2 - A Marketing Campaign to Promote Dunsmuir
Tourism & Relocation
2.1 If Dunsmuir decides it wants attract tourists and new residents, it needs to research, design and
implement a marketing campaign. In the past, Dunsmuir has done some advertising, but little
marketing. Marketing is about strategy, and advertising is merely one of it’s tools. Marketing always
supports sales, and it demands a total understanding of the products and services offered. In
Dunsmuir’s case the sales we are most concerned with increasing are vacation rentals of all kinds.
Marketing involves identifying, understanding and targeting the group(s) of consumers most likely to
purchase those products and services, at the least possible cost. We need to locate potential
Dunsmuir tourists (and relocators) and market Dunsmuir directly to them.
2.2 Any effort to effectively market Dunsmuir must have both short-term and long-term goals. In the
short term we want to generate some cash flow to stop the economic bleeding. We need immediate
increases in tourism and the resulting Transient Occupancy Tax revenues. The keys to Dunsmuir’s
economic success are: lodging, lodging, and lodging. Once tourists are lodged here, they will dine in
our restaurants, shop in our stores and spend on our services The trick is getting the tourists here. To
that end we need to do two things: 1) Convince some likely tourists that Dunsmuir is a great place. 2)
Sell them lodging. The central short-term focus of any campaign to build tourism should be to fill every
hotel, motel, lodge, bed & breakfast, vacation cabin, RV space and campground in Dunsmuir.
2.3 The long-term goal of this marketing plan should be establishing Dunsmuir in the worldwide public
consciousness as a vacation and relocation spot of uncommon beauty, charm and attraction. This is a
marketing concept known as “branding”. Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas and Palm Springs are brand name
tourist attractions. So are Yosemite, Big Sur and the Avenue of the Giants. Dunsmuir is not a brand
name destination yet, but it can be. We need to build the Dunsmuir “brand”. We can make Dunsmuir
synonymous with romance, adventure, small-town charm, and natural wonder, throughout California and
the world.
2.4 We need to establish Dunsmuir’s image in the public consciousness, not as a dying railroad town,
but as a quaint tourist village – a jewel in a spectacular setting of natural splendor.We need to
emphasize our small town charm. Dunsmuir is safe, peaceful, unspoiled, a place of simple life with
modern convenience and historic architecture. We need to show Dunsmuir as a center of adventure
and romance, one of the most incredibly beautiful places in the world. We need to establish Dunsmuir
as a Destination – a place that everyone should visit once in their life. (“You’ve seen Yosemite, La
Jolla, and Palm Springs, but have you seen Dunsmuir?”) Dunsmuir IS all those things and more, and
our promotional materials need to reflect the jewel of a town we have to offer. But there’s a lot more to a
marketing campaign than crafting an image. All the promos, web sites and brochures in the world don’t
do a bit of good if they aren’t distributed to their target audiences. The job of marketing isn’t just to
show the product in the best light, it’s also to make people look.
2.5 To this end we must ensure that our marketing materials end up in the hands of those most likely to
be influenced by them. One of the great advantages of the internet is that it allows for micro-targeting:
marketing to large and small demographic with specifically targeted approaches. DMG sees three
large-scale segments of the populace that should be the primary focus of a campaign to market
Dunsmuir, with numerous sub-categories in each:
1) Destination Tourists
2) Impulse Tourists
3) New Residents
An essential tenet of marketing is "Know yoUr audience". The better Dunsmuir gets to know these three
target audiences, the better job Dunsmuir will do marketing to them. The audience is everything.
The customer is always right. These are the people who will pay Dunsmuir's bills, pave Dunsmuir's
roads, fill Dunsmuir's Lodges, Stores and Restaurants. These three lists are the most important part of
this report
2.10 Dunsmuir should co-opt the natural attractions that surround it: Castle Crags is in Dunsmuir.
Mossbrae Falls is in Dunsmuir. From the position of our marketing campaign even Mt. Shasta is in
Dunsmuir. We need to create image associations with the name Dunsmuir: waterfalls, mountains,
couples holding hands, a quaint village, a romantic dinner, a walk by the river in the moonlight.
When the outside word thinks of Dunsmuir we want them thinking “Mayberry meets Yosemite” and
“I’ve always wanted to go to Dunsmuir.”
2.7 In addition to building an image for Dunsmuir the destination, we also have to establish the separate
but related concept of the “Dunsmuir Vacation” (with a variety of sub-concepts, i.e. Dunsmuir Date
Night, Dunsmuir Stopover, Dunsmuir Honeymoon, Dunsmuir Family Camping, and so on through ALL
the tourist possibilities). We need to create a variety Dunsmuir vacation packages, weekend or five-day
or seven-day vacations including lodging, meals, tickets for local attractions and services, discount
coupons and whatever else Dunsmuir has to offer. These packages are products we can sell on the
internet. This allows us to get an immediate impulse commitment to visit Dunsmuir from visitor on our
web sites. Tourists need to be able to plan and purchase their Dunsmuir vacation online. These
packages can also be offered through traditional and online travel agencies. Packages can vary from
simple fishing trips to luxury honeymoons. These packages of Dunsmuir goods and services are our
products, and we have to design them well.
2.6 Marketing must also be targeted geographically. Dunsmuir is a date destination from Redding, a
weekend trip from San Francisco, Sacramento or Portland, or a weeklong vacation from LA and
beyond. Each of these markets needs separate marketing tailored to fit their travel time. We want
people stuck in Bay Area traffic thinking, “We could be in Dunsmuir this weekend.”
2.9 One of the cardinal rules of advertising is that we “sell sizzle, not the steak.” That is to say, what is
marketed is not the product itself, but the consumer’s experience of that product. In Dunsmuir’s case
that means selling purity, not water…and more importantly, selling the experience of that purity. Our
marketing devices in all media need to show real people having a great time in Dunsmuir: Couples
kissing beneath a waterfall. Family picnics. Romantic diners for two. Anglers catching fish. Kids
throwing snowballs in the park. We need the outside world to see that Dunsmuir is a place to relax and
have fun.
2.8 Marketing is ALWAYS at the service of sales. Every single aspect of the campaign should be
designed to sell vacation or relocation. The metrics for measuring our success are the TOT,
population, retail & residential occupancy, realty leads and retail sales. When those start going up
instead of down we’ll know we’re doing a good job of marketing Dunsmuir. Any marketing campaign
should have specific goals tied to these metrics.
2.11 Effective advertising eliminates the negative (i.e. toxic spills, lynching, bureaucratic squabbles)
and accentuates the positive, (i.e. Mt. Shasta , art deco, clean water, fine restaurants, waterfalls). But
there is more to marketing than just designing advertising. Marketing is about using advertising
tactically to accomplish long-term strategic goals. Various media are simply the tools used in such a
campaign.
2.12 The centerpiece of any modern marketing campaign is the web page. Dunsmuir needs an
interactive travel brochure on the web, with multiple entrances targeted to the demographics
described above, (families, honeymooners, anglers, railfans, etc). Multiple portals means our site will
show up on more searches. A lot more people are going to search Bigfoot or Babe Ruth rather than
Siskiyou or Dunsmuir. Building a large-scale multi-page site also allows for linkages to specific topic
sites (snowboarding, architecture, prospecting, etc), thus increasing traffic. DMG's Discover
Dunsmuir is a work in progress toward such a web brochure.
2.13 Simply creating and publishing a web site accomplishes nothing without proper promotion. (There
are millions of sites on the web. What are the odds that someone is going to land on Dunsmuir’s?).
Web sites need constant promotion to guarantee not only traffic (visits to the site), but targeted traffic,
(visits by people likely to come to Dunsmuir someday). Massive inter-linkage and selective keywords
optimize can traffic and increase search profiles. Once a wide variety of Dunsmuir content pages have
been created, the task becomes one of web promotion through blurbs and links to other sites (wikipedia,
travel sites, blogs, twitter, etc.) Paid web advertising to specific targets (fishing, weddings, California
vacations) is also a possibility if budget permits.
2.14 In addition to digital marketing, a variety of traditional media are essential to the campaign.
Billboards on Interstate 5 will create a substantial increase in impulse stops.
2.15 A single full-color print brochure is a necessity. Single color inserts can allow for targeting specific
demographics. A visitors’ map with all local attractions and businesses should also be produced.
(Previous brochures have emphasized services over attractions. This needs to be corrected.)
2.16 Budget permitting, T.V. advertising is a possibility for generating day trips and weekend getaways
from the immediate region. A more likely medium is radio, which is far less expensive to produce and
distribute. Radio advertising could prove a very effective method of establishing the “Dunsmuir
Weekend” concept.
2.17 Since paid advertising is expensive, a central element of the campaign must be the generation of
free publicity: the creation of media stories through, press releases, events, stunts, viral marketing, etc.
One good story in the national media on Nancy’s Gold, or the Best Water on Earth or a Bigfoot sighting
can do more to publicize Dunsmuir than 10,000 brochures, at virtually no cost. Any marketing
professional knows how to create those stories and get them published.
2.18 An example of free publicity is selling bottles of Dunsmuir water online for $50 a bottle. These
would be in unique high-quality bottles with fancy labels reading “Dunsmuir Tap Water” and “The Best
Water on Earth. The purpose is not to sell water (though some will undoubtedly sell), but to generate
publicity for Dunsmuir. By sending out press releases (with complimentary “$50” bottles of water) we
can virtually guarantee highly positive media coverage.
Another simple freebie is to establish a Sister Village program with other comparable towns in California
and worldwide. This allows for cross-publicity in both local markets, and allows Dunsmuir favorable
comparison to Julian, Ojai, Ferndale, etc.
An effective marketing department can generate feature stories on everything from Dunsmuir fishing
holes to the legend of Nancy's Gold. Free advertising is the best kind.
2.19 Finally, the most important element of any campaign to market Dunsmuir is the human element.
Advertising is important, but contacts and networking are essential. Dunsmuir needs to make itself
known to every wedding planner, group leader and travel agent within 500 miles. Person-to-person
contact with everyone who has a reason to book a Dunsmuir vacation (for themselves or for profit) is our
best means of generating income.
2.31 To implement this marketing campaign, Dunsmuir needs to establish a Marketing Office with the
single focus of bringing tourism, business and relocation to Dunsmuir. This office should be funded by the
City of Dunsmuir , the Chamber of Commerce & local businesses and organizations, as wells as by
self-generated revenue. Additional funds should be sought through vigorous grant applications in
economic development and California tourism. Given our budgetary concerns, this office can be staffed
by volunteers and interns from CoS and DHS, but it needs to be run by a professional.
2.20 While it clearly needs some professional guidance, the campaign to market Dunsmuir must be a
community effort. It demands the combined efforts of local business, government and community
organizations. The gardeners of Dunsmuir need to be in charge of our garden brochure, the railfans the
rail page, the artists the arts, etc. The job of the marketing office is to display this information in such a
way that it will increase tourism and relocation. Dunsmuir has a rich and diverse cultural environment that
deserves to be seen by the rest of the world. We are dependent on the specific knowledge of our citizen
to help us show off Dunsmuir in the best possible light. The community of Dunsmuir needs to understand
that we are all in this together and concentrate on developing the image of Dunsmuir as a whole. We
need to choose our best representatives and present a united front. The picture of Dunsmuir we show to
the world must be as appealing as possible.
2.21 There are hundreds of untold stories in our community that could be used in the campaign to market
Dunsmuir. The same is true for photographs and memorabilia. The marketing office should hold a
Dunsmuir photo/story contest to collect as many of these marketing treasures as we can. We need every
good picture of Castle Crags or Railroad Days and every story of a UFO or the trout that got away. It is
absolutely essential to involve as much of the town as possible in the marketing effort.
2.29 An effective marketing campaign demands a single focus, and sufficient coordination to ensure that
everyone stays on message, and that that message is one that will achieve desired results. To run such a
campaign Dunsmuir needs an experienced professional Director of Marketing. A DM is someone with
audacity, creativity, and a willingness to tell uncomfortable truths to those in power. A DM will have a
wealth of new ideas to generate positive publicity, tourism, relocation and income for Dunsmuir. Mostly a
DM is someone who knows how to create and implement a marketing campaign. There is a reason we
refer to combined marketing efforts as a “campaign”. Like military or political campaigns, a marketing
campaign is a complex coordinated effort involving tactics, strategy, personnel, and resources. Whoever
directs the effort to market Dunsmuir should be a veteran of numerous comparable campaigns. With the
economic future of our town on the line, this is not a job Dunsmuir can afford to give to an amateur.
2.30 An ideal marketing director will create, publish, promote and maintain all web sites, advertising and
other promotional materials; Organize volunteers and marketing interns; Identify and target potential
tourists and relocators; Accumulate and organize photo libraries and promotional images; Write all
advertising copy; Build viable mailing lists and organize mass contacts via email; Design and market
vacation packages and other Dunsmuir tourism products; Establish contacts with traditional and digital
media, wedding planners, travel agents, organizations and webmasters; Assist local businesses with
increasing their advertising presence through signage, marketing techniques and web development; and
Develop and implement short- and long-term marketing strategies. In short, a Director of Marketing is
someone who can sell Dunsmuir to the world.
2.23 The first step in the marketing campaign is reconceptualizing Dunsmuir. To meet its economic
challenges, the town of Dunsmuir needs to change two things: The way the world thinks of Dunsmuir, and
the way Dunsmuir thinks of itself. The latter change may prove the most difficult, but it is essential if
Dunsmuir is to thrive in the modern climate. We need to stop thinking of Dunsmuir as JUST a historic
railroad town (though we will always celebrate our history). Dunsmuir needs to think of Dunsmuir as a
tourist destination; a quaint little art deco village in the forest with magnificent mountains and spectacular
waterfalls; a wonderful place for a family vacation or a romantic getaway. Dunsmuir needs to think of
tourists as money in the bank.
2.24 There are also numerous minor internal changes that can make Dunsmuir more tourist-friendly:
keeping restaurants open more hours, creating romantic walking trails to local attractions, moving phone
lines to create photo opportunities, etc. These changes will all improve Dunsmuir for residents as well.
But increased tourism also has its negatives, in the form of the tourists. Few people are on their best
behavior when vacationing, and the most successful tourist locations realize this and make allowances.
Dunsmuir cannot afford to do otherwise.
2.25 Selected phone, cable & power lines could be rerouted to afford more charm and better photo
opportunities. The portion of north Dunsmuir visible from Interstate 5 is more recent and less picturesque
than the historic art deco downtown. However, this area is a prime location for Dunsmuir billboards to
influence impulse stops. In addition to highway billboards, there are numerous locations where signage
could increase local business in Dunsmuir. Lack of business signs is especially problematic on the side
streets leading down to Sacramento Avenue and the Arts district, because it is off the natural traffic flow
and easy to overlook. The new mural will help, and to some extent this problem can be corrected with
signage. Alternative means to draw traffic might include colored pavement or the addition of an
eye-catching attraction at the bottom of Pine Street, (ie a fountain, arch or signpost).
2.26 Dunsmuir can capitalize on Babe Ruth’s historic 19— visit by creating a Babe Ruth Museum near the
field where the Bambino played. The little utilized Parks & Recreation building seems like a natural site for
this purpose. A series of plaques surrounding the field could tell the story of how the railroad brought
celebrities to Dunsmuir, and the details of Babe’s visit. A small museum with a chance to touch Babe Ruth’
s bat and walk the field he played would be a nice little tourist attraction, and commemorative of Dunsmuir’
s unique history.
2.27 Other creations would help Dunsmuir’s reputation as a destination for lucrative weddings,
honeymoons, anniversaries and romantic getaways. The creation of a drive-through Floral Arch would
provide a natural photo opportunity for couples in love. (This could also be used to draw traffic down to
Sacramento Avenue or to attract attention on the stretch of Dunsmuir Avenue visible from I-5). Other
changes are merely nominal: Naming one of the town fountains the “Fountain of Love” with a plaque
recounting the legend of the Crystal Pool, or naming the individual falls of Mossbrae “Honeymoon Falls”,
“Anniversary Falls”. With a concerted effort we can make the brand name Dunsmuir synonymous with
romance, like Niagara or Paris.
2.22 Dunsmuir’s greatest economic potential is undoubtedly from tourism. Nonetheless, the
transformative effect of the internet has created new revenue streams available to current Dunsmuir
residents. By correctly capitalizing on these sources of income, we can help mitigate our low employment
rates and bring additional dollars into the community. The key to promoting technology and e-commerce
in Dunsmuir is not marketing, but training. A few free classes at the community center and the library with
guest lectures from local tech companies and College of the Sikiyous professors could provide Dunsmuir
locals with the tools they need to operate successful e-stores, auctions, blogs and other businesses, all of
which would bring resources from the world at large into the local economy. Adding a hundred part-time e-
businesses would be a great boon to the Dunsmuir community, and seems entirely within reason as a
short-term goal. By providing its citizens with the training and infrastructure necessary to compete in the
global marketplace, Dunsmuir can position itself as a telecommuting community for many years to come. A
high tech Dunsmuir will market itself.
2.28 Most importantly, if Dunsmuir becomes a tourist town our cultural, architectural and environmental
heritage becomes more than a sacred duty: it becomes our bread and butter. Preservation of these
treasures is central to Dunsmuir's future.