Chief Marketing Officer of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Don Skeoch, took the time to discuss how we are positioning the great city of Los Angeles!

Brand Overview
Our Position:  Endless Entertainment

The identity of Los Angeles
It’s interesting to look at what we are by looking at what we’re not:

Los Angeles is NOT:

•  One thing
•  Playing it safe
•  Nostalgia
•  Monuments
•  Standing still
•  One moment in time
•  Europe

The focus for LATCB:

1.  Domestic travel is 85% of the visitors, however international travelers spend 92% more money.  That’s why international is so important.

2.  Last year, LATCB focused on top six feeder markets, which is 40% of total visitors.

3.  discoverlosangeles.com has been relaunched.

4.  DineLA grew into the largest restaurant week in America, bigger than New York.

For 2014,

1.  A tigher focus on the international markets that matter.  There’s ten markets, but the focus is China.  Right now, the rank is:
a.  Mexico
b.  Canada
c.  China

2.. Domestic markets
a.  Continue “You think you know me”
b.  increase leisure opportunities with a focus on on-line travel agencies
c.  Capitalize earned media opportunities.
–e.g. last year, Kathy Lee and Hoda from The Today Show spent two weeks in California surrounding awards season.
–Resulted in over $3mm in media value.  It was basically two weeks of free travel videos that reached 22 million viewers.

3.  The “Culture of Tourism” for residents here in LA
a.  We’re going to push discoverlosangeles as a travel planning tool
b.  We’ll run outdoor in Los Angeles to promote that.
c.  Will develop a “China Ready” program to be better prepared for Chinese visitors

4.  Research in to tourism
a.  We are going to drive strategic planning with research

Measures of Success for LATCB:

•  Increase room night
•  web site visitation