About Our Staff

fffffff	Destination Analysts is a small team of research and marketing professionals who all have a deep interest and background in the not-for profit and association sectors. This background gives us a uniquely valuable perspective into the business challenges faces by convention & visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce and other membership associations.
	Our founder, David Bratton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Iowa State University and a Master of Arts degree in economics from the University of Arizona. After finishing his graduate work, he spent four years working as an economist for the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis in Washington, D.C. He specialized there in economic modeling and forecasting, in work related to a satellite set of accounts to the Gross National Product. While at Commerce, he managed the work of a team of economists and was a contributor to the noted journal, Survey of Current Business.
	Bratton then spent eight years pioneering new research techniques and e-marketing promotions for the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, as director of electronic marketing & research. Bratton’s work in market research ranged from in-depth qualitative work such as brand audits and advertising concept testing to ground-breaking quantitative studies including return on investment studies, profiles of San Francisco visitors and large national consumer surveys. His research program won praise for its “best research practices in the nation” by a noted academic publication.
	Bratton’s work in electronic marketing has also been highly praised. His celebrated Life of Riley email campaign was won California Tourism’s prestigious Best Electronic Promotion Award. He managed the electronic marketing efforts for San Francisco, and his new website allowed the San Francisco Bureau to achieve its goal of dramatically increasing advertising sales, while effectively promoting its membership and carrying forth San Francisco’s brand message to the world.
	In 2003, he founded Destination Analysts, Inc., a San Francisco-based tourism industry marketing and research company servicing clients in the travel and tourism industry.
	As Managing Partner, Erin Francis supervises field survey execution, leads strategic marketing initiatives for Destination Analysts’ clients and oversees all creative processes.
	Most recently, Francis held the position of Senior Marketing Officer, Advertising at Amtrak, where she was responsible for marketing and advertising Amtrak routes in the western U.S. During Francis’ supervision of Amtrak’s regional ad campaigns, the company realized at least a 2:1 ROI on advertising expenditures, which contributed to three years of record ridership and revenue growth. Amtrak was also honored with seven transportation marketing association awards, three California Travel & Tourism Commission awards finalist recognitions, and a Travel Industry of America award of excellence for marketing promotions and advertising Francis led or contributed to. In her role as the primary liaison with the company’s ad agencies, Francis became intimately familiar with the challenges agencies are often faced with in measuring advertising effectiveness and providing quantitative results for marketing initiatives. In addition, Francis worked very closely with many convention and visitors bureaus to support their tourism marketing efforts while growing Amtrak’s presence in their respective regions.
	Prior to joining Amtrak, Francis spent four years at the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau where she was appointed to found the marketing department’s Business Development division. During her tenure at the SFCVB, Francis tripled the number of marketing programs and increased department revenue by over 70%. Francis brought together the hotel, restaurant, and attraction industries in exciting new ways, helping launch the annual city-wide dining promotion, “Dine-About-Town”, and the San Francisco Crab Festival, amongst many other successful promotions. In addition, Francis pioneered an online marketplaces strategy, making San Francisco the first city to market itself on e-Bay travel. She also served on key regional marketing committees, including the San Francisco Union Square Association and Fisherman’s Wharf Merchants Association.
	Francis began her career in marketing research working in a Los Angeles area focus group facility. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.

 

Our background gives us a uniquely valuable perspective into the business challenges faced by convention & visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce and other national membership associations.