Make sure that what’s attractive to the visitor in July will be made available to them in February.
Fred Wise, director of sales and marketing for the Ocean City, Maryland Convention and Visitors Bureau, is passionate about his area and the services offered at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center.
“We call our members marketing part- ners, because the CVB is a partnership to promote the destination,” says Wise. “As a marketing organization, the primary bene- fit we offer is electronic website connec- tions and reach. The other aspect of our marketing is our extensive advertising reach (radio, television, electronic and social). And, last but not least, we serve as an information conduit for the destina- tion.”
But Wise is quick to note these, as well as site inspection and collateral materials, are only the primary functions the CVB provides.
“Those things go without saying,” observes Wise. “What our bureau is doing different- ly that makes us better and a more attrac- tive destination in Ocean City is the sim- ple message: we are a year round beach front community. We have to convince people that Ocean City is a desirable place to be, whether it’s January or July. Because of this we have to market our- selves a little bit differently than many other bureaus. We have a minimum of 8,000,000 visitors to draw to this town and we have to do it at a time when most des- tinations are re-examining their marketing plan.”
Also important is the realization of the Ocean City Maryland CVB that they repre- sent the single largest economic engine in their community. “We have to do it a little bit better because you don’t have any other options,” says Wise. For this reason, customer service is crucial when assisting visitors, and Wise describes how they cater to their marketing partners from “soup to nuts.”
34 January February 2013
“We introduce them to our destination and what we have here on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland,” says Wise. “The second thing we do is identify methodologies for them to get here as we are a driving destination. And, last but not least, we try to put together a very com- prehensive package that connects the first two things.”
One such example that Wise feels is indicative of the good partnership the Ocean City CVB has cultivated with a client is a recurring cheerleading compe- tition. “The first time we brought them to Ocean City we realized there was an opportunity to make this a major event and we solicited it community wide, offer- ing fantastic rates at hotels. The conven- tion center gave planners the opportunity to grow as much as they wanted to grow. Rather than jam the building full of the groups and competitors, we allowed them broad flexibility and exclusivity. And now this represents the larger of two events the city hosts annually. They join us in February and April, which are critical months for a year-round destination.”
Wise further noted the examples in which the community came together to help to cultivate this off-season business. “You solicit some of your boardwalk vendors to be open, you work with your amusement parks to see if some of the indoor portions would open since you have 10,000 kids in town. You make sure that what’s attractive to the visitor in July will be made avail- able to them in February during the event, and that makes it a lot easier for our client to sell to their attendees.”
The Ocean City CVB also boasts a wide variety of settings for sporting events and tournaments. “First is golf,” says Wise. “We have 17 championship golf courses with- in 15 minutes of the beach. Also, any sport that involves the water you can better believe you can do it here, including ice
skating year round. We have capitalized in Ocean City with forward thinking in devel- oping different parks like our skateboard park, which was enhanced and now allows us to serve as the host city for the Dew Tour. We have attracted beach volley- ball at the professional level. We have developed our park system here on the barrier island so we can host lacrosse tournaments and softball tournaments year round.”
Also popular year round are festivals, such as the December festival that gives guests another exciting option in the off-season. “You can enjoy the Winterfest of Lights where you can ride a tram through a win- terland of lights with Santa surfing or a huge Christmas tree or menorah. Our hotels put together packages and the chamber has a decorating contest to reward houses that decorate.”
Once again, Wise notes that such pro- grams are an example of how passionate the Ocean City community is about their destination and how they embrace visi- tors with that feeling of hospitality, which shows in the services they provide.
“They love this town and being part of it,” says Wise. “Most folks that operate a busi- ness didn’t come here for that, they were born here and made it happen. If a visitor comes to a hotel here and they have a problem, I don’t go to the management company or a hired GM, I can go to the owner, and chances are the owner was born and raised here. There’s a significant difference in service regardless of how well a property is managed when you know that the person who sits at the desk is the person who owns the hotel. And if they’re not, you know they talk to the per- son who does on a daily basis.”
In the beautiful Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania, Marc Kaminetsky, national sales manager for Discover Lehigh Valley,
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