Chamber of Commerce unveils successes from tourism marketing

Chamber CEO Lisa Farquaharson said the show aired two nights a week for nine weeks as part of the network’s “Explore Local” segment.

“The true cost for each segment was $2,133.34, but we asked for each business to provide a $200 payment. We wanted to make sure they were locked in so they were committed, then we covered the rest,” she said.

Farquaharson noted this money came from the tourism budget and resulted in a total of 696,200 impressions, according to KATU’s Nielsen Ratings.

“All of [the businesses] felt like this was a great deal,” she said. “There’s no other way any of them could have gotten that level of coverage with just $200.”

Farquaharson dove into the chamber’s digital marketing stats through analytics platform Datafy, showing year-over-year performance gains and increased visitor traffic through paid ad campaigns.

The chamber’s digital marketing results showed not only improved visitor traffic from targeted ad campaigns, but also demographic metrics that’s helped the chamber zero in on their ideal visitor.

The report describes the chamber’s target visitors as active, independent globetrotters who have traditional values and are drawn to spending money on outdoor/extreme recreation and experiences.

Farquaharson showed a test ad campaign through Datafy in which the chamber spent $4,981.26 on paid ads and generated 1,351 clicks. The platform listed 7,749 tracked visits and 646 hotel room nights booked in connection with the campaign between April 27, 2023, and April 6, 2024, with an estimated monetary impact of $1,611,792.

“The fun thing is, when someone clicks on one of our ads we can follow that click until they get here to The Dalles and find out how long they stay, because it’s all cellphone driven,” Farquaharson said. “It’s amazing — it’s also a little scary that all this data is out there, but it’s there so we might as well use it.”

Mayor Rich Mays noted that Portland and the Quad-cities represented almost 60% of the total visitors to the Columbia Gorge Area over the last year, but only 50% of the spending. Farquaharson explained this is because those individuals have the proximity to visit for a shorter amount of time, and noted that Datafy tabulates all visitors — including individuals who may be commuting to the area for work.

Seattle and Spokane are also targeted areas where Farquaharson has seen traction with her ad campaigns. The chamber’s marketing report lists other areas such as Tacoma, Central and Eastern Oregon as part of the geographical region targeted with digital ads.

In other news

In other news, the council voted to authorize the replacement of the municipal wastewater treatment plant’s UV disinfection system.

They also voted to increase their stipend from $100 per month to $400 per month, and the mayor's to $500 per month.

Councilor Dan Richardson said this increase is negligible to the budget and may diversify the council.

In agreement, Councilor Darcy Long said she had spoken to a woman in her 30s with two small children who would be interested in running if she was compensated enough to cover childcare.

The stipend increase passed unanimously.