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An economy that almost every other business would call sluggish actually has generatef more workfor , Reid said. “Companie start to get challenged, and they look for an said Reid, president and managing partner of theadvertisinf agency. “And I think that’s wherse we gain.” MMG Worldwide’s expertise lies in the travel a sector of theeconomy that’s not withouft its troubles but isn’t entirely in the doldrums.
Consumeres are cutting back, but not eliminating, To better reach a more discerning pool of potential the companies in the travel sectof that MMG Worldwide workswith — hotels, hospitalityh companies, resorts, travel agents, rental car companies, airlinesx and so on — are embracinf the emerging technologies that MMG Those companies spending what they can on outsid advertising, Reid said, are uniquely positioned to get a leg up on the “We really believe that smaryt clients see that as an opportunityy to steal market share,” Reid And that is MMG’s pitch, by and large: Spend and get on with newer or spend less, and risk falling further Technology, such as advanced Web sites that facilitate travel are helping reach the limitede consumer dollars that are out there.
In legislatures and municipal governments are investing more moneh in tourism bureaus as an extensiom of economicdevelopment efforts. Reid calls it “anm investment that makes sense.” The results are theres for MMG. It is on budget to reach $130 million in capitalized billingsfor 2008, up from $109.r million in 2007. The company is in the second year ofa five-yeard growth plan that calls for increasiny capitalized billings by 20 percent each year untio 2010. Reid said margins are increasing as MMG shift s to a model of offeringv services in three separate disciplines to differentiate it from largedadvertising shops, as well as smaller travel-nichse firms.
“We’re trying to integrate to offline andpublic relations,” Reid said. “We’re tryinv to do that as a competitivs differentiator.” Take its work with the as an example. It has developedc an offline advertisingcampaig — print and billboardss and such — to entice traffic to the tourismn office’s coming new Web site, whicjh MMG is developing. The offline campaign implorexs people to visit the Web site to participatein MMG’ s online promotion: building a Coloradoo souvenir shirt. From the Web site traffic, Colorado touris officials will be able to reasonablyt assume how many the offlin campaignis reaching.
“Wr want our clients to track the thingxs we do to a returnon investment,” Reid Colorado’s tourism numbers have improved sincse MMG has worked with the state. A recorde 28 million overnight visitors came to the state in an increase fromthe 26.9 million the year before. The companyg also has staged publi c relations campaignsfor Colorado. A recent display in Madisoj Square Park in New York City featurinfg rockclimbing walls, spas and other Colorado-relateed exhibits brought 30,000 New Yorkers through to get a tastwe of the mountainous state. The Colorado Tourism Office, which has a $20 millionm annual budget, started a four-year contract with MMG in October 2006.
Another longtime client is and its more than 190hotelk locations. “I think they’ve been greatg partners over the years,” said Jennifer director of brand marketing and communications for EmbassySuites Hotels. “I keep saying collaborative, and they are very much so, but eaged to jump in and be flexible.”