Operator Membership Packages

If you are a regional business owner located in Edmonton's Countryside and provide an attraction, unique experience, accommodation or product, the Edmonton Regional Tourism Group (ERTG) can help you grow your business easily and affordably.

The vision of the Edmonton Regional Tourism Group is to attract visitors to regional tourism businesses and also help to increase the participant’s sales and profits.  This is accomplished by providing operators and municipalities with professional, ongoing business development and support coupled with unique and affordable marketing opportunities.

Our mission is to promote and develop attractions, events, festivals and unique retail to visitors and residents, through a variety of partnerships and marketing tools.

The Edmonton Regional Tourism Group is pleased to offer our members many initiatives and opportunities to grow and invest in your business with our value added benefits:

• Networking
• Product Development and Cross Promoting
• Trade Shows
• Major Promotions  
• Website
• Visit Edmonton's Countryside Guide Map
• E-Newsletter
• Social Network
• E-Marketing Strategy 

Membership in the ERTG allows you to expand your resources and contact leads and join a business community filled with talent, expertise and quality experiences. Your membership will give you access to peers who are willing to share ideas, talk about lessons learned and help those who are new to the tourism business. As well, your business will include a listing on the Edmonton's Countryside web site.

The chart below displays the Membership and Enhanced Membership Options:

Membership Opportunities:

Edmonton Regional Tourism Group                                                 Marketing Strategy   

The ERTG desires to move more of its marketing and partner initiatives into online mediums and also continue a snap shot, Tri-fold version of the Visit Edmonton’s Countryside Guide. 

This new marketing strategy (total hard cost of strategy is $37,000) was created to give our membership the most value and exposure for their dollar.   Therefore, this will allow for a more extensive, cost effective and measurable approach to marketing its members in Edmonton’s Countryside. 

Visit Edmonton’s Countryside Guide (VEC) –

The Visit Edmonton’s Countryside Guide will move from a booklet into a Tri-fold brochure map guide (distributed through Chamber of Commerce’s, Visit Information Centre’s, Municipalities, Operators and Trade Racks at Sobey’s & Safeways). 

Edmonton’s Countryside Website –

In the development of a brochure/map with QR code and compelling call to actions, which will be related to a newly developed online program; consumers will be given an opportunity to become more engaged in the content that surrounds the promotional activity. 

This will help turn the ERTG website and marketing program from an online directory into an engaging traffic driver where you as the member have unlimited space and access to put what content you feel is relevant to your operation on the site.  This will drive more traffic to your business as this is limitless in number of visits compared to a certain number of guides printed each year.

By condensing the print component this will allow for a program that focuses on a compelling online strategy and a targeted marketing approach.  This will be an active measurable approach compared to passive marketing through a print piece.  This approach (“show and tell”) provides opportunity for:

• Follow-up
• Analytical Review
• Engagement opportunities
• Frequency in exposure

Content and website suggestions will be made to support the program and overall goals of increased reach, conversion and retention.  The focus will be on making the website more multidimensional with stories, special promotions and rich media.  With the development of an online program (privilege card, contesting, facebook, and experienced-based content) there will be a greater and more trackable opportunity for leads to your business.

Social Media Contesting –

The ERTG will develop and carry out social contesting based on the programs goals in the online strategy.  This contesting will be used to increase follower base, increase awareness and aid in exposure of the membership and experiences you offer.  It may be used in some cases to develop user generate content and a consumer database as well.

Online Advertising –

The ability to reach core consumer segments with targeted messaging and in targeted markets will allow for a strategic online approach.  Online marketing capabilities are advancing in leaps and bounds.  We now have a better ability to measure leads and successes through all stages of a marketing funnel.  This includes the use of online advertising.

Adaptive – One of the primary advantages of including this with the VEC print piece is the ability to update and optimize in real time.  The cost required to update and reprint publications or brochures is large and typically unrealistic.  Online ads can be changed on the fly and based on real time feedback and statistics.  Optimization can occur with little or no cost to increase reach.

Accessibility – Rate of internet use is high and still growing.  These rates sit at a country-wide high of 85% in both British Columbia and Alberta.  The internet allows 24-hour access to information.

Measurable – Online advertising programs offer a large amount of analytical and tracking data which typically is more than any other form of advertising.

Repeat Exposure & Scale – Through the use of online advertising, e-newsletters, and social media, a strategy is developed to increase impressions and exposure to the potential consumers.

Analytics & Optimization –

Measurement and testing is an important part of our new marketing strategy.  These activities gauge performance measures that can help with the continual growth and improvement of the online program.  Testing variations of marketing materials can produce beneficial results and be further enhanced over time.

Monthly attention will be paid to gain insight from website and campaign analytics.  This data will allow us to:

• Gain insight from users’ behavior online to help with optimization strategies
• Create opportunities for improvement by measuring testing and creating a meaningful analysis of results
• Map all online and offline activities and look for statistical data to analyze the effectiveness of integrated marketing campaigns in target markets.  Therefore ensuring you as a member are receiving the most exposure for your membership fee. 

Edmonton’s Countryside Privilege Card –

A valued added card that the consumer can purchase on the Edmonton’s Countryside website for a cost of $10.00 giving them discounts to the members of the ERTG.  This in turn should generate new market for participating members by using our target market through increased awareness, by means of the strong mix of marketing initiatives previously mentioned. 

Some examples could be: 

• 2 for 1 passes
• 10% off
• Free admittance
• Gift with purchase
• VIP treatment
• Behind the scene guided tour
• Advanced showings specialty sales/events
• Free appetizer for two
• 3 baskets of Strawberries for the price of one
• Complimentary breakfast with one night stay
• VIP seating at events

It would be your choice to decide what is appropriate for your business to promote, as well as the option to change the promotion throughout the year on the Edmonton’s countryside website to suit the needs of your growing market.