Board hears marketing and operations update: streaming ads, visitor data and trolley staffing challenges
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Staff reported strong event performance and marketing metrics, introduced new group-sales manager, and discussed trolley ridership and driver shortages.
Staff provided a broad marketing and operations update at the Oct. 20 Jefferson County Board of Tourism meeting, highlighting recent event performance, streaming-TV advertising results, trolley service metrics and a new hire in group sales.
Andrew (staff member) summarized visitation and collection data for September and October, saying Chautauqua weekend produced strong foot traffic that showed in both innkeeper-tax collections and third-party Placer data. He said the downtown historic district drew roughly 60,000 people over the three-day Chautauqua weekend and estimated about 40,000 of those in the downtown footprint.
Sarah Fraisal (staff member) reviewed recent marketing activity and preliminary metrics from streaming-TV advertising funded in part by the board’s grant: 122,000 impressions, a frequency of about 3.1, and 491 tracked website conversions; she also reported a measured “footfall” (people physically present in tracked locations) of about 1,808 for a promoted venue. Fraisal cautioned that Placer data have been changing as the vendor updates its dataset and that some event estimates looked lower than anticipated because of those revisions.
On transportation, staff said trolley and shuttle services recorded strong ridership during Chautauqua and helped ease neighborhood parking pressure; organizers reported record shuttle ridership at the high school pickup. At the same time, staff reported driver shortages due to illness and family emergencies and said private-event rentals for the trolley produce revenue but reduce availability for public routes. Staff asked board members to refer candidates with a commercial driver’s license and passenger endorsement.
Staff introduced JD Webster as the new group tour and sales manager; Webster said he is from Madison and looks forward to coordinating with hotels and vendors. Staff also described a boat trip that drew about 200 people, roughly 70% visitors; a post-trip survey found about 40% of respondents said they stayed two or more nights in Madison because of the trip.
Staff said planning for 2026 programming, expanded digital advertising, social mirroring and some YouTube content is underway and that a more detailed written report will be circulated to the board.