For Immediate Release
Media Inquiries: Sarah Malpeli
SMITH
(941) 315-1226
smalpeli@smithadv.com

SMITH Agency Partners with Southeast Tourism Society for New Five-Year Strategic Plan

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (May 19, 2009)—SMITH, a fully-integrated advertising and marketing agency with offices in Fayetteville and Raleigh, N.C., Sarasota, Fla. and Hilton Head Island, S.C., recently presented a new, five-year strategic plan to the Southeast Tourism Society at the organization's Spring Meeting in Montgomery, Ala. As the official corporate partner and agency of record for STS, SMITH was invited to analyze the organization’s current situation and finalize the plan, in collaboration with STS staff in Atlanta. The strategic plan was adopted by unanimous vote of the STS Board of Directors.

The plan identifies and leverages the fundamental changes that the industry will face to transcend current economic conditions, including continual accountability for results, increased emphasis on digital communication for effectively informing and inviting visitors, reduced dependence on one-time impressions and greater reliance on informative dialog to generate visitor interest

“As the mentality of travelers’ change, so must the means in which we market to them,” remarked SMITH President Gary Smith. “As a region, we became much more adept at marketing to "drive markets" in the aftermath of 9/11, and we will now become much more adept at marketing to our electronic contacts in response to the current economic uncertainty. And similar to our response after 9/11, these new digital techniques will make us stronger, smarter and better off financially far into the future.”

This is the fourth in a continuous series of strategic plans that STS has used since 1983 to guide its service to members in southeast travel and tourism industry. STS comprises nearly 1,000 members in 12 states. The new strategic plan focuses on extending STS service to more members through increased service in industry education and advocacy.

STS is a long-time leader in professional education for people in the destination marketing and service industries. As an industry advocate among legislators, regulators, agencies and funding sources, STS fosters rich relationships based on the benefit of real information on the contribution that tourism makes to local, state and regional economies. In addition, STS further uses the economies of scale to offer its members access to marketing techniques and resources that might otherwise be beyond the individual members' scale or reach.

“As part of the strategic plan, we will embark on a continual monitoring process,” said Smith. “The STS Advisory Council will make regular inquiries to see that progress is made toward specific objectives and SMITH will take an active role in this ongoing development and monitoring process”

SMITH is an advertising and marketing agency driven by discovering what makes people who they are and what motivates their decisions, and then planning strategic communications accordingly. The 35-year-old firm offers fully-integrated services that include brand development, account planning, marketing research, interactive services, creative, media planning/buying and public relations.

SMITH’s clients include regional, national and global companies in travel and tourism, healthcare, consumer products, real estate and financial services. The SMITH team has honed its planning and creative skills on blue-chip and Fortune 500 brands including Hershey, BMW, Coca-Cola, ESPN, WebMD, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and American Express, as well as leading travel destinations such as Hilton Head Island, Pinehurst, Augusta, Sarasota, and Asheville. SMITH is also a corporate partner and the agency of record for the Southeast Tourism Society.

For more information on SMITH, call (800) 421-1973 or visit www.smithadv.com.