The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutInfo Rprt - New Tourism Ad CampaignCITY OF PALM DESERT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT STAFF REPORT REQUEST: INFORMATIONAL REPORT ON NEW TOURISM AD CAMPAIGN SUBMITTED BY: Thomas Soule, Tourism & Marketing Manager DATE: January 12, 2017 COMMENT: Tourism ads are available for viewing in the Council Offices Conference Room. Recommendation By minute motions, receive and file. Strategic Plan Objective The creation of a new ad campaign and marketing video impacts the following Tourism & Marketing priorities as specified in the 2013-2033 Strategic Plan, Envision Palm Desert: Forward Together. • Priority 3: Attract new and developing travel/tourism markets. This priority specifically calls for the development and utilization of supporting marketing materials. The ad campaign and marketing video help create a fresh and vibrant message to attract new and expanding target markets. • Priority 4: Support the city's tourism industry through enhancement of its marketing efforts with an allocation of additional city resources. The new ad campaign and marketing video provide a much -needed refresh of the city's advertising campaign that greatly enhances the City's marketing efforts. Backaround At its meeting of July 9, 2015, the City Council approved Contract C34640 with H&L Partners to provide marketing services for the City of Palm Desert. In addition to the specific services outlined in the contract, these services include the planning, organizing and overseeing of special projects as assigned by the City. Staff Report New Ad Campaign January 12, 2017 Page 2 of 4 Industry standards show that the lifespan of an advertising campaign is not typically more than two years. At the time of H&L's hiring, the City was in its fourth year of the "Feel the Warmth" campaign and was looking to create a fresh and vibrant message to attract the City's target markets. FY 15/16 was identified as a transitional year, and on March 24, 2016, City Council approved and set aside funds in the FY 15/16 budget for the creation of an ad campaign and a marketing video to enhance the City's marketing program. As a measure to bridge the gap, H&L used existing photography and assets from the "Feel the Warmth" campaign to form a transitional ad campaign, "Desert Your Life," which has been in use since the fall of 2015. Since that time, staff has educated H&L about Palm Desert's past marketing efforts and worked with company representatives to assess and plan for the City's future needs. After fully analyzing Palm Desert's program requirements, H&L presented several campaign concepts that were then subjected to consumer testing. The advertising objective for this new campaign is to raise awareness among potential visitors of Palm Desert as an upscale, unique destination within the Coachella Valley. Toward this end, staff worked with H&L to create a new strategic approach, highlighting the concept that Palm Desert delivers elevated, memorable experiences. Rather than focusing on the models or people in the ads, this campaign aims to evoke a strong sense of place, featuring images of people experiencing an enticing moment that will inspire potential visitors to consider Palm Desert a desirable travel destination. Ultimately, two campaign concepts ("So Worth It," and "Where Life Flourishes") were created and subjected to consumer research, with three goals in mind: 1. Measure consumer reaction to the creative concepts in the Southern California drive markets (Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego) 2. Determine which of the two campaigns generated more interest in planning a trip to Palm Desert 3. Utilize information learned to select one campaign for production and to refine the creative elements This research was conducted via an online survey of carefully screened participants from September 1-6, 2016. Participation in the survey included: • 410 total respondents • Pulled from three distinct geographic areas: 0 Los Angeles -Long Beach -Santa Ana (majority of respondents) Staff Report New Ad Campaign January 12, 2017 Page 3 of 4 o San Diego -Carlsbad -San Marcos o Riverside -San Bernardino -Ontario • Screened for demographic traits to match the City's target audience: o Mix of male/female o Age 30-50 o Household Income $100k+ o Most were aware of Palm Desert and had traveled here before. At the September 9 meeting of the Marketing Committee, H&L presented the results of this testing. Among the key takeaways: • Respondents overwhelmingly preferred the "So Worth It" campaign, by a split of 68% to 32%. Among female respondents, the preference rose to 79%. • Among all participants, 72% stated that after viewing this campaign they were "likely" or "extremely likely" to consider visiting Palm Desert. • Respondents expressed their desire to get away from it all, including mentions of the relaxing, calm, serene attributes of the ads. • A clear preference was expressed for this campaign's stronger focus on the location than the people. Verbatim responses from the participants about the "So Worth It" campaign include the following: • "When you live in Los Angeles, you have to ask yourself if ANY long drive is worth it. This drive is 2-3 hours in bad traffic, so it's good to know that when I get there, it will have been worth the trip." • "The ads made Palm Desert appear more luxurious." • "Bolder colors, greater contrast, invokes imagination of myself engaging in those activities/offerings." • "I tend to enjoy vacations where there is no itinerary but there are plenty of activities to do if I choose to. I like leisurely vacations. Just looking for simple R&R." • "I like how it evokes a calm feeling and definitely embodies what a vacation should feel like." • "Makes you feel like you're leaving regular life behind." Staff Report New Ad Campaign January 12, 2017 Page 4 of 4 Based on this research, the Marketing Committee unanimously voted to move forward with production of the "So Worth It" campaign. All principal photography and videography were completed simultaneously in early November 2016, and the images, text and video have since been finalized. The initial ad comps were presented to the Marketing Committee at its meeting of December 6, 2016, at which time the committee once again voted its approval of this new campaign. Discussion The new "So Worth It" campaign, which is available for viewing in the Council Conference Room, is currently being deployed according to the approved Palm Desert Marketing and Media plans for FY 16/17, replacing the "Desert Your Life" transitional campaign. Print ads are scheduled for Los Angeles, Orange Coast, San Diego and Palm Springs Life magazines. The video is being utilized as pre -roll before YouTube videos and on Facebook. Other advertising assets, such as a Palm Springs Airport billboard, are being re -designed to match. With the campaign direction in place, staff will continue to work with H&L in the remainder of the fiscal year to produce further assets to expand the Palm Desert brand platform. These assets will include (but are not limited to) a revised Palm Desert Vacation Guide in both print and online format, a revised and responsive email newsletter template, further social media assets, and targeted videos using existing footage from the November shoot. Fiscal Analysis: Funding for the new "So Worth It" ad campaign has been previously approved by City Council as part of the FY 15/16 budget with no additional fiscal impact. Submitted By: Thomas Soule v Tourism & Marketing Manager Rudy osta Assistant City Manager Approval: Lauri Aylaian, City Manager 15(artin Alvarez Director of Economic Development