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Home My WebLink AboutC37182 - Media Plan for FY 20-21CITY OF PALM DESERT STAFF REPORT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DATE: August 27, 2020 SUBMITTED BY: Thomas Soule, Tourism & Marketing Manager REQUEST: APPROVE MEDIA PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020/21 Recommendation By Minute Motion that the City Council: 1. Approve the Media Plan for Fiscal Year 2020/21, and 2. Authorize media buy expenditures with Ideapeddler (Contract No. C37182) in an amount not to exceed $409,000. Funds are available in Advertising Media Buys, Account No. 1104417-4322100. Committee Recommendation The Media Plan was reviewed and approved as presented by a sub-committee of the Marketing Committee at its regular meeting on August 4, 2020. Strateaic Plan The City's Media Plan supports the following specific objectives from the City's Strategic Plan: • Tourism & Marketing Priority No. 3—Attract new and developing travel/tourism markets; and • Tourism & Marketing Priority No. 4—Support the City's tourism industry through enhancement of its marketing efforts with an allocation of additional City resources, the development of partnerships, and coordination of existing efforts. Executive Summary Approval of the above recommendations will authorize the expenditure up to $409,000 as outlined in the FY 2020/21 Media Plan. Funds for this expenditure are available in the FY 2020/21 Marketing Budget. Backqround Analvsis The goal of the City's ad campaign is to drive awareness of Palm Desert as a getaway destination, with an eye to increase visits to the city by reaching qualified audiences August 27, 2020 — Staff Report Approval of FY 2020/21 Media Plan Page 2 of 3 throughout Southern California, San Francisco and Seattle. This media plan is designed to service that goal by delivering the City's new ad campaign, which is currently in development, to a targeted audience that our research suggests is most likely to be moved to action by the City's marketing messaging. With the onset of COVID-19, the current fiscal year presents unique challenges to reaching our target audience with the right message at the right time. With that in mind, Ideapeddler has revised its recommended set of guiding principles for FY 20/21: • 100% Digital — Digi#al media allows for much more flexibility than traditional print media. This will allow us to turn the media quickly on or off, based on public health needs and state orders around tourism and travel. • Adaptable Messaging — We'll deploy a diverse set of inessages, ranging from emotional appeals around travel and the idea of escape (Find Your Happy Pace) to fact-driven messaging around safety and health guidelines. Using digital platforms allows maximum flexibility in changing that messaging as needed. • Gating Parameters — We're developing gating parameters based on the Governor's orders, Riverside County guidelines, Palm Desert hotels' plans for reopening, and other leading indicators to inform what messaging we deploy and when to deploy it. This also includes real-time consumer movement, booking and sentiment data from our research partner Adara and other available data services. • Bifurcated Fiscal Year — Based on current reported timelines, we anticipate that the situation may shift in early 2021. If that happens, we expect the second half of FY 20/21 to see a dramatic increase in travel, and have created a plan that would enable us to respond with a corresponding increase in advertising. The one thing that seems sure is that traditional tourism is evolving in COVID times. As it evolves, we will need an agile and flexible media plan to economize where we can and adapt as necessary. Toward that end, the marketing team has estimated a break-out of spending by media channel category, with the understanding that this may change as we move through the year: • Video OTT/CTV (i.e. Hulu): 36% of budget • Social Media advertising (i.e. Facebook): 20% • Search Engine Marketing (i.e. Google Ads): 14% • Programmatic advertising (i.e. Choozle): 30% These proportions are in line with media plans from previous years, with the notable absence of print ads. While we will maintain partnerships with some traditional print ad partners such as Palm Springs Life, we will rely more heavily than ever on the digital value assets they provide. Traditionally the Palm Desert media plan focuses heavily on high season, but this year some aspects will begin as early as possible to provide support for the Unite Palm Desert Hotel Voucher Program and the opening of the City's hotels. Staff concurs with the media plan recommended as presented, which also received enthusiastic support from a panel of the City's Marketing Committee. August 27, 2020 — Staff Report Approval of FY 2020/21 Media Plan Page 3 of 3 Fiscal Analvsis The proposed Media Plan reflects the funding requested and approved within the FY 2020/21 marketing budget. No additional funds are being requested as part of this approval. LEGAL REVIEW N/A DEPT. REVIEW Ma-rti.� Al.va�-e.z FINANCIAL REVIEW �as,,r.�'?'YI. ?'j?oo2� ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER N/A Robert W. Hargreaves Martin Alvarez Janet M. Moore Andy Firestine City Attorney Director of Econ Dev Director of Finance Assistant City Manager i ��a.�-=��.� City Manager, Lauri Aylaian: 1�/��I�Z�1:� ATTACHMENT Ideapeddler P.O. Box 41928 Austin, TX 78704 FY 2020/21 Media Plan Recommendation City of Palm Desert FY21 Media Recommendation August 4, 2020 Agenda Background FY20 summary, timeline, and key learnings Principles for FY21 media Adaptable messaging POV Gating parameters and messaging considerations Media mix by messaging pillar Closing and next steps 2 Background FY20 brand campaign launched in January 2020 debuting the new “Happy Pace” creative. Media was focused on video-first strategy that placed our ads in primarily premium digital-video environments. We also had a full-funnel campaign across custom content, billboards, conversion digital, and social. The campaign was paused on April 9, 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns across the US and as nonessential travel was dramatically impacted. Our digital channels allowed us to be nimble in the face of dynamic events from March to July. Search 19% Display 7% Social 16% Video 29% Outdoor 15% Print 12% Jebbit 2% FY20 Media Mix 3 FY20 Timeline June 30 Riverside County orders bars to close due to resurgence June 1 Hundreds gather for BLM protest in Palm Desert Apr. 9 Media paused across channels June 12 Riverside County allows bars, gyms, theaters to open May 7 Gov. allows for curbside pick-up. California enters phase 2. July 13 California closes indoor dining and barbershops Nov. 1 First Weekend launch Jan. 13 Happy Pace launch Mar. 9 CA governor orders statewide shelter-in-place Key Business As Usual Restrictions Tighten Restrictions Loosen 4 FY20 Response Summary and Learnings Channel Planned Spend Spend Rollover Search $75,362 $50,374 $24,988 Display $27,000 $8,410 $18,590 Social $71,365 $14,529 $56,836 Video $90,000 $48,665 $41,335 Survey (Jebbit)$7,500 $7,500 $0 TV $30,000 $30,000 $0 Out of Home $60,078 $50,778 $9,300 Print $44,695 $32,196 $12,499 Total $409,000 $243,952 $165,048 Spring and summer saw significant volatility in the sociopolitical climate of Palm Desert, the state of California, and the rest of the US. An abrupt pause in media was required, which the Ideapeddler team moved quickly to address; every channel with future flighting was paused. Digital channels were easiest to pull from market, occurring on April 9 and accounting for 86% of total rollover ($141k). Traditional media was much more difficult to adjust, with the majority running through May. Some vendors (e.g. Locale) were prepaid, further limiting flexibility of rollover dollars. 5 Media Guiding Principles for FY21 100% Digital Digital media is infinitely more flexible than traditional, allowing us to quickly swap messaging or turn channels on/off bas ed on public-health needs and state orders. Adaptable Messaging We’ll deploy a diverse set of messages, ranging from emotional appeals around travel and the idea of escape to fact-driven messaging around health guidelines. Gating Parameters We’ll develop gating parameters based on governor's orders, Riverside County response, local infection trends, etc. to inform what messaging we deploy. The Fiscal Year is Bifurcated Based on current reported timelines, we anticipate that a vaccine will be widely distributed in early 2021, so we expect the second half of the fiscal to see a dramatic increase in travel. 2021 6 What Does Adaptable Mean? -7- PHASE 2: Optimize PHASE 3: Scale Up Larger budgets to the most efficient placements Add additional targeting strategies as necessary Multiple partners Hyper-targeting Small budgets Multivariate testing Fully scaled PHASE 1: Fast-twitch test Paid Media: Adaptable Planning 8 Gating Parameters for FY21 Our gating parameters will act as triggers for what channel(s) and message(s) we’ll activate, and what we’ll pause. Our parameters will be based on: Governor’s statewide phased reopening updates as we ebb and flow in and out of openings and closings by industry Riverside County’s public -health orders on retail, restaurants, and bars Updates from Palm Desert hotels Hospitalizations and case data in Riverside County, as well as LA and San Diego DMAs School-district plans for remote and in-person classes Real-time consumer movement, booking, and sentiment data (ADARA, Arrivalist, etc.) 9 Consumers’ mentalities have shifted from carefree to safety-minded. Is it safe? How do I travel there? Are restaurants open? Can I dine in at the hotel? What else would there be to do? Where would I have to wear a mask? More than 65% of American travelers say they plan to wear a mask during their trips and report that they would feel happy if their destination required mask-wearing while in public. Of the 9.5% that expressed unhappiness about a mask mandate, half said it would not keep them from visiting a place they otherwise wanted to visit. Only 24% of Riverside County residents are staying home, with over 5MM trips made a week. Adara hotel and flight trends reveal that leisure travel has dominated the market compared to business since March 2020; they were practically equal prior to then. Sources: Destination Analysts, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Adara Will it be crowded? 10 Impact of new mentality on daily travel 11 Tourism marketing is not simply inviting people in…In these new times, we need to address multiple consumer needs to capture market share. TRADITIONAL TOURISM Messaging to invite people to visit Palm Desert INFORMATIONAL What’s happening on a local attraction level: new hours, what’s open, etc. COOPERATIVE Partnership with industry to drive revenue EDUCATIONAL How to travel safely to and in the City of Palm Desert, local regs and requirements FY21 MARKETING’S FIVE MESSAGING PILLARS PROMOTIONAL Virtual or in-person events 12 Educational: Safe Travel What is it like to travel in Palm Desert now? Now more than ever, people need to see to believe. Messaging will convey: New protocols that Palm Desert businesses are employing How to safely shop, dine, and enjoy Palm Desert Regulations for outdoor activities like golf, hiking, tennis, etc. Media Channels: S O C I A LN A T I V E D I S P L A Y V I D E O 13 Informational: Local Attraction Information When traveling to Palm Desert, what can I do and where can I go? We need to answer the questions that will prompt the decision to come to Palm Desert. We’ll share information about: What attractions are open Local restaurants (e.g. indoor versus outdoor, pickup or delivery, restrictions on number of people) Rules when engaging with certain businesses Media Channels: S E A R C H S O C I A L 14 D I S P L A Y Cooperative: Hotel Voucher Program Are there any promotions going on or incentives to travel to Palm Desert? We’ll promote partnerships with hospitality-industry entities throughout town to support visitor spending. COPD will provide a real dollar credit to hotels who opt in to pay for a 3rd night free to bring in visitors. We’ll advertise the overall program and all of the partners who have opted in. Media Channels: S O C I A LN A T I V ES E A R C H 15 Promotional: Future or Virtual Events Are there any events I can attend? Promote safe, socially distanced events that have capacity for a larger than local crowd. Events like: Outdoor drive-in movies or outdoor concerts at the park with 6’ spacing Virtual events and attractions around the city Events and festivals returning later in 2021 Media Channels: S O C I A LN A T I V ES E A R C H 16 Traditional Tourism: Evolving in COVID times Where should I travel? Find Your Happy Pace still works in the new normal… more to come on how! Messaging will: Invite and directly promote nonessential travel Show people having fun on hikes, swimming, and shopping Focus on conveying emotions to the audience more than facts or information Highlight outdoor space and activities Media Channels: V I D E OS O C I A LN A T I V E D I S P L A YS E A R C H 17 SCENARIO 1: STATUS QUO Assumptions: Travel commonplace Masks required Outdoor attractions only Gating Parameters: County: Pick-up / delivery for non-essential businesses Statewide: New cases plateauing Est. $138K Budget (max 25%) Educational Messaging Informational Messaging Promotional Messaging SCENARIO 2: SURGE Assumptions: Travel sees drastic decrease Masks required No one is seeking leisure trips Gating Parameters: County / statewide shelter-in-place orders Statewide: New cases surging dramatically Est. $55k Budget (max 10%) Educational Messaging Informational Messaging SCENARIO 3: REDUCED CASES Assumptions: Travel sees moderate increase Masks encouraged indoors Gatherings of 10 or fewer are common Gating Parameters: County: Bars and barbershops allowed to open Statewide: New cases diminish (0.6%–0.8% growth factor) Est. $220K Budget (max 40%) Educational Messaging Informational Messaging Promotional Messaging Cooperative Messaging POST-COVID (H2) Assumptions: Travel is increasing more than 2X Business operations akin to pre-COVID Gating Parameters: Statewide: Vaccine is readily available Nationwide: Over 40% vaccinated with herd immunity on horizon $275k Min Budget (50%) Traditional Tourism Educational Messaging Informational Messaging Promotional Messaging Cooperative Messaging H1 BUDGET CAP AT $275K (50%)VACCINE What FY21 Looks Like In-Market Deployment of $550k ($409k FY21 budget + $141k FY20 digital rollover) Gating parameters will determine which scenario we’re in —budget will be strategically deployed as a percent of remaining dollars to align messaging with the scenario. Estimated Break-Out by Channel Programmatic (Choozle)Social (Facebook)OTT / CTV (i.e. Hulu)SEM (Google) $165k (30%)$110k (20%)$200k (36%) $75k (14%) Timing & Next Steps TODAY, Aug. 4 Marketing Committee review Aug. 27 City Council approval Aug. 27 –Nov.New asset development Nov.Tentative campaign launch Ongoing Recurring adjustments to plans based on gating parameters 20