ID International Study Shows California Counties Can Save Money With Branding
California's county tourism industry is as important as ever, and is operating on a slim dime in this recovering economy to balance between the budget and services to keep things running smoothly.
- (1888PressRelease) October 22, 2012 - A recent study performed at ID International (Chico, California and Milan, Italy) offers that California Counties are clearly not taking advantage of modern Branding strategies to maximize both budget and return on investment in relation to tourism.
Along with county Tourist and Visitor Bureaus, Clean Air and Water Districts, Sheriff Departments, Health Departments, and other county agencies rely heavily on printed brochures and websites to impart very important health, safety and legal information to the public. Alarmingly, the ID International study revealed that California counties are well behind the national average in both availability and quality of information provided because in most cases, they either don't have the budget for traditional advertising methods or the personnel to get the information out. As a result, California county websites regularly display outdated information, and are typically designed with this information, not the indecisive tourist in mind.
The study results also reveal that many California counties could likely double or even triple visitors to their county by implementing just the most basic principles of modern branding strategies with the increased organization reducing advertising budgets over the long run, something counties across the state need to do in these tough economic times. Branding strategies can be applied to the most visited regions or cities, or to the county as a whole, while utilizing not only printed pieces and websites, but Facebook and other forms of Social Media as well. It's not enough anymore to put up a website and forget about it, County agencies should be able to focus tourism information more where it has to be presented in a way which competes with more famous vacation destinations. California counties need to build brands.
Got Milk? Got Mendocino? Just do it? or Just Do Shasta County?
Memorable imagery and slogans, an updated county seal, and the seamless integration between these and the World Wide Web are critical components for a successful county budget as we enter this golden age of technology. The ID International study notes "Given modern web, cellular and social media arenas now available, county resources and agencies have never been so easy to access, information has never been easier to distribute, and their budgets have never needed to be lower. Utilizing modern Branding strategies, California counties could easily maximize these investment opportunities, reduce budgets, and attract more visitors to beautiful California."
There is more information on ID International's website, and if you're ever in doubt that California isn't one of the most beautiful places on Earth, visit sometime soon. If you live here, your local counties have so much to offer, just open your door and step outside.
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