California Countryside™ is a grass roots, destination-centric program to brand and market rural destinations in the state of California.

Participation in California Countryside™

Participation in the coalition and its programs is voluntary. Participation is open to all rural California DMOs, defined as any non-profit entity that produces or distributes tourism information.

Annual participation investment is on a sliding scale, based on each DMO's total annual operating budget, and is priced at a level designed to make the program available to all interested DMOs, regardless of size and budget. The investment is per calendar year. Those organizations joining after 12/31/03, will be charged a one-time initiation/set-up fee, in addition to annual dues.

Complementary not Competitive

Program components and activities are designed specifically to complement rural tourism initiations and programs in place or being planned at the state, regional and local levels, without dependence on funds from the state, the CTTC or any of the eight regional associations. Indeed, it provides an additional way to build awareness of rural travel opportunities around California.

The site will not have a travel booking component. Its content is designed to attract media and consumers to it, provide information and motivation and then direct the consumer to various destination travel planning resources.

Coalition Colleagues

Non-profit associations or other entities related to tourism or to other programs relevant to rural tourism issues may be invited to affiliate with the coalition at a nominal annual fee: $500 for organizations with operating budgets under $ 500,000; $1,000 for organizations with operating budgets $ 500,000 or more. Museums and other educational institutions may join for an annual fee of $250. Corporate support for various content sections will be sought, using a "PBS" model of non-commercial sponsorship.

Investment Schedule

Coalition Member Responsibilities

In addition to payment of the appropriate annual fee per calendar year, the other responsibilities of each participating DMO, Association or Museum are (a) assign a person within its organization to act as the California Countryside™ liaison and (b) provide on a timely basis requested information needed for marketing activities.

California Countryside™ Marketing Activities

The coalition's marketing campaign will use cost-effective tools such as public relations and web marketing. Key activities for the launch period include:

• Articulation of Mission
• Strategic Planning
• Creation of Brand Identity/Logotype
• Enrollment of DMOs and associations
• Development and Launch of Website, followed by traffic development
• Research, production, distribution of comprehensive Press Kit on CD
• Design, production and distribution of rack card with toll-free numbers of all participating DMOs, for use by visitors on the road

In subsequent periods, funds will be used for additional public relations and web marketing activities and to develop new campaign components, such as mat stories, direct mail and advertising.

The Website

The trademarked campaign will be centered on the special coalition website, www.californiacountryside.com (also www.CACountryside.com), which will serve as the central point of contact, information and promotion for the coalition. The non-commercial site will not carry banner, button or badge ads. Nor will the site offer any booking capability. The site's primary function is to attract online consumers with a variety of rich content, and then direct those visitors over to the sites of the participating destination DMOs and other travel planning resources at the state level.

The website will include a destination feature for each participating DMO with links to the DMO's own website; a calendar of events; listings of special travel value offers; links to "webcams" around the Countryside; a streaming video "tour" of the Countryside; a press room where Countryside press materials can be found and where news releases from participating DMOs also can be posted; a printable list of all participating DMOs with all contact information; a round-up of travel news from participating DMOs; a collection of vintage postcards from destinations covered by participating DMOs, including some that are formatted so they can be sent online by website visitors to their friends and family; a Tell a Friend email form for users to alert friends of the site. Inclusion in the listings of special travel values and the events calendar are both available at no charge to companies located in participating DMO areas or who are members of participating associations.

The Press Kit

A comprehensive press kit will be written and produced on CD, using DMO-supplied and digitized information about their respective destinations. Content of the kit could include:

• DMO Backgrounders
• Fact Sheets
• Themed Features
• Regional Round-ups
• DMO Contact List
• Association/Sponsor Contact List

The press kit will be distributed on CD to hundreds of specially targeted travel media, using a proprietary database that includes several thousand media contact records.

The Rack Card

Another component of the program would be a rack card, with the California Countryside™ logo and description topping a list of the toll-free visitor information line for each participating destination.

The rack card would be produced in a quantity with 100,000 distributed to up to 450 locations in primarily in urban CA centers, to reach CA residents, who comprise the majority of rural vacationers in the state.

Reinvestment

All monies paid into the California Countryside™ program will be used to implement the planned scope of work, with any remaining funds reinvested in the campaign for additional marketing activities. The Fontayne Group will be compensated for the rendering of its professional services at its regular fee rates. Neither the firm nor its executives or employees will receive or participate in any revenue stream from sponsorships or other sources.

Creating and Managing the California Countryside™ Program

The Fontayne Group, with 21 years experience in destination marketing for more than two dozen DMOs in California, the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia, is responsible for the development and management of California Countryside™ programs, which brand it has trademarked, copyrighted and registered as a DBA. The firm has worked with the California Division of Tourism and later also with the CTTC from 1995 to 2003, creating award-winning programs such as the "Enlighten" energy campaign and "California Finds," as well as eight New York media marketplaces. The firm, with offices in both northern and southern California, as well as New York and Florida, specializes in travel and tourism and offers a full range of marketing communications services to its clients. It has considerable experience in promoting rural destinations located in California, elsewhere in the U.S. and in Europe and Australia.

The firm has a track record of creating successful campaigns for modest budgets, using cost-effective tools such as PR, web marketing, promotion and small-scale advertising. Full credentials of the firm can be found on its corporate website at www.fontayne.com. CEO Cynthia Fontayne will personally direct the creative strategies and management of the California Countryside™ program.

Accountability

The Fontayne Group insists on total accountability and transparency. The firm will maintain California Countryside™ accounts and funds separate from its own. It will provide the coalition's steering committee with quarterly activity reports, detailed quarterly balance sheets with supporting invoices from third-party vendors, and results measurements such as Web Trends reports and press clippings.