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Elevate tourism and local business growth with co-op marketing.
When we had the chance to sit down with Maureen Morgenthien, the director of marketing for Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau, we knew we were in for some valuable insights. Nestled on Florida’s Southwest coast, this hidden gem of an outdoor destination offers visitors a break from the usual tourist spots, known for its natural charm and distinctive outdoor experiences.
Maureen shared how their partnership with us through a co-op program has helped elevate their destination’s visibility and benefited not just Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach, but also their local partners. From tailored digital marketing strategies to reaching new travelers, she walked us through how our approach helped them drive growth and capture the attention of potential visitors looking for something off the beaten path.
Keep reading to hear Maureen’s insights and see how this partnership is making a real impact for Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach and its community.
As the Visitor and Convention Bureau for Charlotte County, Florida, we introduce the destination to both national and international visitors. Our media plan creates awareness and attracts travelers, focusing on staying top of mind when people are searching for vacations, sports, meetings, and convention travel. This drives significant economic impact for our community, including the creation of many jobs. The money visitors spend in our destination flows throughout the local economy, from accommodations and dining to grocery stores and gas stations. In fact, the impact of visitors on our local economy saves each household approximately $1026 in taxes due to visitor spending.
Most importantly, partner engagement is key. We’re always looking for creative ways to increase the benefits of working with us. We leverage media that we already have in the marketplace to support local businesses, allowing them to take advantage of pricing they may not be able to secure on their own. It’s a discount for them and delivers visitor attention directly to their business. This approach stretches everyone’s budget, including ours.
We want to engage the community as much as possible and provide value through our partnerships, and the co-op program is the perfect way to do that. We’re eager to share our knowledge—anything we can do to help our partners and their businesses.
We worked with Sojern on our media plan, and when the team introduced the co-op program with the opportunity for a one-to-one-to-one match, we knew there was no reason not to participate. Being able to stretch both our dollars and our partners' dollars with Sojern’s support is an incredible benefit.
We focus on bringing our partners on board, and Sojern takes care of everything else for us. As a small bureau with a limited team, managing our resources efficiently is crucial since we wear many hats and constantly juggle responsibilities. Having Sojern manage the program is a huge relief—it allows us to focus on other priorities without worrying about the staffing demands.
The Sojern Co-Op program is one of the best programs we’ve ever offered to our partners. It was the most successful initiative in our co-op lineup, and we expect even greater success this year.
To share a little history, when I started at the Bureau four years ago, the media plan was predominantly print. I wanted to shift the plan to be more digitally focused, and having worked with Sojern in the past, I brought the team on board and made them a part of our media plan. They serve our ads to people who are looking to visit our area. Capturing that intent is what's really important.
Extending that reach to our partners as travelers move down the marketing funnel has been a great benefit for all of our small businesses. The feedback from our partners was overwhelmingly positive. One partner mentioned that his business saw measurable growth in Q1—it was the best Q1 he ever had.
The co-op program with Sojern has been the most popular offering in our co-op plan for 2024. Some partners who had never worked with us before took advantage of the program. It has accomplished everything we aimed to achieve for our small businesses. We expect the same for 2025, if not increased participation, as we saw a lot of engagement during our co-op presentation to partners for 2025.
I think the ability of the program to reach people who have already booked in the destination is key for many of our small businesses. As a destination, we focus on the top of the funnel—building awareness and creating demand. As travelers move down the funnel, our smaller businesses benefit. Once we know who’s coming, they have the opportunity to showcase everything we offer, from attractions, dining, and museums to gardens, fishing, boating, kayaking, and more.
The Sojern dashboard is extremely useful for us, and the monthly reporting we receive is exceptionally detailed. The Economic Impact Report (EIR) is a valuable tool for me. It allows us to see booking windows and track how many flights and hotel rooms are booked, confirming that our plan is working. I use it to ensure everything is on target and to monitor what’s happening in the marketplace. For example, booking windows may be short, but are they growing? Searches are valuable, but bookings are even more valuable.
The team makes it incredibly easy for us to work together. The business model is exceptional—it's really, really beneficial for our business, and we get a return on our investment that exceeds our expectations. It’s seamless, from sales to service, support, reporting, and the dashboard. Being able to capture travel intent signals and make them relevant for our region is crucial, and it brings customers directly to us. The one-to-one-to-one match is fantastic for our small businesses, as it leverages their dollars and benefits our destination.
Partnering with Sojern is one of the best initiatives I’ve been able to bring to the bureau. I’m very pleased with the popularity of the program, both from the marketing we do with you on our own and the co-op plan, which is invaluable to us. Our partners love it, and so do we. It’s been a great relationship, and we truly value it. Working with Sojern has made my job much easier, and we plan to continue working with the team for a long time.
Interested in seeing the results of this collaboration? Check out the Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach case study to learn more.
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