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Destination Madison highlights marketing wins, Middleton landing page and workforce initiatives
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Summary
At the Jan. 21 Middleton Tourism Commission meeting, Destination Madison presented its 2024 annual report, reporting record website and social metrics, a Chicago market campaign, new inclusion and workforce programs, and new Middleton-specific promotions including a dedicated landing page and quarterly partner meetings.
Destination Madison presented its 2024 annual report to the Middleton Tourism Commission on Jan. 21, outlining marketing gains, partnership initiatives and new Middleton-focused promotion plans.
Destination Madison President and CEO Eli Westmichan told commissioners, "We all want more visitors," and said the organization's strategy centers on elevating the destination, attracting diverse sports and conventions and working closely with community partners. He said staff are focusing on points of difference to encourage visitors to both stay and spend locally.
Kate Dale, EVP for brand strategy and communications, described audience targeting that breaks visitors into three segments — "Active Traveler," "CultureSeeker" and "Casual Getaway" — and detailed a Chicago-market campaign that Destination Madison reported produced about 6,300,000 impressions and an early lift in Chicago-area traffic measured via the geolocation platform Zartico. Dale also reported record web and social results: Destination Madison said its website had a record ~4,400,000 visits in 2024 and that social channels generated roughly 40.6 million impressions and more than 512,000 engagements.
"We had a 98% completion rate for our brand video on connected TV," Dale added, pointing to above-industry benchmarks on connected-TV and social platforms. She also noted PR placements including a Good Morning Washington segment and a Top Chef episode that Destination Madison said drew more than 2 million views; the organization said it will continue to leverage culinary exposure while observing contractual limits on naming the program.
Jamie Patrick, EVP who oversees sales and the sports commission, summarized convention and sports sales work — including attending trade shows, a new trade show booth and 90 leads sent to the region — and previewed upcoming events including American Trails and several national sports championships. Patrick said Destination Madison has distributed more than $500,000 in youth grants (primarily funded by the Ironman Foundation and local fundraising) to increase access to sports for children.
Maureen Martin, who oversees partnerships and community engagement, outlined new inclusion training and partnership programs: Destination Madison reinstated LGBTQ+ hospitality training, formed an LGBTQ+ advisory committee, sponsored local pride events and launched a hospitality job board that drew about 200 applications in two months. Martin said Destination Madison boosted partner engagement by ~35% year over year through events and outreach and is rolling out Middleton-specific efforts including a Middleton community landing page, a "Middleton Spotlight" blog and quarterly partner meetings beginning in February.
Commissioners thanked the Destination Madison team and asked for the presentation deck; staff said a PDF will be posted with the meeting minutes.
The commission will receive follow-up from staff on requested clarifications and any marketing deliverables tied to events. The Destination Madison team left contact information for follow-up questions.
