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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Marketing Committee 09/20/2016PALM DESERT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, September 20, 2016 — 4:00 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Rolf Hoehn called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Franchesca Forrer Rolf Hoehn, Chair Theresa Maggio, Vice -Chair Jerry Martin Bruce Nation Jeffrey Norman Ray Rodriguez Erin Scott Barb Wagner Members Absent: Arlene Amick Mahasti Islami Staff /Others Present: Jan Harnik, Mayor Pro Tem Thomas Soule, Tourism & Marketing Manager Martin Alvarez, Economic Development Director David Hermann, Management Analyst Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary Barbara Blythe, Tourism & Marketing Specialist Blake Padberg, Account Director, H&L Partners Katie Hogan, H&L Partners III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Hoehn introduced and welcomed two new Committee members, Erin Scott and Barb Wagner. Ms. Scott has been the Marketing and PR Manager at The Living Desert for one year and has lived in the Valley for 5-1/2 years. Ms. Wagner is the Director of Sales and Marketing at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort, and has been in the desert for one year. She has been with the Marriott for 26 years. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JUNE 21, 2016 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE September 20, 2016 Jeffrey Norman moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the June 21, 2016, meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Bruce Nation and carried by an 8-0-2-1 vote. (AYES: Forrer, Maggio, Martin, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott and Wagner; NOES: None; ABSENT: Amick, Islami; ABSTAIN: Hoehn) V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. PRESENTATION OF MARKETING PLAN FOR FY 2016/2017 Referring to the Marketing Plan in the agenda packet, Thomas Soule noted six broad strategies that will be the focus for the coming year. The first is to create a distinctive brand message. Staff has been working with H&L Partners on a new ad campaign. Secondly the message will be focused geographically. An example is that shopping is not why people decide to come here, but once they are in the Valley they will get our message. The third is to build on and enhance the PR successes of last year. Another media FAM tour will be held in November and plans are being made for another Fashion Week influencer. The fourth is to maximize co-op partnerships, and the fifth is to support and grow Palm Desert events. First Weekend has been expanded and several new featured events are coming that the City is looking to support. Sixth is to assist in maximizing group business during the slow periods. He went on to say that as a result of a small investment of co-op dollars, the JW Marriott had a fantastic August. Most of the Marketing Plan is the same as last year. A lot of focus has been on developing the new ad campaign. Mayor Pro Tem Jan Harnik commented that she likes the idea of investing in the events we already have to make them better. In response to a question regarding the Hotel and Signature Events Committee, Martin Alvarez said information for events is reviewed by that committee, such as Street and First Weekend. Mr. Soule also participates on that committee and incorporates the events into his action plan. Ms. Wagner described the August co-op mentioned previously by saying there were two large back-to-back conventions; the Jewish Learning institute and the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. A $10,000 investment garnered 2,400 room nights and $300,000 in food and beverage. The groups chose Palm Desert over another location. Mr. Soule continued by saying the customer we are going after is one that doesn't know that Palm Desert is a great value for conventions in the summer. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE September 20, 2016 Ms. Scott noted that because it was summer, at The Living Desert they were able to give private tours for 500 teenagers that came during the Jack & Jill Convention in July. Franchesca Forrer added that traffic at the mall was up 7% in August. Mr. Soule was pleased to report that in August the City's hotel occupancy was up 20% over last year. In comparison, Indio was down 14%. The incentive that was used is part of a fund of about $200,000 that can be used to partner with any hotel in Palm Desert. He is currently reaching out to the smaller hotels to make them aware of this opportunity. Franchesca Forrer moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend approval of the Fiscal Year 2016/2017 Marketing Plan as submitted. The motion was seconded by Bruce Nation and carried by a 9-0-2 vote. (AYES: Forrer, Maggio, Martin, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott, Wagner and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Amick, Islami) B. PRESENTATION OF NEW AD CAMPAIGN CONCEPT FOR FY 2016/2017 Mr. Soule introduced Blake Padburg and Katie Hogan from H&L Partners. Mr. Padburg began by reviewing the objectives and key strategies, which have not changed. The target audience has been narrowed to 30 to 50 year -olds in the drive markets. Furthering last year's campaign, the change will be "where you are escaping from" to "where you are going and what you are going to get once you are there." The creative will be more youthful and exciting. Of the many campaigns developed, two tested well and one came out the clear winner. The first concept is "So Worth It" and the second is "Where Life Flourishes." He showed the sample ads for out -of -market that were used for testing. Ms. Hogan described how the campaigns were tested in the drive market. It was an online survey of 410 people and included qualitative and quantitative questions. Qualifiers for the respondents were that they were 30 to 50 year -old males and females with an income of $100,000 or more. 68% of the respondents preferred the "So Worth It" campaign and indicated that it would most likely cause interest in planning a trip to Palm Desert as it seemed to provide a better idea of "escape." One verbatim response summarized the concept of the campaign: "When you live in Los Angeles, you have to ask yourself if any long drive is worth it. This is two to three hours in bad traffic so it's good to know that when you get there it will have been worth the trip." Secondary objectives from the creative testing revealed that the top three activities preferred were spa/relaxation, shopping and golf. H&L is recommending that we go ahead and produce the "So Worth It" campaign taking into consideration all the creative feedback, moving forward with a stronger emphasis on location versus people. When people are featured, keep them diverse, offering a variety of ages within the demographic; a variety 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE September 20, 2016 of races, couples, friends, groups, girlfriends, representing everyone that is coming to Palm Desert. Mayor Pro Tem Harnik asked for clarification that the campaign is meant to target and develop the 30 to 50 year -old demographic. Mr. Padburg confirmed that, saying having younger people in the ads will not put off those in the older segment. Answering Erin Scott's question regarding families, Ms. Wagner indicated that Marriott's research shows families travel more around the holidays. She is seeing more and more leisure business travel, people with money to spend and some extra time, particularly May to September. Mr. Hoehn asked if family travel should be reinforced through some of the advertising, to which Mr. Padburg said this has been discussed and it was decided that in focusing the target audience they felt the creative concepting would not necessarily be on families. Mr. Hermann added that in the discussions, the target demographic sees themselves as not necessarily with the kids in the picture. In other words, a family vacation, getaway, escape, is where the kids aren't always with them. As a parent, you're getting away. Mr. Soule said a new CVB Stay Chill ad is now running in the drive market that does show a lot of kids' activities, such as The Living Desert, skate park, and pool. So we're not relying solely on this campaign to present Palm Desert. Facebook also shows family activities. The Summer Chill campaign had itineraries aimed at millennials with Facebook ads where people could be linked to an itinerary our staff put together to appeal to that age group. We're not ignoring those segments but because of the limited budget we're trying to identify what is our best opportunity for growth and how can we target those people most effectively with the dollars that we have. Responding to Franchesca Forrer's question regarding the legs that this campaign could have with social media, Mr. Padburg said Facebook will be a big part of the campaign and will include videos, digital banners, and native ads, all under the banner of "So Worth It." She also asked if we could identify a blogger that would be intrinsically linked with the brand, to which Mr. Padburg responded that it's a good idea to have a host of bloggers that we could bring in as ambassadors. Ray Rodriguez commented that he originally thought the phrase "So Worth It" was too casual for our desert demographic, but now he is on board with it and thinks it works. He thought the strongest point was the visuals, capturing what people think they want to do. Dining is important enough to be considered. He liked the terms "flourish, gimme, active leisure," but he thinks the script is too wordy. We also have a giant market of baby boomers that are ready to retire 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE September 20, 2016 and shouldn't be forgotten. Mr. Soule commented that the budget is limited, so once people are here, the place sells itself. Ms. Forrer would like local businesses to be able to augment and utilize the campaign if they like it, leveraging that brand to make the City's dollar a bigger one. Mayor Pro Tem Harnik added that there could be some wordsmithing to tighten up the script. "So Worth It" makes a lot of sense to her. Mr. Soule said Mr. Rodriguez' thought is a great idea to keep in mind, that this is a concept that could be developed in other directions, even for economic development purposes. Mr. Rodriguez said he sees this campaign as being successful but it needs to develop beyond this to really represent what our community can be to people who are interested in it. Theresa Maggio mentioned information from a CVEP seminar several years ago where an expert reported that by 2020 millennials will be 70% of the workforce. After learning that information, Bighorn has changed a lot of strategies to go after the younger market. Mr. Rodriguez expressed that they will be the workforce and will not be available during the week, but there will be a lot who are and who have money to spend. He is just saying don't ignore baby boomers as they are out there right now. Jeffrey Norman wanted to make sure that in focusing on the City's assets, Palm Desert is highlighted as the epicenter of arts and culture and to make sure that it's included. Mr. Soule remarked that arts and culture aren't necessarily why people come here, but once they are in market, that's absolutely the message they will get. Mr. Rodriguez said since we are doing this on a civic level with professional expertise and guidance, let's take it the next step and try to develop a package that could be considered for inclusion in marketing for key businesses and marketers in our area. That's part of our role and our goal is to help our community assets and it may be a better way to access multiple demographics. Mr. Padburg acknowledged that this would essentially lend them the use of the branding. A real life example is what has been done in St. Louis. The St. Louis umbrella, logo positioning and branding have been applied to a number of regional civic entities and private properties. It's seen everywhere now; it's something people can unify on. Mr. Norman said when we're ready to run with it, we can give some strategy points to our partners. 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE September 20, 2016 Mr. Hoehn added that we could make a presentation to stakeholders and show them how they can capitalize on it. Mr. Rodriguez suggested offering community partners the use of our photos that they can overlay their logos and their messaging. The more we can do, the more the message will be repeated. Mr. Hoehn questioned the use of YouTube or lack of it. The CVB has had enormous success with YouTube and maybe we can find a way to piggyback on it. You don't want to use so many words in print, but when you put it in digital form it makes a different impression. A visual impression gets across very quickly. Erin Scott said the 30 to 50 demographic are on Instagram stories and Snapchat, and that's where they are getting their aspirational travel. You can watch it muted and see the images, which is a huge opportunity. Mr. Soule commented that video assets have been expanded but it's very costly. Ms. Forrer observed that for those of us that have those kinds of deliverables certainly they could be shared so that there is some rich content. Mr. Soule explained that we want to do things well, not just quickly because everybody is doing them. One of the biggest truisms of social media is to do a few things very well rather than do everything poorly. That's what we are really concentrating on to build a cohesive program. We have a great emphasis on working with our community partners in these ways. Mr. Rodriguez said he would reduce all the print down to one, two or three words because the visuals are so strong. Mr. Norman asked if there was any discussion down the road to reach the LGBT community. Mr. Soule responded by saying that is one of the points Ms. Hogan made about including diversity. The CVB does a nice job, but we aren't going to have a lot of ads that we can mix and match. We're going for low -hanging fruit, the easiest developed, and clearly another city has the corner on that market. We also have families, we have millennials, retirees, golfers; we can't reach all these communities with one ad campaign. Mr. Padburg said that's why this campaign is strong. You start with our "So Worth It" banner and have so many branches and offshoots to cover all these groups. And you have to have assets to back up that message too. Rolf Hoehn moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend approval of the new ad campaign "So Worth It" as presented. The motion was seconded by Franchesca Forrer and carried by a 9- 6 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE September 20, 2016 0-2 vote. (AYES: Forrer, Maggio, Martin, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott, Wagner and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Amick, Islam') C. REVIEW OF MEDIA PLAN FOR FY 2016/2017 Mr. Padburg reminded the Committee of the objectives: raising awareness, driving overnight trips, informing our target of specific events and activities especially when they are in -market, continuing to drive website traffic and maintaining contact through monthly e-newsletters. The Media Plan starts in October and goes through April 2017. The existing campaign will be used for the rest of 2016. The new campaign will be produced in November and be ready to roll out in the New Year. The $403,000 budget is about the same as last year. The digital portion will emphasize video. New 15- second videos will be shot as part of the new campaign. Ads will be half page, 4-color. We still have the billboards in the Palm Springs Airport baggage area. The Media Plan will hit people in each stage of the trip planning process, continuing to when they are here. H&L's digital recommendation is to continue emphasis on video content, especially for Facebook, and apply what we learned from last year, which was heavy activity on the website on weekends and prior to big events. The four legs of the stool for the new campaign: Google, paid search and displays, banners and native advertising. As another awareness point, new this year is a recommendation to include shopping mall video boards. There are two malls they are looking at now, Beverly Hills and Newport Beach, which have upscale stores and high traffic. Regarding what happens between April and October, Mr. Soule said the CVB's Summer Chill program will last for about 6 weeks. If there is money in the budget we can take advantage of similar specials next summer. Ms. Forrer noted that the UTC mall would be a 100% ideal drive market match and they are open to trade there. Mr. Rodriguez also suggested having a presence somewhere between the San Fernando Valley and Ventura. There is a stretch of the 101 where there are high end people that can get here in two hours. Mr. Soule noted that the CVB may do a digital billboard program in that area that we could piggyback on. Mr. Rodriguez expressed that the past summer successes can make a strong case for the Council to increase the budget. Ms. Maggio suggested having a billboard on the freeway by the Morongo Casino with the call to action of planning your trip now by going to a website. 7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE September 20, 2016 Mr. Soule concurred and said one of his goals is to get the print vacation guide revamped as a mobile site with the new campaign. Rolf Hoehn moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend approval of the Fiscal Year 2016/2017 Media Plan as presented. The motion was seconded by Theresa Maggio and carried by a 9- 0-2 vote. (AYES: Forrer, Maggio, Martin, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott, Wagner and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Amick, Islam') D. INFORMATIONAL REPORT ON THE CITY OF PALM DESERT'S MEASURE "T" APPEARING ON THE NOVEMBER 8. 2016 GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION BALLOT Ruth Ann Moore was not able to be at the meeting, but Mayor Pro Tem Harnik made some comments regarding this issue. Measure T will be on the November 8th ballot and its purpose is to raise our Transient Occupancy Tax by 2%. Palm Desert currently has the lowest TOT rate in the Valley and has one of the lowest in the southwest region. Raising the rate by 2% makes ours the second lowest rate in the Valley. The funds will be used to complement the General Fund. In the past Palm Desert had sufficient money, but public safety costs are increasing and are now more than 50% of the budget. She encouraged the Committee members to let interested parties know that a "yes" vote is important. Our community members will not pay for this; guests who stay here will. They use our infrastructure, amenities and public safety services. We welcome our guests and want to make sure they have the experience they deserve. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. MARKETING COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE (Continued from the meeting of June 21, 2016) Thomas Soule reminded the Committee that meetings will now be held quarterly. He is recommending that the Committee meet the 3rd month of each quarter, which would be September, December, March and June. Because of holidays, especially in December, he is recommending the first Tuesday of those months. Also, because the meetings will be quarterly, it would be good to start them at 3:00 p.m. instead of 4:00 p.m. The September meeting would fall on the day after Labor Day. If there is business that needs to be addressed a special meeting could be called, and information could be disseminated via email. Bruce Nation moved, by Minute Motion, to amend the Marketing Committee Bylaws to reflect that henceforth the Committee will meet at 3:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the third month of each quarter of the fiscal year — September, December, March and June. The motion was seconded by Jeffrey Norman and carried by a 9-0-2 vote. (AYES: Forrer, Maggio, Martin, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott, Wagner and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Amick, Islami) 8 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE September 20, 2016 VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS A. City Council Mayor Pro Tem Harnik was happy to report that Palm Desert's new City Manager, Lauri Aylaian, will start on October 3rd. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Rolf Hoehn reported that the CVB Summer Chill program was successful in increasing summer and shoulder season business in the Valley. A winter co-op campaign is coming soon and will be another program with KTLA. Reflective of the success of that summer campaign, airport traffic has increased the last three months and is up 3.5% over last year. July deplanements were up by 11 % and up 9.8% in August. As part of its Master Plan, the airport ticketing area will be refurbished to create more space. This winter, Air Canada Rouge will use a 767 plane, one of the largest planes that fly here. Also, within the next few years a facility will be built to house the rental car center in its current location and the adjacent hangar. Reconstruction of the outside of Stadium 1 at the Tennis Gardens is in process, adding about 200,000 square feet of space. B. Committee Members Theresa Maggio relayed that the Bighorn clubhouse has been demolished. The new clubhouse will open in November 2017. Just as many events as last year are planned. Bighorn BAM's 10th anniversary is this year. $6.5M has been raised in 9 years for breast cancer patients locally. The Miracle on El Paseo kick off on November 19th will be expanded to two blocks. Franchesca Forrer stated that Westfield Mall had a great summer in sales and traffic. Park and Ride for Goldenvoice's Desert Trip will be at the mall. Fall activities will include the Halloween Carnival and Pumpkin Patch, the second annual "Street" event on November 4th, Circus Vargas and Santa. Barb Wagner noted that the JW Marriott is undergoing a Wi-Fi upgrade to the whole facility. The Biggest Loser events will return in December. Jerry Martin said he is looking forward to a great season as Cruise Night starts up again on November 4th. "Classic Cars Under the Stars" at Desert Willow will be on April 1st and the Dr. George Car show will be in February at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. 9 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE September 20, 2016 As part of its conservation program, Erin Scott said The Living Desert will be launching the "Year of the Cheetah" on October 1st. Upcoming annual events are Howl-O-Ween and Wild Lights. Jeffrey Norman reported that the McCallum's stage was refurbished this summer. Sales are good and are on track to beat last year. The two major fall events are Family Fun Day on October 23rd, featuring the Underwater Bubble Show, and the Annual Gala on November 30th with Pink Martini. Mr. Hoehn added that the Tennis Garden will also have the Park and Ride for Desert Trip. C. Staff Martin Alvarez conveyed that the bunker renovation project at Desert Willow's Firecliff Course is completed and the course will re -open after overseeding in October. City Council has granted a 6-month extension of the Exclusive Right to Negotiate for the Quicksilver project at the Desert Willow lot pads. Regarding the Fairfield Hotel which was partially burned down two years ago, they have plans that are ready for permits to upgrade to Springhill Suites, but have not yet resolved their insurance issues. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Services Reports Barbara Blythe pointed out that August was a slow month. She and Visitor Services staff member Melinda Gonzalez did a lot of work to update the website before the new tourism website went live on August 30th. The increase in the Facebook "reach" was due to the Summer Chill program. With Committee concurrence, the Visitor Services Reports were received and filed. XII. NEXT MEETING DATE — DECEMBER 6, 2016 XII. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 5:52 p.m. LPi,Ci lane Stanley, Recording Secretary 10