RARE Overview RARE Service Year Metrics: September 2017 July 2018 The Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program is an AmeriCorps service managed by the Community Service Center at the University of Oregon. RARE places members across the state of Oregon to serve in rural communities for 11 months in positions relating to planning, food systems, energy, downtown revitalization, economic development, and tourism. The Polk County Tourism Alliance hosted a RARE member, Emily Gluckin, as their Tourism Development Coordinator. The position was supervised by Shawn Irvine, Economic Development Director for the City of Independence. A scope of work was pre- determined by the PCTA Steering Committee and was reviewed several times throughout the service year. I. Polk County Tourism Alliance Capacity Building Throughout the inaugural term of service in 2016-2017, the RARE was successful in expanding the PCTA network through growing partnerships with local players and organizations. New partners participating in the tourism conversation include: Polk County Women for Agriculture, OSU Polk County Extension, Brew Coffee and Tap House, MaMere s Guest House, and Cascadia Expeditions. This also included encouraging more engagement from the City of Dallas and the Dallas Area Chamber of Commerce, both of which are now active participants in the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee has maintained steady attendance from members each month and the RARE has prepared agendas and minutes for each meeting that are available to review on the PCTA Basecamp site. As of July 2017, the number of participants on Basecamp has grown to 81 people. The RARE worked with the PCTA s three action teams, Bicycle Tourism, Culinary/Agritourism, and Marketing, to update their action plans and identify priority projects and goals for each group. Over the course of the year, the RARE was invited to present on a variety of topics on behalf of the PCTA at several community meetings, including the Monmouth Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee, Monmouth City Council, Monmouth Business Association, Dallas Eclipse Task Force, Dallas Rotary Club, the Monmouth- Independence Chamber of Commerce, Polk Women for Agriculture, and the West Salem Neighborhood Association. These presentations served as opportunities to raise awareness about the PCTA s projects and goals and connect with potential partners. II. Project & Content Development A. Project Funding Travel Oregon s Competitive Grants program will provide the opportunity for Polk County to seek funding for projects in destination development that will strengthen tourism in the region. The RARE worked with the PCTA to gather input, identify opportunities, secure partners, and prepare the group to write the grant applications. The identified projects include a feasibility study for a system of mountain bike and multi- use trails in the Polk County portion of the Eola Amity Hills AVA, and a Pedal Paddle Pints biking and kayaking event. The group is currently in the process of completing applications for each project. Conversations about the development of each project were coordinated by the RARE member. The RARE also coordinated with Travel Oregon to identify and develop project proposals for funding from the Willamette Valley Visitors Association (WVVA). The proposals included: training for front line staff in preparation for the World Track and Field Championships in Monmouth in 2021, an Eat the Season 1
campaign that celebrates local ingredients and flavor, a Wings and Wine marketing campaign promoting birdwatching & wine tasting, and a mountain bike shuttle festival at Black Rock Mountain Bike Area. While WVVA delayed their grant period until 2018, the organization will be contributing $5,000 to fund the 2017-2018 RARE position. B. Content Development Ride Polk County Video The RARE became the primary liaison between the PCTA s Bicycle Action Team and the producers from Sea Legs Media in the editing process of the Ride Polk County video. They communicated between the two groups over the course of several months regarding feedback and edits to ensure that the video reflected the goals of the PCTA and Travel Oregon. Upon the video s completion, the RARE distributed the video through various outlets to encourage organic sharing and exposure and worked with Sea Legs Media to develop a YouTube ad campaign. Travel Salem Visitors Guide Ad The RARE member designed the advertisement that would be printed in the Travel Salem Visitors Guide to promote Polk County tourism. The ad was reviewed by the Steering Committee and went through several rounds of edits. The RARE communicated directly with the media company, MediAmerica, to ensure that the ad fit their guidelines and printing requirements. Fig. 1 Explore Polk County Ad in Travel Salem Visitor Guide Travel Salem Sizzle Video The RARE member worked with Travel Salem and Lightbox Filmworks to determine locations and set up filming at destinations around Polk County to be highlighted in a promotional video. A list of 15-20 priority locations were identified by the Steering Committee. The RARE contacted each location to receive all necessary permissions and created filming schedules for Travel Salem and the film crew for 2
three separate days. They also attended the shoots and provided input on what scenes should be included to best represent Polk County and helped to stage several shots. The film will be finished and released in Fall 2017 and distributed by Travel Salem. III. Online Analytics A measurable outcome of the first year of RARE service with the Polk County Tourism Alliance was the growth of online exposure for Polk County tourism. The creation of a website and two social media accounts by the RARE member provided the PCTA with supplementary outlets to promote destinations. These accounts also actively collect tangible data about online audience demographics and visitor interests and will provide insights into groups and topics to target for future marketing campaigns. Increasing the PCTA s online presence has encouraged activity online from local partners, including the addition of an Explore Polk County tab on the Polk County website and the featuring of the cycling tourism video on Western Oregon University s commencement information page. A. Website The website, www.explorepolkcounty.org, was created primarily to accompany the launch of the Ride Polk County bicycle tourism video in April as a landing page for viewers. The website also compliments the Polk County brochures by providing access to destination information online. The site is set up with Google Analytics which gathers in- depth data about online visitors such as behavior, demographics, traffic sources, and interactions with each page. Along with creating opportunities for widespread marketing and promotion of Polk County Tourism, the website has been a catalyst for partnerships with local groups, included the Monmouth Independence Chamber of Commerce and the Polk County Itemizer Observer. With the help of a YouTube ad campaign, the website has received 1,697 views. Fig. 2 Website Analytics as of 7/17/17 3
B. Social Media Instagram RARE Service Year Metrics: September 2017 July 2018 The Instagram account @explorepolkcounty was created in May 2017, and as of 07/17/2017, has attracted 79 followers and an average of 23 likes per post. Many of the likes, comments, and followers are from accounts based in the Willamette Valley and Portland area. Since the launch of #comepolkaround in April 2017, the hashtag has been used 109 times on Instagram posts as of 7/17/17. The hashtag has been promoted at events such as the Governor s Conference on Tourism and visually on TV screens in Salem and Monmouth. YouTube The Ride Polk County video on YouTube attracted around 650 views in the first two months (April- June) through organic sharing and promotion through the explorepolkcounty.org website, websites of local partners, and social media pages. A video ad campaign managed by Sea Legs Media was launched in June 2017 to increase visibility and engagement with the Ride Polk County video by playing it as an advertisement to targeted audience groups. The first two weeks of the campaign resulted in over 3,000 views, 28 clicks to the www.explorepolkcounty.org website, and a cost per view of $0.07. As of 7/17/17, the number of views has continued to increase to about 6,500 views of the video on the Explore Polk County YouTube channel. See the included data for more information. Fig. 3 YouTube Analytics for Ride Polk County Video as of 7/17/17 4
Fig. 4 Video Campaign Report from Sea Legs Media as of 7/11/17 IV. Events A. Rural Tourism Studio/RARE Kickoff Party October 2016 To welcome the new RARE member and reinvigorate the tourism efforts in Polk County, the RARE helped lead a Rural Tourism Studio celebration held at Left Coast Cellars. The RARE created invitations to be sent to participants of the Polk County Rural Tourism Studio and helped develop the event agenda. The RARE presented on the groups successes thus far, and facilitated activities to aid the group in determining goals and priorities for the year. The RARE also aided the group in deciding on making Polk County Tourism Alliance the official name. B. Polk County Eclipse Meeting March 2017 To prepare for the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse and to address a demand for information, the RARE member coordinated a Polk County wide meeting on eclipse planning. The meeting took place in March 2017 at Eola Hills Winery in Rickreall. Attendees included representatives from ODOT, ODM- OEM, BLM, Polk County Sherriff, Polk County Fire District, Independence, Monmouth, Dallas, Willamina, Travel Salem, and several local organizations and businesses. Each agency was given time to provide an update about preparedness plans and answer questions. Around 40 people attended the meeting and received the information. C. Ride Polk County Video Release Party April 2017 To celebrate the launch of the Ride Polk County bicycle tourism video and the explorepolkcounty.org website, the RARE organized a release party open to all members of the community. The party was held at Pressed Coffee in Dallas and attracted approximately 40 attendees. In addition to a viewing of the video and the website, the PCTA invited Andrew Grossman from Travel Oregon to give a presentation about the impacts of bicycle tourism in Polk County and to provide information about the Bicycle 5
Friendly Business Certification. The latter part of the event included small and full group discussions to gather input from the community on bicycle tourism opportunities and challenges. D. Oregon Governor s Conference on Tourism Post- Conference Activities May 2017 During the planning phases of the Oregon Governor s Conference on Tourism, Travel Oregon requested of the RARE member that the Polk County Tourism Alliance organize agritourism- related experiential activities as an additional offering for attendees. The Governor s Conference is a popular event that attracts over 500 tourism professionals from across the state. This partnership served as an opportunity to familiarize attendees with the types of destinations that Polk County offers. Using connections within the PCTA network, the RARE member organized three post- conference activities: Goat Yoga & Wine Tasting at Emerson Vineyard in Monmouth, Birdwatching at Left Coast Cellars in Rickreall, and a tour of the Hop Yard at Rogue Farms in Independence. She managed the coordination, registration, and promotion of each activity and acted as a liaison between these destinations and the Travel Oregon staff. These familiarization activities were successful in raising awareness about Polk County destinations among the tourism community and generating conversations online. The activities collectively attracted 35 people, the majority of which were from Travel Oregon, as well as other organizations such as Travel Salem, Travel Lane County, Mt. Hood Territory, and the Icelandic Tourist Board. Goat Yoga at Emerson Vineyard generated 11 Instagram posts with a total of 865 likes and 70 comments, 2 Facebook posts, and one twitter post, all using the #comepolkaround hashtag. Goat Yoga itself has received a large amount of publicity and has been featured on the major news stations and has been featured in countless articles and videos. During the event for the Governor s Conference, a film crew from a German television channel was filming that session for a segment about Goat Yoga to be aired on daytime TV. E. National Psoriasis Foundation: Cycle in the Willamette Valley Event June 2017 The RARE member served on the planning committee of the inaugural National Psoriasis Foundation NPF Cycle in the Willamette Valley event. The Portland- based foundation hosts several fundraising rides throughout the country, and this was their first event held in Oregon. The ride began and finished at Independence Riverview Park, and the three different route options led riders through the county around Monmouth and Falls City. The RARE acted as a liaison between the NPF committee and the city of Independence/the Polk County community. The event provided opportunity to attract visitors from Portland and the northwest, as well as creating a strong relationship with the NPF that will persevere as their event continues to run annually. Through marketing for the event, the National Psoriasis Foundation shared the Ride Polk County video on their national and regional social media pages. The event hosted Three Legged Dog, Rogue, and Airlie Winery to provide local provisions. The ride drew 60 riders, most from the Portland area, and many were accompanied by family and friends. In a post ride survey, respondents rated the overall experience an average of 94/100, and 63% claimed they were highly likely to participate again next year. The location of Independence/Polk County was rated by 42% as very good and by 43% as excellent. The success and positive feedback, as well as the positive response from the community of the ride s first year solidified the NPF s decision to set a date for 2018. 6