Simplified: Experience Sioux Falls is looking to see about a 35 percent increase in digital advertising spending to promote the city in 2023. It's the second year in a row with a significant increase, and CEO Teri Schmidt said it needs to happen if Sioux Falls is going to push to the next level.
Why it matters
- This is the first full annual budget for Experience Sioux Falls since it became its own independent organization – no longer a subset of the Chamber of Commerce.
- Funding for Experience Sioux Falls is also changing this year as the city restructured how it collects taxes from hotels. Schmidt estimates they'll see more than $2 million in revenue in 2023.
- The increased focus on digital strategy includes expanding to Tik Tok, Schmidt said, as well as resources to track digital advertising efforts to make sure ads are working.
"We've gotta push to another level. We’re not satisfied here," Schmidt said. "We’ve gotta get Sioux Falls back up where we should’ve been had we not had COVID."
What does Experience Sioux Falls do?
Sells Sioux Falls as a destination for tourists, conferences and other events. It used to be called the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
And, according to a recent industry report, Sioux Falls has the highest hotel occupancy rate of its peer cities, Schmidt shared Tuesday.
What happens next?
Experience Sioux Falls is going to keep pushing digital promotion of the city, with an added emphasis in targeting Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha and others.
"We want to get spicy," Schmidt said. "We want to get aggressive. We want to beat (other cities) with this budget, and we're on the road to doing that."
