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Fort Atkinson Chamber lays out tourism strategy, events and data plans; proposes Placer AI for visitor analytics
Summary
The Fort Atkinson Chamber presented its 2024 recap and 2025 tourism strategy, including a digital‑first marketing shift, new events such as Cheese Louise, a chamber rebrand, and exploration of Placer AI analytics — with staff noting room tax revenue has been roughly steady.
Logan McCone, marketing and tourism manager at the Fort Atkinson Chamber of Commerce, presented the chamber’s 2024 activities and 2025 strategy to the City Council on June 3, describing a shift toward digital advertising, event support and expanded data collection to guide marketing investment.
McCone said the chamber oversees room tax dollars used for tourism promotion and that room‑tax collections have been “holding more or less pretty steady” compared with the previous year. He recapped 2024 efforts including a visitor inspiration guide (updated every other year), piloted events such as a glow run and Rhapsody (which the chamber is not running in 2025), and an expanded wedding expo that shifted promotion to digital channels.
For 2025 the Chamber is promoting events including Cheese Louise, a cheese crawl on June 14 with tickets priced at $25, and is working to strengthen partnerships with major local draws such as Right on the River and the Hoard Dairy Museum. McCone said the chamber is reducing print and billboard spending in favor of paid search and social media because digital channels have so far shown better return on investment for event promotion.
McCone described a planned chamber rebrand, with a logo expected to come to the chamber board in the near term and a rollout anticipated in August if approved. He also outlined an interest in data and analytics: McCone said he is setting up Google Analytics/GA4 and evaluating geographic analytics tools such as Placer AI but noted Placer AI can cost roughly "$15,000" and that staff want to justify use cases before committing funds.
McCone described four Placer AI use cases including event analysis, overnight stay measurement, parks and recreation usage, and report generation for grant writing and marketing; he said the tool uses aggregated phone location data to show visitor flows and sequencing at attractions. He said the chamber is also exploring county coordination and a potential new county communications position that could help align tourism efforts across Jefferson County.
Councilors asked for room‑tax trend detail; McCone replied the tax has been “up a little bit, compared to last year” but generally steady over the past three years. The presentation was informational; no formal council action was required or taken.
