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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Marketing - 5/17/05PALM DESERT APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2005 — 2:00 P.M. ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Nodne Bowen called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Emily Bird, Co -Chair Norine Bowen, Chair Rick Darius Sara O'Flynn Michael Shimer Staff/Others Present: Jean Benson, Councilmember Robert Spiegel, Councilmember Sheila Gilligan, Assistant City Manager Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager Spencer Knight, Landscape Manager Mike Osgood, Desert Willow, CVA Lori W imbish, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR Member Absent: Ray Rodriguez Ric Mandelbaum A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF APRIL 19, 2005 Mr. Darius moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the minutes of the April 19, 2005, meeting. Motion was seconded by Mr. Shimer and carried unanimously. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE V. NEW BUSINESS MAY 17, 2005 A. PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SPONSORSHIP EARL GREENBURG, Chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, addressed the Committee. He thanked the City of Palm Desert for its support of last year's Film Festival. He mentioned that 6 of the 36 Palm Springs International Film Festival Board members live or work in Palm Desert. He reported that the Film Festival measured over one billion electronic media impressions worldwide, which was an all-time record for any event in the Coachella Valley. He announced that Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and Extra were all on board for the 2006 Film Festival. The Committee viewed a 4-minute video on the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which Mr. Greenburg said would be shown all over the world. Mr. Greenburg believed that all of the obligations listed in last year's agreement had been fulfilled, except for the screenings. He apologized for any misunderstandings that may have occurred with regard to those screenings. He said that Mr. Ortega's office requested that the screenings be postponed to a later date, and if the City would prefer to have the screenings during the Film Festival, he could certainly make that arrangement. He added that the City of Palm Desert's logo was included on all marketing and advertising materials used by the Festival and said that they were looking for as many opportunities as possible to increase the City's involvement. He said he did not take Palm Desert's participation lightly, and he would answer questions and entertain any discussion that would help convince the City that supporting the Palm Springs International Film Festival was the right thing to do. Upon question by Ms. Bird, Mr. Greenburg responded that the Film Festival would consider hosting events at the Marriott, and he would be perfectly amenable to meeting with any hotel group to discuss package deals. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Mr. Greenburg replied that for the first time in its history, the Film Festival was actually in the black. He said he had a five-year plan for the Film Festival, which included it becoming self-sufficient so he would not have to ask for financial assistance. Upon question by Mr. Shimer, Mr. Greenburg responded that 64% of the Film Festival attendees were from outside the Coachella Valley. He said those individuals stay an average of three to five nights. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 17, 2005 Ms. Gomez noted that tickets for the first movie screening were gone in two days. She said the local screenings were very popular. Mr. Greenburg said he did not want that to become a negative situation, and he could arrange more screenings if necessary. Councilmember Spiegel said he had spoken with Ted Giatis from the McCallum Theatre, who indicated that he would have to rent equipment in order to show a film at the McCallum, which would be very costly. Mr. Greenburg said the educational programs would not include the screening of movies at the McCallum. The programs would bring in filmmakers to work with educators and young people. He said the youngest filmmaker last year was ten years old, and his film was in the Festival. He added the Film Festival board screened thousands of short films and showed hundreds. Upon further question by Councilmember Spiegel, Mr. Greenburg responded that he was interfacing with UCR all the time. He said he spoke at the school's dedication and would definitely involve them in some way. Ms. Bird said that the Marriott had not received a significant increase in revenue during the Film Festival, and considering the amount of contribution being requested, she believed it would be more prudent to look at events that would increase the volume of people visiting and staying in Palm Desert. She could not support sponsorship of the Palm Springs International Film Festival at this time. Ms. Bowen said it would be difficult to track whether the Film Festival made an impact on Westfield because it had always fared well in January. Mr. Shimer said there was not a significant financial increase at Tommy Bahama's during the Film Festival. Ms. Gilligan stated that the Film Festival had not been very cooperative with staff with regard to preparing its proposal. She said staff was concerned about whether the City's marketing funds of $50,000 were well spent. Ms. Kneiding clarified the City's postponement of the second screening. She did not believe that the City's logo on the Film Festival's marketing and advertising materials was instrumental in bringing visitors back to Palm Desert. She noted that the City was already well -represented in the Palm Springs area; i.e., bus shelters, Palm Springs Airport, etc. She added that from staffs point of view, $50,000 was a significant amount of money, and she was not convinced that the City would receive a significant return on its investment. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 17, 2005 Mr. Shimer moved to, by Minute Motion, approve staffs recommendation to deny sponsorship of the Palm Springs Film Festival for FY 2005/06. Motion was seconded by Ms. Bird and carried unanimously. B. RECYCLE BINNEY Ms. Kneiding gave a brief presentation and distributed flyers about Recycle Binney. She said the Recycle Binney mascot would travel to Palm Desert schools to teach children about recycling. She added that the mascot was designed to be mature enough for the adults but fun for kids as well. The Marketing Committee viewed the 30 second animated television commercial and the Recycle Binney DVD video game. Ms. Gilligan explained that the State mandated that cities put $1 per ton of recycle materials into a fund that could only be used for recycling promotions, programs, and education. The City currently had about $5 million in that fund. She said Ms. Kneiding and Ms. Close had been working with Robert Kohn, Special Projects Manager, on the Recycle Binney promotion for the past several months. She added that the commercial would air on every television set in the Valley. No action taken. C. CONSIDERATION OF A COOPERATIVE MARKETING OPPORTUNITY WITH MARRIOTT DESERT SPRINGS RESORT (Added item by unanimous vote.) Ms. Gilligan reported that she and the City's Executive Management Team met with Doug Watson, General Manager of the Marriott Desert Springs Resort. She gave an overview of their discussion regarding Marriott's marketing plan and its importance to the City. She noted that the Marriott brought in the majority of the City's Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), which was an important factor in the City's decision to work with the Marriott on its marketing plan. Ms. Bird gave a presentation to the Committee regarding the Marriott's marketing campaign print ad. She said the summer months for the Marriott were always a challenge, and the desire to keep the momentum going was foremost in the mind of Mr. Watson. To that end, the Marriott made the decision to take its marketing campaign to another level. Ms. Bird distributed copies of the direct mailers and a mock up of the print ad that would be used in the media plan. She said the campaign would begin with 1/2-page ads in the Orange County Register and 2x7 print ads in the Long Beach Press, the Pasadena Star News, and some other smaller Los 0 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 17, 2005 Angeles publications. She said they had not had tremendous success with the Los Angeles Times, so they were staying with more local publications. Ms. Bird said the plan included increased exposure and larger sized print ads. In order for the Marriott to achieve its proposed goal, it would need monetary assistance from the City. Ms. Kneiding requested feedback from the Committee as to whether a cooperative marketing opportunity with the Marriott would be a worthy endeavor for the City. She was confident that such an aggressive campaign, during the shoulder season, would be complimentary to the City's existing media campaign. She added that overruns of the Vacation Planner were sent out to Orange County and San Diego markets with a letter reading, "Come visit Palm Desert. We have some great deals during the summer." Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Ms. Bird said the Shopper Hopper was working very well for the Marriott. She said she could get exact numbers for him if he would like. Councilmember Spiegel responded that he would like to have that information. Ms. Gilligan added that Mr. Watson said the Shopper Hopper was a huge success for the Marriott. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Ms. Bird responded that they were requesting $40,000 from the City. Ms. Gilligan reported that the marketing budget could accommodate the amount requested, and the decision to approve the request lies solely with the Committee. Upon question by Ms. Bowen, Ms. Bird said the Marriott would consider a partnership with Westfield. Upon question by Mr. Osgood, Ms. Bird said there have been some conversations about partnering with Desert Willow. She absolutely believed that they could make that happen, and they could work on that together. Ms. Gomez added that a golf package with the Marriott and Desert Willow would be a great package to market at the Visitor Center. Upon question by Ms. Bowen, Ms. Bird said the Marriott had a very extensive database of over 200,000 people. She added that the rates given on the direct mailer were accessible through the 800-reservation number listed on the card. Councilmember Spiegel inquired about getting a better rate at the Marriott through an Internet site like Priceline.com. Ms. Bird said the Marriott did not associate with those types of sites because they have a best rate guarantee. 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 17, 2005 Mr. Shimer moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the cooperative marketing opportunity with the Marriott Desert Springs Resort in the amount of $40,000. Motion was seconded by Ms. O'Flynn and carried unanimously. VI. OLD BUSINESS None VII. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL ACTION (S) Councilmember Spiegel spoke briefly about a Building and Safety matter regarding the cost of inspecting a hot water heater after its installation. Councilmember Benson reported that the CVA had a new interim director from Seattle, Washington. She said the CVA hired Norm Roberts to recruit a permanent director for the organization, and they expect that process to take about four to six months. She spoke about the successes that Seattle had with its cultural tourism and wine festival. She felt that Palm Desert could have similar successes with each of those entities. Vill. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Ms. Bowen reported a successful "grand opening" for Aeropostale, a new teen clothing store in Westfield Palm Desert. She stated that this was Aeropostale's 600t' store in the United States, and its corporate senior and middle management staff attended the grand opening. She added that Westfield purchased copies of the Palm Desert Table Top Book for each representative. B. Committee Members Ms. Bird announced that the JW Marriott Resorts was having a customer event in Los Angeles. She said 200 meeting planners would be attending the event along with the General Managers and Directors of Marketing from the Marriott. Prior to the meeting event, Marriott would be hosting a luncheon for 35 media representatives from Los Angeles and Orange County. She added that if the event proves to be successful, they plan to take it on the road to Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. C. Staff Ms. Gilligan reported that typically Committee meetings were dark in August. She said if there were only informational items for the July 0 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 17, 2005 meeting, with the Committee's concurrence, the July meeting would be cancelled. Ms. Kneiding said the Committee would be reviewing the newly designed dining guide, vacation planner, and relocation guide at the June meeting. Ms. Gilligan informed the Committee that the annual holiday party for Committees/Commissions was moved to a Sunday in October. It would be the same type of an affair, just as nice, and hoped that the committees/commissioners understand staffs decision -to move the event. The holiday season was very hectic, and staff thought it would be nice to move the event to a time when not as much was going on. Ms. Bowen said she did not have a problem with the change. Ms. Kneiding announced that the Summer of Fun Concert and Movie series would begin June 26th. She added that there would not be a concert or movie the week before or after July 4th; however, on Monday, July 0' there would be a concert and fireworks show as usual. Ms. Gilligan announced that Michael Shimer, Pat Scully, Kristy Kneiding, and Deborah Schwartz would be traveling to Aspen, Colorado, to research and attend the Food and Wine Festival. The Marriott would be looking at promoting and producing the event if it turns out to be something valuable for the City. Ms. Gilligan introduced Spencer Knight, the Landscape Manager with the City of Palm Desert, to the Committee. Mr. Knight presented background information regarding the 280 date palm trees in the Civic Center Park. He stated that the trees produced 33,000 pounds of dates this year; 7,000 lbs. of those dates were packaged and put in cold storage; the remaining 26,000 lbs. of dates were sold to bakers for food production. He said the packaging company had agreed to hold the dates in cold storage for the City; however, in six months, the trees would harvest another production of dates. He asked the Committee members if they had any ideas or suggestions as to how he could get the dates out to the community. He added that they did not want to sell the dates, only distribute them. Upon question by Ms. Gilligan, Mr. Knight said he had contacted The Living Desert regarding the distribution of the dates. Upon question by Ms. Bowen, Mr. Knight responded that the Landscape Committee wanted to harvest the dates and use them as a marketing tool for the City. He added that he would continue to have a need for distribution, as the dates would be harvested year after year. 7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 17, 2005 Upon question by Ms. Kneiding, Ms. Gomez responded that the Visitor Center had sold only a few boxes. Upon question by Ms. Benson, Mr. Knight said he had 7,000 lbs. of dates that were packaged in 8 oz. containers, so that would be a few thousand boxes. Ms. Benson suggested that the dates could be distributed to the residents at the Summer of Fun Concert and Movie series. Councilmember Spiegel said that was a good idea and inquired as to whether Mr. Knight could get 600 to 700 boxes by next Thursday, May 26t'. Mr. Knight said that he could. Councilmember Spiegel added that a brief history of the dates could be included in the introduction of the concert. Upon question by Ms. Kneiding, Ms. Bowen responded that there were currently two events being planned at Westfield Palm Desert wherein they might be able to include the distribution of the dates, as well as have them available at the Concierge's desk. Ms. Bird said that she would definitely look at finding an opportunity to help with distribution through the Marriott. IX. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Visitor Information Center Activity Report Ms. Bowen commented on the significant increase in Information Disbursements from March 2005 to April 2005. Ms. Gomez responded that the ad placement in the Good Housekeeping Publications were responsible for the increase. Ms. Bowen remarked that the website numbers were a little down. Ms. Gilligan said they were having some trouble with the website and they were not getting the mail; however, the website was now back up and, email requests for information were being forwarded to the Visitor Center. X. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m. Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary E:3