytime, we decided to purchase reruns because our primary and secondary audiences are working during the day.

The Grammy’s are also a perfect event to advertise on for three reasons. First of all, according to CNN, the Grammy’s attracted 28.5 million views in 2014. Second, this award show runs during our second campaign because it takes place during the first or second week of February. Lastly, we believe that the Grammy’s are a strategic place for us to advertise because they support our spokesperson Pharrell Williams. Pharrell Williams has won 11 Grammy’s and also performed during the 2015 Grammy Award show.

Outdoor Media We plan on advertising through billboards and ambient outdoor media during our two periods of high intensity. We believe that placing advertisements on billboards near airports will create a positive correlation between traveling and choosing Mexico. We will focus on areas near airports in South and Pacific U.S. regions. For ambient outdoor media, we plan on placing it in our targeted metropolitan cities: Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Riverside, California; San Diego, California; Portland, Oregon; Orlando, Florida; Tampa, Florida; and Houston, Texas. We will also be placing images on manhole covers to spark the interest of individuals around the city.

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Impact Media

Conventional Media

Total Media Spending

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Monthly Impact Media

Monthly Non-Impact Media

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creative plan sophie nathan | creative director

New Logo and Slogan: “Where Happiness Happens�

Old Logo:

New Logo:

The turtle is an ancient symbol that represents creation, endurance, determination, stability and longevity.

We incorporated the turtle into the Mexico Tourism Board logo because we want to show that Mexico has so much to offer. We will represent Mexico in a positive light and in a way that shows strength, happiness and determination.

Our logo is a turtle, which not only reminds people of the sea and paradise, but also happiness.

We want our target market to feel excited about taking a trip to Mexico. We hope that they will realize that Mexico is a safe, fun and adventurous place to travel. Mexico offers a wide variety of attractions for a wide variety of audiences. Mexico is the ultimate destination for families, newlyweds and businessmen because it offers something for everyone.

All of our advertisements will depict happiness. Our print advertisements will be two page-spreads and consist of the idea of choosing Mexico as the alternative route to happiness. Our commercials will also follow this outline by making Mexico seem like the best option in different situations (i.e. birthday presents or Christmas gifts). We created different print and commercial advertisements to target our specific primary and secondary audiences. We will also be running outdoor advertisements that will consist of billboards and ambient media. Lastly, we will be placing ads on the radio during popular drive times.

Commercial One with Storyboard This commercial is targeting our primary target market.

This commercial will begin with a 13-year-old girl named Megan giving a PowerPoint presentation. She is wearing a suit and trying to look as professional as possible. Megan is presenting what she wants for her birthday this year. She is giving this presentation to her parents and her six-year-old brother.

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Scene 1

The opening scene is of Megan giving her presentation, in hopes of obtaining all the gifts she wants for her birthday.

Scene 2

Megan is talking to her parents and her six-year-old brother.

The emotions on her family’s faces indicate that they are afraid that the presents she is asking for will not be ideal for the family.

Scene 3

Megan asks her mother for a pony. She is an avid horseback rider; however, her mother still thinks that this is an absurd birthday present. Most importantly, the mother pictures the pony making a huge mess inside the house, and of course she would be the one to clean up the mess.

Scene 4

Megan asks her father for some new, and more scandalous clothing. The father’s eyes almost pop out of his head in shock. He immediately pictures his daughter dressed like a 21-year-old. He knows that he cannot agree to this present because he is not ready for his “little girl” to grow up yet.

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Scene 5

The girl asks both her parents for a new makeup set. Her parents immediately picture her younger brother covered in all of her old makeup. If they get her new makeup, she will just have more of an excuse to mess with her little brother. Of course they cannot do that, they need to protect their son.

Scene 6

Lastly, Megan asks for a trip to Mexico. Automatically everyone starts to smile and can only imagine positive and happy things associated with Mexico.

Scene 7

The last scene will promote Mexico’s versatility. It will show that there is something for every member of the family to enjoy. Megan can swim in the ocean, her brother can swim with dolphins, her can mother can relax on the beach and her father can adventure off and explore ancient historical sites.

Scene 8

Megan’s birthday wishes can’t make everyone happy, but traveling to Mexico can. Travel where happiness happens.

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Scene 9

The Mexico Tourism Board logo will appear across the screen including the call to action to visit ww.visitmexico.com.

Commercial Two with Storyboard This commercial is also targeting our primary target market.

An eight-year-old boy named Tyler writes a list to Santa of all the presents he wants for Christmas. The focus of the commercial will be on his mother reading each item on the list and imagining what would happen if Santa were to bring him each of these gifts. This will air during our high intensity times only, which happens to be in December, which is just around the holidays.

Scene 1

Tyler is sitting in his room thinking about what he wants to ask Santa for this Christmas.

Scene 2

Before mailing the letter to the North Pole, his mother decides to look at it to see what Tyler asked for. The first thing on the list is a turtle.

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Scene 3

The mother is scared that if Santa brings Tyler a turtle he will get bored with it. Turtles are not known to be the most fun animals to have as your pet. She thinks that this is not the best pet for him because he would not be able to play with it.

Scene 4

The next thing on the list is new Legos.

Scene 5

The mother knows how many Legos Tyler already has because she buys him new ones all the time. She is worried that there will not be any more space in his room and it will create a bigger mess.

Scene 6

The next thing on the list is a Nerf Gun.

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Scene 7

The mother knows that this is the most popular toy among young boys these days, but guns worry her. She fears that he will shoot the gun around the house and break something.

Scene 8

The last thing on his list is a trip to Mexico.

Scene 9

The mom can only think of positive and fun things associated with this present. Tyer’s Christmas list can’t make everyone happy, but traveling to Mexico can. Travel where happiness happens.

Scene 10

The Mexico Tourism Board logo will appear across the screen including the call to action to visit ww.visitmexico.com.

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Commercial Three with Storyboard This commercial is going to target one of our secondary target audiences: the newlywed vacationing couple.

This commercial will show a woman and her husband who have been married for almost one year. She wants her first anniversary to be one to remember. She gives him a list of things that will make her happy, but with every gift, he knows he can do something to mess it up. Her last idea, a trip to Mexico, is something he can get right. He knows that his wife will be happy and he will be too.

Scene 1

The opening scene will show the husband and wife talking, and then all of a sudden the wife brings up the fact that their anniversary is coming up. She gives him a list of items, but he pictures himself messing each one of them up in one way or another.

Scene 2

He thinks that by getting her a nice piece of jewelry, she is bound to be happy. But, he worries that he will not get her something that she wanted.

Scene 3

He thinks that getting her a brand new dress, especially one she could wear out to dinner the night of their anniversary, would make her smile. But, he is worried that he does not know her dress size. He is scared the dress might be too big, which will make her feel fat and self-conscious.

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Scene 4

He thinks that it would be a good idea to buy his wife a brand new pair of shoes. He is not the most fashionable man, so he is unaware of the fact that buying boots in the summer was not the best idea. It also makes her feel even worse because now she thinks that her husband bought her present on sale.

Scene 5

His last gift idea is a winner. He knows that there is no way he could mess this gift up and is something they can both enjoy.

He is certain that this is the perfect gift, and the one he is going to give his wife for their anniversary.

Scene 6

This scene will depict a very happy couple, enjoying their time in Mexico. A bad anniversary gift won’t make you happy, but traveling to Mexico will. Travel where happiness happens.

Scene 7

The Mexico Tourism Board logo will appear across the screen including the call to action to visit ww.visitmexico.com.

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Commercial Four with Storyboard This commercial will focus on one of our secondary target markets: the successful, traveling bussinessman.

This commercial will show a businessman and all of the distractions he faces during his typical business meetings. He then considers what would happen if he had his meetings in Mexico and can only think of positive things.

Scene 1

This scene will show a group of businessmen in the office.

They will be in the middle of a business meeting and all of a sudden our main business man gets very anxious. He feels trapped and overwhelmed from being in such a small room with so many other people.

Scene 2

This scene will have the businessman spinning on his chair and being very uncomfortable. It will show how much he loses his train of thought when he is so fixated on trying to be comfortable. He also feels pressure because he worries that his clients are feeling uncomfortable too.

Scene 3

He also realizes how much he hates having to wear a suit every time he goes to work. This gets him thinking.

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Scene 4

This closing scene shows how much happier he is having his business meeting outside of the typical office. He realizes that he can take his co-workers or clients golfing or to enjoy a meeting in a hotel overlooking the beautiful Mexico beaches.

Boring meetings can’t make your clients or co-workers happy, but Mexico can. Travel where happiness happens.

Scene 5

This closing scene shows how much happier he is having his business meeting outside of the typical office. He realizes that he can take his co-workers or clients golfing or to enjoy a meeting in a hotel overlooking the beautiful Mexico beaches.

Boring meetings can’t make your clients or co-workers happy, but traveling to Mexico can. Travel where happiness happens.

Scene 6

The Mexico Tourism Board logo will appear across the screen including the call to action to visit ww.visitmexico.com.

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Print Advertisements Print Ad 1 This print advertisement is going to relate to the commercial that is geared toward our secondary target market, which includes the businessman. This will show a picture that correlates directly to the commercial, and viewers will be able to recognize this and feel a stronger connection to him, which will hopefully encourage them to plan their next trip to Mexico.

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Print Ad 2 This print advertisement is going to relate to the commercial that is geared toward our secondary target market, which includes the businessman. This will show a picture that correlates directly to the commercial, and viewers will be able to recognize this and feel a stronger connection to him, which will hopefully encourage them to plan their next trip to Mexico.

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Print Ad 3 This advertisement will be geared toward our primary target market and our secondary target market, the young honeymooners. Since our primary target audience already has kids and our young honeymooners are planning on having kids, this advertisement will resonate with them. It will also be great for advertising during the holidays.

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Ambient Media If we incorporate our logo onto manhole covers throughout the city, we believe that it will not go unnoticed. We want to place our logo on manhole covers in all of our target metropolitan cities. When a pedestrian encounters the manhole covers on the street, they will not be able to avoid it. They will be curious as to what the turtle stands for and will reasarch our company.

Billboard

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Radio Spot Radio is an important component of our media plan. We plan to reach individuals across the United States with our radio advertisements during rush hour travel times. However, this poses a unique challenge. We must be able to capture the listeners’ attention before they become bored, impatient and frustrated and decide to change the station. According to Valerie Geller, author of Creating Powerful Radio, humor and finishing each other’s sentences are two ways that are incredibly effective in terms of creating powerful dialogue and capturing an audience’s attention. Therefore, we plan to use a combination of these two strategies to ensure a positive reception of our message.

Our radio concept is similar to that of our television and print ads. We want to make sure that our creative work is interwoven so that consumers are able to receive our messages through a variety of mediums, in a variety of ways. For our particular radio ad we want to incorporate ideas similar to the “Don’t Just Visit New York” 2014 Trip Advisor TV commercial.

The “Don’t Just Visit New York” Trip Advisor Commercial features two men on a split screen talking about their hotel rooms. Their dialogue is overlapping, with the exception of a few contrasting words, such as careful and careless. The commercial is meant to depict the drastic difference in both of the individuals travel experiences. The man who booked through TripAdvisor was the one who had the amazing vacation, as opposed to the individual who did not book through TripAdvisor who had a horrible time. This commercial is funny, yet relevant, informative and clear. We plan to use this concept and create a radio ad that features contrasting experiences between those families who decide to travel to Mexico and those who decide to stay at home and get their children the gifts they asked for on their wish list (during the holidays or for their birthdays). Those who decide to travel will sound like they had a great time. In opposition, those who decide to settle will sound stressed, upset and unhappy with their decision. Therefore, we can create overlapping dialogue to depict the differences in experiences and end the commercial with, “Don’t settle. Travel where happiness happens. Travel to Mexico.”

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public relations & promotions plan alisa lollino | pr and promotions director

Overview Through public relation and promotion efforts, we will aid the Mexico Tourism Board in overcoming the negative reputation Mexico has received over the past years due to violence and crime. We plan to implement the “where happiness happens” tagline through partnerships, promotions and planned media events. Together we will strive to be transparent and build strong relationships with our media contacts and stakeholders. We also plan to put promotions and partnerships into effect that will shed a positive light on Mexico. Through this, we will ensure Americans that traveling to Mexico will bring nothing but happiness.

Strategy We are proposing that Mexico Tourism Board hosts a charity event partnered with the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation that will feature a performance of “Happy” by spokesperson Pharrell Williams. In addition, we plan to partner with Corona beer at a booth at the California Beer Festival, present an Instagram photo contest and sweepstake and announce a new app for Mexico Tourism Board. Through these efforts, we hope to reach out to our media contacts and appease our stakeholders for mutual success.

We will showcase Mexico tourism in a positive light and emphasize the happiness aspect we are focusing on. With these efforts, we will increase Mexico tourism and revitalize the reputation that has been tarnished by isolated crime in certain areas of Mexico. Our main priority is to convey that these events are not representative of all of Mexico and that traveling to Mexico is where happiness happens.

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Current Public Opinion It is crucial that we, along with the Mexico Tourism Board, monitor the recent public opinion and facts of Mexico tourism. In recent times, crime and violence has overshadowed the happiness that Mexico travel has to offer. But, while there is an overbearing negative connotation surrounding traveling to Mexico, mostly only border cities and major trafficking routes see the level of violence that is portrayed in the media.

Mexico offers more culture, authentic food and nice resorts with nice beaches than most other tourist destinations. Out of 88 respondents who have traveled to Mexico, travelers are more than likely to return to Mexico.

Main U.S. tourist destinations and cities in Mexico are not only safe, but are also safer than many other tourist destinations around the world; Mexico ranks 21 in homicide rates.

Through our efforts, we are sure that we can overcome the negative association with Mexico tourism and ensure that American travelers have the safest and happiest trip.

According our survey, respondents thought different things when they heard the word “Mexico”. Here are our findings:

Words Respondents Think of When They Hear “Mexico” Other (unsafe, kidnapping, fiesta) Mayan Ruins Political Unrest Unsafe Water Words Immigrants Alcohol Consumption Drug War Mexican Food Beaches Vacation 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Number of Respondents

60

90 100

News Coverage Shaping Public Opinion It is imperative that we regularly monitor the news stories about Mexico in the media. We must be familiar with what is going on, where it is going on and how it would effect our present and future travelers. By staying up to date with the media coverage, Mexico Tourism Board will remain transparent and address any news that is relevant and important to its travelers. This will not only build a trustworthy relationship, but also clear up any misrepresentations. Supplied are news articles that shape public opinion: “Safety Versus Savings in Mexico” By: Michelle Higgins, New York Times December 26, 2010

“Despite violence in parts of Mexico, Mexico City remains safe for Americans” By: Dolia Estevez, Forbes January 14, 2014

“Are tourists safe in Mexico or America?”

By: Robert Reid, Huffington Post Travel May 10, 2012

“Texas warns travelers to avoid Mexico” By: Laura Bly, USA Today March 7, 2012

“Drug war continues but most of Mexico is safe for travel and business, experts say” By: Andrew O’Reilly, Fox News Latino November 25, 2013

“Mexico: a guide to which part are safe to travel to, and which are dangerous” By: Andrea Sachs, The Washington Post December 16, 2011

Stakeholders The Mexico Tourism Board has many stakeholders that influence its success. The same stakeholders also have mutual interest in the success of Mexico tourism. We will ensure that Mexico Tourism Board works with these stakeholders and establish partnerships to maintain a positive image of Mexico and work with them to get travelers excited to travel.

Travel Industry Partners Airlines, hotel chains, cruise lines and travel agencies all rely on Mexico as one of their sources of business. When travelers are worried about the safety in Mexico, they may not choose to travel there.

We will work with The Mexico Tourism Board and travel industry partners to encourage travel to Mexico because increased tourism will be mutually beneficial for both parties.

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Government Agencies The U.S. department of State and the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico regularly monitors and disperses information on the state of safety in Mexico. They strive to keep Americans safe and in turn the Mexico Tourism Board will strive to keep Americans safe who choose to travel there. The Mexican Embassies, Chambers of Commerce and the Secretariat of Tourism relies on tourism for a decent amount of their government revenue. The success and prevalence of American tourism to Mexico is crucial to the success of their government and economy. We will work with them to make sure American travelers are getting the safest accommodations. Also, it is crucial to relay any safety information that is relevant to American travelers. This will be key in maintaining mutual success for both parties.

Current and Future Travelers The Mexico Tourism Board will provide travelers to Mexico with all the information possible to get potential travelers to visit Mexico and persuade past travelers to keep returning. From safety information to accommodations, The Mexico Tourism board will use its resources to build a relationship with travelers and create a conversation about past and future “happy” experiences.

Without travelers, Mexico tourism does not thrive. They are one of our biggest stakeholders; we are doing all of this for travelers, to get them to visit the beautiful Mexico.

The Media It is crucial that the Mexico Tourism Board works with the media to create a good relationship. The media is strongly influential on potential travelers. The Mexico Tourism Board wants the media to cover the good aspects of tourism in Mexico and also truthful information about any safety concerns that may put their travelers’ safety in jeopardy.

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Public Relations and Promotions Tactics Partnerships We plan to establish partnerships that will not only be synonymous with our brand and market, but also equally beneficial for both parties.

National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation Mexico Tourism Board will establish a partnership with the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation that will be representative of our new logo, the turtle, and tagline, “where happiness happens.”

Why we chose the turtle and this tagline is further explained in the Creative Plan, but we wanted to create a brand around happiness, which is what a sea turtle represents. Partnering with this foundation will give the Mexico Tourism Board an opportunity to create a positive public opinion and an opportunity to partake in something that will create positive press in the media. We will hold a charity event with this foundation featuring our spokesperson and have an Instagram contest surrounding this partnership. These efforts will revitalize the reputation of Mexico and will also be monetarily beneficial for the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation.

Spokesperson We chose a spokesperson who is not only relatable and likable with each of our target markets, but also someone who will represent all of our efforts around our campaign tagline, “where happiness happens.” Hence, we chose Pharrell Williams. Pharrell Williams is the singer behind the hit song, “Happy”. The music video starring Pharrell, other celebrities and the general public, has nearly 640 millions views on YouTube, and the Despicable Me 2 lyric video has a little more than 95 millions views. This song is a worldwide phenomenon, as Pharrell started a “happiness” movement all over the world. Not only does Pharrell have a respectable reputation, but his song expresses the happiness that traveling to Mexico could bring.

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In a “New York Times” article, Williams said, “Our time on this earth is not infinite. We need to welcome any opportunity to smile and can’t afford to waste one second. There’s real purpose in our desire for happiness — it’s not silly or even selfish to pursue it.”

At our charity event for the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation, Pharrell will perform his song, which will encourage people to come to the event. He will also speak about traveling to Mexico and tell the audience exactly what he said above — Life is short, do things that make you happy and travel to Mexico.

Corona Partnership Based on our survey findings, Mexico Tourism Board will have a partnership with Corona because our target markets highly associate Corona with Mexico. When asked what brand they associate with Mexico, an overwhelmingly amount of respondents chose Corona. In addition, a Simmons analysis showed that individuals who drink Corona are 70 percent more likely than the rest of the U.S. population to take a trip to Mexico. With this sponsorship, we plan to run an Instagram sweepstake and have a booth at the California Beer Festival.

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Planned Media Events We plan these events to create positive press for Mexico tourism. We hope that these events will represent our brand and resonate with our specific target markets. Our consumers will receive our message more positively and strongly due to these events.

Corona Beer Booth at the California Beer Festival Because of Mexico Tourism Board’s partnership with Corona, there will be a Mexico Tourism Board booth that will be sponsored by Corona at the California Beer Festival. This festival is the largest traveling beer festival in the U.S. It includes craft breweries tastings, local cuisine and live entertainment. This festival attracts our target markets, so it is the ideal place to showcase the Mexico Tourism Board.

This festival is August 7 through August 9 in Aptos Village Park, Santa Cruz, California. One of our geographical target markets is San Francisco, California, which is only an hour away from this festival.

The booth will be selling Corona beer and giving away Mexico Tourism Board merchandise: t-shirts, hats and water bottles. People can also pick up flyers and pamphlets for Mexico Tourism Board.

Mexico Tourism Board will draw in business by capitalizing on our relationship with Corona. We will connect with our target audience by creating strong ties with a company that is highly identifiable and respectable. For instance, young newlyweds or a group of friends could be more inclined to see the booth, buy a beer and choose that they are going to plan a vacation. This event is also during one of our high intensity advertising periods.

Corona Partnership Press Conference A press conference will be held to announce the partnership with Corona beer and the events associated with it. This will take place in San Francisco, California, which is one of our target markets and an hour away from the California Beer Festival location. We plan to invite relevant media contacts to cover this event.

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National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation Charity Event featuring Spokesperson Pharrell We have also planned a charity event with the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation; attendees will include CEO of Mexico Tourism Board Rodolfo Lopez, members of the foundation and invited general public. For $50 a plate, the event will include food, drink, raffles and giveaways. All of the proceeds of the event will go to the foundation. The Instagram contest will also be announced at the end of this event.

This event supports our campaign, “where happiness happens,� because of the brand recognition of our turtle. We are relaying to our public that we are trying to better the reputation of Mexico tourism.

Through a speech and presentation by Pharrell, Mexico tourism will receive good press, while donating to a great cause.

Synonymous with our media efforts, this event will take place after advertisements play during the Grammy Awards in February. We chose this timing because in recent years Pharrell has been a big part of music award shows. Having him make a debut at our event after he is in the spotlight at an award show will bring more awareness. This event will take place in Tampa, Florida; this area was chosen not only because it is one of our target areas but also because National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation is based in Florida.

National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation Press Conference A press conference will be held to announce the partnership event with National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation and spokesperson, Pharrell Williams. We will also announce the Instagram contest. The press conference will take place is Tampa, Florida in late January. Relevant media contacts will be invited to cover this event.

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PR Stunt A stunt will be executed in a few of our target market areas: San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; and Houston, Texas. We will create a large fake turtle and have it driven around on a platform that will be attached to a flatbed truck. The truck will drive around the city, making stops where it will give out free Mexico Tourism Board merchandise: t-shirts, water bottles and hats. We created merchandise to not only have another way of advertisement but to relate to our audience.

This stunt will be executed in early October, which is one of our high intensity periods. The truck will drive around starting at 12 p.m. and end at 4 p.m. During these time periods, we will not only get the attention of adults on their typical lunch break, but also families after school is dismissed.

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Promotions Having our contest and sweepstake synonymous with our planned events is crucial for our success. Through these promotions, we will take brand awareness to the next level, while also encouraging people to travel to Mexico.

Corona Instagram Sweepstakes For our Corona partnership, we will hold an Instagram photo sweepstakes that will be free advertising for Corona. The rules of this sweepstakes will be as follows: 1. Post a photo on Instagram with your Corona and

something that makes you happy. (i.e.

a Corona and a beach) 2. Hashtag your photo #whatmakesyouhappy 3. Tag Mexico Tourism Board and Corona, and make

sure you are following both of the

businesses on Instagram Submissions that do not follow the above criteria will not be considered. Three winners will be chosen at random. The main winner will receive a free round-trip plane fare for two people to a destination in Mexico. The two runner-ups will receive free merchandise.

This sweepstake will start in the beginning of August to kick off our campaign advertisements and will last two weeks. We chose this timing because we wanted an initiative that coincides with our Corona beer booth and also our advertisements at the same time.

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National Save a Sea Turtle Instagram Contest For the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation partnership, we will hold a photo contest that will raise money for the foundation. This will create a greater incentive for Instagram users to participate. The rules of this contest will be as follows: 1. Post a photo that has something to do with a turtle: a drawing, a picture, a turtle

sandcastle, a turtle costume, etc.

2. Hashtag your photo #treasuretheturtles 3. Tag Mexico Tourism Board and make sure you are following the Instagram account Submissions that do not follow the above criteria will not be considered. Winners will be chosen based on photo creativity and originality. The first place winner will win a free round-trip plane fare for two people to a destination in Mexico. The two runner-ups will receive free merchandise. For each photo posted to Instagram that follow the above three rules, Mexico Tourism Board will donate five cents to the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation.

This contest will start right after our event for the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation and last for two weeks. We will announce it at our event.

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Mexico Tourism Board Phone Application In order to enhance traveler’s knowledge of various activities in Mexico, we plan to create an application to accompany our website. This application will serve as a “Mexico Tourism Bucket List” so to speak. The user will be able to log into the application and input general user information and location, in addition to likes and dislikes. After inputting personal information, the application will allow users to view activities, sites and restaurants available to them in Mexico; all of the information that is presented to the user is catered to their preferences. As they scroll through the list of activities, users are able to select what interests them and add it to their “Bucket List.”

Consumers are also able to view more information on specific activities by simply clicking on the activity, such as hours, prices, location, etc. We hope that this application helps individuals accomplish what they are looking to do in Mexico. In addition, we hope to benefit both our consumer and partnership economically with the application. We plan to have promotional incentives offered within the application, similar to the food application Hooked. Hooked presents its users with restaurants in the area that are offering discounts on certain food items. We plan to use this idea to offer discounts on activities, if they are found and pursued after using our application.

For instance, if a user inputs their personal information, decides they want to go horseback riding, selects “Rancho Baaxal”, and adds it to their “Bucket List” they are able to show up at the location, present their selection to the cashier and receive the designated discount, such as 10 percent off the total price to horseback ride. Additionally, we plan to donate to 5 cents the National Save the Sea Turtles Foundation the every time the application is used for transaction (i.e. booking a zip lining drip, eating at a local restaurant, etc.).

Media Relations Strategy The media is crucial to the continuing success of Mexico tourism. Every person who consumes negative or positive media about Mexico is a potential traveler. What kind of media they consume could make or break whether they to choose travel to Mexico. Maintaining an honest and strong relationship with our media contacts will allow Mexico to be represented fairly. We want Mexico to be represented in a way that not only covers the honest truth about safety issues, but also covers the great things and happiness Mexico has to offer.

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We will relay any safety and breaking news information that is happening in Mexico that could potentially be harmful to American travelers and other relevant publics. By being transparent with reporters, editors, bloggers and stakeholders, Mexico will improve its image and build a positive relationship with all of our media contacts. When they see that we are trying to improve the safety of our travelers, they will represent Mexico in a more positive light.

We will encourage media to cover our events by inviting relevant contacts to press conferences. Telling the media all the information we have, whether it be event details or breaking news of a crime in Mexico, is crucial in creating the strong relationship. When they create true and positive press, both parties win. Even if Mexico Tourism Board needs to address something negative that has happened in Mexico, they will relay any information that may harm American travelers.

Press Kits and Media Contacts can be located in the Appendix.

PR and Promotions Budget Most of the PR and Promotion Plan’s budget will be put toward the spokesperson, app design, venue cost and event marketing. The chart below is a general breakdown of how the budget will be allocated.

PR and Promotions Budget Spokesperson Press Kit App Design Media Relations Promotions & Sweepstakes Venue Cost Event Marketing Sales Promotion

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appendix

media contacts Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Contact: Brian E. Clark- Madison-based writer and photographer who contributes to a number of papers, including the Los Angeles Times, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and St. Louis Post-Dispatch Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Travel Phone Number: (414) 224-2144

Wisconsin Public Radio (The Joy Cardin Show) Contact: Joy’s producers Bill Martens, Christie Taylor and Kayla Blado Email: talk@wpr.org Phone: 800-642-1234

Wisconsin Public Television (Travels and Traditions)

Contact: Burt Wolf- Host and Author of nine television series that deal with cultural history, travel and gastronomy (http://www.burtwolf. com/contact/ - personal contact for Burt Wolf )

Email: comments@wpt.org (Audience Services for WPT)

The Daily Cardinal

Contact: Claire Satterfield, Life & Style Editor Phone: (608) 262-8000

CNN

Contact: Greg Botelho- Newsdesk Editor, Travel News Website Contact Form: http://www.cnn.com/ feedback

“Nomadic” Matt

Contact: Matthew Kepnes- Travel Blogger Email: matt@nomadicmatt.com

ABC News

Contact: Genevieve Shaw Brown- Travel & Lifestyle Editor Email: GennyShaw@gmail.com

American Way (American Airlines Magazine) Contact: Anna Fialho- Senior Editor and Writer Email: anna.fialho@aa.com

Travel Channel

Contact: Ben Breslerman- Blogger for the Travel Channel Website Contact Form: http://travelchannel. custhelp.com/app/ask

New York Times

Contact: Elaine Glusac- Writer for New York Times and the National Geographic Email: eglu@elaineglusac.com

Condé Nast Traveler

Contact: Juliana Shallcross- Managing Editor at HotelChatter, VegasChatter and Jaunted (Condé Nast) Website Email: communications@condenast. com

BBC World News

Contact: Anita Isalska- Freelance Copywriter, digital content expert and travel specialist Email: anita@anitaedits.com

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Frommer’s: The Travel Show

Contact: Arthur and Pauline Formmer- Writers for a travel guidebook series Website Contact Form: http://www.frommers. com/contact_us#sthash.09a9lUEl.dpbs

Lonely Planet

Contact: Etain O’Carroll- Travel Writer and Photographer Email: etainocarroll@gmail.com

Peter Greenberg Travel Detective Contact: Loretta Copeland- Manager of Operations and Administration for Peter Greenberg Travel Detective Email: loretta@petergreenberg.com

Travel + Leisure Magazine

Contact: Shane Mitchell- Travel + Leisure Correspondent Email: tleditor@timeinc.com- This is not Shane Mitchell’s personal email address. This email address is for pitching a story to Travel + Leisure Magazine.

AFAR Magazine

Contact: Julia Cosgrove- AFAR Editor Email: julia@afar.com

Ytravel Blog

Contact: Caz and Craig Makepeace- creators of Y Travel blog Email:cazcraig@ytravelblog.com

A Luxury Travel Blog

Contact: Dr. Paul Johnson- A member of the Professional Travel Bloggers Association and founder of A Luxury Travel Blog Website Contact Form: http://www. aluxurytravelblog.com/contact-us/ 74

Adventure Journal

Contact: Steve Casimior- Writer, Photographer, Editor and Founder of Adventure Journal Email: steve@adventure-journal.com

FOX Travel

Contact: Lyn Mettler- Indianapolis, Ind.-based travel writer for FOX Travel and owner of the blog: Go to Travel Gal Email: lyn@gototravelgal.com

Adventurous Kate’s Solo Female Travel Blog Contact: Kate McCulley- Professional Travel Blogger and Freelance Travel Writer Email: Kate@adventurouskate.com

The Travelling Light (Travel Blog)

Contact: Katie- Creator, The Travelling Light Email: hello@thetravellinglight.com

Expert Vagabond

Contact: Matthew Karsten, Creator Email: matt@expertvagabond.com

Fodor’s Travel

Contact: Michael Alan Connelly- Editor of Fodor’s Travel Email: mconnelly@fodors.com

Corona

backgrounders

The Mexico Tourism Board has partnered with Corona to present a booth at the California Beer Festival from August 7 through August 9 in Santa Cruz. They will also announce an Instagram sweepstakes featuring both partners during this event. This is aimed to get our audience excited about Mexico tourism and to create stronger brand awareness.

National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation

The Mexican Tourism Board has partnered with the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation to put on a charity event with spokesperson Pharrell Williams. All proceeds of the charity event will go towards the foundation. Also, an Instagram contest will be announced. This event will refine public opinion of Mexico tourism and increase brand awareness of our turtle logo, all while helping to save the turtles.

Mexico Tourism Board Fact Sheet RR RR RR RR RR RR RR RR

Established in 1999 as a non-profit organization Serves as an extension of Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism The MTB has 23 overseas offices located in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia Geraldo Llanes Alvarez is the Executive Director of Marketing for the MTB and Cecilia Cruz is the MTB’s Meetings Executive Director Travelers are especially attracted to Mexico’s beaches and resorts. Other areas of interest for travel are destination weddings (top international destination for U.S. market), luxury (number 2 in luxury travel) and the cultural experience Mexico offers At the end of the first semester of 2014, international tourists surpassed 14.2 million which was a new record (Journey Mexico). The number of U.S. tourists (Mexico’s largest consumer) was up and is projected to jump from 6 to 6.1 million visitors in 2015 (Mexico Tourism Report) 3rd largest foreign exchange earner for Mexico contributing to 13.3% of the total GDP and 14.2% of total employment (World Travel and Tourism Council) Tourism should continue to grow as President Nieto plans to invest $13.8 billion in tourism in the upcoming years (Mexico Tourism Report)

Corona Beer Fact Sheet RR RR RR RR RR RR RR RR

Founded in 1925 in Mexico City by Grupo Modelo Light pale beer, 4.6% alcohol level, light yellowish color, clear bottle Became the number one imported beer in 1997 Number one selling Mexican beer and fourth best selling worldwide Available to purchase in 150 countries All beer is brewed at seven different Modelo breweries in Mexico Corona means crown Sponsorships include LPGA tour called the Corona Championship, NASCAR in Mexico, soccer teams in Mexico and volleyball in Canada.

RR Corona is a major promoter of Cinco De Mayo in Mexico 75

National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation Fact Sheet: • • • • • • • •

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Founded in 1987, non-profit organization Located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Provides education programs, promotes public awareness of ecosystems of sea turtles in Florida, all of the U.S. and abroad There is an education program, youth conservation program, exhibits, outreach opportunities and scholarship programs Sea turtles are the largest air-breathing reptiles that live in cool-water oceans Sea turtles are protected by federal and state laws It is a very difficult process for turtles to incubate their eggs ashore Award tens of thousands to grad students to research sea turtles in their program

Corona Beer Partnership Press Release

Issued By: Office of the Mexico Tourism Board, Public Relations Director at Sigma PR Contact: Alisa Lollino, alollino@wisc.edu, (708) 522-3828 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 6, 2015 Mexico Tourism Board announces advantageous partnership with Corona beer SAN FRANCISCO – Corona beer and the Mexico Tourism Board have teamed up to present a beer booth at the California Beer Festival from August 7 through August 9. At this event, we will sell merchandise and beer to promote brand awareness.

In this partnership, Mexico Tourism Board will have a booth at a three-day festival in Santa Cruz, California, which will be sponsored by Corona beer. At this booth, festivalgoers can buy Corona beer, receive free Mexico Tourism Board merchandise and learn more about Mexico tourism.

The California Beer Festival is the largest traveling three-day beer festival that includes craft breweries, local cuisine and live entertainment. Each day of the festival includes something different; Friday is an exclusive tasting event for food and beer, Saturday is the craft beer tasting and Sunday is the Hamburger & Hops Music Festival.

“Mexico Tourism Board is incredibly excited to team up with Corona at the California Beer Festival,” CEO of Mexico Tourism Board Rodolfo Lopez said. “We believe that we can reach out to our public in an upbeat way and show them the fun and happiness that traveling to Mexico has to offer.”

Corona beer is the top selling beer from Mexico and among the top five selling beers worldwide. The beer is available in 150 countries and is the number one selling Mexican beer in the country.

At the festival, which is at Aptos Village Park, the Instagram sweepstakes associated with this partnership will be announced to festivalgoers and on social media outlets. People can post photos of anything that makes them happy and their Corona, tag Mexico Tourism Board and Corona and hashtag the photo “#whatmakesyouhappy.”

Each post will be put into a raffle and three winners will be chosen at random. The main winner will receive a free round-trip plane fare for two people to a destination in Mexico of their choosing. The other two runner-ups will receive free merchandise. ###

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National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation Partnership Press Release Issued By: Office of the Mexico Tourism Board, Public Relations Director at Sigma PR Contact: Alisa Lollino, alollino@wisc.edu, (708) 522-3828 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 6, 2015 Mexico Tourism Board announces beneficial partnership with the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation TAMPA, Fla. – In their partnership with National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation, the Mexico Tourism Board will host a charity event in February starring spokesperson Pharrell Williams. They will also announce an Instagram contest that will donate money to the foundation.

Mexico Tourism Board will host a charity event in Tampa, Florida and will include raffles, giveaways, food and drink. All the proceeds from this event will be donated directly toward the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation. Pharrell Williams, singer of the song “Happy,” will perform and speak about this foundation and Mexico tourism.

“We are very excited about this partnership and the upcoming event. The Mexico Tourism Board is doing great things for this foundation,” lifelong member Kevin Gibson said. “This partnership is mutually beneficial; they are helping us save the sea turtles and we are helping them positively represent their new campaign. This is a step in the right direction for both of us.”

Founded in 1987, this foundation’s mission is to research, educate and preserve the ecosystems of sea turtles. The National Save a Sea Turtle foundation supports the people who tirelessly work day-in and day-out for the sea turtles in both the Florida marine eco-systems and abroad.

Expected attendees of this event will include CEO of Mexico Tourism Board Rodolfo Lopez, Pharrell Williams, members of the National Save a Sea Turtle Foundation and invited general public.

Pharrell Williams, hip-hop and R&B singer-songwriter, will be the spokesperson for this event representing the Mexico Tourism Board. Williams will speak about the happiness that he stands for and how unique traveling to Mexico is. He will then perform his song, “Happy.”

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“I am extremely excited to be the spokesperson for the Mexico Tourism Board. I love helping a great cause,” Williams said. “I am a big encourager of happiness, and Mexico Tourism Board is doing great things to initiate this movement. Together we can make a difference, increase worldwide happiness and save the turtles.”

After the event, the Instagram contest will be announced. People can post photos of anything surrounding turtles, tag Mexico tourism board and hashtag “#treasureyourturtles.” The first place winner will receive a free round-trip plane fare for two people to Mexico of their choosing. The two runner-ups will receive free Mexico Tourism Board merchandise. For each photo posted, Mexico Tourism Board will donate five cents to the foundation. ###

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