Measure the success of your event...

It's that time of the year again; event season. Rights holders need to track attendance numbers over time to accurately define economic impact generated from the event. Having an accurate attendance number gives you an advantage when negotiating fees and requesting sponsorships; you have the history of how many people attend the event.

Most importantly, estimated attendance numbers help keep the crowds at large gatherings safe. Event coordinators and officials are able to plan how to manage traffic in the area, how many medical response personnel will be needed in case of an emergency, as well as how much security to hire. Crowd size is also needed for media news reports and to historically record the event.

Whereas crowd counting is not an exact science, using ticket sales or counting turnstile entries is one of the easiest ways to keep track of how many people attend. Additionally, there are grid systems that measure the maximum number of people that can fit in a defined space. The “Jacob’s Method of Crowd Counting” is one of the most widely accepted methods of using the grid system. The basis of his system is a loose crowd, one where each person is an arm's length from the body of his or her nearest neighbors, needs 10 square feet per person. A more tightly packed crowd fills 4.5 square feet per person. A truly scary mob of mosh-pit density would get about 2.5 square feet per person.

Please read more about the methods of crowd counting here.

http://www.livescience.com/8578-crowd-size-estimated.html

Tradeshow Success!

If you’re attending a marketing event, the work can begin well before the event and isn’t finished when the trade show exhibits are packed away. Follow these tips for beforehand and afterwards and you can help ensure that you have a successful trade show, whether you’re a complete newbie or a veteran marketer.

Make Sure Your Display Is Being Shipped To The Correct Place

Having your trade show exhibits shipped to the right location is vital.  If any of the shipping details are incorrect, such as the zip code or city, or even which hall at the convention center, you could be stuck at the event without your trade show exhibits. Additionally, check that your company’s name or booth location is clearly labeled on the boxes so that the staff knows exactly where it should be placed for installation.

It’s also a good idea to make sure that your company’s name is clearly labeled on the inside of each box or shipping crate.  These crates can sometimes become damaged in transit and it could be a disaster if the container is damaged and no one knows where the contents belong.

Think About What You Want To Accomplish With Your Trade Show Exhibits

Make sure that you understand what you want to get out of the expo. Many businesses set vague goals — that is, if they set any at all.  If your goals are something like “capture more leads,” sit down and think about what this really means.  How many leads to you want to capture?  Do you want to get 10?  Or is 200 a more reasonable number?  Also consider the strength of the leads.  It’s not enough to capture leads without qualifying them first.  A cold lead is as good as no lead so make sure that your leads actually have a reason or a need for your company before you spend hours following up once you get back into the office.

Make Good On Your Promises

If you’ve promised to send an attendee information about your company, make sure that you actually do it once the event is over and the trade show exhibits are packed away.  If you promise to send something and don’t actually do it, many customers will assume you don’t want their business and will move on to your competitor.

Even if you didn’t promise information, you should still follow up with people you met at your trade show booth.  If someone filled out a lead card, but it didn’t seem like they were a hot lead, make sure that you call to check in every once in a while.  They were interested enough to visit your booth at the event so it’s possible that their needs could change in the future. Take care to not seem over-aggressive, however, since aggressive tactics can turn customers away.

While these tips aren’t complicated, they are extremely important if you want to maximize sales from a trade show marketing event.  Use these, but realize that they’re not the only things you should be doing.  Sit down with your staff and see if you can come up with other tasks that can help ensure your event is a success.

Welcome to our new website!

Take a break from the ordinary with miles of beautiful river, family attractions and some heartland history. Kankakee County is known for its scenic beauty, affordable accommodations and Chicago Bears RC Cola Training Camp. 

But did you know it has a Historic Church Tour, Barn Quilts, Frank Lloyd Wright houses, water park,championship fishing, delightful outdoor activities and skydiving? 

See Some of the New Items to Our Website:

• Build My Itinerary
• Group Travel Planning
• Enhanced Calendar of Events

See what adventures await you in Kankakee County! Our redesigned website includes a section just for travel groups. See the sample itineraries to enhance your visit and take advantage of all of the wonderful things to see and do in Kankakee County. Visit our newly designed website or call 800-747-4837 to request your free information.

Reaping the Benefits of Vacation Packages

For travelers who like to plan ahead and manage their costs, vacation packages represent an easy way for travelers to book a flexible combination of flight, lodging, rental car and local attractions at one rate, on one website with a few clicks of the mouse.The benefits to hotels of offering vacation packages, however, often go unrecognized:

• An average booking window that is more than double that of a standalone hotel reservation;
• An average length of stay that is more than 120 percent longer than a standalone hotel reservation;
• 50 percent fewer cancellations than standalone hotel bookings
• Increased opacity to preserve rate integrity

In Jacksonville, a market that is driven largely by its submarkets, hotels were unaccustomed to utilizing packages because they assumed they were too far from the airport for their offerings to be effective.  By experimenting with the package path, one hotel ultimately grew its business by 20 percent and became one of Jacksonville’s top producers.   While packages are not the lion’s share of this hotel’s business, you can be sure they’re not interested in giving up those incremental room nights either.

It’s imperative for hotels to use market-specific demand data, like that offered by Expedia market managers, to identify and address any unfulfilled demand that could be best-served with vacation package offers.

For example, if 15 percent of shoppers in a given market are looking for four-night packages, 15 percent of any area hotel’s bookings should be for four nights.  If a hotel’s booking metrics don’t reflect market averages, the hotel can adjust their package offerings to capture that lucrative guest.  Offering discounts on a fourth night might convert three night shoppers into a four-night guest and capture the four-night shoppers along the way. 

Need help designing your package? Contact the sales staff at the Kankakee County CVB for more information.

Buses are booming; are you ready?

The number of people riding buses continues its recent upward trend, the American Bus Association said in its "Motorcoach Census 2013" report out recently. Despite the name, it actually looks at 2012 figures, and finds a 1.7 percent hike in passenger trips on buses, making it nearly 6 percent higher than three years ago. Read the full report or a chart of the basic figures. 

But how can you be sure your event or attraction is motorcoach friendly? In order to draw more of this business, see if you can answer these questions about your attraction or event:


ATTRACTION CRITERIA

• Do you have motorcoach parking? 
• Is there somewhere for the driver to rest away from the motorcoach?
• If an on-site lounge is unavailable, do you provide complimentary meals or drinks for the drivers? 
• Is it easy for motorcoaches to maneuver in and out of the parking facility? 
• Will the group have to walk far? 
• How many bus parking spaces do you have? 
• How is this communicated? 
• Communicated through a greeter, available online, or via telephone hotline? 
• Can you provide directions to nearby fueling, dumping or maintenance facilities?

EVENT CRITERIA

• Does the event have a history of drawing groups? How many? 
• Is the event motorcoach friendly? 
• How does the event treat bus drivers and group escorts—free admission? 
• A dedicated driver area?
• Prize drawings for drivers bringing the most groups? 
• Do you have dedicated parking areas for motorcoaches? Free? 
• Are embark/disembark points close to the event entrance? 
• Can nearby hotels accommodate a motorcoach group? 
• Can the event handle passengers being dropped off 55 at a time?

Keeping these things in mind can help make you more attractive to motorcoach groups. For more ideas, contact the Kankakee County CVB.

Kid's Expo this weekend!

The Kankakee County CVB attended is attending the Kid's Expo in Tinley Park this weekend, March 22 & 23. The attendance is comprised of families and groups looking for kid-friendly activities. The two-day event is filled with special demonstrations, fun games, music and unique displays to showcase different vendors. This one-of-a-kind indoor show allows vendors like the Kankakee County CVB to show all Kankakee County has to offer. 

The CVB would like to extend a special thanks to all our partners that are helping man the booth with us; The Exploration Station, The Kankakee Valley Park District, Legends Sportsplex and the Community Arts Council.

Heartland Travel Showcase, March 7-9, 2014

Kankakee County CVB will be attending Heartland Travel Showcase in Ohio this weekend. This showcase invites tour operators from North America that run tours to the Heartland region to  meet one-on-one with vendors like the CVB, to showcase their attractions. More than 100 operators from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada will be on hand at Heartland Travel Showcase.

Unlike many other shows, Heartland Travel Showcase allows the Kankakee County CVB to bring experiences right to the buying floor and build relationships directly with tour operators. In addition to personal appointment times with operators, we can showcase our area to a variety of groups during the open floor times. 

Group travel is strong in the Midwest, according to Heartland Travel, 92% of operators reported more customers in 2013 over the previous year. Heartland Travel also reports an average of $33,000 is spent per each motorcoach visit to an area. This includes money spent on lodging, dining, tickets to attractions/events, fuel and retail sales.

Contact the Kankakee County CVB to get more information on group travel.