The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Tuscany Visioning Retreat needs promotion ideas

Kathy McCabe of Washington, D.C. writes:

“My business partner, success coach Margarita Rozenfeld, are co-sponsoring The Tuscany Visioning Retreat.

“It’s a week of personal reflection, goal-setting sessions and cultural encounters at a private villa.  We envision the target audience as men and women, 30s to 50s—people ready to refocus their lives, maybe change jobs, start a new business, set personal goals. Margarita and I both have email lists in the thousands, and while we’ve used them to generate some interest, it hasn’t been enough.

“It costs $3,199 for the week, including luxurious accommodations at a private villa, coaching sessions throughout the week, pre- and post-retreat phone sessions, nearly all meals, a day trip to hill towns and vineyards and a cooking lesson.

“How do we publicize this ‘new kind of travel experience’ to an audience that is used to traditional tours? We’re having trouble hitting the right angle. Many thanks to your Hounds for any ideas they can provide.”

Posted In: Business Promotion, Publicity for Niche Markets, Publicity on the Internet
posted On: 8/28/2007: 2:06 pm: By Joan
Comments:

11 Responses

1. cynthia Says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 4:10 am

   I am confused by the pre-/post retreat sessions: is this in advance of the seven days/six nights, or prep/summary elements built into that length of time? Is there an extra charge for these?

   I also recommend putting the coaching info first–privilege that information before you talk about the cooking class, etc. Hone in on what it’s really supposed to be about (and give more details right on that page, not just in the linked page), and then add the goodies below.

   I’m a very open-minded boomer, but “visioning” makes my teeth grate. Nouns turned into verbs suggest that their inventors don’t have a professional take on the subject at hand–but that’s clearly not true for you! Consider finding another term to describe your retreat.

2. Reesa Says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 5:39 am

   Headline: “Wouldn’t it be great if I could take a week off in a beautiful setting and just think about what I would like to do next in life?”

   Bullets:
   *Would a private villa in Tuscany do the job?

   *How about personal coaching all through the week to refocus your life, maybe change jobs, start a new business or set personal goals?

   *Would you like this all to include pre- and post-retreat phone sessions, nearly all meals, a day trip to hill towns and vineyards and a cooking lesson?

   Take this untraditional Tour.

3. John Easton Says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 5:49 am

   Consider having those who have already signed up for your retreat post videos commenting on why they are attending. You can even run a contest for the best story.

   Brightcove.com has a free service level that will allow you to embed a video player within a page on your website and allow users to upload their videos to your player. There is a very robust content management back end where you can view/approve submissions and control the sequence of videos. You can event include advertising within videos or between videos.

   Running the contest will not only attract prospective attendess but could attract the press (distribute a press release about the contest).

   John

4. Andrea Kinney Says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 6:10 am

   If you are amenable to paying travel agent commissions, partner with agents by marketing to them through the travel trade magazines such as Travel Trade or Travel Weekly. Every agent has their own lists of hundred or thousands of clients that you may be able to reach out to through these specialists.

5. Rick Terrien Says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 6:55 am

   Hi Joan;

   First time poster. I’m new to your newsletter and appreciate it very much. Great job.

   From their offering… “We envision the target audience as 30s to 50s–people ready to refocus their lives, maybe change jobs, start a new business,…”

   I am not a PR professional, but I am a professional at training people to start new enterprises - especially folks in their 40s plus. This is indicated as a goal of the retreat, but there is very little backing up that promise.

   I’d recommend they get some on-site or follow up resources in place that they could then steer their retreat participants toward.

   There is not enough “there” there in the offer they are presenting. If someone wants to make a life change you’ve got to be able to “teach them to fish” or at least hand them the tools. Without those deliverables, it strikes me as a weak pitch (except for the Tuscany part!)

   Keep up the great work Joan.

   Rick

6. Nicola Says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 7:59 pm

   Hi Kathy,
   I feel like you’re targeting people who would normally do travel tours when I feel like your real target market are self help conference attendees (think Tony Robbins) or people looking to make a career change.

   What about posting comments on self improvement type blogs? People visit those blogs because they are looking to make a change in their lives, and those are the types of people who might be interested in your retreat. One that comes to mind that I read fairly regularly is http://www.stevepavlina.com/ - or maybe you could advertise in his newsletter.

   Good luck!

7. Paula Baldoni Says:
   August 30th, 2007 at 12:04 am

   First off, take a scroll through the copy and get rid of the typos, grammar errors. Then think about launching a microsite or a blog as soon as possible to easily narrow your focus. You really want people to feel compelled to drop that $3000+ and feel excited about it (not distracted and skeptical).

   Overall though, this promotion feels way too scattershot for me. I can’t get a sense of who the hosts would like to have on their retreat (looking through the site and the links). Who is the ideal customer? (In something like this, I would imagine you want participants that really get you juiced!) So, what does that client look like. Where is she in her life? What does she do for a living, what is her financial situation, where does she shop, what does she eat. Is she a stay at home mom? A corporate woman? A small business owner? Does she prefer noodle casserole over Pasta Carbonara? Both are great customers, but who do you want?

   If this were my client, I would be marketing to a specific audience and I would make sure all my materials, and most especially my design, stay focused on that audience. As a potential participant, I also want to know who the target client might be - and what kind a person/s might be sharing my week (or my room!).

   Once the audience is targeted, the outlets for publicity are much easier to identify. I would bet you could even stay fairly local for publicity and be successful (depending on clientele, leave-behinds could be placed in salons, bookstores, cafes, Spas, interior design places, restaurants, higher end bars/lounges.)

   Really, this looks like a lovely time, and it’s a great idea with lots of potential and clearly you’ve already gained media cred which helps to sell your product.

   I hope you make it!

   BUT, it looks like a great product! Best of luck.

8. rickey gold Says:
   September 1st, 2007 at 8:20 am

   A key element that I don’t see on the landing page is:
   who’s leading this? Coaches names & bios. Expertise? Are they published authors. Have they done this type of week experience before? If so, where are the testimonials? What will I take away from this week…aside from being in fabulous Tuscany?

   I doubt if you’d get a whole lot of sign-ups without telling potential attendees more about the program. Bullet points or subheads with specific topics that will be covered and what attendees can expect to learn.

9. Joan Says:
   September 4th, 2007 at 3:29 am

   Three suggestions:

   –Your landing page has far too many distractions. It should be devoted to one topic only: the retreat. I suggest you read Mark Widawer’s excellent ebook “Landing Page Cash Machine” at
   http://tinyurl.com/y6wws5

   –Reconsider your target audience. Many people in their 30s are still paying off student loans. Or they’re starting families and don’t have $3,200 to plunk down on a retreat. Instead, target people in their 60s. Those include many people who have just retired, built a nest egg, and might welcome a retreat to a place like Tuscany where you can help them transition into retirement. Besides, if I were in my 30s, I sure wouldn’t want to hang around for a week with a bunch of old codgers in their 50s or 60s. (P.S. I’m an old codger in my 50s.)

   –Promote these with a series of free teleseminars on Tuscany. Ask a chef to join you for a cooking class by phone. Do one teleseminar on travel tips for Italy and another on the best places to find souvenirs, artwork and keepsakes.

10. Kathy McCabe Says:
    September 5th, 2007 at 2:15 am

    Thank you everyone for some very constructive and helpful suggestions! Thanks also to Joan - I never miss your newsletter!

    Kathy

11. Jane Says:
    September 5th, 2007 at 4:52 am

    I’m clearly not your target market, but as a person that has never been into retreats or therapy, I’m just not getting this:

    “A week-long exploration of your dreams, values, and life purpose…” …”group and individual processes…”

    I suppose I just can’t picture exactly what the traveler will be doing with their time for a week, and the price for land only is a bit high, IMO, for a trip that doesn’t seem to have many activities included. I also agree with some of the previous comments, that the landing page is too busy and your target market is probably much older than you anticipate. I think this needs to be pitched to the self-help crowd more than the average traveler.

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