The Experiential Development Process

Experiential Project Benefits:

• Creates new, richer, immersive experiential products
• Drives repeat business, length of stay, and visitor spend
• Updates existing product in a compelling way
• Transforms brand attributes into tangible, point-of-sale products
• Ensures new product moves from concept to market
• Addresses key market segments (tour and travel, small meetings, conferences, conventions, and consumers)
• Gives small business, cultural and nonprofit partners access to product development expertise they cannot underwrite on their own
• Educates partners in a repeatable ongoing product development process
• Develops sales skills in the partners to promote and market their product
• Implements a tracking program to demonstrate results and measure ROI

The Experiential Development Project involves a group of select travel partners by sponsoring DMOs that collaborate for a six-to-nine-month period of time. During the Project, the travel suppliers implement the Experiential Process within their organizations with the assistance of Opportunities Unlimited associates and Joe Veneto.

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The Experiential Development Process includes:

• Experiential assessment to uncover strengths, weaknesses, gaps and opportunities for new development
• Presentation to Travel Partners “Engineering Experiences - from Concept to Competitive Advantage”
• Implementation of the Experiential Development Process with Supplier Partners
• Monthly onsite work with travel partners to design, craft, script and stage experiences
• Four high-content workshops for partners:
  • Possibilities and Stories for Unforgettable Experiences
  • Staging & Scripting Unforgettable Experiences
  • Selling & Marketing Your Experiences
  • Best Practices for Delivering Unforgettable Experiences
• One-on-one Experiential Consulting and design work with Opportunities Unlimited experts
• Implementation of a tracking program to measure R.O.I.
• Monthly notes on Next Steps and Action Items to ensure accountability
• Assistance with website development and navigation to market and promote new experiences
• Two onsite follow-up sessions after the rollout of Experiential tourism products

The project is typically sponsored by a Destination Marketing Organization to innovate and drive new product development. The project requires executive level commitment from the DMO host along with participating organizations.

Supplier Partners include cultural organizations, arts groups, museums, historic homes, large and small attractions, wineries, restaurants and culinary venues, galleries, state and national park sites, etc.

The DMO sponsor designates a key associate who works directly with Opportunities Unlimited and the participating partner organizations. Throughout the project, Opportunities Unlimited associates are onsite twice a month to meet and work with selected partners.

The project runs from six to nine months, depending on the scope, number of partners and the desired outcomes. The designed experiences are applicable for customers in the tour & travel, conventions, small meetings and consumer market segments.

To date, four DMOs have incorporated the Experiential Development Process with their selected partners. These destinations include Philadelphia CVB, Experience Columbus (Columbus, Ohio), Dutchess County Tourism (Hudson Valley, NY) and Virginia Beach, VA.