Marketing is an essential expense for every tourism business. If you’ve never heard of a destination marketing organization (DMO) or if you’ve been wondering if your local DMO’s membership fee is worth it, then this episode is for you. Dan Bevilacqua, the Executive Director of Superior Country, explains how Northern Ontario’s DMOs can help you maximize your marketing dollars and bring the right visitors through your doors.

• 01:35 Understanding Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs)
• 03:30 Northern Ontario’s Target Markets
• 06:13 Market Research Available to Tourism Businesses
• 08:15 Membership Costs and Benefits
• 13:57 Special Programs and Initiatives
• 21:11 Final Thoughts and Advice

Destination Management Organizations in Northern Ontario (West to East)

• Sunset Country visitsunsetcountry.com
• City of Kenora visitkenora.ca
• Sioux Narrows - Nestor Falls www.snnf.ca
• Superior Country superiorcountry.ca
• Tourism Thunder Bay visitthunderbay.com
• Algoma Kinniwabi Travel Association algomacountry.com
• City of Sault Ste. Marie saulttourism.com
• Northeastern Ontario Tourism northeasternontario.com
• City of Timmins tourismtimmins.com
• City of Greater Sudbury discoversudbury.ca
• City of Temiskaming Shores temiskamingshores.ca/en/visiting/Events-And-Attractions.aspx

About the Destination: Northern Ontario podcast

This is a series for tourism business operators in rugged and beautiful Northern Ontario. Whether you're just starting out, or you've got years under your belt, this podcast will make sure you're well equipped for the journey. If you’re not an operator yet, but plan to buy a tourism business in the north, then check out Season 1 for case studies and expert guidance.

Learn more about tourism investment opportunities in Northern Ontario at invest.destination northernontario.ca. Follow DNO on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

The podcast is hosted by Michelle Samson and produced by Storied Places Media.

So a $300 membership in order to leverage yourself into a

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couple hundred thousand dollars worth

of advertising very much goes a long way

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Michelle Samson: Welcome to the

Destination Northern Ontario podcast.

4

This is a series for tourism

business operators here in the

5

rugged and beautiful North.

6

Whether you're just starting out,

or you've got years under your belt,

7

this podcast will make sure you're

well equipped for the journey.

8

I'm your host, Michelle Samson.

9

When it comes to operating a tourism

business anywhere in the world,

10

including here in Northern Ontario,

marketing is going to be a critical

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part of making it successful.

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Sure, some visitors might stumble

onto your business, but if you want

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to be busy and profitable, you have to

find ways to get your name out there.

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Some business owners love marketing.

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Some, you could say, don't.

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Others simply don't have

a lot of budget for it.

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No matter which camp you're

in, help is available and for

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cheaper than you might think.

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In this episode, we're exploring the

tourism business services offered by

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destination marketing organizations.

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DMOs are membership-based not-for-profits

that aim to attract visitors to a

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given region by investing in marketing

tactics that are too expensive for

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most businesses to do on their own.

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If your business is located in

Northern Ontario, there is a

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DMO that serves your region.

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The full list is available

in the show notes.

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Our guest for this episode is

someone who understands everything

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DMOs can do for tourism businesses.

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Dan Bevilacqua is the Executive

Director of Superior Country.

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To kick things off, I asked him to

give a little bit more clarification

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about what a DMO is and how they're

different from the other types of

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tourism organizations in Ontario.

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Dan Bevilacqua: We're essentially

grassroots tourism organizations.

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Our organizations are not for profits, so

we are governed by a board of directors

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who in turn is governed by the membership.

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Who makes up the membership are tourism

stakeholders throughout the area.

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A lot of lodge and outfitters are

members of the organizations as

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well as other tourism businesses.

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We don't receive any operational

funding, so we really depend on our

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businesses, through membership and

advertising revenue, in order to operate.

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We're then able to market the region

as a premier tourism destination.

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We look at everything in kind

of like an organizational chart.

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At the bottom, you have the stakeholders.

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From there you have your

destination marketing organizations

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like Superior Country.

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And then it kind of branches off in

two different directions above us.

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We have the regional tourism

organizations, and we have

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Destination Ontario, both of

which are funded by the province.

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Michelle Samson: To recap: at the top

of the org chart is Destination Ontario,

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which markets Ontario as a whole.

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Then there's the regional tourism

organization, aka RTO 13, aka

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Destination Northern Ontario,

which gets provincial funding to

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represent all of Northern Ontario.

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Below them we have the

DMOs like Superior Country.

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At this point, you might be asking why we

need all of these organizations that stack

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within each other like nesting dolls.

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Well, it comes down to target markets.

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Dan Bevilacqua: Each area of Northern

Ontario is unique in the sense of who

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their target market is, especially

when it comes to fishing and hunting.

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The further west you get in Northern

Ontario, the more dependency on the U.S.

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border states.

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As you go east, there's more

dependency on Southern Ontario.

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Destination Northern Ontario is a

great organization, but it covers

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the entirety of Northern Ontario.

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It's the largest regional tourism

organization in the province,

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and therefore it's actually been

segmented out into 13 A, B, and C.

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So for Superior Country, I'm kind

of in a unique area because I take

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up geographically about half of

13C, where Sunset Country, another

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DMO, takes up the other half.

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So when I look at the research

performed by the regional tourism

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organizations, it really shows that 13C

specifically is targeting the border U.S.

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states.

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That's the primary market.

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However, 50 percent of my lodges

are actually up in the Greenstone

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area and they're more dependent on

the southern portions of Ontario.

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So that's why it's very important

for us to differentiate.

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We meet a lot with our stakeholders

and we gain their input, but we also

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utilize our own research as well.

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It puts us at a better position than

the regional tourism organizations

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because they are more of an umbrella.

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And that's not to say anything negative

about them because they help us a lot.

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We're really here to ensure that their

help generates additional tourism

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receipts and generates more customers

in the doors of our stakeholders.

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Michelle Samson: I would love to

hear more about your research.

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So who are you targeting?

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You know, who is the prime

market for Superior Country?

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Dan Bevilacqua: When we speak of

target markets, we are kind of all

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over the map in terms of products.

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So, we operate within four

different product pillars: Fish

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and Hunt, Touring, Nature and

Adventure, and Culture and Heritage.

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Fish and Hunt is the primary as

it drives the largest amount of

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tourism receipts to the region.

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So, the primary targets of Superior

Country as a whole, in terms of the fish

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and hunt product, would be your Minnesota,

Michigan, Wisconsin, some Illinois,

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some Iowa, and some Southern Ontario.

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So, we kind of spread our spend

out through there, and then

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during the pandemic, we obviously

spread our spend a little bit more

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domestically within Canada as well.

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But now that the pandemic is

behind us, we're coming back to

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those regular target markets.

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Michelle Samson: Every DMO across

Ontario is doing this kind of research.

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Not just on where visitors are

coming from, but also their age,

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income, interests, et cetera.

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And the DMOs aren't hoarding this

information that could be very

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valuable for you and for your business.

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Dan Bevilacqua: To be honest with you,

the stakeholders that get the most

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out of their destination marketing

organizations are the ones who call us.

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Pick up the phone, call

your DMO, ask questions.

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I mean, some of my stakeholders, I

have to laugh because they always

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apologize and "I'm sorry for bothering

you, Dan, and I know you're super busy"

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and I laugh all the time because it's

like, no, that's what we're here for.

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That's what we want to help you do.

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And the DMOs are marketing

the stakeholders, but we can

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help market yourself as well.

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Sometimes it just takes a little bit

of inside knowledge to understand

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the target markets and who to

target, and then some knowledge

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in how to utilize different online

advertising products that's available.

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We're here to help navigate them.

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So, all the destination

marketing organizations collect

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an abundance of research.

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We also know where existing research

is, and whatever we have is always

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available to the stakeholder.

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Michelle Samson: Free of charge?

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Dan Bevilacqua: Absolutely.

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Even if they're not members.

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So, like I said, we depend as

destination marketing organizations,

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we depend on our memberships.

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However, that has never stopped me

from helping a business in the area

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acquiring the research that they need

either to access grants, to market

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themselves, anything like that, because

in my eyes, and I firmly believe in

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the eyes of all DMOs, we're only as

strong as our stakeholders, so to

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strengthen any of them, regardless of

membership, that's what we're here for.

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Obviously, the marketing initiatives,

in order to take advantage, there is

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a fee for that through membership,

but definitely research and all of

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those things, we're here to help.

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Michelle Samson: Are you willing

to talk about your membership

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fees and how much that looks like?

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Dan Bevilacqua: Absolutely.

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So, Superior Country, our membership fees

are around $300 to $350 for entry level

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membership, and then they go up to $500.

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We're kind of in line with some of

the other DMOs, and then some of the

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other DMOs have much larger, and then

some have smaller fee structures.

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It's all really based off of

what they do and what they offer.

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For instance, one of the DMOs can be

heavily interested in attending sports

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shows, which comes with a very large

price tag in order to travel to the

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States, attend the shows, purchase

booth space, all that kind of thing.

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So their membership fees

may be larger than others.

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But the great thing about it is no

matter what the membership fee is,

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you are leveraging yourself into

a much larger marketing budget.

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So for instance, myself, I spent

probably around a couple hundred

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thousand dollars a year in

advertising through different means.

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So a $300 membership in order to

leverage yourself into a couple

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hundred thousand dollars worth of

advertising very much goes a long way.

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Michelle Samson: So there's getting

in on this much larger marketing pool.

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There's the data, there's

other kinds of services.

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You know, If there's a tourism operator

who's on the fence about buying into one

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of these memberships, what would you say

is your number one asset that you can

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offer in exchange for this membership?

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Dan Bevilacqua: I honestly

have to say it's the marketing.

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There's so many assets to your

local destination marketing

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organization, but I don't think any

surpass the asset of the marketing.

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We all spend thousands of dollars

promoting our websites, promoting

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our travel guides, and as a member,

you're listed on that website.

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You're in that travel guide.

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There's nowhere you can pay three or a

couple hundred dollars to get the kind

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of reach that you get through your DMO.

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Some of the biggest things that

Superior Country does to really market

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the region is through online digital

advertising, through Meta, as in

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Facebook and Instagram, things like that.

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But then we also attend sports shows as

well, and when we attend a sports show

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with our own booth, we actually bring

our members' brochures with us so that we

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can promote them and plug them to anybody

who's interested in visiting the area.

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That's essentially the biggest asset.

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And then being included in everything

and being able to call us, like I

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said, and pick our brains and ensure

that you know as a stakeholder

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what's coming down the pipe.

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The biggest roadblock for a lot of these

stakeholders is sometimes they just

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don't know what else is being available.

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So working with their DMO, picking up

the phone and calling me, for instance,

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and saying, "Hey, Dan, is there anything

else that I can be taking advantage

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of in terms of what you're offering?"

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And it's like, "Yeah, you know what

we're doing a fly fishing campaign.

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We're doing family fishing.

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If you offer this product or want

to offer this product, you'll be

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able to take advantage of all this

additional marketing that we're doing."

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Because we don't only just market to

the avid individuals that are going

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to be coming to the region that are

extremely interested in what we have

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to offer, but we're also looking

towards other markets in order to

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grow and replace some of the aging

demographics that we've seen in the past.

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Michelle Samson: Let's say there's

an operator who's maybe having

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some bringing as many people

in as their capacity could hold.

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Are you also able to sort of consult

with them and see if they're oriented

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to the, maybe the wrong market?

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Dan Bevilacqua: Absolutely.

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So I get calls like that from

stakeholders all the time.

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You can call your DMO and really

pick their brains at what they're

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seeing, what trends they're seeing,

and that information we're always

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happy to share, especially when it

comes towards attracting new markets.

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The angling and hunting market is

aging, like it's turned into this guys

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week trip to get away from the family.

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They're not bringing their kids.

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And when these individuals are asked

when they were introduced to fishing

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in Canada, a lot of them are saying,

"Oh, my father or my grandfather

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brought me up before the age of 17."

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Well, do you have kids under 17?

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And they say, yes.

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Are you bringing them?

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No.

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Why not?

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Uh, that's something that we really

need to change in order to ensure

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that the market stays consistent

and that our stakeholders stay

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profitable as the time moves on.

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So a lot of the stakeholders right now are

starting to see that trend, that change.

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Um, some of them are being very

proactive and starting to widen their

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product offering and their experience

offering by offering things such as

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hiking and paddling, and inflatable

islands, and things that are more

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attractive to the overall family in

order to draw additional people up.

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And that's not to downplay the

importance of the avid market, the

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people that are very much hook and

bullet, they're coming to fish and

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that's all they're interested in.

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You can still offer that, while increasing

your ability to increase your market.

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So, that's just one example of the

things that we're working on at the

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destination marketing level and all

that information we're always happy

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to share with the stakeholders so

that they can take advantage of it.

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Because I mean, I could sit here until

I'm blue in the face trying to attract

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family markets, but it doesn't work

unless I have the product in the area.

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So we're here to help

stakeholders offer that product.

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We're here to point them

in the right direction.

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I don't have all the answers.

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None of the DMOs will have all the

answers, but we'll know where to get them.

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And we'll share that information

with the stakeholder.

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Michelle Samson: One of the ways

that Superior Country works to

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diversify the region's markets

is with strategies and programs.

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To get a sense of how they contribute

to the region's success, let's

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look at a few of them in detail.

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First up is the  2SLGBTQIA+

Product Strategy and Plan.

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Dan Bevilacqua: I think it was

about two years ago, we partnered

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with the City of Thunder Bay to

develop a 2SLGBTQIA+ strategy.

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And what that's really looking at

is to ensure that we're a welcoming

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destination to that community, because

we've learned through mounds of research

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that the spending power of the LGBT

community is very large and they like to

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travel, and they like to spend dollars.

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And in lots of cases, we're talking

young families, and we're also

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talking about dual income, no kids,

so they have the spending power.

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And for our area in Northwest Ontario,

in Superior Country specifically, we

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have Minneapolis, Toronto, and Manitoba

as target markets, which also have

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a very large 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

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So, it's kind of a low hanging fruit,

but not so low in the sense of we can't

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just market them to bring them up.

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We have to ensure that they have a

good experience while they're here.

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So, what this plan really did is it

looked at best practices throughout

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Canada and the US and other places

in Europe, in developing ourselves

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as a destination for that community.

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And it really outlined how we can get to

the point of being a great destination,

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and a lot of that has to do with training.

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So now Superior Country staff

has taken Train the Trainer, um,

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training to offer now to the lodges.

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So we're actually going to be able

to meet with our stakeholders, ensure

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that they receive the proper training,

and then they'll be able to start

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taking advantage of the marketing

that we do towards 2SLGBTQIA+.

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So it's very important that we

don't just market anything to them.

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We're ensuring that the stakeholders

that take advantage of the marketing

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that we do have received the training

so that if members of the community

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come and visit, they have a good time.

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Because if they don't, that negativity

spreads quickly, so it's very

266

important that we lead with that.

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In addition to the plan itself,

the need for digital assets

268

was a big portion of it.

269

So one primary example, we did a

photo shoot of a 2SLGBTQIA plus

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fishing and nature retreat vacation.

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So we had a fly in lodge take part in

this, so we flew a couple out there, we

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took a bunch of photos and videos, and now

that business is going to actually develop

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a specific page to target the 2SLGBTQIA+

target market, and then that will align

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with Superior Country's efforts as well.

275

So, we're very much in the early stages of

going after this target market, but we're

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excited to see what will happen, and we're

really going to keep an eye on certain key

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performance indicators, such as using that

example, seeing how many packages they

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are able to sell, and then we'll be able

to determine if it was worthwhile or not.

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Michelle Samson: Another program

that the DMO developed is

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the Superior Picnic program.

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It started as a way to help restaurants

during the pandemic, then it evolved.

282

Dan Bevilacqua: So we got a

bunch of restaurants involved.

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Superior Country purchased a bunch

of very good picnic tables, and

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we put them in prime spots along

Lake Superior and throughout the

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region with really nice views.

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And then we opened it up to the

restaurants to take part in the program.

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And in order to take part, what they

had to do is they had to offer a local

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ingredient because that's what we found

that the culinary travellers were really

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interested in was experiencing local,

hearing the story, and things like that.

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So we had restaurants participate

in developing a Superior Picnic

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Special that had a local ingredient,

and then it was encouraging for

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them to get out to the tables.

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So, sometimes people ask me

how many people went to the

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tables and was it successful?

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And while the tables are a great

point of it and works fantastic in the

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marketing because of the photos of the

picnic tables and where they sit, you

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really want to be there yourselves.

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But what really matters to us as a

destination marketing organization is

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how many people went into a restaurant

and purchased a Superior Picnic Special.

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Our most successful destination

was Dorian Grill Shack because

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they were utilizing local

beef from a farm in Dorian.

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And then we were advertising that to

people in Thunder Bay, so they were

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driving from Thunder Bay, going to

Dorian, ordering that Superior Picnic

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Special, and then driving down to

Herkett Cove, where the Superior Picnic

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Table was, and enjoying their meal

while looking out over Lake Superior.

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Michelle Samson: Amazing.

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As a bit of a foodie myself, I'm

kind of curious, what some of

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these other local ingredients were.

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Dan Bevilacqua: In some cases, we

had things as simple as hot sauce.

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The one that we were most proud of

is we had a restaurant and a farm in

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one community, and the farmers knew

that the restaurant existed, but

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they had never communicated before.

313

So we put the restaurant

in contact with the farm.

314

And then, I mean, their local ingredients

were then just vegetables mixed

315

into their wrap and their salad and

whatnot, but it was a huge success.

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And it caused that partnership between

two businesses in the same community that

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otherwise weren't talking to one another.

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So we were very, very happy about that.

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However, now that the pandemic has kind

of ended, a lot of these restaurants have

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gone back to being extremely busy, and

we're actually having a hard time getting

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them to offer the local ingredients,

so we've kind of shifted a little bit

322

to really just market the Superior

Picnic locations while encouraging

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people to visit a local restaurant,

and take their meal for a picnic.

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Just as another way to

attract them to the area.

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However, those restaurants that do

want to continue with the program by

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offering a local ingredient, we will

market them as part of the program

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more specifically than just saying

visit any of the restaurants in town.

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Michelle Samson: Superior Picnics was

developed by Superior Country, but

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sometimes they participate in other

organizations' programs that are relevant

330

to their stakeholders and target markets.

331

An example is the experience

fishing program by Nature and

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Outdoor Tourism Ontario, aka NOTO.

333

Dan has alluded to this program

a few times when he talked about

334

encouraging family fishing trips.

335

When I asked Dan if they were any

other programs he wanted to plug,

336

he said he couldn't pass up the

opportunity to mention the Lake

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Superior Circle Tour, which is one of

Superior Country's biggest initiatives.

338

This 1,300 mile self guided tour has

become very popular with adventurers

339

and can be done by car RV, motorcycle,

bicycle, on foot, or even by boat.

340

For my last question, I asked Dan if

he had any final insights or words of

341

advice for tourism business operators.

342

Here's what he had to say.

343

Dan Bevilacqua: If I can leave

your listeners with anything, it's

344

to get in contact with your local

destination marketing organization.

345

And that doesn't mean call

them to buy a membership.

346

Just get in contact with them.

347

Become aware of who they are, what

they do, and what they can offer you.

348

And then I promise you'll end

up wanting to be a member.

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But a step in the right direction

is at least getting in contact with

350

them and learning who they are.

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Michelle Samson: Thanks so much to

Dan Bevilacqua from Superior Country

352

for teaching us about the marketing

services available from your local

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destination marketing organization.

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If you're a tourism business operator,

looking for more resources on

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product development, human resources,

marketing, or partnerships, visit

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DestinationNorthernOntario.ca

357

or any of the links in the show notes.

358

New episodes of this

podcast are coming soon.

359

Follow us on your favorite podcast

platform to be notified when it drops.

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Destination: Northern Ontario is

produced by Storied Places Media

361

and hosted by me, Michelle Samson.

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Thanks for listening.