Mindgruve and The Chickasaw Nation partner to develop a brand refresh for casino traditional and mobile websites.

SAN DIEGO, CA – September 23, 2011 – In June 2011, Mindgruve, a San Diego-based digital media firm, partnered with The Chickasaw Nation, an American Indian Nation in Oklahoma, to implement a brand refresh and develop a series of Casino web and mobile sites. The project requires Mindgruve to bring their expertise to produce strategy, design, and development of user facing, front end websites that allow each separately branded casino to convey it’s own unique look and feel.

To meet Chickasaw’s need to brand all of the casinos together and individually, Mindgruve will build a single enterprise level CMS architecture that will be shared amongst all of the traditional web and mobile sites, but still allow them to each be customized to tailor to the needs of each specific casino. The technology has shown to be robust, yet agile and easy to maintain. It is also very scalable to accommodate future growth for The Chickasaw Nation’s many gaming facilities which includes one of the largest casinos in the world.
Read More

Robust new site offers travelers details, deals and planning for their next SoCal vacation.

SAN DIEGO,CA – February 24, 2010 – To provide visitors to the Carlsbad area of southern California with an easier travel planning experience, San Diego-based digital media agency, Mindgruve, recently launched a comprehensive, SEO optimized, conversion-driven and mobile friendly website for client, Visit Carlsbad.

Featuring an easy-to-use Content Management System (CMS), the new website can be regularly updated to keep its content fresh and relevant to travelers. “We wanted to ensure that if you were interested in southern California, you were provided with all the information you would need in a single location online,” stated Mindgruve President, Chad Robley. With tools that include interactive maps, an events calendar and integrated hotel booking, planning full vacations can now be handled easily at VisitCarlsbad.com.

Additionally, an updated design and social media integration have made the Visit Carlsbad brand more accessible to potential travelers. “From the minute people arrive at our site, we want them to experience Carlsbad. The new design along with the ability to connect, learn and share on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr gives them a taste of the hospitality and fun they’ll have when visiting,” explained Sam Ross, Visit Carlsbad Executive Director. Additionally, a travel blog provides an insider’s perspective on the best deals and activities for any type of traveler.

A second phase of the site will soon follow and include additional points of interest such as last minute deal offers. It will also provide a user portal for hotels, restaurants and attractions to update their unique pages with upcoming specials and events.

About Visit Carlsbad

Visit Carlsbad is the Convention and Visitors Bureau for the Carlsbad area. It serves approximately 30 area hotels ranging from beach bungalows to luxury accommodations by presenting and promoting vacation ideas, packages, attractions and deals for the area. VisitCarlsbad.com.

New online campaign invites travelers to learn about San Diego North, visit and share their experiences.

SAN DIEGO,CA – February 3, 2010 – To start 2010 with positive tourism efforts, San Diego North Convention and Visitors Bureau enlisted Mindgruve, a San Diego-based Digital Media Agency, to develop and launch an online campaign that would engage travelers and encourage them to visit.

Launched January 22nd, the Great Story Campaign tells potential visitors to not be left without their great story by visiting San Diego North. Geo-targeting communities within driving distance of San Diego, including Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco, paid search and behavioral media points consumers to conversion-centric landing pages that showcase deals, events and contests.

“While the tourism world is familiar with ‘San Diego,’ the north region offers an amazingly diverse list of activities and amenities that many aren’t aware of. As a perfect location for exploring all of southern California, we hear amazing stories about what people find every day. This campaign encompasses what San Diego North is all about – no matter what you do while you’re here, you’ll leave with an amazing story to tell when you get home,” stated San Diego North Director of Marketing, Barbara Bovee.

In addition to a traditional online campaign, Mindgruve has also helped San Diego North embrace social media to connect with travelers, share stories and increase contest entry. Mindgruve President, Chad Robley explained, “Traveling is an extremely social activity. Through these channels, it becomes infinitely easier to share experiences, give or get advice, and learn about unique deals. Adding a storytelling contest about previous trips, provides yet another channel of content to excite travelers about their potential trip.”

The great story campaign has been immediately embraced by travelers with increased site traffic and social media interaction.

About San Diego North

The San Diego North Convention and Visitors Bureau represents approximately 300 hotels spanning from La Jolla to Oceanside. By combining the efforts of these hotels to offer a cohesive message, San Diego North engages and incites travelers to explore the northern San Diego coastline and all the amenities it offers. www.sandiegonorth.com

Visit Carlsbad shows impressive tourism numbers to start new year.

SAN DIEGO,CA – February 1, 2010 – While the San Diego region experienced an 8.3% drop in 2009 room occupancy compared to 2008, the Carlsbad area has shown great promise for a better 2010 in the year’s first weeks.

Of the regions in San Diego county, Carlsbad showed the strongest gain in occupancy rate over the first several weeks of of the new year at 6.5%. Carlsbad also saw the smallest decline in Average Daily Rate (ADR) at 1.8% and was the only area to post positive growth for Revenue Per Available Room (REVPAR) due to increased occupancy and minimal decline in ADR.

“We believe the strong brand and outstanding presence that Mindgruve has helped us create online has allowed us to start 2010 with solid performance while other local and national markets still struggle,” stated Sam Ross, Visit Carlsbad Executive Director.

About Visit Carlsbad

Visit Carlsbad is the Convention and Visitors Bureau for the Carlsbad area. It serves approximately 30 area hotels ranging from beach bungalows to luxury accommodations by presenting and promoting vacation ideas, packages, attractions and deals for the area. VisitCarlsbad.com.

Carlsbad CVB looks to keep momentum going with San Diego, California-based digital media firm.

SAN DIEGO,CA – After two successful campaigns over the spring and summer of 2009, Visit Carlsbad has once again decided to tap their neighbor to the south, digital media firm, Mindgruve, to take on their interactive marketing efforts over the next year. “Working with Mindgruve, we saw phenomenal results right away for both our spring campaign and our Endless Summer campaign. We received over 15 million online impressions and had an almost 16% rise in ‘room nights’ year-over-year, while most of the industry was experiencing a decrease in occupancy,” stated Sam Ross, Visit Carlsbad Executive Director.

Having moved Carlsbad into the number one ranking in both ADR and RevPar against all other San Diego regions in May, Mindgruve looks to not only maintain that status, but build upon it. “We’re extremely excited about the contract extension with Visit Carlsbad. We had great success through behavioral targeting and retargeting our display ads, as well as email marketing and our deal-centric microsites. In the coming year, we will overhaul Visit Carlsbad’s existing website to introduce in-depth content and improve usability,” said Chad Robley, Mindgruve President.

Another main focus moving forward will be forging a powerful two-way dialog with consumers. Carlsbad shows a longer than average trip stay compared to other areas (2.5 nights versus 1.8 nights elsewhere). Understanding and promoting why this is will help serve to better solidify Carlsbad as a top vacation spot. Sam Ross extrapolated, “Now that summer is over, we want to make sure that people will continue to take advantage of everything the Carlsbad area has to offer. It’s why we’re in the process of establishing a strong social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, among other sites. Through these channels, we can connect with visitors, helping them be the first to know about our travel deals, as well as allowing them to share stories about, or offer suggestions on, planning the perfect getaway.”

About Visit Carlsbad

Visit Carlsbad is the Convention and Visitors Bureau for the Carlsbad area. It serves approximately 30 area hotels ranging from beach bungalows to luxury accommodations by presenting and promoting vacation ideas, packages, attractions and deals for the area. visitcarlsbad.com.

Over 300 hotels look to use interactive marketing to capitalize on mini-vacation trend this fall

SAN DIEGO, CA – In an effort to bolster tourism in a struggling economy, San Diego North has chosen to partner with San Diego, California-based digital media firm, Mindgruve. “We were looking for someone who could maximize our dollars and stimulate hotel occupancy. We have one of the greatest vacation areas in the country, if not world, so we wanted to make sure people found us on the internet when they were searching for vacation deals,” explained San Diego North Director of Marketing, Barbara Bovee. She continued “Mindgruve has a great track record of creating results-driven campaigns and that is exactly what we’re looking for.”

Focusing on travelers within driving distance of San Diego, Mindgruve is rolling out a comprehensive internet marketing plan that targets areas such as Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and encourages their residents to get away to San Diego’s northern coastline. “We’ve already implemented rich media ads, behavioral targeting and retargeting, as well as instituted an aggressive email marketing plan – all based around the trend of mini-vacations. The average vacation stay for people right now is only 1.8 days, so we want to make sure visitors make the most of everything our area has to offer in that time,” stated Chad Robley, Mindgruve President.

Looking to further engage active travelers, Mindgruve has also developed a Facebook fan page and Twitter account, which allows would-be vacationers to get a first-hand look at everything that is available to them. Barbara Bovee elaborated, “to us, it made perfect sense. Travel is often a very social thing to do. Not just during a trip, but also while planning it and then telling everyone about it afterwards. Through our social media presence, we’ve created a forum specific to our area where consumers can get the latest deals as well as share or plan their next adventure.”

About San Diego North

The San Diego North Convention and Visitors Bureau represents approximately 300 hotels spanning from La Jolla to Oceanside. By combining the efforts of these hotels to offer a cohesive message, San Diego North engages and incites travelers to explore the northern San Diego coastline and all the amenities it offers. www.sandiegonorth.com

The City of Carlsbad hires Mindgruve to promote summer hotel packages to Los Angeles and Orange County families.

SAN DIEGO, CA - After the success of their spring campaign the City of Carlsbad has again chosen San Diego-based digital marketing firm, Mindgruve, to create and launch their new 2009 Endless Summer Stimulus Campaign.

The three month marketing push funded by the City of Carlsbad, CTBID and [Energy Co.], involves a comprehensive online and offline marketing strategy designed to promote “20 irresistible summer hotel deals” to families traveling to Carlsbad, CA.

The summer campaign targeting families in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas includes direct mail, a hotel deal microsite, email marketing, paid Google search and online banner advertising to form a cohesive, fully integrated marketing effort.

“The success of the Carlsbad campaign is more evidence of how critical the role of digital media now plays in all Destination Marketing Organizations. The internet is now the epicenter for the marketing mix enabling lower cost of customer acquisition and vastly improving marketers ability to measure campaigns in real time. Additionally, search marketing is shortening the buying cycle and delivering customers at a time of need” states Mindgruve president, Chad Robley.

Mindgruve and the City of Carlsbad’s last integrated marketing campaign proved extremely successful.  Their spring campaign had over 3.5 million brand impressions in the first 60 days as well as a 105% increase in page views and 152% increase in site visitation year-over-year in that same time period. This increase tripled hotel bookings on the visitcarlsbad.com website in the first 60 days of the campaign.

Marketing and Internet Media Company tasked with developing new Carlsbad brand and “heads in beds” strategy

CARLSBAD, CA - Mindgruve, a San Diego-based advertising+interactive marketing firm, announced today they have signed a contract with the Carlsbad BID [Business Improvement District: responsible for improving Carlsbad's tourism market share in Southern California]. As part of the agreement, Mindgruve will be developing a brand platform, logo, and print collateral campaign. However, the primary focus of the marketing investment dollars will be allocated to the internet strategy, microsites, paid search, search optimization, affiliate marketing, social media, and email marketing portion of the agreement.

This partnership was created to jump start Carlsbad tourism in light of the recent downturn in the economy and tourism market. “Carlsbad is home to some of the word’s finest hotels, resorts, golf courses, beaches, and attractions,” says Reint Reinders, President of Reint Reinders & Associates, the consulting firm for the Carlsbad BID. “We will be actively pursuing families who are seeking hotel and attraction deals and packages within several regional feeder markets including Southern California and Arizona.”

Mindgruve plans to develop a series of highly targeted micro websites to promote Carlsbad destination-centric family package deals. “This campaign will be centered around search marketing to families looking to drive relatively short distances for a vacation at a reduced price”, says Chad Robley, President of Mindgruve. “The combination of a world class family destination and value-based marketing approach provides a great opportunity for families to explore Carlsbad.”