A local public-private collaboration has formed with a single goal in mind: promoting winter tourism in northern Michigan.

Earlier this year, Traverse City-based online marketing firm Lake Effect was hired by seven local entities to launch Experience 231, an interactive guide to the region's outdoor recreational spots. The website and free smart phone app allow users to match their preferred outdoor activity with detailed information on how and where they can participate in it locally.

Another feature allows users to help preserve the natural resources they just enjoyed through a simple donation button on the app.

Now, Lake Effect and its seven Experience 231 partners – Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, Charter Township of Garfield, Grand Traverse Conservation District, Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation Department, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, Leelanau Conservancy and Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails – are entering phase two of their venture: launching a winter campaign in tandem with Traverse City Tourism (the region's nonprofit tourism agency).

On December 18, a new version of Experience 231 will launch, featuring a database of winter activities like cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and more. At the same time, Lake Effect and Traverse City Tourism will launch an online marketing campaign in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Chicago positioning Traverse City as a top-tier winter getaway destination.

“We are a four-season (community), so we need to market ourselves more that way,” says Traverse City Tourism President/CEO Brad Van Dommelen. “Our town is close to maximum capacity in the summer...but we have great opportunities to grow in the shoulder seasons and off-season.”

Using artificial intelligence and "big data" algorithms, Lake Effect will target web users by analyzing their online behavior and interests – say, browsing a sporting goods website, or clicking on links on Outside magazine's homepage. Those online users most likely to have an interest in outdoor recreation and/or coming to northern Michigan will then see custom ads that link back to the Experience 231 landing page.

“It's a newer (advertising) technique called behavioral targeting...everything happens in real-time and is customized to the demographics we most want to reach,” explains Lake Effect's Jonathan Campbell.

The company's landing page will drive users to two specific actions: booking a hotel room in Traverse City or learning more about the area. Campbell says success of the campaign will be based on ad traffic, page views, app downloads, website interactions and – perhaps most importantly – booked hotel rooms.

The partnership between Lake Effect, Experience 231 and Traverse City Tourism is the first of its kind in the state. Other local entities – including Long Lake Township and Peninsula Township – are queuing up to feature their resources on the program, and Campbell eventually hopes to expand coverage to the entire 231 area code, including Petoskey, Charlevoix and Harbor Springs.

He adds that he's also discussed online recreation tools with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and other state departments.

“Hopefully we'll be able to do more projects like this,” Campbell says of the product and campaign. "We're able to have a bigger impact marketing ourselves as a region...and collectively promoting our outdoor recreational spaces."