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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Marketing Committee 06/06/2017PALM DESERT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, June 6, 2017 — 3:00 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Rolf Hoehn called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Arlene Amick Franchesca Forrer Rolf Hoehn, Chair Mahasti Islami Theresa Maggio, Vice -Chair Bruce Nation Jeffrey Norman Ray Rodriguez Erin Scott Members Absent: Jerry Martin Barb Wagner Staff /Others Present: Jan Harnik, Mayor Gina Nestande, Councilmember Thomas Soule, Tourism & Marketing Manager Martin Alvarez, Economic Development Director David Hermann, Senior Management Analyst Barbara Blythe, Tourism & Marketing Specialist Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary Mark Schaeffer, H&L Partners Michael Ramirez, H&L Partners Stephanie Greene, FG Creative Christine Stein, Leeds & Sons III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Chair Hoehn thanked the Committee for their confidence in him by re-electing him as Chair and hopes he can live up to their trust. City Clerk Rachelle Klassen thanked the Committee members that have turned in their Form 700 on time. There are 5 members who still need to complete in and turn it in. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE June 6, 2017 IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MARCH 7, 2017 Ray Rodriguez noted some clarification be added to his comments. Jeffrey Norman moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the March 7, 2017, meeting as amended. The motion was seconded by Theresa Maggio and carried by an 8-0-3 vote. (AYES: Amick, Islami, Maggio, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Forrer, Martin and Wagner) V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. FISCAL YEAR-END UPDATE ON AD CAMPAIGN PRFORMANCE BY H&L PARTNERS Mark Schaeffer introduced Michael Ramirez, who is H&L Partners' Media Director based in the San Francisco office. Michael determines where the ads are placed, the purchase of those ads, and how they are performing. Over the last 2 years, H&L has been putting the pieces together. When they started there was no budget to produce a new campaign. This past season was when the creative was in place and the media plan was in place. Highlights: Mintel Market Research Company is projecting continued growth in the tourism sector. Travel is becoming a lifestyle choice vs. accumulating material goods. California has by far the highest percentage of residents who take their vacation in the same state. The objectives are: grow tourism and tax revenue; develop a distinct, ownable brand for Palm Desert; and a return on investment of every marketing dollar. He then reviewed the trip planning process: dream, plan, in trip, loyalty and advocacy. Responding to Councilmember Nestande's question, Mr. Schaeffer said that no marketing dollars are spent during the summer. Some are spent during the shoulder seasons. Mr. Soule noted that summer guests come because of the hotel rates, so the strategy is to hit the guests with as many touch points during the season as possible. Hotels are doing a good job with their rate ads. The best use of the money is to advertise when more people are likely to come. Mr. Schaeffer added that if there were more funds available, the better ROI would be to advertise in other geographically close markets during the peak season than to try to get folks to come during the summer. Mr. Hoehn added that we are benefiting from the CVB's Summer Chill campaign. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE June 6, 2017 Mr. Schaeffer went on to say that a person will feel better about their vacation if they get positive comments on social media. Since starting to work with the City, H&L's strategy is to get focused geographically to do an effective job in those markets, which are Los Angeles and San Diego drive markets; focus on a younger demographic (30's to 40's); and to maximize partnerships (CVB and the State of California). The big job over the last 6-8 months was to evolve the creative message to something that is ownable and distinct, credible, complementing Palm Desert's inherent qualities, about an escape to the weather, and a more sophisticated experience. There was discussion of targeting families in the drive market. The next marketing phase would be a new campaign expanding on existing creative to include families. At this point in the meeting, Franchesca Forrer arrived. Mr. Schaeffer reviewed the ads and where they are seen. Mr. Ramirez went on to say the main objective is to drive people to the website and to sign up for the e-newsletter. Something new this year was to inform visitors of events. Ads ran October 2016 to April 2017 and the budget was $403,000, focusing on the drive markets. The budget was $67,000 for print ads, which were aligned with highly affluent lifestyle publications such as Los Angeles Magazine with one million in circulation. A new tactic was to target high -end, upscale malls, namely the Beverly Center and Fashion Island, with kiosks with static ads and a video. Ads are also at the Palm Springs Airport with a cost of about $1,000 per month. The main focus was on digital advertising. With the new creative and media changes, the targeted demographic is an adult 35-54 years old. Facebook has done a good job at driving people to the website. Two-thirds of the people are using mobile devices to access the website. Website visitors are up 16% year - over -year with the same budget. The top 3 pages on the website are events, things to do, and shopping. The age of people visiting the website is shifting younger. There was high engagement when local events were promoted. In response to Ray Rodriguez' comments, Mr. Ramirez explained that articles about Palm Desert were written for Nativo, which is a content bank that partners with a lot of websites. The age demographic is specified for where those articles run. Discussion ensued regarding the age demographic that is targeted. Mr. Soule said that shift towards the younger demographic is long term and to change the concept of the valley being a place where retirees come. Mr. Schaeffer continued by reporting on the PR efforts. A successful media tour was held here in December, which resulted in a lot of coverage and good ROI. An upcoming trip to New York City will build some relationships with 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE June 6, 2017 publications and writers. He then proposed using a third party to do a study costing $10k - $15k that would show the ROI for marking dollars spent. Right now we measure the campaign's ability to reach travelers, evaluate the creative in terms of its impact, and analyze website data to calculate economic impact for the marketing plan. On the horizon: execution of what has been put in place, refine the media plan according to the results, look for co-op opportunities, expand PR activity, and focus on website evolution, all as the budget allows. With Committee concurrence, the Fiscal Year -End Update on Ad Campaign Performance by H&L Partners was Received and Filed. B. REVIEW OF FISCAL YEAR 2017/2018 MARKETING PLAN Mr. Soule noted that he and the staff at H&L talk constantly about how the program is performing and make adjustments accordingly. The Marketing Plan is a direct extension of those talks. There has been a long process of getting things in order so that everything works together. There is a mobile -first and desktop friendly strategy, which us the most effective. He will be going to New York City with Heather Woodard to bring some ideas to some national publications and so they will keep Palm Desert in mind. Mr. Soule clarified that the $60,000 for Special Events does not include Fashion Week. Responding to a question from Erin Scott, Mr. Soule said that $12,000 for Meltwater media tracking services are included in the budget. Part of it is for tracking the city government side; TV, print media and online conservations; and a piece of it is for the tourism side. He would like feedback from any who have had experience with them. Jeffrey Norman moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the Fiscal Year 2017/2018 Marketing Plan as submitted. The motion was seconded by Theresa Maggio and carried by a 9-0-2 vote. (AYES: Amick, Forrer, Islami, Maggio, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Martin and Wagner) C. CONTRACT RENEWAL FOR H&L PARTNERS Mr. Soule began by saying he and H&L Partners have had a great collaboration for the past 2 years. The original contract was for 1 year with 2 one-year extensions, and this is the second of those. Staff recommendation is to renew the contract for another year. Mahasti Islami moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the final one-year extension of the H&L Partners contract for marketing services under the same terms and conditions as the previous 2 years. The motion was seconded by Ray Rodriguez and carried by a 9-0-2 vote. 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE June 6, 2017 (AYES: Amick, Forrer, Islami, Maggio, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Martin and Wagner) Mr. Soule explained that the City has an annual marketing contract for the Palm Desert Aquatic Center. In the past the Committee has not provided a recommendation, but City Ordinance requires Committee approval to authorize the City Manager to sign the contract. The urgency is that the contract expires at the end of June. On a motion by Ray Rodriguez, second by Theresa Maggio, and a 9-0-2 vote. (AYES: Amick, Forrer, Islami, Maggio, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Martin and Wagner) the aforementioned item was added to the agenda. D. MARKETING SERVICES CONTRACT FOR THE PALM DESERT AQUATIC CENTER Mr. Soule distributed copies of the contract in question. For the past several years the City has contracted with FG Creative to provide marketing services for the Palm Desert Aquatic Center. Staff is pleased with their performance as they have done a great job working with a limited annual budget of $24,000, and they have found ways to maximize that budget. The Aquatic Center has recently experienced a change in leadership, so it would be expedient to continue the contract for another year to help them with the change. Staff recommends that the Committee recommend to the City Manager that the City once again pursues the contract. Mr. Rodriguez asked how FG Creative was able to help the Aquatic Center recover from its slow time. Stephanie Greene, FG Creative, responded by saying dollars were shifted to an online partnership with The Desert Sun, which had an immediate jump in gate and interest to the Center's website. The City also gave approval and budget to redesign the website just for the pool. It had been a splash page with a Zink to the YMCA. Social media has also been ramped up. The ad on The Desert Sun is one of their highest performing and is used to show the program for a push down because it gets the most click-throughs every time it's run. Many groups use the pool for lap swim, fitness, water aerobics, moms and kids, and a strong Hispanic contingency. The pool is for everyone, and that message wasn't getting across prior to FG Creative taking it on. It's not in the budget to do any Spanish translation for the website or the creative. They have done some research and found that the percentage of people who only speak Spanish is very small. Something that has been added to the website is "What's Happening Now." Staff at the Center has the ability to add information as well. It's important that the website is responsive to the needs of the end user. Ray Rodriguez moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend that the City Manager approve a one-year contract extension for marketing services for the Palm Desert Aquatic Center with 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE June 6, 2017 FG Creative under the same terms and conditions. The motion was seconded by Theresa Maggio and carried by a 9-0-2 vote. (AYES: Amick, Forrer, Islami, Maggio, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, Scott and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Martin and Wagner) VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS A. City Council Mayor Harnik said that she spoke to a group of realtors this morning who said there is quite a group of 35 to 50 year olds buying homes with cash. Staff has done an outstanding job in coming up with a proposed ordinance for the Prop 64 issue, which will impact us all on some level, and it's important to find a balance. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Chair Hoehn reported that the tennis tournament was very successful. All the expansion and changes made were very well received. Up 3% from last year, visitor numbers were 441,000 plus 8,000 from charity events. The last economic impact report was done in 2014, and another will be done for this year. In 2014 the gross economic impact was $375M, and this year it should be more. The new hotel on Larkspur will help. In order to grow to 500,000 visitors, hotels and parking spaces are needed. The Tennis Garden staff alone books 14,000 room nights. B. Committee Members Jeffrey Norman stated that the McCallum's season is completed. Next week 200 school teachers will go through a week long training session with the Summer Institute. The new brochure was sent out and achieved $3M in sales by the 58th day of sales. Last year it took 125 days. Also held was the second performance of East Valley Voices Out Loud as a culmination of a grant received from the Irvine Foundation a few years ago. The McCallum has decided to support another year of performance for this group. Mahasti Islami reported that Trina Turk will be staying for the year. Applications are online for local nonprofits for the 20th year of the concert series. 6 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE June 6, 2017 Franchesca Forrer thanked the City for helping get the Farmer's Market to the mall, which will be indoors on Sundays. The first one was a phenomenal success. A variety of camp inspired activities will be held in the center, called "Camp Westfield." This coming Sunday will be a pop-up art fair. The 10th anniversary of the fashion show will be in August. Arlene Amick noted that the museum is in summer hours. Summer camp will be in June and July. Partnering with AmDocs, they will show films in the Palm Desert location. Attendance is up. The spring exhibition "Pat Lasch: Journeys of the Heart" will continue through the summer. Attendance has been high because of this exhibition. Ray Rodriguez reported that Casuelas Cafe patio project will move forward. He commended H&L Partners for transitioning the City's plan to a laser beam focus and congratulated them for involving the Committee in the creative process. The presentation today was very beneficial. He also appreciated that H&L wants to be measured and evaluated, and he is confident that the City has chosen the right partner and we are in good hands. Referring to the East Valley Voices project at the McCallum, he thinks the Committee could become involved with either buying or distributing tickets. He then congratulated the Palm Desert High School Aztec Baseball Team for playing at Dodger Stadium for the CIP Championship. Martin Alvarez and Bruce Nation both have sons on the team. Bruce Nation said Desert Willow is finishing up the fiscal year by hitting almost all of the numbers for the year. Kemper has a new 3-year contract with the City for their services. The bunker renovation project was completed last fall, and it has received great reviews. The course is the best he has seen it this time of year. Summer camp will start on June 18th for kids ages 6 to 14, which usually sells out. Over 600 people attended The Retreat at Desert Willow's grand opening party. The project consists of 112 homes. Mayor Harnik said she believes 21 homes have already sold. Erin Scott reported that The Living Desert has beat attendance records the last 4 years. This fall, instead of butterflies there will be an interactive exhibit to feed Lorikeet birds. Brew at the Zoo was flat year over year, but it was a successful event. The Living Desert is partnering with the Art Museum for a membership reciprocal so members can visit the other location for free. There is a Summer Chill offering for behind the scenes tours. Ground was broken for the Crossroads of Conservation, the 3-phase campaign for a new entrance, animal exhibits and event space. Theresa Maggio congratulated Mr. Hoehn on the BNP Paribas Tournament. Bighorn members have been raving about how amazingly successful it was this year. The annual Ladies Home Tour did very well. In spite of not having a clubhouse, staff did a phenomenal job for the season and members had a great time. The new clubhouse will be a gem for the valley. Leeds & Son will have a store in the golf boutique. 7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE June 6, 2017 Jeffrey Norman added that the Bighorn team went over and above in hosting the McCallum Theatre's Founders and Benefactors Reception at The Vault. Mayor Harnik noted that there was previous discussion that Marketing Committee meetings be held at the locations represented by the Committee members. C. Staff Martin Alvarez reported that the City Council has authorized seeking a consultant to start the update on the Economic Development Strategic Plan to seek out and fill the economic base. After reviewing proposals, staff will recommend a consultant to the City Council. Responding to Mr. Hoehn's question, Mr. Alvarez replied that the Quicksilver Project's developers are working on their financial plan that is to be delivered to the City on June 13th. The project is now called the Surf Park at Palm Desert. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Services Reports There were no questions or comments. With Committee concurrence, the Visitor Services Reports were received and filed. XII. NEXT MEETING DATE — SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 XII. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 4:58 p.m. J ne Stanley, Recording Secretary 8