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EASTERN CAPE PARKS AND TOURISM AGENCY
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) OBJECTIVE
2) BACKGROUND
2.1
2.2 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
PROBLEM STATEMENT 3) AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
4) STRATEGIC APPROACH
5) DELIVERABLES
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6 5.7
5.8 BRAND ROLL OUT AND CUSTODIANSHIP
MARKETING COLLABORATION
PRODUCTS AND SERVICE (What is ECPTA marketing?)
MEDIA MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING
JOINT MARKETING AND INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES
MARKET PRESENCE
5.6.1 ADVERTISING
5.6.2 E-MARKETING
5.6.3 TOURISM OFFICES
5.6.4 EVENT MARKETING
5.6.5 BUSINESS TOURISM
5.6.6 TRADE SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS
5.6.7 KNOWLEDGE AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
5.6.8 MARKETING COLLATERAL
5.6.9 SIGNAGE
5.6.10 INTERNAL MARKETING
MARKETING FORUM
MARKET RESEARCH 6) ACTION PLAN
7) RISK
8) CONCLUSION 2
Marketing Strategy 1) OBJECTIVE The objective of this marketing and communications strategy is to document the planned marketing and
communications activities for the following periods
Period I April 2013 to end March 2014
Period II April 2014 to end March 2015 (summary)
Period III April 2015 to end March 2016 (summary) 2) BACKGROUND 2.1 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS The ECPTA was established in July 2010 as a result of the merger of the Eastern Cape Parks and Eastern Cape
Tourism Boards. The objectives of the ECPTA are to manage biodiversity in protected areas and tourism in the
Province.
The Eastern Cape is identified as a Province with poor services and transport infrastructure as a result of the condition
of our road and rail infrastructure and the fact that the Eastern Cape has no international airport, limited air access and
infrequent flights. This poses a great hindrance for tourists to access the province and limits the growth of tourist visits
into the Province.
The planning framework for tourism lacks consolidation, with provincial stakeholders continuing to develop competing
and ineffective strategies to grow the tourism visitor base. The interventions co-ordinated by Regional Tourism
Organisations (RTOs) have proven to be ineffective and inefficient.
A study conducted by Fuller Frost Associates (April 2010) indicates that the previous tourism entity, ECTB, was willing
but not that able to perform due to the lack of a clear marketing strategy, plan or budget leading to activities being
undertaken in an ad hoc and often reactive manner. These activities tended to be once off in nature and lacked impact
due to not being sustained. Many initiatives were poorly managed and evaluated, with no clear return on investment
criteria resulting in very little meaningful growth of tourism to the province. With regard to the previous entity ECP a
business case study (2009/2010) indicated that product advertising and tariff structure did not reflect the actual product
offering, which is lagging behind industry standards and is in need of infrastructural attention.
The coming together of two entities, with two different organisational cultures and the introduction of a new brand,
poses various challenges which need to be addressed in order inculcate cohesion to ensure the efficiency and
effectiveness of the entity going forward.
Limited capacity and funds calls for a focused approach to destination marketing for the first period, targeting four key
markets:
•
South Africa (the domestic market)
•
UK & Ireland
•
Benelux (The Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg)
•
North America (USA & Canada)
In simple terms, going forward the Destination Marketing Unit’s approach to marketing and communications will be:
Understand the market
Facilitate the removal of obstacles
Select the product/service
Facilitate the product/service platform
Select the right marketing/communication channels
Monitor and learn from the tourist 3
Marketing Strategy 2.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT The most challenging issues facing ECPTA with regard to marketing and communication are:
- Getting our own house in order first - organisational culture synergy, brand entrenchment, product knowledge - Demonstrating value and lead in achieving public and private sector stakeholder alignment. All relevant
stakeholders working cohesively together, leveraging funding opportunities and capacity through this - Access to accurate provincial tourism research statistics and trends - Creating top of mind awareness and desirability for what the Eastern Cape has to offer - Creating an impact in an over cluttered media market with similar messages from every local provincial
competitor targeting the same markets - Instilling confidence in and support of ECPTA by private product owners - Upgrading of accommodation and infrastructure facilities of provincial nature reserves to meet with industry
standards - Ensuring that an aligned/appropriate product marketing promotions strategy is implemented to increase
revenue generated from the nature reserves - Securing sufficient budget to implement an extensive through the line domestic marketing strategy and for the
appointment of country representatives and signing of JMAs for international marketing - Ensuring sufficient capacity and skills to implement required marketing activities - Ensuring that service delivery is a high priority as marketing initiatives result in sales of destination/products. 3) AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The marketing and communication strategy is aligned to the following strategic goal and objectives of the ECPTA:
GOAL (ECPTA strategic goal)
2. To serve as a catalyst for all dimensions of tourism in the Province 3. To establish and maintain an efficient and effective institution BY (ECPTA strategic objective statements)
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4 To promote the Province as a preferred tourism destination
To enhance Provincial tourism transformation
To enhance Provincial tourism product development
To facilitate infrastructure development for tourism growth 3.1 To utilise partnerships with key stakeholders successfully to achieve specific outputs THROUGH (ECPTA performance indicators)
- Providing appropriate, credible information on tourism in the province.
Undertaking collaborative marketing of the Province as a tourism destination
Promoting special events
Enhancing infrastructure for tourism information and marketing 4
Marketing Strategy 4) STRATEGIC APPROACH The marketing and communications strategy of ECPTA will:
- Develop, implement and maintain the ECPTA marketing and communications strategy
Fostering organisational and stakeholder synergy
Develop institutional alignments and strategic partnerships
Build and maintain the market for increased local and international tourist visits and spend in the Eastern
Cape Province through facilitation of provincial tourism product development in the holiday travel, business
travel and events travel markets.
Diversify and improving the tourist product base to appeal to the various target markets
Facilitate tourism investment
Promote the institutionalisation of biodiversity conservation in the Eastern Cape, the provincial nature reserves
and internationally acclaimed protected areas through effective information dissemination
Implement effective methods for dissemination of information and acquiring feedback, both externally and
internally
Develop and maintain strong media relations
Continual enhancement of the image of the ECPTA through top of mind brand awareness and high visibility - Period I - April 2013 to end March 2014
- Address the issue of corporate culture, brand buy-in and product knowledge
Develop marketing collaboration between DEDEA entities (ECDC ELIDZ, ECGBB, and ECLB) SATOUR,
TBC, NMBT, District Municipalities and ECTOUR to leverage additional capacity, optimise budgets and
ensure a cohesive provincial marketing effort.
Address the need for the Eastern Cape to strategically position itself in the domestic and international markets
Generate the strongest possible market presence for the Eastern Cape and the provincial nature reserves
with the funds available.
Develop a communications intervention for excellence in service delivery.
More effective use of social media and e-marketing.
Finalise budget, roles and responsibilities and an implementation plan. There will be an assertive pull by the Destination Marketing Unit during the first year of this strategy to ensure that full
potential of available capacity is reached, duplication of effort, is eliminated and collaborative funds are more
effectively utilised going forward.
The marketing focus for this period will be on through the line marketing to attract the domestic market to the Eastern
Cape. International marketing will focus on trade shows, the acquiring of Joint Marketing Agreements with tour
operators, informing tour operators about the services that the ECPTA offers and the appointment of country
representatives in the identified international markets. With regard to international marketing SAT should be the
collaborative partner in marketing the province within the South African context. Period II – April 2014 to end March 2015
To be informed by previous period; credibility through continuity; extensive media coverage; through the line
advertising to the domestic marketing and targeted advertising to the international market; aggressive promotion of
investment opportunities. Period III – April 2015 to end March 2016
To be informed by previous periods; credibility through continuity. 5
Marketing Strategy 5) DELIVERABLES 5.1 BRAND ROLL OUT AND CUSTODIANSHIP The Destination Marketing Unit of ECPTA, as the custodians of the brand, will continue to roll out the brand to ensure
top of mind recognition of the destination, entrenchment of the brand personality and its elements amongst all
stakeholders and that all marketing collateral, advertising material, point of display material, promotional items and
merchandising products, adhere strictly to the brand specifications, as per the CI manual. 5.2 MARKETING COLLABORATION Critical to the execution of the tourism mandate to develop and grow tourism in the province, will be the leveraging of
resources – both financial and otherwise – as well as cross-sectoral collaboration. ECPTA will look to enhance
strategic partnerships with role-players in the tourism trade and public sector aimed at optimal resource utilisation and
co-ordinated marketing of the province. The Destination Marketing Unit will actively maximise branding and tourism
opportunities in the Eastern Cape by bringing together and harnessing the activities of these various sectors.
The key stakeholders who will assist and/or impact on Eastern Cape Tourism are:
Strategic input/marketing collaboration/ funding and opportunities
OTP - Office of the Premier
DEDEAT - Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs & Tourism
DSRAC - Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture
South African Tourism
District and local municipality tourism offices
Business support and services/marketing collaboration
Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC)
Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board (ECGBB)
Eastern Cape Liquor Board (ECLB)
Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC)
Eastern Cape Provincial Arts and Culture Council (ECPACC)
Chambers of Business – BKCOB and PERCCI
Nafcoc
Provincial Tourist Guide Association
SATSA – Southern African Tourism Services Association
Pemba (Guest House association)
Fair Trade in Tourism
Product development, delivery and product promotion/ marketing collaboration
ECTOUR
Eastern Cape tourism private sector
District and local municipality tourism offices
Exposure and publicity
Media - local, national and international
Marketing partnerships - public and private sector 5.3 PRODUCTS AND SERVICE (WHAT IS ECPTA MARKETING?) The Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency recognises the importance of understanding the close interrelationship
between the tourism product and marketing efforts of the province. Essential to the success of ECPTA’s marketing and
communication efforts is that those responsible for the marketing of the province possess a thorough / experiential
knowledge of the destination and product offering thereof.
The first exercise, with regard to the knowledge base, is the identification of iconic destination products, routes, events,
flagship provincial nature reserves (historical heritage, icon landscapes, international status and cultural significance)
and ECPTA services and the target markets to which these products/services should be promoted. 6
Marketing Strategy The selected products/services will represent the four brand pillars supporting the Adventure Province:
Provincial icons National parks – Camdeboo (Valley of Desolation), Tsitsikamma (Big Tree/Indigenous), Addo Elephant (ONLY
big 7 nature reserve in the world), Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area ( World Heritage Centre), flagship provincial
parks, many upmarket private reserves (Shamwari) Hole in the Wall - Wild Coast natural phenomenon Nelson Mandela Museum – exploring the legend The Owl House – Nieu Bethesda Jeffrey’s Bay Super Tubes/Nahoon Reef (International surfing destinations) Stormsriver Bridge (highest commercial bungee jump in the world) Hogsback and Eco Shrine
Routes The Wild Coast
Karoo Heartland
Tsitsikamma
Hogsback
Kouga
Route 72 (ex Sunshine Coast)
Eastern Cape Midlands
Eastern Cape Highlands
Greater Addo Route
Jikeleza
Escape
Heritage routes/trails, etc Cities Port Elizabeth (the “Friendly” City – Nelson Mandela Bay)
East London (Coelacanth /earliest footprint of man/river port – Buffalo City) Cultural icons Historic icons (Xhosa villages, British frontier forts, KhoiSan rock art) Birthplace of some of South Africa’s finest people (Nelson Mandela (international icon and father of the
nation), Dr Anton Rupert (business leader - born Graaff-Reinet), Allan Gray (business leader - born East
London), Robert Sobukwe (father of the PAC), Steve Biko (Black Consciousness leader), Makhaya Ntini
(boxing) Odwa and Aykona Ndungane (Rugby), Calvin Marlin (Goalie Bafana Bafana))
Major provincial events/ partnership events Ironman (April) and Ironman 70.3 (January) Billabong Pro (July) Africa Open Golf Challenge (February) National Arts Festival - Grahamstown (June) Isingqisethu festival - ECPTA’s own calendar event (September) Tourism Month (September) and World Tourism Day (27 September) World Environment Day (5 June) EC Horse Racing Event (October)
Stories and legends:
The Eastern Cape is a veritable treasure trove of history and legends. This is a unique opportunity to develop heritage
tourism and yet very few of these intriguing stories are being well presented to market the province. To unearth these
heritage icons ECPTA will develop a competition Are you up for the myths and legends of the Eastern Cape? inviting
the Eastern Cape public to identify and submit the stories and legends of the province.
The best of these will be incorporated in the identified icons with which the Eastern Cape Province will be marketed to
become the preferred tourist destination in South Africa.
Other major features Value for money packages Unspoiled, back to nature destination Wilderness Biodiversity hotspots and world heritage sites 7
Marketing Strategy Malaria free destination
Good all-year-round weather ECPTA Services Custodianship of provincial tourism brand Assist registered product owners/SMMEs with marketing requirements and creating of platforms for product
exposure Assist tour operators/agents with product information and contacts Assist with setting up of Private Public Partnerships within pre-identified locations within the provincial nature
reserves. Provide stewardship support to landowners adjacent to provincial nature reserves. Provide branding assistance to private product owners and municipal and district tourism offices Serve as a conservation resource to ensure an informed public Once identified, visual references for these products/events services will need to be acquired. A full set of professional,
set-up photographs and creative descriptions as well as marketing tools for the identified offerings/services will be
developed.
These products and services will be segmented according to target market appeal and, through various
communications and marketing tools, will be marketed locally, nationally and internationally.
Informational tours will be developed for key employees to experience the product and services first hand. 5.4 MEDIA MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING Media management will see the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency focus on more of the below the line activities
to create destination and experience awareness. This will be supported by limited above the line advertising in print
and on radio to route consumers to the ectourism website.
Below the line activities will also include marketing workshops where private and public sector partners engage in direct
selling to the Travel Trade and joint hosting of media journalists in return for editorial coverage. Further to this the
perception of the Eastern Cape will be enhanced through building of strong media relations and increased, aggressive
dissemination of information in the form of press releases (including magazine articles and captioned photographs).
The Destination Marketing Unit will also ensure that the channels for media contact and “crisis communication” are
clear and efficient. Media Planning Overview
Using a media agency to plan, buy, place, monitor and analyse media will serve many purposes, the main advantages
being:
- - VALUE FOR MONEY – A media agency able to negotiate the best possible rates due to its spending power.)
Media representatives are time consuming and persistent and take up an inordinate amount of time of key
members of the Destination Marketing Unit. As the capacity of the department is limited, the introduction of a
media agency would allow for more time being available to the Marketing Unit to focus on their many other
areas of operation.
Media planning, buying, monitoring and analysis is a highly specialised field best served by established
organisations employing expert media buyers and planners.
A media agency’s expertise, competitive product knowledge and knowledge of media developments ensures
that ECPTA receives exposure at the right place and right time.
MEASUREMENT - Currently no monitoring or analysis of ad spend is available to ECPTA. As this spend
forms a large part of the marketing budget of ECPTA, it is necessary that this spend be accurately reported
upon. A media agency offers this service. Media planning for the campaign will cover the three year period Period I - April 2013 to end March 2014, Period II April 2014 to end March 2015, Period III – April 2015 to end March 2016. During this time the first priority is to get the
focus on the province content, localised special offers for the destination and nature reserves and getting the
international exposure on the wwweb.
Because the market has been divided into 3 target areas of national, regional and international media these will be
addressed as units. In analysing the market to set up reach parameters the following analysis has been lifted to
highlight the demographic landscape; 8
Marketing Strategy There are two markets to look at – the LSM 5-7 emerging market and the established LSM 8-10 market. So the market
is determined by LSM 5-10 as a descriptor. 9
Marketing Strategy The following chart looks at the provincial breakdown of activities to show the potential market of each area LSM 5-10 market by province by holiday activity Gauteng is the major market segment followed by Western Cape and KZN whilst the rest of the provinces are low in
numbers they are still important in terms of annual holiday destination marketing. The proximity of the Free State and
Northern Cape to the Eastern Cape is also a plus in terms of accessibility. LSM 5-10 market by province by activity With regard to activities, again Gauteng is the major region to target. Camping, caravanning and visiting game reserves
also show that the major draw areas are Gauteng, Western Cape and KZN. 10
Marketing Strategy The chart above illustrates the media consumption. The reach of the weekend papers via Sunday Times and Rapport
as the print elements deliver the greatest reach of the total target market – with high reach into Gauteng.
The Ziyachisa DStv package also delivers audience – especially to the black diamond market (the emerging market).
Internet access for this market is also at levels where the impact of an in-line campaign can be achieved. Almost 1
million internet users have made online bookings in the past 12 months (this is a growth area!).
Magazines selected for their content (Getaway etc) do not have the high reach but do have the right editorial content
and environment propensity for our target market and will also drive consumers to the ectourism website.
The regional radio stations will reach our target audience in the province to get exposure of the local special offers in
selected nature reserves and other packaged products. 11
Marketing Strategy Media Selection
The following media will be considered for their reach and content. A full media schedule incorporating these elements
will be developed in line with available budget; Domestic Market
National Sunday press – travel sections - will set the tone and deliver the reach to the national market in the
environment of travel – highlighting the province as a destination as well as activity options. Sunday times travel,
Rapport Rits will form the main thrust and the regional KZN Sunday Tribune and the Cape Argus to upweight those key
areas during strategic times.
In addition to the press - travel magazines Getaway and Go/Weg will also showcase the province as a tourism
destination. These will cover both the adventure and nature reserve/lodge/hotel themes. All the print will be flexed over
the year (a drip strategy) especially the pre-holiday periods.
TV: DStv will support the strategy during key periods. The channels selected cover both the emerging and established
markets. (the growth of decoder sales especially the Ziyachisa* packages reflects the consumption of DStv to that
emerging market). BBC Lifestyle, Supersport1 and Supersport 2 as well as Kyknet are selected to cover the
established market and the Ziyachisa package will cover the emerging market as well as younger established market.
Budget permitting, one of the options to use is the Branded Entertainment option on DStv where 120 second
advertorial/information style TV ads are flighted at a highly discounted rate! These can be filled with
action/fishing/leisure real time people and here user generated content (visitors to the province will be encouraged to
send their videos for our use) chosen on their merit. This can involve quite a few of the action/adventure sport outfits
like Red Cherry Adventures, Active Escapes, etc as well as the nature reserves, lodge experiences. In addition the
cultural option should be considered as it will add value and ethnicity to the campaign. A campaign run over a 6 month
period will allow for high ad involvement as well as entries to start to build up.
Outdoor hoardings particularly billboards are a great branding opportunity as well increasing visibility in the key
Gauteng area but the site selection as well as the timing will be developed during the year – budget permitting. On a
short term basis street pole ads are proposed in the Gauteng region as the suburban coverage is good and will work
for short term campaigns. Provincial Market
At province level, radio will be used to sell the flagship nature reserves through special offers on relevant stations –
Algoa, UMhlobo WeNene as well the opportunity to use the community stations to drill down into selected areas. These
can be supported with specific nature reserve/price/date offers in local press like Daily Dispatch and EP Herald, etc.
Most radio stations have websites – for links to be posted onto. International market
High cost of media internationally precludes the use of international traditional media but there are opportunities on the
wwweb. Network buys on international inventory (on a cost per click basis) are proposed as well as search engine
optimisation and geo targeting specific countries. Also the travel sections of Media 24, Yahoo, MSN, I-Africa, Google
and IOL will have local impact. The trend of using the web both locally and internationally for travel and destination
selection and availability is increasing rapidly and we must take advantage of this opportunity. This can be tracked and
measured.
The facebook page will be utilised through network share and competitions can be run to increase traffic as well as
creating opportunity on click throughs. All forms of print media must reflect the website address to prompt visits. As the
membership grows high levels of buy-in through critical mass can be generated - but the site needs constant
development and constant monitoring.
During the first year the buy in from the province tourism industry must be sought to increase the media pressure
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