POSTED BY: | January 10, 2010

The tourism marketing organizations for the state of Wyoming and the city of Wichita, Kan., have hired SMARI to conduct market research in 2010.

Under a three-year contract with Wyoming Travel & Tourism, SMARI will profile overnight visitors to the state, as well as measure the effectiveness of the state’s advertising in attracting more leisure visitors. The research will help Wyoming to efficiently target the right visitors in the right markets with an effective message.

Go Wichita Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking a measure of the effectiveness of its 2009 advertising campaign. The bureau used a new brand and advertising campaign in 2009, and the research will analyze the effectiveness of ad placement and success in top markets for business and leisure travelers.

Other ongoing projects include:

• Ad effectiveness, travel guide conversion and website impact research for the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Division. SMARI is examining how well the tourism advertising campaign is performing in attracting visitors to the state. The research also will determine how many potential travelers who requested a travel guide then subsequently traveled to Texas. The third element of the research will determine the impact of the state’s website on travelers’ desire to visit the Lone Star State.
• Ad effectiveness and conversion research for the state of Oklahoma. SMARI is examining how well the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department’s advertising campaign is performing in regard to attracting visitors to the state. The research also will determine the level of conversion among those who requested information or those who visited the www.travelok.com website.

Carmel-based Strategic Marketing & Research, Inc., established in 1983, has conducted research for travel and leisure-related organizations since 1990.