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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Marketing Committee 02/17/2015PALM DESERT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, February 17, 2015 — 2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Rolf Hoehn called the meeting to order at 2:04 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Arlene Amick Emily Bird-Hrivnak Rolf Hoehn, Chair Bruce Nation Jeffrey Norman Ray Rodriguez Members Absent: Franchesca Forrer Kerry Graves Theresa Maggio, Vice -Chair Sara O'Flynn Diane Williams Staff /Others Present: Bob Spiegel, Mayor Pro Tem Jan Harnik, Councilmember Donna Gomez, Tourism & Marketing Manager David Hermann, Management Analyst Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary Casey Wilson, Off Madison Ave. Sasha Howell, Off Madison Ave. Roger Hurni, Off Madison Ave. III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JANUARY 20, 2015. Ray Rodriguez moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the January 20, 2015, meeting as presented. Motion was seconded by Emily Bird-Hrivnak and carried by 6-0-5 vote. (AYES: Amick, Bird-Hrivnak, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Forrer, Graves, Maggio, O'Flynn and Williams.) APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 17, 2015 V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. PRESENTATION ON DIGITAL MARKETING PROGRAM BY OFF MADISON AVE. OF ARIZONA Donna Gomez introduced the three team members from Off Madison Ave., who went over the report that was distributed. Topics were: FY15 Goals and Objectives Overview, Q2 Report Highlights, Q3 and Q4 Initiatives, and FY16 Forecast. Some of the notable Q2 highlights: • Mobile website visits were up 51 % year -over -year. • Average mobile website visitors spent 58 seconds, which shows engagement. • Click -to -call feature yielded great success with a 72% increase of 143 additional calls. • Returning website visits decreased to 21 % indicating new visitors. • Canadian traffic was up 33% year -over -year and was 13% of total site traffic. • Palm Desert and Los Angeles saw 13.13% & 20.36% year -over - year increases, respectively. • There was a decrease of 35.94% of visits from San Diego, which OMA will be monitoring moving forward. They have been working on optimizations to boost the results. Upon question, Ms. Gomez offered that there will be ads in San Diego Magazine February through April which include online support. Emily Bird- Hrivnak noted that the San Diego market has not been strong for the hotel and they are disappointed with the engagement from there. • The new media landing page showcases the most visited pages. Ray Rodriguez mentioned that he does not see a button on the landing page for golf. Casey Wilson responded that the top 8 pages visited have a button on the landing page. Sasha Howell suggested swapping one of the buttons for golf as a test. Bruce Nation discussed Desert Willow's website regarding its key words and referrals. • Media generated 1 million more impressions that FY14 Q2. • Click -through rate is 0.25%, which is well above industry average. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 17, 2015 • Trip Advisor drove the highest conversion rate of 9.49%. The average is typically less than 1 %. • Pay -per -click click -through rate was 3.07%, nearly double FY14 Q2. • Facebook community increased 36.5% from the previous quarter. OMA recommends beginning to share more links to the website from social media posts to increase traffic. OMA delivered a Pinterest 101 Roadmap in Q2, providing an overview of the platform and recommendations. Remaining initiatives for fiscal year 2015 will include recommendations for Instagram and blogs. Mr. Hurni was happy to report that OMA will open an office in Los Angeles within 60 days. OMA is proud of the numbers and appreciates the relationship with Palm Desert over the years. Responding to a question regarding the website visits from the top 6 California cities, OMA will pull data regarding what area is covered by the Los Angeles number. Rolf Hoehn added that as part of their Destination Master Plan the CVB is doing an intercept study over a year period. They will be "intercepting" tourists at various locations throughout the Valley to get information regarding overnight visits vs. day-trippers, events, hotels, etc. Results will be ready at the end of this year. Discussion ensued regarding optimizing the Coachella events and our good weather. Ms. Howell noted that featuring good weather on social media would be a better instance where a link to drive traffic to the website could be utilized. With Committee concurrence, the Off Madison Ave. Digital Marketing Program FY15 Q2 Report was received and filed. B. SELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE -CHAIR FOR REMAINDER OF 2015 Emily Bird-Hrivnak moved, by Minute Motion, to nominate Rolf Hoehn as Chair for the remainder of 2015. Motion was seconded by Ray Rodriguez. Arlene Amick moved, by Minute Motion, to nominate Theresa Maggio as Vice -Chair for the remainder of 2015. Motion was seconded by Emily Bird-Hrivnak. Both motions were approved by a 5-0-1-5 vote. (AYES: Amick, Bird-Hrivnak, Nation, Norman, and Rodriguez; NOES: None; ABSTAIN: Hoehn; ABSENT: Forrer, Graves, Maggio, O'Flynn and Williams) 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 17, 2015 C. UPDATE ON MID -YEAR BUDGET AND PROGRAMMING Ms. Gomez reported that the mid -year budget adjustment proposal was approved by the City Council for co-op advertising programs, specifically for our hotel properties. One potential program is a co-op with the JW Marriott to incentivize group travel. A summer promotion has also been proposed. The additional funding will be requested in next year's budget as well. Responding to question, Ms. Gomez stated that next fiscal year there will be an outreach to local hoteliers regarding marketing opportunities. Because this fiscal year is near the end, some short-term programs were identified for the funds. For the upcoming year, Ms. Gomez will be preparing some white papers for additional funding for specific programs in addition to the regular budget, such as PR, development of a video, and a new ad campaign. Social media is an important aspect to be boosted. First Weekend has started to develop activity and excitement in its second year, but needs a stronger investment. Programming for First Weekend may include a big kick-off event next November. Community partners will be asked to host a signature or featured event each First Weekend, November through May. The event needs to grow to a point where there can be partnerships with hotels for package deals. Mr. Hoehn commented that parking was clogged today around Sandpiper for Modernism Week events. Ms. Gomez responded that the City is a sponsor of Modernism Week since there is a strong presence in Palm Desert this year. There will be tours of COD, Sandpiper and Marrakesh, double-decker bus tours, and a reception at the Galen. Mr. Rodriguez discussed a pop-up store placed at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs from the Vintage Store that was well -received and did very well. Ms. Gomez added that the Palm Desert Farmer's Market will be held in the evening, 4:00 to 8:00, the 1st Wednesdays in March and April, and all 4 Wednesdays in May to accommodate working people. A goal is to build a pavilion on the vacant lot at the site for the Farmer's Market as well as other community events. With Committee concurrence, the Mid -Year Budget and Programming Update was received and filed. 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 17, 2015 VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None. VIII. OLD BUSINESS None. IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS Mayor Pro Tern Spiegel reiterated that the City Council approved an additional $200,000 for marketing for the remainder of the fiscal year, primarily with the JW Marriott. He also reported that the hotel occupancy tax is up about $100,000 for the first 7 months, which is fair, not great. Councilmember Harnik said the General Plan is still being updated. She attended a women's event at the Humana tournament in La Quinta, and the speaker referred to the region as Palm Desert. Mitt Romney did the same thing at his recent Desert Town Hall appearance in Indian Wells. Additionally, Deborah Schwartz -Glickman worked diligently with a committee on getting new benches and trash receptacles along El Paseo, locally made of recycled materials. All are encouraged to go see them. Responding to question, Mayor Pro Tern Spiegel reported that the hotel project on Larkspur will break ground as soon as Fashion Week is over. Regarding the Canada Fest event, the organizer has not contacted the City yet to become involved. Mr. Spiegel requested a follow-up report on attendance of the 2015 event. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Mr. Hoehn reported that because of a change of staff at the CVB, a person who is more knowledgeable about digital media, the results have made a remarkable uptick. B. Committee Members Jeffrey Norman was happy to report that the McCallum has just gone over 101 % of its projected revenue, and there are still about 50 shows left in the season. Work is already being done for the 2015/2016 season and the brochures will be ready on April 7. The Muse and Patroness Circle, which raises funds for the McCallum Theatre Institute, will be having their annual fundraiser on March 26. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 17, 2015 Ray Rodriguez sincerely thanked Rolf Hoehn for his service and leadership as chair of the Committee. He also appreciated the professionalism of Off Madison Ave. and their willingness to listen and say when they did not have information. Ms. Gomez agreed and said OMA has been great to work with. The digital media contract RFP will be going out to bid within the next 3 months and the Committee will see the top companies in order to make a recommendation to the City Council. Arlene Amick noted that there are 2 new sculptures in the sculpture garden. First Weekend has been going very well. The February event had about 300 attendees. The first Saturday in April, there will be an Earth Day event in partnership with Whole Foods. The museum has a new Executive Director. Emily Bird-Hrivnak said the hotel will launch an innovative "selfie package" tomorrow, where locations within the hotel have been identified to take selfies. Mr. Spiegel requested a directional sign to Fisherman's Wharf. Bruce Nation reported that things are going very well at Desert Willow. The booking strategy has been changed to lower the prices further out and full rack rate within 3 days. The most discounted rates are 60 days out. Average daily rate for last month is up almost $4. The restaurants are busy and the wedding business is picking up. All the concerts are selling out. Ms. Gomez noted that Desert Willow has added a Sunday brunch to support First Weekend activities. C. Staff Ms. Gomez reported that the Madden Media program has been changed to add a link to restaurants. Being a marketing department of one, she stated that OMA and JNS have been a great support system to providing a strong marketing program. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Center Report Referring to the report, Ms. Gomez said that sales are slightly up. The lease will be up for renewal in November and City Council will review that in the next few months, as 6-months' notice needs to be given to renew. With Committee concurrence, the Visitor Center Report was received and filed. R APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 17, 2015 XII. NEXT MEETING DATE — THE MARCH 17T" MEETING WILL BE ADJOURNED TO TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 XIII. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 3:23 p.m. Ja Stanley, Recordi Secretary 7