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CASE STUDY NAPA TOURISM IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

Breathing Life Into a Struggling Destination

Assignment • Improve visitor sentiment • Increase awareness of everything the Downtown

area has to offer • Boost visitation with a focus on midweek • Drive business to downtown shops and restaurants • Turn day trippers into overnight guests

Discovery Findings/Key InsightsThe Good Stuff

• International awareness of Napa Valley • Napa Valley is well-respected worldwide for the

quality of its wines

The Not-So-Good Stuff • While Napa Valley enjoys high awareness and a

positive reputation, Downtown Napa has minimal awareness

• Negative reviews in the press and on social media

• Empty streets, vacant storefronts and restaurants struggling to stay afloat

• Minimal mid-week visitation

Solutions • Improved downtown’s tourism product by filling

the empty storefronts - Work with local artists and set up working

studios in the vacant shops

• Repositioned the Downtown area as a “Must Do” destination for art, culture and events

• Produced and promoted “Overnight Kits” to turn day trippers into overnight guests

- Kits consisted of cool canvas bags with everything a day visitor would need to spend the night (oversized T-shirt/night-shirt; hairbrush; toothbrush and toothpaste; Woolite detergent; contact lens case and cleaning solution; area map, pocket guide to local restaurants, major events and activities

- Promoted kits with POP at local stores, restaurants and at the Visitor Center

- Distributed through the Visitor Center

• Increased mid-week visitation and drove traffic to local restaurants with a bi-monthly “Culinary Crawl” event where visitors and locals take a guided sampling tour of Downtown restaurants

• Used PR and social media to boost awareness of everything the Downtown area has to offer

• Used PR and FAM tours as a means of generating positive press and rave reviews—thereby improving visitor sentiment

Results • The agency’s efforts facilitated the opening of

30 new businesses in the downtown area. There are no remaining vacant storefronts

• The Overnight Kits have provided $236,000 in incremental business for downtown area hotels

• PR and social media efforts resulted in positive reviews as well as national coverage on The Today Show. The campaigns also dramatically improved visitor sentiment

• Agency campaigns boosted overnight visitation and visitor spending year-over-year. This resulted in record Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) collections—an increase of 88.06% year-over-year in six years, with continued growth expected in the foreseeable future

Overnight KitBrand Development

Brand Guidelines Website Design and Development

Print Campaign