Lee Pulaski, lpulaski@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Roger Brooks, chief executive officer of Roger Brooks International, presents his findings Monday of a weeklong “secret shop” of the tourism industry in Shawano and Menominee counties at the Menominee Casino Resort.
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Roger Brooks credited Bonduel’s downtown for having good signage, with blade signs indicating Amico’s, the Rustic Shed and Club 117, as well as curb appeal with décor and planters. He recommended that all downtown areas in Shawano and Menominee counties look at a similar setup.
Editor’s note: This is the first of two stories addressing an assessment conducted last week of tourism potential in Shawano and Menominee counties.
Tourism expert Roger Brooks gave a frank and occasionally blistering critique of the business community through the eyes of an outsider to about 50 business representatives Monday at the Menominee Casino Resort.
Brooks, chief executive officer of the consulting firm Roger Brooks International, spent a week traveling around the two counties anonymously prior to his presentation.
“Where you are located, there is tough competition,” Brooks said. “You’re competing against Door County and what they know. You’re competing against Appleton. You’re competing against Green Bay. There is a ton of competition.”
Brooks has assessed more than 1,500 communities, including 40 in Wisconsin. He was brought here to do a “secret shop” of the area through funding from Shawano Country Vision 2017 and the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.
He identified multiple areas where businesses and organizations can improve: better signage, curb appeal, expanded hours and community efforts to highlight the gems that make Shawano and Menominee counties a vacation destination.
Signage, he said, was an important issue.
Much of the business signage did not meet Brooks’ recommendations for successful tourist destinations. He said most of the golf courses did not have signs that indicated whether the course was nine or 18 holes, whether there was a restaurant or pro shop, or whether you could rent golf carts.
The one exception, according to Brooks, was Golden Sands Golf Course in Cecil.
Other businesses had signage that was faded, making it difficult to read.
“As visitors, we judge the book by its cover, and the cover was terrible,” Brooks said.
Some businesses got the signage right, Brooks said, praising Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats in Wittenberg for using old delivery vehicles to advertise the business.
Many communities have signs that indicate where major facilities and attractions, such as schools and churches, are located. Brooks said Shawano’s signage is difficult to read.
He noted that many of the way-finding signs with the city’s logo had seven or eight potential sites, which is too many for someone driving through to process.
He also suggested that city signs heralding Shawano Community High School’s 2002 state championships should be taken down because it gives the impression that the athletic program has gone downhill since then.
Brooks singled out the way-finding signs in the town of Red Springs as an example of good signage. He said the signs were simple and bold, giving travelers a quick glance at what was down the road.
“They were clear, they didn’t use condensed text,” Brooks said. “Without the signs, there would have been a lot of things we never would have found.”
Brooks also recommended more signs pointing to local trails. He noted that the few kiosks he found were lacking in trail maps and brochures.
Brooks was dismayed that he didn’t see any signs at the edge of communities inviting visitors to return.
Besides a lack of signage, Brooks noted that many businesses in Shawano Country lacked curb appeal. Planters and benches were few and far between.
Brooks described the hours and days some businesses and attractions are open as a “nightmare.” He found some businesses closed on key tourist days, and he was baffled why some attractions were only open a few days a year.
Some businesses were closed during hours they listed as being open.
Brooks noted that, while there were few outside indicators of what local communities have to offer, the employees inside the businesses were very helpful in suggesting places to go and things to do. One employee, for example, told him about the Sunflower Festival taking place last weekend on Bergsbaken Farms east of Cecil.
“The locals helped us out,” Brooks said. “We never indicated why we were here, but people told us about the festival, and we went out there. It was phenomenal.”
Brooks said it was important to promote the area’s anchor tenants — the businesses that stand out — as well as some of the hidden gems. He urged the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce to come up with publications that highlight the best of the best, whether they’re members of the chamber or not.
Brooks said his presentation’s purpose was to start a conversationand to motivate people to improve the place they live for themselves and the distant customers they serve.
“This is about the future of Shawano Country,” Brooks said. “There’s no reason why you can’t be one of the state’s best year-round and weekday destinations.”
Local officials were excited by Brooks’ ideas.
“Economic development and tourism, this is good,” said Dennis Heling, chief economic development officer of Shawano County Economic Progress Inc. “I think this is a great start. We’ve been working 18 months on this.”
“There was a lot of great insight and ideas,” said Nancy Smith, the chamber’s executive director. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. It’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it.”
Vision 2017’s local branding committee will tackle much of the work, which includes developing the area’s identity to tourists.