HomeMy WebLinkAboutC37180 Development of New Tourism CampaignSTAFF REPORT
CITY OF PALM DESERT
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
MEETING DATE: May 09, 2019
PREPARED BY: Thomas Soule, Tourism & Marketing Manager
REQUEST: Authorize expenditure of marketing funds for a new tourism ad
campaign as extra work as provided for in Contract No. C37180
Recommendation
By Minute Motion that the City Council:
Authorize $135,750 for the development of a new tourism advertising
campaign, to be performed by Ideapeddler as extra work as defined
and provided for in Contract No. C37180.
Strateqic Plan Obiective
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 this request authorizes additional expenditures with Ideapeddler in a total
amount not to exceed $135,750 for the development and production of a new advertising
campaign for the City. Funds are available in the FY 18/19 budget.
Backqround Analvsis
The City supports the tourism industry and local business through implementation of a
comprehensive marketing program, which includes an advertising campaign that
promotes the City as a premium travel destination. The current advertising campaign is
May 9, 2019 — Staff Report
New Tourism Ad Campaign
Page 2of3
now in its third consecutive year in market, having first been used in 2016. Staff has
worked with the City's creative agency, Ideapeddler, to freshen that existing campaign.
However, this was only a temporary measure, and the time is approaching when it will be
necessary to create a new campaign. Given the large annual investment that the City
makes toward marketing, Staff is mindful of the importance of utilizing best practices in
each step of this process.
Current best practices in the marketing field favor a data -driven approach. The City of
Palm Desert accordingly now collects data on its ad campaign, which enables the
measurement of return on investment (ROI) and allows for modifications that maximize
that return. The City also invested in market research to guide the development of the
new ad campaign for the first time in the City's history.
At its regular meeting on April 2, 2019, the Marketing Committee reviewed the findings
from the market research and unanimously voted to support the positioning statement
presented by Ideapeddler. The research provides actionable insights specific to Palm
Desert that will enable Ideapeddler to develop an ad campaign designed to attract visitors
from the City's drive markets in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego.
Strategic insights collected included:
• Key drivers and expectations when looking for a quick getaway.
• The competitive set for local getaways.
• Current perception of Palm Desert.
• Awareness of/interest in various attractions in the Palm Desert area.
• Perceived differences/similarities between Palm Desert and Palm Springs.
The next step of this project is to create and execute a new tourism campaign for the City,
based on this recently completed research, with plenty of lead-time for next season. This
entails crafting a new concept, conducting a photo shoot for new visual assets (photos
and video), and creating the ads to be deployed across both print and digital media. The
estimated cost breakdown for this project is as follows:
1 PROJECT
Crew
J Expenses
Post Production
Rentals
Talent
Travel Expense Reimbursement
Agency Management Fees
Total Estimated Costs
ANTICIPATED COST
$51,700
$7,800
$22,000
$12,450
$10,800
$4,500
$26,500
$135,750
May 9, 2019 — Staff Report
New Tourism Ad Campaign
Page 3 of 3
Fiscal Analvsis
Funds for this project were not specifically earmarked in the current year's Marketing
budget, however Staff anticipates budget savings in Advertising Special Co-op Account
No. 1104417-432220, Advertising Production Account No. 1104417-4321900 and
Advertising Media Buys Account No. 1104417-4322100 that would cover the cost of this
program. No additional fiscal impact is created by this request.
LEGAL REVIEW DEPT. REVIEW FINANCIAL REVIEW CITY MANAGER
N/A
Martin Alvarez �t
Robert W. Hargreaves Director of Economic J M. Moore Lauri Aylaian
City Attorney Development Director of Finance City Manaqer
ATTACHMENTS: None