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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOshkoshAssessmentReportLowResAssessment Findings and Suggestions Report Oshkosh, Wisconsin Summer 2021 Destination Assessment INTRODUCTION In May and June of 2021, a Destination Recovery Assessment of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was conducted, and the findings were presented in a two-and-a- half hour workshop. The assessment provides an unbiased overview of Oshkosh—how it is seen by a visitor. It includes a review of local marketing efforts, signage, attractions, critical mass, retail mix, ease of getting around, customer service, visitor amenities such as parking and public restrooms, overall appeal, and the community’s ability to attract overnight visitors. In performing the Destination Assessment, we looked at the area through the eyes of a first-time visitor. No prior research was facilitated, and no community representatives were contacted except to set up the project. The city and surrounding area were “secretly shopped.” Any person looking to relocate their business, industry, or residence will come to your community as a visitor first. Tourism is the front door to all your economic development efforts. Once potential visitors find information about your area, are the marketing materials good enough to close the sale? In the Marketing Assessment, we reviewed your visitor website and print marketing materials. A typical community has five opportunities to close the sale: 1) Personal contact (visitor information centers, trade shows, etc.) 2) Websites 3) Brochures and printed materials 4) Publicity (articles) 5) Word of mouth—the most effective means We searched the internet for activities, requested and reviewed printed materials, and looked for articles and third-party information. As we prepared for travel to your community, we searched both commercial and organizational websites promoting the area, tourism websites, and read travel articles and guidebooks. The marketing assessment determined how effective the marketing was in convincing a potential visitor that the area would be worth a special trip, a stop, or an overnight stay. The key to the marketing assessment is to see if you have a primary lure that makes you worth a special trip of a one-hour drive, or from further away. The question on most visitors’ minds is: What do you have that I can’t get closer to home? What makes you worth a special trip? Where most communities falter is when they merely provide “lists” of what the community has, whether it’s truly “unique” or not. Nearly every community in North America promotes the usual list of diversions: local museums, shops and restaurants, plenty of lodging, golf, outdoor recreation, historic downtowns, scenic vistas, etc. Of course, nearly every visitor can do these things closer to home. So, what makes Oshkosh worth the trip? Always promote your primary lure first—what makes you worth that special trip. THEN, promote your diversionary, or “complementary” activities. 2 Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report INTRODUCTION Would you go to Anaheim, California, if Disneyland wasn’t there? Do you think that Universal Studios and Knotts Berry Farm mind that Disneyland gets all the glory? Of course not. Eighty percent of all tourism spending is with those secondary activities. Disney does the heavy lifting in terms of advertising and promotion, and the diversionary activities benefit as well. In a nutshell, the marketing assessment looks for what makes your community worth a special trip, or a great place to live, or to do business. We look for details, details, details. Do you give a reason for visiting, and do you provide enough information to make it easy to plan a trip? Are the marketing materials good enough to close the sale? The second part of the assessment process is the On-site Assessment. During this part of the assessment, we spent several days in the area, looking at enticements from the highways (signs, billboards, something that would get a visitor to stop), beautification and overall curb appeal, wayfinding (ease of getting around), visitor amenities (public restrooms, visitor information, parking), activities, overall appeal, retail mix (lodging, dining, shopping), critical mass, customer service, area attractions, pedestrian friendliness, gathering spaces, evening activities, and the availability of marketing materials and their effectiveness. The area benefits from tourism when visitors spend money, and they do that in the local gift shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. Therefore, the On- site Assessment includes a candid look at private businesses as much as public spaces and amenities. For every shortcoming or challenge we note during the assessment process, we provide a low-cost “suggestion,” where possible, on how the challenge can be corrected or overcome. The suggestions are not termed “recommendations,” as they were developed without consulting the community first about possible constraints, future plans, or reasons why the suggestions may not be appropriate. Hopefully this assessment process will open dialogue within the community, leading people to adopt some or all of the suggestions, taking them from suggestions to recommendations. It’s important to note that to increase the city’s tourism industry, fulfilling one or two of the suggestions may have little impact, but implementing a number of them, if not all, can have a profoundly successful impact on the city’s ability to tap into the tourism industry. Implementation of these suggestions must be a region-wide effort, involving both privately owned businesses as well as local, county, and state agencies, where appropriate. Every local organization plays a role in tourism, downtown revitalization, or economic development efforts. A Destination Marketing Organization (DMO, CVB, Chamber, TPA, etc.) will not be successful if the tourism effort is not region-wide. In many cases, issues may come up that you are already aware of and are already working on. In that case, the assessment validates those efforts. But more often than not, the assessment will point out things that you are aware of but can’t mention or bring up without paying a political price. Local politics can be a killer of the tourism industry. Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report 3 INTRODUCTION programs easily see that the industry subsidizes the community, whereas other communities find that they subsidize visitors—providing services visitors use without them leaving enough money behind to cover the cost of those services. The primary goal of the tourism industry is to bring more cash into the local economy. This doesn’t happen when visitors come into the community, get out of their cars, and take photographs. And it doesn’t happen when visitors go swimming in the lake at your park all day, sunning, and eating the lunch they brought from home. And it doesn’t happen when visitors hike down your trails, enjoy your interpretive centers, or stroll through your lovely arboretums. These are all great things to do, and, of course, you do want your visitors to do these—but, you also want to entice them into your shops, your cafes, espresso stands, restaurants, galleries, B&B’s, and hotels, ultimately opening their wallets to make purchases. That is what helps your local economy, your small merchants, your hoteliers, and your tax coffers. To entice visitors to spend money in your community, you need to have places for them to spend it—you need to have the right mix of shops, restaurants, entertainment, and lodging facilities, all in an attractive setting, as well as attractions that make them want to visit you in the first place. While marketing efforts are important, product development is the most important factor of a successful tourism industry. Visitors want activities, not just things to look at. How much time can a visitor spend enjoying activities—that cater to their interests—in your area? Does your community have truly unique attractions the visitor can’t get closer to home? You must be able to deliver on your marketing promises, otherwise visitors might come once, but they won’t come back. It’s much more cost effective to bring people back, than to always go out and entice new visitors into town. “Been there, done that” communities eventually run out of visitors and find they don’t have a sustainable tourism industry, or they simply become pit stops or gateways on the way to somewhere else. After spending several days reviewing marketing materials and assessing the community, we have looked at all of these issues, and have developed some suggestions and ideas the community can discuss and possibly implement to help increase tourism spending locally. SUCCESSFUL TOURISM TRANSLATES TO CASH Tourism is successful when the community imports more cash than it exports. When residents spend their hard-earned money outside the community, the community is exporting cash—often referred to as “leakage.” Tourism helps fill that gap, importing cash into the local economy without the necessity of having to provide extended social and other services. Visitors come, spend money, then go home. When you import more cash than you export, you have a positive “balance of trade.” Communities with successful tourism 4 Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report INTRODUCTION THE THREE TYPES OF TOURISM 1. Visiting friends and family The number one reason people travel is to visit friends and/or family. If you did nothing to promote tourism, you would still have tourism in your community. However, when friends and family come to visit, do your residents take them out to eat, shop, dine locally? Or do they head to a neighboring community? Do your locals even know what you have to offer? An effective tourism marketing effort also includes educating locals as to what you have and how to find it through effective wayfinding signage, gateways and advertising. 2. Business travel The second most popular reason for travel is business. Included in this category is educational travel: colleges and universities, as well as conventions and meetings, corporate travel, vendor travel, etc. Like leisure travelers, this group is looking for things to do “after hours” while in the area. The most successful convention and trade show towns are the result of their secondary activities or “diversions,” not simply because of their convention and exhibition facilities. Think Disneyworld, Disneyland, San Antonio’s River Walk, Banff, to name a few. 3. Leisure travel The third, and most lucrative of all types of visitors, is the leisure traveler. They have no personal connections to the community, but are coming purely to enjoy themselves. They stay in commercial lodging establishments, eat virtually all their meals in local restaurants, and their top diversionary activity is shopping and dining in a pedestrian- friendly setting. The average leisure visitor is active 14 hours a day, yet typically only spends four to six hours with the primary lure. They then spend eight to ten hours with diversionary activities—things they could do closer to home, but will do while in the area. A good example of this is Branson, Missouri, the “live music-theater capital of the world.” This town of 6,500 residents hosts 7.5 million visitors a year. The primary “lure” is the 49 music theaters. The average visitor attends two shows a day over about Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report 5 INTRODUCTION four hours. During the other hours of the day, the visitor will shop in local outlet malls, head to the water parks, theme parks, and other attractions, play a round of golf, hike, bike, fish, do some bird watching, and participate in any number of other activities they could do closer to home, but will do while visiting Branson. THE THREE STAGES OF TOURISM 1. Status quo If you take no action to develop the tourism industry, you will still have an element of tourism, simply because some travelers will pull off local highways or freeways for gas, food, or lodging, as well as the fact that the number one reason for travel is to visit friends or family. If you have residents, you will have some tourism. 2. Getting people to stop The first priority of developing a successful tourism industry is getting people to stop. Imagine how successful businesses in the community would be if just 50% of the vehicles traveling through pulled off the highway and spent just 30 minutes in your community—buying gas, an ice cream cone, a sandwich, a gift or souvenir? If there’s a strong pull, imagine the money spent if visitors stayed two hours in the community, which nearly always translates to additional spending. The first goal is to get those travelers to stop. 3. Becoming the destination To become a destination community you must have attractions and supporting amenities that convince visitors to spend the night. And those attractions must be different from what the visitor can get closer to home. Overnight visitors spend four times that of day visitors, and nearly ten times that of visitors using your community as a pit stop on the way to somewhere else. THE FOUR-TIMES RULE Visitors will make a point of stopping or staying in a community if it has enough activities that appeal specifically to them and will keep them busy four times longer than it took them to get there. In other words, if a person has to drive 15 minutes to visit you, do you have enough for them to do to keep them busy for an hour? (4 times 15 minutes) If a visitor has to drive an hour, do you have the activities and amenities to keep them busy for four hours? The more you have to offer, collectively, the further visitors will come, and the longer they will stay, and of course, the more they will spend. This is why it is so important for communities to market more than just their immediate geographic areas. By marketing nearby neighboring activities and attractions, you present much more for a visitor to do, and you make the visit worth the trip. Visitors don’t care about city limits or county lines – so market the broader package and you’ll be able to keep people in the area long enough to translate to another meal, some more shopping, and hopefully, an overnight stay. 6 Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report INTRODUCTION SELL THE EXPERIENCE, NOT GEOGRAPHY Nearly every destination marketing organization is charged with promoting a geographic area, yet visitors couldn’t care less about those boundaries. They are looking for activities that cater to their interests, and location is second to the experience. ALWAYS promote the primary lure first, then the location. People by the millions head to Disneyland, Disneyworld, Dollywood and other attractions. They are not going to Anaheim, Orlando or Pigeon Forge. Always sell the activity—the experience—THEN the location. LURES, DIVERSIONS AND AMBIANCE Too often communities promote the list of diversions that nearly every community has. The primary lure is the activity that a visitor can’t find closer to home. Always promote your primary lure, then the diversions. Do not try to be all things to all people. Have you ever gone anywhere because they had “something for everyone?” Of course not—you go there because they have something specific for you. Find your niche and promote it like crazy. Historic downtowns provide ambiance—they are not attractions, diversions, nor are they a primary lure. It’s what’s in the buildings that makes a downtown a destination. The same can be said for scenery. Unless your vista is a world-class scene, such as Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon, scenic vistas create wonderful ambiance, but don’t translate to spending, and they only last a few minutes. Then what? All too often communities promote their heritage as a primary draw. How far would you travel to visit a mining museum? A timber museum? An agricultural center? A county historical museum? Heritage must be outstanding and pervasive throughout the community to be a primary lure, such as Plimoth Plantation or Salem, Massachusetts. Thousands of communities are the “capital” of something. For instance, in California, Borrego Springs is the grapefruit capital of the world. Gilroy is the garlic capital. Modesto is the tomato capital. Gridley is the kiwi capital. Oxnard is the strawberry capital. Fallbrook is the avocado capital. But here’s the question: Have you ever gone anywhere because it was the capital of a fruit or vegetable? Your local heritage is important to the community and can set the ambiance, even becoming a diversionary activity. For local heritage to be a major attraction, it needs to combine activities with ambiance, and it needs to be pervasive throughout the area. BE DIFFERENT OR THE BEST Why should a visitor come to your community if they can enjoy the same activities closer to home? Too many communities promote “outdoor recreation” as their primary draw. Unfortunately, that is the same attraction promoted by nearly every community in North America. If you are different, then you have a reason for travelers to choose to visit you. If you are the best, then visitors will generally flock to your doors. If you have great hiking trails, then market their unique qualities. Be specific and paint the image Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report 7 INTRODUCTION of how wonderful they are in the minds of your potential visitors. If you have one fantastic restaurant in town, let people know about it – a unique dining experience is something many people will travel far to enjoy. Ashland, Oregon, previously a depressed timber town, began its Shakespeare Festival, which now runs nine months of the year and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors who spend an average of six nights in the community. The Shakespeare Festival made Ashland different from any other community. Leavenworth, Washington, another dying timber town, adopted a Bavarian architectural theme and produces dozens of Bavarian events every year. Some now say the town looks more genuinely Bavarian than towns in Bavaria. It is now one of the primary tourist destinations in Washington state, hosting more than 2.5 million visitors annually. They offer a different experience, an experience that is pervasive throughout town. Okanogan County, Washington is an outdoor recreational paradise—just like 37 of the 38 other counties in Washington. So why go to the Okanogan? Because they are the best. They researched guidebooks, newspaper and magazine articles, and pulled quotes they could use in their advertising efforts. Like, “Pinch yourself, you’re in Okanogan Country with perhaps the best cross country skiing on the continent.” This, and other quotes like it, make it worth the drive to visit Okanogan Country. The third-party endorsements show that they are the best. Set yourself apart from everyone else, and you’ll see that by being unique, you’ll be a greater attraction. CRITICAL MASS MEANS CASH Although it may not be the primary reason why visitors come to your community, shopping and dining in a pedestrian setting is the number one activity of visitors. Besides lodging, it is also how visitors spend the most amount of money. Do you have a pedestrian-friendly shopping district? If not, can you create one? Many communities have been highly successful with the development of a two or three block long pedestrian “village” including visitor-oriented retail shops, dining, visitor information, washrooms, etc., all in an attractive, landscaped setting. The general rule of thumb in those two or three blocks (not spread out all over town) is 10+10+10: Ten destination retail shops, which includes galleries, antiques, collectibles, home accents and furnishings, artists in action, book stores, logo gear (clothing), souvenirs, outfitters, tour operators, shops such as kites, jewelry, wine or tobacco shops, and other specialties. The second ten is for food: ice cream, fudge and candy stores, soda fountains, sit-down dining, coffee shops, cafes, bistros, delis, etc. And the final ten are businesses open after 6:00 pm. This includes entertainment: bars, dance clubs, theaters (movies and performing arts), retail shops with activities (piano bar in a wine shop), etc. The important point is to group these businesses together to create the “critical mass” in a pedestrian- friendly setting. This will attract visitors as well as locals, and make it worth their while to stop and shop. People are always drawn to the critical mass—the opportunity to have multiple choices, 8 Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report INTRODUCTION multiple experiences, all in a convenient and attractive setting. TOURISM IS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY The goal of successful tourism is for people to come into the community, spend money, and go home. Tourism is one of the world’s fastest growing industries, and supports millions of jobs. Ninety percent of tourism industry businesses are small businesses of which 90% have less than 15 employees. Tourism provides the opportunity for entrepreneurs to get started, for small family-run businesses to thrive, for artisans and craftspeople to find a market, and creates the basis for a unique niche-retail environment including wineries, artists, crafts, etc. Tourism provides a diverse market within the community, expanding its potential. Enhancing the community through beautification efforts creates an attractive setting for both locals and visitors, key in revitalizing a community’s downtown. And a tourism-friendly town will attract non-tourism industries faster than others—new businesses will see the community as a visitor before they make a final determination about the community. Tourism is the front door to all your economic development efforts. The benefits of a healthy tourism industry can rejuvenate a town, foster community pride, encourage economic diversity, and lead the way to a vital, successful community. Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report 9 INTRODUCTION NEXT STEPS The findings and suggestions in this report will provide many ideas, strategies, and goals to reach for. We hope that it fosters dialogue and becomes a springboard for the community in enhancing the tourism industry and other economic development efforts, leading to greater prosperity, rejuvenation, and enjoyment by all the citizens. This report offers a first step in reaching that goal. To fully realize the benefits of this assessment, the community should take these findings and suggestions, discuss them and evaluate them, and develop a plan for implementation. Developing a detailed plan would help to build on the results of this assessment, adding in-depth research, evaluation, and local input to develop a unique implementation program. The assessment process essentially provides a look at where you are today. Your plan should be an “action plan” as opposed to a “strategic plan.” You want a to do list, by organization, not just general strategies, goals and objectives. Turn these suggestions into recommendations. The recommendations should provide all the necessary steps for your town to be successful in attaining its goals of a more diverse economy with an enhanced tourism industry and to become more attractive and enjoyable for both visitors and citizens. A good plan will provide a program to get local residents and the business community pulling together, building the town’s unique image in the minds of visitors and residents alike. The result of your efforts will be a prosperous, enjoyable environment in which to live, work, and visit. 10 Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report INTRODUCTION Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report 11 INTRODUCTION Findings & Suggestions Our assessment process included reviewing Oshkosh’s marketing materials, plus looking at your online presence, reviews on TripAdvisor and other information sites, as well as performing the “secret-shopping” on-site assessment. We have a list of 60 key elements we review, and so far, we have worked in more than 2,200 communities in 45 states, across Canada, Western Europe, and Scandinavia. We’ve worked in many places throughout Wisconsin, including Manitowish Waters, Wausau, Shawano, Door County, Appleton, Lake Geneva, Marshfield, Green Lake, Racine, Wisconsin Dells, Burlington, Waterford, Wind Point, Caledona, Union Grove, Neenah, Grand Chute, Manasha, Kakauna, Little Chute, Kimberly, Keshen, and others. We are so glad to finally be able to assess Oshkosh! We looked at Oshkosh as: 1) a place to live and raise a family, 2) a place to work, invest in, or bring a business, and 3) a place to visit. This assessment process included no “heads-up” interviews or correspondence, no advance input on attractions or places to stay or things to do. Oshkosh was “secret-shopped.” The entire focus of this assessment is: What else can be done, locally, to make Oshkosh an even better, stronger, more desirable place to live, invest in, and visit. 12 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We spent about a week in Oshkosh, and we felt lucky to be here over a sunny holiday weekend. We spent a lot of time in downtown, walking the waterfront, looking at the lakes, and driving all throughout the area. We found so many beautiful places all throughout the city. It is stunning! The latest visitors guide was immensely helpful for us in planning our activities, so hats off to Visit Oshkosh for creating such an excellent guide. We spent a lot of time in downtown, walking the waterfront, looking at the lakes, and driving all throughout the area. I. Wayfinding We had no problems finding the gateways to Oshkosh, which are very attractive, make a great statement, and are well-placed (bottom right). Being part of of Winnebego County, where there are many attractions, plus being on two sides of a river with freeways going through the city, makes it kind of difficult to connect all your attractions and amenities and make them easy to find. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 13 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Throughout this report, you will see some suggestions—not recommendations—as we are making these suggestions without input from the community. Suggestion 1: Develop a county-wide wayfinding system and redevelop the Oshkosh wayfinding. Locating parks, museums, attractions, all the different districts throughout Oshkosh, the country club, expo center, trails, and more was very challenging. It was necessary for us to use our navigation system to find nearly everything (top right). You need to make it easier for your visitors to locate attractions, amenities, districts, etc., without having to rely on a navigation system. The wayfinding signs that already exist in downtown Oshkosh are not as helpful as they could be—they really need to be redone. There are too many lines of text to be able to read while driving (bottom left and right). Most of the arrows just point you in the direction, but then there are no follow-up signs to show you where to go from there. There should never be more than seven lines of text on wayfinding signs. The text on these signs is also too compact, making them difficult to read. 14 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS People have four seconds while driving to read a sign, and these signs have too much on them to read without stopping. Avoid using condensed type on wayfinding signs. We suggest you work with the county to develop a county-wide system. Outside of downtown, there’s no wayfinding, making it even more difficult to find attractions, amenities, and even downtown Oshkosh. When we reached this stop sign (top right), there were two arrows on the sign that directed us to go straight ahead. But there was no road there—only a trail. So it was very confusing. A county-wide system will connect all the dots, and visitors will have a much easier time navigating and locating all the places you want them to see. Suggestion 2: Create a map to place on this sign board (bottom left) showing the Riverwalk and riverfront. Suggestion 3: We didn’t know exactly where the Riverwalk was—there were no signs identifying it. We assumed it was all the sidewalk area along the river (bottom right). In your wayfinding, include a pedestrian wayfinding system that shows people where to find the Riverwalk, where it goes, and what they can find along it. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 15 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We thought this stretch of walkway (top left) must also be part of the Riverwalk, but we weren’t sure. It’s all very beautiful, and very enjoyable to walk, but we didn’t know where or how far it went, and if there was anything to see and do along the way. We also wanted to find the Wiouwash Trail, but we couldn’t find any signs directing us there, so we search for it through our navigation system. Our nav system led us 17 miles outside of Oshkosh to this part of the trail (top right). We’re sure there must be an access point closer to Oshkosh, but we couldn’t find it. As we were looking for access to Lake Butte Des Morts, we found a sign that pointed us to this location, indicating that this was a county park (bottom left). Since there isn’t even any parking here, we’re sure the sign must just be wrong. We saw this sign directing us to the Winnebago County Boat Landing (bottom right), and it was correct, so we were able to find that. These are the types of things that can be very frustrating for visitors. The whole area is extremely beautiful, but it was frustrating trying to locate certain places. 16 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Suggestion 4: At the boat landing area, which is gorgeous (top left), we saw people enjoying the scenery, and possibly fishing. We wondered if there were trails nearby. Add signage or a kiosk letting visitors know about any trails, fishing opportunities, a little history of the landing, etc. A wayfinding system is an investment, not an expense. A good wayfinding system increases retail sales. It pays off by educating locals and visitors about what your attractions are and how to find them. It makes the visitor experience more pleasant so they will stay longer. Wayfinding signs can mitigate traffic flow—you can direct traffic to certain attractions the best way. It promotes your brand—you can include Oshkosh’s logo at the top of each sign, and the county and other cities can use their logos at the tops of their signs. These signs help create a sense of place and a sense of arrival—letting visitors know when they’ve arrived. Wayfinding helps eliminate sign clutter and prevents incomplete systems. This is the age of convenience. If we can’t find what we’re looking for easily, we just say, “Next!” and we’re gone. This example of a good wayfinding sign (bottom right) is in Modesto, CA. Note that it is attractive, decorative, easy to read, and only contains four items. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 17 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS II. Invite us back. Not only do you want to attract first-time visitors, you also want to invite your visitors back. The EAA Museum (top right) does an excellent job getting visitors to make a return visit. “Museum open all year” is a great way to encourage people to come back again. Where the EAA Museum is expanding (bottom left), they use it as an opportunity to invite visitors back to see the changes and upgrades (bottom left). This sign encourages visitors to enjoy First Fridays in downtown Oshkosh (bottom right). Great job! 18 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS The Leach Amphitheater (top left) looks like a fantastic facility. It was completely locked up, and there were no readerboards indicating that any events were upcoming. Suggestion 5: Put up three or four readerboards to let people (residents and visitors) know about upcoming events. We walked all around the amphitheater, and finally found this small board (top left), but it didn’t have up-to-date information about upcoming events. Suggestion 6: At the Menominee Nation Arena (bottom left), we had a hard time finding what the upcoming events were. It’s too cluttered with various signs. Put up a readerboard that makes it clear what the upcoming events are, and when they will be held. Suggestion 7: Around the corner, the signage at the Menominee Nation Arena that says that there is a Resort/Casino was confusing (bottom right). Is there a resort here? Lodging? Casino? Is it being refurbished and will reopen? If so, let us know. Invite us back. And make it clear what is open right now. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 19 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS As we drove and walked around downtown, we had a hard time finding The Grand Oshkosh—the opera house (top left). We were usually on Main Street, and there is no signage for The Grand along Main. Even when we walked along the side street right in front of The Grand, the sign was not obvious. Adding wayfinding signage to The Grand will help a lot. It is a gorgeous building. Suggestion 8: Add a sign at The Grand telling about upcoming public events to invite us back. The signage on this building (bottom left), letting us know what is coming soon, is great. Especially with all the business closures due to COVID, it’s more important than ever to invite people back and let us know about upcoming events. Suggestion 9: This area of Ford Festival Park and Country USA (bottom right) is closed and locked up tight. It looks like it will never reopen. Will there be an upcoming event here? If so, add signage to let the public know what’s going on and when the events will take place. 20 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS This festival area looks like it’s permanently closed (top left), so if there are upcoming activities, it’s very important to put up signage and let us know. Invite us back. We thought for sure your waterpark (top right) would be open. But there’s nothing to tell us when (or if) it will open for the summer. We found out later that it opens June 12th. So, right there on the blue sign, just write “Opening June 12th.” Invite us back. This is a very inexpensive way to encourage visitors to return. We found the golf club, but there was no sign to let us know if it was open to the public (bottom left). If it’s open to the public, it would be good to know if there is a pro shop, if there are cart and club rentals, if it’s 18 holes, and if there is a restaurant. With no signs to let the public know these answers, many people will just assume it’s private and leave. Suggestion 10: Use the board to tell us when the waterpark will open (top right). Suggestion 11: Put a sign up at the front of the golf club welcoming guests and providing all the information they need. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 21 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS III. Catering to RVers RVing is the fastest growing trend in tourism, and the average age of a person buying an RV is 38. Many young people will buy their travel trailer and simply live in it. Suggestion: On DestinationDevelopment.org, be sure to watch the video “Marketing to RVers.” It has a wealth of information to help you take advantage of this fast-growing trend. RVing is becoming so popular so quickly that there is a shortage of camping places. For our work here in Oshkosh, we are staying in our own RV. But by the time we had our schedule arranged, we had a very hard time finding a place to camp. Nearly every place was full! So there is a big demand for more RV parks and campgrounds. 22 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We looked at other RV parks and campgrounds in the area, but they were full during our stay. The Oshkosh area could benefit from more. Suggestion 13. We took a look at the Circle R (top left), and it looks nice, but they need to update their website and signage. Make it easier for potential visitors to contact them. We also looked at Camp Scholler, which is open for camping only during AirVenture (top right). Suggestion 14: Could Camp Scholler consider being open for camping throughout the year, or at least during the summer months, not just during AirVenture? These facilities are just sitting empty so much of the year, and with the demand for more camping space, it seems like it would be a good money- maker. The RV parks and campgrounds in the area look very nice (bottom left and right). Oshkosh, Wisconsin 23 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We found Winnebago County Park (top left), and it is fabulous. We couldn’t help but think that if the county could add a campground to this park, it would be fantastic. Possibly run by a concessionaire? Suggestion 15: There are a lot of paved trails Winnebago Park (top right), but we didn’t know where they went or how long they were. Add pedestrian wayfinding for the trails. Suggestion 16: With all the amenities the County park has, it would be great to have a campground/RV park there as well. There is a lot of acreage, and there is a huge demand for more camping. Consider development of a 100-space RV park. The revenues could go back into the parks department. Suggestion 17: We saw the Winnebago Conservation Memorial Grove, which looks very nice. Is there anything to do here? Any trails? How big is this? Add interpretive signage, more information, and brochures about the Grove. 24 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We found the Sunnyview Exposition Center (top left), and it looked like there was a big event going on. There were trucks and trailers filling the parking lot, but we had no idea what the event was. There were no signs. Suggestion 18: Add a couple of readerboards detailing the upcoming events at Sunnyview Exposition Center. Suggestion 19: Create a rack brochure “The RVers Guide to Oshkosh & Lake Winnebago.” People who travel in their RVs spend a lot of money in the communities they travel to—they just usually spend money on different things than other visitors. This type of information should be included in the guide (bottom right). Many RVers also enjoy the traditional visitor activities of shopping, dining, and entertainment as well. The top activities of RVers is hiking, fishing, and biking. This does nothing to take away from hotels/motels. Of course “heads in beds” is very important. RVers just provides you an additional market. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 25 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS IV Create a Trail or Two Putting together “Trails” is a great way to get visitors to visit multiple businesses that might be spread out, but have a common theme. Wine Trails and Arts Trails are a couple popular types of trails. Suggestion 20: Create an “Oshkosh Libations Loop” or “Libations Trail.” This would include breweries, wineries, and distilleries. Create a brochure to show people where each is located, what makes each unique, and how to find them. We found this brewery (top right) by accident as we were driving and exploring the area. It’s located well away from downtown, and if there had been a “Libations Loop” brochure with a map with this included, we would have been able to find it easily. We found the Fifth Ward Brewing Company (bottom left) and Fox River Brewing Company (bottom right). 26 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Vines & Rushes Winery was fantastic (top left). They even have live performances. Hendricks Family Distillery (top right) would be great to include. Greenes Pourhouse (bottom left) could be included as well, and we’re sure there are more. You’d create a brochure with a center map that shows each one. It could be a public/private partnership where each winery, brewery, and distillery pays for their own page. Suggestion 21: Consider creating a “Farm to Table Trail.” It would include the attractions throughout the county. It could include Rosendale Dairy (bottom right), as well as many more. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 27 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS There are perhaps a dozen farms throughout the county that could be included in the “Farm to Table Trail” and its brochure. You could work with each farm to come up with consistent hours and days they would be open. One thing wonderful about Oshkosh is that a person can drive five minutes and be out in the country. Suggestion 22: Create a “History Tour.” This could include the Oshkosh Public Museum, EAA Aviation Museum, The Grand Oshkosh, Military Veterans Museum, and the Paine Art Center & Gardens. A number of years ago, we were working in Olympia, Washington. There are several small museums scattered throughout the area, and they each had their own marketing budgets. They decided to combine efforts and make a Heritage Attractions brochure to promote all the museums as a trail (bottom left and right). They tripled the number of visitors while cutting their collective marketing costs by nearly two-thirds. These trails could all be in separate “trail” brochures, as well as posted on your visitor website. 28 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS V. The Very Best of Oshkosh Suggestion 23: Create “The Very Best of Oshkosh” rack brochure. Top places to eat/shop/see/experience/try. This sample “best-of” brochure (bottom left and right) was created by Alpena, Michigan. It highlights their top activities, restaurants, and shops. People love finding out what the very best activities are; that’s why customer reviews and ratings websites are so popular. You do need to promote your private businesses. After all, the goal of tourism is to import more cash into the community, and that is accomplished through people spending money at private businesses. To create your “Best Of” brochure, establish criteria. For example, each entry must be: highly regarded (with positive third-party reviews), have good curb appeal, be open year round (eight months?), be open until at least 7:00 pm, be open six days a week and be unique to Oshkosh. Important note: 70% of all consumer spending takes place after 6:00 p.m. They should be invited to participate based on the criteria. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 29 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Alpena snail-mailed a copy of the “Best Of” brochure to each household in their town, with a card that said, “The number one reason people travel is to visit friends and family. We hope you’ll hang onto this brochure so that when your visitors arrive, you will show them the best that Alpena has to offer. After all, we believe every dining room table should be a concierge desk.” Within days, people would be stopping by shops and restaurants that they had never even realized were there. This is a “Best Of” brochure created by Wausau (top left). Bentley University’s Center for Marketing Technology discovered that for visitors, prior to traveling, 32% of their traveling decisions came from brochures, while the majority of their research and decisions came from the internet, followed by friends recommendations. BUT, during travel, visitors like to use hard-copy brochures—81% of decisions while traveling come from brochures. Market your top: • Restaurants (10) • Retail shops (10) • Attractions (10) • While you’re here activities (10) 30 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS In Alpena, there were some merchants who complained that they weren’t included in the “Best Of” brochure, but they later found that their sales increase too, because when visitors came to the other shops that were promoted, they also went into the nearby shops. Each year the brochure can be recreated, and some merchants who hadn’t met the criteria before, may be able to make it the next time. This provides incentive for businesses to make improvements. We chose some of your “Best Ofs” based on what we saw, to get you started: • The EAA Air Museum • Military Veterans Museum • Settlers Mill Golf & Games • Pollock Community Water Park • Paine Art Center & Gardens • Oshkosh Public Museum Oshkosh, Wisconsin 31 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Additional “Best Ofs” for the brochure: • Concerts at the Leach Amphitheater • The Oshkosh Riverwalk • Performances at the Oshkosh Grand Opera House • Concerts and events at the Menominee Nation Arena 32 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Additional “Best Ofs” for the brochure: • Special events at The Waters • Fox River Brewing (We can’t say enough nice things about Fox River Brewing—we loved the location, the colorful tables and chairs, the family-friendly atmosphere) • Original Oaks Chocolates at the Oaks Candy Corner • Rhapsodies Gourmet Frozen Custard Oshkosh, Wisconsin 33 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Additional “Best Ofs” for the brochure: • Caramel Crisp & Cafe • Leon’s Frozen Custard • Originals Mall of Antiques (it doesn’t really make it for curb appeal, but it was obvious it’s a destination and always busy) • Ardy & Ed’s (this place must be a local institution) 34 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Additional “Best Ofs” for the brochure: • Mahoney’s Restaurant & Bar • Gardina’s Kitchen & Bar • On the Loos Cruises • Menominee Park & Zoo (we think this is the best family parks in the country!) Just take a look at your list of “Best Ofs!” We are amazed at the number of wonderful places Oshkosh has to visit. Oshkosh feels so family-oriented, we were constantly seeing families enjoying themselves outside! Oshkosh, Wisconsin 35 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS While we were at the Menominee Park Zoo, we saw this sign (top left) telling about all the improvements they are in the process of making. That is wonderful! It gives us a big reason to come back. Additional “Best Ofs”: • Rainbow Memorial Park • Log Cabin Bar & Grill (yes, it’s a biker bar, but it has great burgers and entertainment) • Wiouwash State Recreation Trail 36 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Additional “Best Ofs”: • Terrell’s Island (this was gorgeous, and the signs were helpful and friendly) • Vines & Rushes Winery (great wine, beautiful setting, friendly hosts, and entertainment) • Pete’s Garage Bar We were disappointed that we couldn’t include Hughes Chocolate Shop because it isn’t consistently open, but we heard from locals that the chocolates are amazing. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 37 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We were disappointed that Tamara’s Cake Guru moved (top left), and we didn’t have a chance to find it. Oshkosh has an amazing list of “Best Ofs”—so far, 28 of them! It could be that we missed some, too. VI. Hidden Gems Suggestion 24: Private sector opportunity: Hidden Gems of Oshkosh. A great example of this private sector marketing piece is 101 Things to do in Door County. The author wrote up 101 hidden gems that would primarily only be known to locals (bottom right). These are special little itineraries that make the place even more special. Not “Best Ofs,” but very specific things to see and do to make your visit more enjoyable. The author paid $5 for printing each book, sold the books to Wisconsin State Parks or visitor centers for $9 each, and they sold them for $15 each. 96% of visitors who bought these books made an average of four trips to Door County so they could do more of the things in the 101 Things to Do in Door County. This is a fantastic marketing piece. 38 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We think this is the coolest building and classic trucks (top left). This could be a hidden gem that people like to take a look at. We also saw this amazing building (top right), and we didn’t know what it was, but think it’s very cool. It turns out that it’s a private residence, but we were happy to have found this hidden gem just to see it from the outside. VII. Downtown When we look at downtown, we have to remember what can help make a downtown successful. These three statistics are critical: • 70% of all consumer spending takes place after 6:00 pm • 80% of all consumer spending is done by women • 70% of first time sales can come from curb appeal Oshkosh, Wisconsin 39 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS There is nothing you can invest in (besides schools) that will create a faster or better return on investment than your downtown. You want your downtown to be the heart of your community: the place where locals and visitors want to spend their leisure time shopping, dining, being entertained, and socializing. You want your downtown to be vibrant and full of activity. We were so surprised by the lack of people spending time in downtown on the holiday weekend. People weren’t hanging out downtown at all. We were also disappointed in the lack of curb appeal. It seemed that few merchants tried to make their shops attractive enough to pull visitors inside. One critical component of a successful downtown is having the right business mix. This is called critical mass: the 10+10+10 Rule. In order to have enough of the right businesses to attract people to spend time downtown, within a three-lineal block area, you need to have 10 places that sell food; 10 destination retail shops; and 10 places open after 6:00. We inventoried the business on Main Street, and these are the businesses we found (bottom right). 40 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Also along another couple of blocks, you have these business (top left). Downtown Oshkosh doesn’t have that critical mass to be a destination for residents or visitors. Although shopping malls are dying across America, businesses in a downtown need to adopt the “mall mentality,” which includes being open consistent hours and days; being open late into the evening hours; clustering like businesses together; having one or two anchor tenants, and promoting them; and having a central gathering place. Think about how antique malls do 10 times the business when they are grouped together. How auto malls do 7 times the sales when they are together. Restaurants do better when they are grouped together. People are attracted to the choices. Suggestion 25: Work to orchestrate the business mix downtown. Determine what the focus of downtown should be, then make a list of the businesses you need downtown to bring that vision to life. The city could hire a person to work directly with property owners and businesses. Once one-third of the property owners are on-board with the vision, the rest of property owners will see the value. Suggestion 26: Consider creating an overlay district for a few blocks along Main Street downtown to restrict the types of businesses on the ground floor. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 41 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Successful downtowns are more about Etsy-style shops, rather than Macys. Shops that do well in downtowns include the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker (top right). Specialty shops like the cupcake shop and frozen custard shops are ideal downtown. The business mix is what’s important. You can make downtown beautiful with street trees, decorative lights, pots and benches, but it’s what is in the buildings that’s most important. The number one activity of visitors in the world is shopping, dining and entertainment in a pedestrian-friendly setting. That’s why Disney created Downtown Disney outside each of their parks. You need to recruit the right business mix to make downtown a destination. Here are some ways you can help make downtown more successful: Blade Signs Can you tell what is in any of these shops (bottom left and bottom right)? Is there anything to entice me to walk down these streets? 42 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Suggestion 27: Use blade signs. These are signs that are perpendicular to the street. When we are walking or driving down a street, we see things that are perpendicular to us. We don’t see what is on the face of a building unless we drive very slowly and turn from side to side to see what is inside the shops. Blade signs make it easy for people to see what is in the shops ahead. These are a good example of blade signs in Leavenworth, Washington (top left) that are on all of their shops. They make it easy to see what stores are available, let you know immediately what they sell, and entice you to continue down the street with the promise of more interesting shops. Nantucket, Massachusetts (bottom left) also uses very good blade signs, as does Carmel, California (bottom right). Most successful downtowns have blade signs. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 43 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS These (top left) are in Canmore, Alberta. There are some general rules for blade signs: They should be no lower than seven feet, no higher than nine feet, and no wider than 42 inches. This will prevent sign clutter. As with all of these examples, they don’t have to be cookie-cutter. They can be very distinctive, decorative, and show off the business while sticking to general guidelines. You can work with your businesses to design and create effective blade signs. Be sure they promote what the business sells first, not just the name of the business. You can even put together a blade sign buying co-op to get discounts on the signs. Curb Appeal Does this entrance do anything to make you want to go into the store (bottom left)? It’s plain, stark, and drab. Why do you think this car dealership (bottom right) would go to the expense of putting in these ponds, fountains, and landscaping? Because it creates a great impression. It looks like a great place to buy a car. 44 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Fletch’s Local Tap House wins the prize for curb appeal (top left). It’s gorgeous with the hanging baskets, beautiful facade, and the flowers. It could use a couple of benches out front, but they do a really good job. Peabody’s Tavern & Sideyard (top right and bottom left) does a very good job as well. The lights over the Sideyard are lit up at night, the planter boxes look great, and the fence is very attractive. Good job. Suggestion 28: Add a bench flanked with pots of flowers outside this beautiful shop (bottom right). It is a very attractive shop with great window displays, and the addition of a bench and pots would really help pull customers in the door. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 45 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Artful Gift (top left) has the nicest window displays in town. The building facade is beautiful. The addition of pots and a bench would be a perfect touch to attract visitors. Suggestion 29: Manila Resto (top right) looks great, with a beautiful building facade. Add some pots and a bench or table and chairs out front. The dining patio at Manila Resto (bottom left) looks wonderful. We loved the pots and the brightly colored umbrellas. The Meat Market and Winnebago Bicycle (bottom right) look really great. You’ve got the butcher downtown! And we love to see bike shops downtown as well. The signs are attractive. We’d love to see some pots out front. 46 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Cities should be in charge of curbside beautification; shops and/or downtown organizations should be in charge of facade-side beautification. The city is doing a good job with the street trees and pots of flowers. But the businesses don’t seem to be doing much for the facade-side beautification (top left). Downtown beautification should be a public/private partnership. Although many of the businesses have attractive window displays and building facades (top right), there’s nothing to attract you or pull you into a shop as you are looking down the street. There’s nothing to soften the transition between the sidewalk and the building. Businesses should never put out pots like these (bottom left) to be used as ashtrays. It gives a very poor impression of the whole downtown, and first impressions are lasting impressions. Suggestion 30: Create a buying co-op for pots and planters and plantings. The goal downtown should be to have a bench or table and chairs with decorative pots every three to four feet in front of the buildings. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 47 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Beautification is a great investment, and one way to help merchants make it more affordable is to organize a buying co-op. You could implement a beautification program similar to that of Fredericksburg, Texas (all photos this page). Their merchants combined forces and funds to purchase pots, planters, planting soil, and shrubs for everyone, then had students and youth clubs do the planting as fundraisers. Notice that most of the pots are filled with evergreen shrubs—that makes them low maintenance. Shops had the pots ready to plant in the autumn, but they waited until spring to plant them with shrubs and flowers. For winter they stuck colorful pinwheels into the dirt. You need more than one or two pots on either side of shop doors. Fill in empty facade areas with pots and benches. That will cause visitors to slow down, get out of their cars and stop to take a look. Since women account for 80% of all consumer spending, make sure downtown and the shops there appeal to women: with beautification, safety, well-lit at night, and places to relax. 48 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS This is a photo of Neenah, Wisconsin before beautification (top left) and after shop-front beautification (top right). After they added the beautification, retail sales went up 30%. Curb appeal can account for 70% of first-time sales; it’s important! We all travel. Have you ever said, “That looks like a nice place to eat.” We all judge from outside appearances. Take a look at the beautification in Cambria, California (bottom right). Doesn’t this make you want to shop here? Oshkosh, Wisconsin 49 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS This coffee house owner in St. Albert, Alberta (top left) redid his outdoor dining area and changed the name of the shop. This is the shop after his improvements (top right). Amazing! His business went up 400%! It’s amazing what beautification can do for a business and for a downtown. Oshkosh can do this! Suggestion 31: Move all benches to the building facade, facing out, and flank each bench with pots and planters. People don’t like to sit directly facing parked cars; people like to sit with their backs to the building, looking out towards the sidewalk so they can people-watch. Why do people so often put chairs outside on their front porch (bottom right)? We may not even sit in those chairs, but the chairs make the house look welcoming. This applies to retail shops as well. 50 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Imagine if the entries to your shops downtown all looked like this (top left). This is in Ashland, Oregon. Or if they looked like these shops (top right), or like these (bottom left). Suggestion 32: Create a retail assistance program for retail merchandising and recruitment. Often retailers come into their shops each day from a back door and don’t even notice what their customer entrance looks like. For example, this shop (bottom right) has nice window displays, but much of the entry is lacking in appeal. The far left side should be painted, and painting the metal trim a vibrant color would add to the appeal and make the shop look more modern. The closed sign needs to be redone—it’s worn out, and the tile in the entryway is filthy and should be scrubbed clean. Adding some pots would make it much more attractive as well. These aren’t expensive fixes, but they’d make a big difference. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 51 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS The awning (top left) is very worn and filthy, and it needs to be replaced. Visitors notice these things, and if they think a shop’s exterior isn’t appealing, chances are they won’t go in. Curb appeal is important! Suggestion 33: This building looks drab. Add some color with pots and benches. Use some of the merchandise to create attractive outdoor displays, like window displays, but outside. The sign on this shop (bottom left) says it is “Delicious Food.” But the window displays are just a lot of boxes. Create attractive window displays that actually promote your merchandise. Suggestion 34: Always promote what you’re selling before the name of the store. We weren’t sure what Satori or Jambalaya were (bottom right). We liked the colors on the facade of Satori, but adding some pots would greatly increase curb appeal. Jambalaya’s facade looks tired and faded, and could use repainting as well as some pots outside. And make sure to be obvious what kind of shop you are—what do you sell. Make sure “restaurant” or “gallery” is front and center. 52 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Merchants need to step back and take an objective look at their store fronts and window displays. First impressions are important. This shop’s window displays and building facade (top left) need some work. The bricks are filthy and displays are haphazard. Some pots would help it look more appealing. These two shops (top right) look drab and neglected. Repaint, add pots and a bench, get rid of the dead plants and replant with some living flowers, and clean up the entrances. Suggestion 35: Merchants should sweep the entry to their stores at least once a week. This camera store (bottom left) has dead leaves filling the entry. We love the color of the facade! This shop (bottom right) looks fairly attractive, with the awning and paint. The window displays could use more work. All the store fronts would benefit from pots! Oshkosh, Wisconsin 53 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS This single small table and chair beside the road (top left) isn’t enough. First, it should be against the building facade, and second, it’s simply not enough to add appeal. Take a look at this shop in Racine (bottom left). It’s not even a restaurant, ut it has two brightly painted tables, each with two chairs outside, along with a decorative dog statue and pots of bright flowers. It looks great and makes a much better statement than the single table and chair beside the traffic. Also in Racine, take a look at these shops with their decorative window displays, pots of flowers, chairs, and the great dog statues (top right and bottom right). It adds appeal and lets us know you’re in business. 54 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Suggestion 36: Merchants should be allowed to use 24” to 36” of the sidewalk outside their building facade to extend window displays to exterior spaces. Curb appeal can account for up to 70% of first-time sales at restaurants, golf courses, wineries, retail shops and lodging facilities. That is why extending window displays to exterior spaces is so effective at attracting customers (top right). These shops in Canmore, AB (top right and bottom left) have great outdoor displays of merchandise. Every morning they set up the displays outside, and they bring them back in at days’ end. We’ve asked them if it’s worth all the trouble, and they frequently say that it’s what saved their business. We’d love to see your merchants do these types of displays. Note this attractive display (bottom right) in front of a shop in Sequim, WA. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 55 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS This simple display (top left) in front of a women’s clothing shop in Canmore, Alberta looks great and attracts customers into the store. Suggestion 37: Clothes racks and tables or boxes filled with merchandise is NOT an attractive display. If you wouldn’t put it in your window display, don’t put it outside. You don’t want to do this (bottom left). It makes you look like a garage sale town. There can be exceptions, such as if the entire downtown is having a sidewalk sale. Suggestion 38: Consider using a warm air curtain at your entry so that you can keep your front door open. It adds a very welcoming feeling to your shop. This shop in Grass Valley, CA (bottom right) uses an air curtain in the winter to keep the door open. This is at a high elevation, so it does get cold in winter. The flowers are silk. 56 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Color! Why is nearly every building downtown beige, tan, brown, or gray? It’s very dreary. The monochromatic downtown lacks appeal, and many of the buildings, particularly City Center, look so dated and dirty that we didn’t even want to go into them. The blue awnings on a small portion of City Center are a wonderful respite from the drabness. Suggestion 39: Develop a color palette for downtown and begin adding color on these buildings. Be playful and creative! From the riverfront, the only thing that makes the buildings, including Becket’s, appealing at all are the bright umbrellas. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 57 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS 4 Imprint (top left) could drastically improve its appearance by painting the aggregate squares that make up the building different colors. If not the squares, then at last the framing around the squares. For fun, we played around with color for this sky bridge (top right). Without the color, it’s all just the same beige. Look at how adding some color enlivens the whole scene. You don’t have to go very far to see the positive effect of some colorful buildings. This neighborhood (bottom left) looks great with the different colors. It really makes a difference. Imagine if this building (bottom right) were painted two different, contrasting colors? The pillars one color, and the rest of the building another color. Wouldn’t that be an improvement? 58 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Parking. Two-hour parking limits can kill a downtown. It dramatically reduces spending and repeat visits. If you insist on two-hour parking limits, then tell us where we can find four-hour or all-day parking. Suggestion 40: Provide parking for at least four hours for visitors downtown. Imagine you are going downtown to shop and have lunch. If lunch takes one hour, that only leaves one hour to shop, and for most people that’s not enough time. So you are forcing shoppers to leave before they are finished spending money. Most people will not move their cars to another spot after two hours— they’ll just leave. If you don’t provide four-hour parking, tell us where we can find it. Crosswalks. Along the Riverwalk there are several bridges where the walkway has to cross a street. Along several of those, there are no crosswalks. Suggestion 41: Put in crosswalks where the Riverwalk crosses thoroughfares. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 59 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We saw many people forced to jaywalk across the thoroughfares in order to continue along the Riverwalk (top left). Crosswalks are very important to have a pedestrian-friendly downtown. Make it safe for people to cross your busy streets. Crosswalks can also be used to help beautify your downtown. Decorative crosswalks are more easily seen by drivers, so they are safer too. StreetPrint (top right and bottom left and right) uses a process called Duratherm, where designs are embossed directly into the asphalt of your street using a dye. In the photo top right, you can see the workers just finishing up this crosswalk, and cars are already able to drive on it. It’s not paint, and it stands up to snow removal. The designs can be customized to anything you want. 60 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We were walking along the Riverwalk near Dockside Tavern, when suddenly the walkway came to an end. We had to just turn around and go back or continue walking through dirt. Suggestion 42: Consider obtaining public access along the river here to continue the Riverwalk all the way to Dockside Tavern (bottom left and right). Dockside Tavern is a great place. The riverfront is really beautiful. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 61 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS VIII A Programmed Plaza If you want downtown Oshkosh to be lively, vibrant, and successful, what comes first? Getting people to spend time downtown on a consistent basis. The best way to do that is with a programmed plaza. There are several locations downtown where you could have a good plaza. The parking lot where you hold your farmers market (top right and bottom left) is a great spot. You could use paver stones over the asphalt, and it would be incredible. We understand that this lot is privately owned, but it would be an excellent location if it could be purchased by the city. This spot (bottom right) would be fantastic as well. The grass is pretty, but it’s not practical for using for activities. Downtowns need places for people to spend time in, not just to look pretty. You could terrace this area with paver stones, and it would be great for a variety of uses and activities. During our time in Oshkosh, we never saw people sitting on this grass. Nobody spent time there. If you terraced the area, with steps going up to a flat upper surface (plus a paved ramp for handicap access), you could add chess sets, games, chairs and tables, a stage, and more. Keep all the street trees. 62 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Think of a downtown plaza as your community living room. Downtown should be the place residents spend after work and on weekends. The place they go to socialize, dine, relax, be entertained. If your locals will spend time downtown, so will visitors. We didn’t see many people hanging out in your downtown. Where people spend time consistently, retailers will follow, and they’ll be successful. So, if you can get 100 people downtown in the evenings and on weekends, you will have no vacancies downtown and your businesses will thrive. To attract people downtown, you need to have a place they can gather, and activities for them to do. This Bungalo Bar in Portland, OR (bottom left) is a frequent gathering space for locals. This community converted a few parking spaces into a plaza area with different activities (bottom right). Benches, planters, and a giant chess set makes it a fun place to hang out on a sunny afternoon. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 63 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS We’d love to see you have street musicians downtown like they do in Nelson, BC (top left) and Asheville, NC (top right). You have a lot of culture here, but it isn’t visible. Encourage students to perform downtown, and allow them to collect tips. Imagine scenes like this (bottom left) on a downtown plaza in the winter. People can meet friends and spend time together, hanging out downtown. You could hold “The Taste of Oshkosh” events (bottom right) on your downtown plaza. 64 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS The key ingredient for a successful plaza is programming. You need activities, and that does not mean events. Rapid City, SD turned a downtown parking lot into an amazing plaza (top right). It includes a stage, lawn area for seating or multi-purpose events, an interactive splash pad fountain, and ice skating throughout the winter. The plaza has several restaurants and shops bordering it. For retail to be sustainable, retailers need customers 250 days a year, minimum. Holding a few events a year, including farmers markets, might bring people downtown perhaps 40 days a year. That’s not enough to sustain retail shops. That’s why activities are so important. There’s always something to do—always something going on. You need people downtown on a consistent basis. Try to get one percent of your population downtown on any given night. Concentrate at first on Friday and Saturday nights for one year, then add Thursday, then add Sunday afternoons, then add Wednesday, then add Tuesday. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 65 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS One good example is Waterloo, Ontario. They took this parking lot space in front of a Shoppers Drug Mart (top left) and turned it a gathering place (top and bottom right and bottom left) that is used as an ice rink in the winter. They hold all kinds of events, shows, and activities year round. Note the vendor booths and temporary stage. Initially Shoppers Drug Mart was convinced that taking away their parking would kill their business, but it actually caused sales to go up 300%. It’s worth it for people to walk, and there are more people spending time in front of their store. When merchants complain that getting rid of parking in front of their store will kill their business, ask them if their business isn’t worth walking one or two blocks for. The average shopper at Walmart parks 320 feet from the front door. Of course, many park even farther away. They have no problem walking to the store, and then walking all the way to the back of the store to find what they need. They just walked at least two blocks. 66 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS In the mornings, a local yoga instructor holds free classes on the plaza (top left). She sells the yoga mats, and many of her regular paying classes have students who started coming to her free classes. In the winter they put up a portable ice rink (top right). It operates 120 days a year. This is Main Street Square in Rapid City, SD (bottom left). It had been a 65-space parking lot (bottom right). The brick building was an old abandoned Sears building that had pigeons and raccoons living in it. We advised the city to tear it down to have more room for a plaza, but a local businessman bought it and donated $2 million to the city to help them build the plaza. He now commands the highest per square foot rent of any retail space in the city. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 67 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS This shows the parking lot again in Rapid City (top left) before the creation of the plaza. We suggested they build another level onto the parking garage in the background—not for more parking, but to use the bottom floor for storage and public restrooms. This shows after the development of the plaza (top right) on a Sunday morning at 10:00. Car clubs started wanted to hold car shows in Rapid City; quilt guilds wanted to put on shows; more and more organizations wanted to hold their events in downtown Rapid City because of the plaza, and those organizations do the event work. Here’s the plaza during another event (bottom left). Notice the old Sears building, full of restaurants and shops. They are having a beer garden on the plaza—it’s fenced off. Car clubs hold their events in Rapid City (bottom right), and the city just closes off some streets for them to use. 68 Oshkosh, Wisconsin - Assessment Report INTRODUCTION During the summer months, Main Street Square has a splash pad (top left) that can be shut off for other events, or left on. It operates 120 days a year —giving them activities all those days. See the whole plaza during the summer months (top right), with the splash pad and the stage to the left. Here is the square during the winter (bottom left and right). The ice skating operates another 120 days, giving them 240 days of activity throughout the year. Activities—not events. This ice rink is slightly larger than the one at Rockefeller Plaza. They rent ice skates which earns them about $130,000 a year. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 69 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS In the evenings, Main Street Square will turn up the fountains on the splash pad and play music to go with the fountain (top left). One popular activity is Monday night movies on the square (top left). Their average attendance is 3,500. One person posted this photo of movie night on social media, “I grew up in Rapid City and it never was as cool as it is now.” The impact of their plaza on Rapid City is astounding. We surveyed 24 downtown merchants, and the consensus is that the plaza is the best thing Rapid City has ever done. Retailers continue to break sales records, and there aren’t any retail vacancies. The average population age is dropping. Businesses are now open later in the evening. Many businesses have broken sales records. Rapid City has five people running the square. It is never rented for private events—it’s always for the public. It costs about $500,000 a year to run. But they make enough revenues from ice skate rentals, beer garden sales, vendor percentages, some from the business improvement district, and some from donations. So their expenses are covered. This is happening everywhere: Take a look at Central Park Plaza in Valparaiso, Indiana and Indian Creek Plaza in Caldwell, Idaho. (bottom left and right) Indian Creek Plaza has an ice “ribbon” and they make $300,000 a year in skate rentals.70 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Edmonton, Alberta has Ovation Plaza (top left). Evergy Plaza in Topeka, Kansas (top right) just opened during the pandemic! Michigan City, Indiana is going to build the “Create Play Plaza” (bottom left and right). To do this, the city had to tear down a couple of buildings. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 71 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS IX. Quality of Life We saw all your medical facilities, your schools, your parks, and we think the quality of life you have here is amazing. This is a beautiful city with so much to offer. There is a real shift in our culture these day—jobs are going where the talent is or where the talent wants to be. More and more, people are deciding where they want to live based on the quality of life the city has to offer, and businesses are deciding to locate to those places where their employees want to live. 72 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS The new reality is that community development is leading the way for economic and tourism development. Oshkosh has so much that people want for their quality of life. To help our cities develop a better quality of life, we have to work on “placemaking.” Many publications have done surveys, asking what younger generations want in the place they choose to live. And there has been a profound shift among those in their 20s, 30s and 40s. They are having children in their late 30s and early 40s. Plus, fathers are spending twice the amount of time with their kids as they used to. Here is what they are looking for: 1. A safe community. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 73 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS 2. A good educational system and good child care. 3. An engaged community and a sense of belonging. 4. Cultural depth with arts, education, and food. 5. Activities after 6:00. 74 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS 6. Recreational activities. 7. Good health care resources. 8. Variety of transportation, including transit, bike lanes, ride share, ways to get to school. 9. Affordable and quality housing options. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 75 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS 10. Secure jobs or specific entrepreneurial opportunities. More and more people are able to work remotely. More and more people are willing to create their own job opportunities as long as they can live where they want to live. The focus of elected officials is to create a better quality of life for their citizens. Oshkosh is an amazing city, with a great quality of life, beautiful parks, a gorgeous setting along the river, and great potential for downtown to become the very best. Your mission is to become the most desirable place to live. You’re on your way. 76 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS X Potpouri Suggestion 44: Add outdoor visitor information here (bottom right). Visitors don’t just travel during office hours, so having some visitor information available 24/7 is essential. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 77 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS This weather-proof brochure holder in North Platte, Nebraska would be ideal for Oshkosh. Place it on the wall outside your Visitor Information Center, and include your Tourism Guide, The Very Best of Oshkosh brochure, and the RVers Guide and the Downtown guide. It’ll make a big difference, helping your visitors! We got a kick out of this sign (top right), and it gives a big reason to visit Oshkosh: “If you are looking for a sign to drink, this is it.” We’ll be sure to show this everywhere we go! Think about color! Add color to downtown! Is Oshkosh B’Gosh still around? We saw this small office downtown, but that’s all we saw about it. It would be great to sell Oshkosh B’Gosh products downtown! 78 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh campus looks great. There are so many beautiful homes in Oshkosh. We didn’t have a chance to go into Morgan House, but it looks fantastic. Suggestion 45: We saw that this building is available for sale or lease, and we suggest contacting ArtSpace about it. They take unoccupied buildings and turn them into artist live/work space. It’s a possibility! Oshkosh, Wisconsin 79 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS This apartment building is gorgeous (top left), and we liked seeing the Rock the Block (top right). The sign could use some fixing up. The library (bottom left) is gorgeous. We saw signs everywhere for companies looking for workers. There are so many jobs available! 80 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS When you take action and implement these suggestions, Oshkosh will become an even greater place to live, work and visit than it already is. Suggestion 46: Create a “Destination Oshkosh Team.” Go through this report and take the suggestions, discuss them, and develop a plan for implementation, turning the suggestions into recommendations. Develop an action plan with the recommendations, and assign specific groups and/or individuals to begin implementation of the recommendations, and you will see a big difference. This is about making something happen! Oshkosh, Wisconsin 81 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Oshkosh Marketing Assessment The following pages contain an assessment by our secret shoppers, who researched the area from a distance, reviewing marketing materials to see if they could find the area, and if the materials were convincing enough to make them want to visit. We received numerous marketing materials/collateral by mail upon request. There was so much information, and much of it was very enticing. Oshkosh has a lot of attractions, and on a whole, the marketing is convincing! Marketing materials/collateral requested/received: • PAMPHLETS & RACK CARDS o University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh Rex Plex: Information surrounding the university’s recreational complex. o Escape Oshkosh: Information regarding a live escape room business. o EAA Aviation Museum: Quote from pamphlet cover, “The EAA Aviation Museum is one of the world’s finest aviation attractions and a year- round destination for the entire family.” The cover also features, “CNN Travel’s Top 20 Aviation Museums in the World”. o The Waters: Information about “The Premier Event Venue on Lake Winnebago”. o Oshkosh Mini Mural Project: Information surrounding this amazing project, the pamphlet of which invites, “Celebrate Art in Downtown Oshkosh”. o Fox River Brewing Co.: “The Perfect Recipe for Fun”. o Ardy & Ed’s Drive In: Information about this blast from the past that features roller-skating car hops, delicious food, real “draft” root beer, authentic fountain treats, ‘50s & ‘60s music, and classic car cruise nights. 82 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS MARKETING ASSESSMENT o Oshkosh Food Co-op: This is a GREAT pamphlet that not only offers information for this specific co-op, but explains co-ops in general. o First Fridays 2021 Downtown Oshkosh: Quick facts re: Oshkosh’s First Fridays for 2021. Including a QR code allowing visitors to scan for up-to-date information. o Oshkosh Country Club: Quick facts re: one of the oldest country clubs in Wisconsin. o Carrot & Kale Organic Juice – Café: Menu information. o Washington Avenue Historic Tour: Information about Oshkosh’s interactive, self-guide tour. o Wiouwash State Recreational Trail: This pamphlet includes maps, which is AWESOME. o Winnebago County TRAILS Map: Includes trail maps for Omro, Oshkosh, Winneconne, and surrounding rural areas. o Hilton Garden Inn Oshkosh: Standard chain hotel pamphlet. o Comfort Suites by Choice Hotels Oshkosh, Wisconsin: Standard chain hotel pamphlet. o Best Western Premier Oshkosh Wisconsin: Standard chain hotel pamphlet. o Wagner Market: A local market that looks great! Even refers to where a visitor can park for free. o Midwest Rental Co. – On the Water Rentals: Information on water equipment that can be rented for lake/water adventures. o Oshkosh Public Museum: Information and exhibit map for this museum. o 2020 Downtown Directory – Downtown Oshkosh Happening Now: Standard downtown directory, listing the different types of businesses one can find in Oshkosh, with a handful of featured businesses in half page. layouts. o Fishin’ & Cruisin’ – A Recreational Boaters’ Guide to the Lake Winnebago System: A pamphlet that is meant for tourism purposes only. Includes businesses that assist those coming to the lake, as well as maps. o The Lighthouses of Lake Winnebago Scenic Driving Tour: Outlines a scenic drive of lighthouses, as well as gives a quick history of each one. o The Paine Art Center and Gardens: A cool pamphlet that outlines the exhibits and provides maps of the gardens on the estate. • MAGAZINE BROCHURES o Oshkosh and Winnebago County Visitors Guide 2020: Standard visitors guide magazine. This Visitors Guide is very well done. It’s colorful and appealing, and has good photos. We suggest you add some specific, helpful information for some of the attractions and events, such as when the Farmers Market operates and where it’s held, the hours and days the museums are open. Consider writing a few sample itineraries for specific groups of visitors, such as families, couples, girls’ weekends. These are very helpful for visitors planning a trip. o Hello from Oshkosh Wisconsin: A magazine that appears to be directed to those considering a move to Oshkosh. o Find the Perfect Fit: A magazine published by www.livability. com/wi/oshkosh A magazine directed to those considering a move to Oshkosh. Sponsored by Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce. WEBSITES I found SO MANY websites that assisted in my planning. TripAdvisor – https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60168-Oshkosh_ Wisconsin-Vacations.html Top Things to Do in Oshkosh – There are so many things listed on TripAdvisor (65 in fact), so I am listing the Top 12 Things to Do in Oshkosh. 1. EAA Aviation Museum – I am very fascinated that this museum has 692 5-Star Reviews, so it doesn’t surprise me that it’s ranked #1. This is definitely a must-see. Open daily, year-round, for a reasonable fee, the amazing exhibits would keep me busy all day long. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 83 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS 2. Menominee Park 3. Paine Art Center and Gardens – Their website is highlighted with additional details below. 4. Oshkosh Farmers Market – Their homepage is very inviting with delicious fruits and vegetables, and fun activities. 5. Oshkosh Public Museum – Their website is highlighted with additional details below. 6. Wiowash Trail 7. The Outlet Shoppes at Oshkosh 8. Polluck Community Water Park 9. University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh – I LOVE when communities have an educational institution in their “town”. I sure hope there are lots of opportunities for cross-promotion & sponsorship opportunities. 10. Grand Opera House – Their website is highlighted with additional details below. 11. Military Veterans Museum 12. Originals Mall of Antiques Top Restaurants in Oshkosh 1. Ground Round at River’s Edge – $$-$$$ - American, Bar, Vegetarian Friendly - http://groundroundfoxcities.com/oshkosh/ 2. Mahoney’s Restaurant & Bar – $$-$$$ - American, Fusion, Gastropub - https://www.mahoneysoshkosh.com/ 3. The Chalice – $$-$$$ - American, Bar, Vegetarian Friendly - https:// www.chalicerestaurant.com/ 4. Roxy Supper Club – $$-$$$ - American, Soups, Vegetarian Friendly - https://www.roxysupperclub.com/ 5. Gardina’s Kitchen & Bar – $$-$$$ - American, Seafood, International - https://www.gardinas.com/ 6. Pete’s Garage Bar – Listed as one of the Top 10 Neighborhood Bars in WI | Voted Best Burger in Oshkosh 4 years running- $ - American, Bar, Pub - https://www.petesgaragebar.com/ 7. Leon’s Frozen Custard – $ - Dessert, American, Fast Food – No website noted, but a FB page - https://www.facebook.com/LeonsCustard 8. Rapsodies Gourmet Frozen Custard & Sandwiches – $ - Dessert, American – Does have a website but you are directed to the FB page first 9. Ardy & Ed’s Drive-In – $ - American - www.ardyandeds.com 10. Sakura Japanese Steak House – $$-$$$ - Japanese, Sushi, Asian - **The following was not on TripAdvisor as one of the Top 10 Restaurants, but as it was featured as a restaurant/bar that was listed as one of the 10 Best Brunch Spots in WI. 11. Bar 430 – #26 on TripAdvisor - $$-$$$ - American, Bar, Pub - https:// www.bar430.com/#bar430 Oshkosh Cheap Eats 1. Pete’s Garage Bar 2. Leon’s Frozen Custard 3. Rhapsodies Gourment Frozen Custard & Sandwiches 4. Ardy & Ed’s Drive-In 5. Mike’s Place Family Restaurant Top Lodging in Oshkosh 1. Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel & Convention Center 2. Hilton Garden Inn Oshkosh 3. La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Oshkosh 4. Cobblestone Suites 5. Cobblestone Hotel & Suites Oshkosh 6. Holiday Inn Express Oshkosh-SR41 7. Fairfield Inn & Suites Oshkosh 84 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS 8. Boarders Inn & Suites by Cobblestone Hotels-Oshkosh 9. Comfort Suites Oshkosh 10. Braywood Inn Oshkosh WI Website – https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/ This website ranks among some of the better CITY websites because it is very user friendly. They even have a video on their homepage to welcome those relocating to Oshkosh. Additionally, they have provided access to the “New Residents” information front and center. On that page, EVERYTHING you’d need when you move somewhere is on one page. Oshkosh obviously wants to be “a help” to their residents. Design wise, this website is like most city websites in the coloring, and it doesn’t have that much excitement. But it does get the job done. You can link to the Chamber of Commerce website directly from the city site. Oshkosh Convention & Visitors Bureau - www.visitoshkosh.com I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS WEBSITE. It is so welcoming, the colors, theme, fonts, invite my attention. I also enjoy the flow of the website. The homepage includes a lot of information, and you only have to click if you want to get more information. Their events look awesome, then they include blogs that speak to the different type of activities you can experience in Oshkosh, and finally they have a Things To Do in order to “Make Some Memories”. One tab I paid particular attention to was the Mini Mural Project tab. The headline states, “Public Art Isn’t Canceled.” I’d like to think that in the event, the pamphlet wasn’t included in my marketing packet, this headline would still make me stop in my tracks. Over the past year, so many times I have read or heard “Canceled” that reading that public art isn’t canceled made me literally smile. I can get outside, have fun, AND remain safe. I appreciate that Oshkosh CVB knows people need to get out. Finally, I enjoyed the Itineraries page. Not just that they have them, because not all communities provide them, but that they include a contact name if you have a particular question. Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce Website – https://www.oshkoshchamber. com/ This website is pretty standard for a Chamber of Commerce. Similar to some previous websites, I enjoy the gallery banner on the homepage. I like the bottom border and how clear the horizontal menu is to navigate, however, as you scroll down, there are blank spaces, the footer of the page, covers calendar items. It just looks sloppy. Oshkosh Main Street – https://downtownoshkosh.com/ This website is clean, it isn’t cluttered, and it has a video as a welcome. I love that the video on the homepage has some narration, which is great, but way too quiet. The background track music was too loud compared to the narration. The best gem I found on this website was the excellent parking map, that outlined the type of parking along with the location of the parking. So often, visitors receive a map with parking identified, but nothing else, including hours of operation. Well done. As I’m planning a trip, I would take advantage of the downloadable Downtown Parking Guide. So helpful to visitors. The Paine - https://www.thepaine.org/ I want to live here. But since I can’t, I just want to spend a day wandering the grounds. It looks GORGEOUS. From an initial view, I did find the horizontal menu at the top of the page hard to read. Then when I zoomed in, the other words were so large. That should be looked at. Truly every corner of this property needs to be explored. If I weren’t planning my trip, I would be extremely irritated that such a location is only open by reservation. But I think the admission fee of $9 per adult for non-members is reasonable. Oshkosh Public Museum - http://www.oshkoshmuseum.org/ oshkoshPublicMuseum When I found this website, I had mixed emotions. I want to see all the exhibits, especially The Nostalgia Awakens Vintage Star Wars Toy Display. It sounds like something I’d like. But the different fonts, font sizes, font colors, made it difficult for me to read the different menus, particularly the horizontal menu in light blue background and white font. I also think the transition should slow down on the exhibition banner on the homepage, The Grand Oshkosh - https://thegrandoshkosh.org/ So often in my marketing assessments, when I come upon an art house of some Oshkosh, Wisconsin 85 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS kind, I struggle to find information about box office hours, and if there are shows coming up or being postponed. Right from the homepage, you get all of that needed information. Only Oshkosh - https://onlyoshkosh.com/ Second only to the Visit Oshkosh page, is this page. This website is amazing. It is sleek, colorful, and easy to read and navigate. The video on the homepage is engaging and made me want to be in every scene. I also love how no matter why you are in Oshkosh; they have information for you. As you scroll down the homepage or click the Explore button at the top of the page, you will see a snapshot of what it is like to explore Oshkosh, with LINKS to the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the EAA – Experimental Aircraft Association. Next up, is Live. I loved the statement that begins the snapshot of what it’s like to live in Oshkosh, “Living in Oshkosh – where short commutes meet affordability – means living your best life.” That caught my attention. What a great sales pitch. Like the Explore section, there are LINKS where you can learn more about living in the Oshkosh area. Next up, is Work. Again, the opening statement gets me hooked, “No matter what you’re passionate about, follow the perfect path for you right here.” And again, there are LINKS to learn more about working in Oshkosh. Next up, is Learn. With each section, I want to visit, if not move here, more and more. I am so pleased there are so many educational opportunities in Oshkosh. They boast more than 25 options from within the K-12 public and parochial school systems. That is impressive. Surprise, there was one more section Thrive. It is a simple section, that gives you the overview of how “being your healthiest self is easy in Oshkosh. No links here, but it leads brilliantly into the Get up Close and Personal with Oshkosh. A gallery of reviews by those who Explore, Live, Work, and Learn in Oshkosh. I wish they had more than 3 of them. FACEBOOK PAGES Visit Oshkosh – https://www.facebook.com/OshkoshCVB/ Similarly, to their website, I LOVE this Facebook page. It is updated regularly with informative posts, and amazing photography. Only Oshkosh - https://www.facebook.com/OnlyOshkosh/ Like Visit Oshkosh, and the websites, I LOVE what they are doing on this Facebook page. Well done. Paine Art Center and Gardens - https://www.facebook.com/ PaineArtCenterandGardens/ Again, similar to the quality of their website, the Paine Art Center and Gardens does an amazing job at inviting and enticing visitors with updated posts full of great information and photography. If I lived near here, I would have a membership. I would go all the time. I would want to get married there. MY IMPRESSIONS If Oshkosh was located two hours from my house, would I make a special trip there based on what I saw, read and learned? • I would ABSOLUTELY make a special trip based on my research. There are multiple attractions that I’d be interested in. In fact, I would stay a few days because there are too many things to see. If I were driving through Wisconsin (on my way to somewhere else), is there any place you’d stop? How much time would you spend at each (or the one) place you’d stop? If so, where? This can be as simple as a restaurant, a scenic viewpoint, anything. • I would stop at The Paine Art Center and Gardens every time I pass Oshkosh. There is something about a beautiful estate, with gardens, paths, and exhibits that I could get lost in. To be honest, I would also probably stop at the OshPop Gourmet Popcorn LLC, because based purely on the reviews I read, I would want to grab a bag and eat it daily if I could. 86 Oshkosh, Wisconsin FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL PRINT MATERIALS: As noted in the Findings and Suggestions report, Bentley University’s Center for Marketing Technology found that 81% of visitors like to use printed brochures while traveling. So print materials are still a vital component of your marketing efforts. We suggest that you create the following brochures in print AND have them available in PDF downloadable format on your websites. There is more information about each of this in this report. 1. The Very Best of Oshkosh Market your top: • Restaurants (10) • Retail shops (10) • Attractions (10) • While you’re here activities (10) Use specific criteria to select the ones that are truly your “best ofs:” • Must be open year round (at least 8 months) • Must be open 6 days a week • Must be highly regarded by third-party sources (reviews, etc.) • Must have good curb appeal • Must be open until at least 7:00 pm • Must be unique to Oshkosh and the area (no chains) Invite the participants. Each should have an entire panel of the brochure, and they should pay for their panel. The panels should not look like ads, rather they should include professional photographs, specific, descriptive text, and be informative. 2. “Trail” brochures These Trail brochures should be specifically for: - The Oshkosh Libations Loop This can include breweries, wineries, and distilleries - The Oshkosh Farm to Table Trail This can include about a dozen local farms and dairies that will offer tours on specific days of the week - The Oshkosh History Tour This should include the Oshkosh Public Museum, EAA Aviation Museum, The Grand Oshkosh, Military Veterans Museum, the Paine Art Center & Gardens 3. RVers Guide to Oshkosh & Lake Winnebago This rack brochure should include information specifically for campers, such as: • Campgrounds • RV Supply stores, such as Walmart • Tractor supply stores, for items such as propane • Hardware stores • Grocery stores • Drinking water • Propane • Sunnyview Expo Center • Top three hiking trails • Boat rentals & gear for fishing and leisure • Fishing information: bait, licenses, guides • Spending downtime in downtown Oshkosh, Wisconsin 87 FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS Contact Information Roger Brooks International, Inc. 24654 N. Lake Pleasant Pkwy Suite 103-487 Peoria, AZ 85383 (206) 241-4770 Email: Natalie@RogerBrooksTeam.com www.RogerBrooksInternational.com Copyright © 2019 Roger Brooks International, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise without written permission from Roger Brooks International