A Couple of Chicks' Canadian Destination Benchmarking Program Announces Partnership with Ted Rogers Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Research at Ryerson University
Toronto, ON (PRWEB) August 28, 2013 -- Award winning digital marketing company, A Couple of Chicks, has teamed up with Ryerson University and the Ted Rogers Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Research to add further social media reporting to the Canadian Destination Benchmarking Report Program. The DMO online benchmarking program was first implemented at the Online Revealed Conference in May of 2012 in partnership with US based destination marketing firm, Miles Partnership.
The program has since evolved to measure the success of destination websites and social media marketing for 23 Canadian DMOs from across Canada. Benchmarking of website and social media analytics allows destinations to measure success metrics against each other, and against International destinations including New Zealand and the US.
"Our goal is to build the DMO Benchmarking reporting to become the International standard for the measurement of destination marketing online," said Alicia Whalen, Co Founder of A Couple of Chicks and Online Revealed, as well as the Canadian Director for the research project. "Destinations marketers are struggling to keep up with changes in the digital space, these reports will allow us to measure key trends and provide tactical strategies for DMO’s to keep up with consumers who are actively researching and buying travel online."
Using an innovative form of engagement and rate analysis, The Canadian Destination Benchmarking Report compares the activity of Destination Marketing Organizations from Canada, The United States, Australia and New Zealand. Focusing on social media engagement, the report highlights trends, issues, opportunities and best practices for destination marketing. A total of 45 destinations were benchmarked and compared to one another by country and comparable size (large, medium and small DMOs). The 23 Canadian destinations were divided into 3-Tiers based around geographic size and budget, with reports that outline comparisons and overall trends.
"We are excited to be working on the Canadian Benchmarking Report with A Couple of Chicks and Miles. Social media is playing an increasingly important role in the public’s travel decisions," said Chris Gibbs, Assistant Professor at the Ted Rogers Institute of Tourism and Hospitality. "Benchmarking can provide actionable insights and improved results for the Canadian Tourism industry to stay ahead in a rapidly changing digital marketplace."
The first Twitter Benchmarking Report focuses on measuring the engagement and overall reach of Canadian destinations who have included Twitter as part of the overall marketing mix. The purpose is to provide information that will allow Canadian DMOs the opportunity to review to identify opportunities for improvement. It also shares highlights for Twitter Best Practices for destination marketers (including time of day, retweets, conversation and linking among other best practices). Phase 2 of the reports will be presented at the Travel and Tourism Research Association in Ottawa on Oct 16-18, 2013 where the most retweeted content and Top 25 Most Engaged Brands will be profiled.
Interested DMOs, Visitor Bureau’s, RTO’s and other destination management and tourism organizations wishing to learn more about participation in the benchmarking reports, please contact A Couple of Chicks.
About:
A Couple of Chicks™ Digital Tourism Marketing and Online Revealed Canada Conference
A Couple of Chicks™ Digital Tourism Marketing is recognized as the leading digital marketing firm specializing in web strategy and social media development and execution for the travel industry in Canada. A Couple of Chicks also co-founded the leading conference for digital tourism marketing Online Revealed Canada, with support from such industry giants as; Google, Facebook, and Travelzoo. The conference, now in its 8th year brings together over 400 industry professionals from across Canada. Founders Patricia Brusha and Alicia Whalen are recognized thought leaders in digital strategy for hotels, hotel brands, and destinations, and are regular speakers at industry conferences across the country. http://www.acoupleofchicks.com.
Miles
Miles markets destinations and hospitality businesses by working with province tourism offices, convention & visitors bureaus, hotels and other organizations in the tourism industry to create forward thinking online, mobile, email and print content marketing solutions. Miles has offices in the US and New Zealand.
Ted Rogers Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Research at Ryerson University
The Hospitality and Tourism Management program at Ryerson University is one of the largest of its kind in Canada, producing some 100 new graduates each year. The Research Institute has strong ties to industry, as evidenced by the significant past and present partnerships with agencies/businesses such as Tourism Toronto, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Colliers International, Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance, and many others. The downtown Toronto location of Ryerson University provides a strategic advantage and access to unique opportunities for research and innovation. For more information http://www.ryerson.ca/htmresearch.html.
Alicia Whalen, A Couple of Chicks Digital Tourism Marketing, http://www.acoupleofchicks.com, 905-401-2249, [email protected]
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