b'brand awareness, we experiment with everything from traditional out of home and transit to more trackable connected TV and digi-tal radio. Publicity and social media are also great brand-awareness drivers. We like to think of these as hand-offs to hard-working tactics such as digital media, search, direct mail, and emails. Ul-timately, a balance of both are needed for a truly successful om-ni-channel campaign. How does City Experiences utilize digital marketing differently than traditional formats, such as ads in print publications, radio ads, or environmental postings around a city? As our experiences are offered locally, in a given city we utilize medi-ums such as radio, broadcast, and even print at that local level. This allows us to tailor campaigns more closely tied to the offerings in each city, whether its our City Cruises San Diego Whale Watching or Stat-ue City Cruises ferry operations in New York.Coming out of the pandemic, digital adoption has soared including in the ways that consumers search for and engage in experiences. We are continually enhancing our guest experience and have invested heavily in technology in order to deliver a new frictionless and personalized journey using innovative technology platforms.Do you still invest in marketing such as print, radio, or environ-mental, or is the primary spend now with digital marketing? Yes, we still invest in print, radio, and environmental, particularly in cities with high tourism and where we are focused on increasing new-to-brand guests. While these arent considered directly track-able on a one-to-one basis, we can still look closely at traffic to the website, new-to-brand guests in our database, and other means to determine success.We pair these mediums, which can cast a wide net and occasionally beinefficient,withdigitalmediasuchasconnectedTV,search, digital ads, and advertising direct to our database to ensure overall media efficiency. For fellow PVA members who are new to the realm of digital marketing, do you have any advice on how to get started, best practices, or recommendations on which areas to focus on? Start with your guests. What do you know about them? This could be obtained through your databasewhere they live, how much do they pay, how many tickets do they buy in an order. Or it could be gathered just by asking them. Send them a survey or run a focus group. You from other experience offerings. For City Experiences, we look tocant go wrong when you start with your guests.highlight our promise of an unforgettable experience, delivered byour crew members, as operators of all the experiences we offer. So Look at the data you do have, whats working and what isnt. Do more whether its dining, sightseeing, walking, or food tours, we look toof what is and be ruthless about letting go of what isnt.create that personal and customized experience to offer something PHOTOS COURTESY OF CITY EXPERIENCESfor every guest.Highlightwhatmakesyouuniqueandsetsyouapartfromyour competitors.Do you find some formats are better for goals such as brand awareness while others may lead to more sales?Lean into partnerships to extend your brand reach. Yes, there are formats that work harder to build brand awarenessThink of a media plan as a teameach has a role to play in a high-and education, while others lower in the sales funnel, and evenly-functioning and effective plan. Integrate cross-channel marketing post-sale, drive direct sales. We rely on data such as personas andeffortscampaigns are stronger when email, social, digital ads, blog segmentation of our first-party data to help guide the balance. Forcontent, and other efforts work in connection. 13 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023'