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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Marketing Committee 04/19/2005PALM DESERT APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2005 - 2:00 P.M. ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Norine Bowen called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Member Absent: Emily Bird, Co -Chair Michael Shimer Norine Bowen, Chair Rick Darius Ric Mandelbaum Sara O'Flynn Ray Rodriguez Staff/Others Present: Jean Benson, Councilmember Robert Spiegel, Councilmember Sheila Gilligan, Assistant City Manager Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager Mike Osgood, Desert Willow Gary Sherwin, CVA Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Kristy Kneiding introduced new member Sara O'Flynn, Marketing Director at The Gardens on El Paseo. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MARCH 15, 2005. Mr. Mandelbaum moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the minutes of the January 18, 2005, with changes to reflect that Graeme Baxter limited edition prints retail for $240 and the open edition prints retail for $55. Motion was seconded by Mr. Darius and carried by unanimous vote. V. NEW BUSINESS A. ADVERTISING COORDINATOR PRESENTATIONS ROLF HOEHN, Marketing Solutions Group, addressed the Committee. He gave a presentation to the Committee regarding his experience and credentials. Councilmember Spiegel was impressed with Aero Mexico's ad campaign, and asked Mr. Hoehn if it was successful. Mr. Hoehn said it was important to create a position wherein the reaction from the public was positive. To that end, they had received a lot of positive feedback from the public. He said they also did post testing to verify the success of the ad campaign. Mr. Mandelbaum was also impressed with the Aero Mexico campaign and asked Mr. Hoehn how he energized personnel to get them involved. Mr. Hoehn said they held internal and quality daily work programs for the employees. He added that the airline had, for the past 10 years, an excellent on -time performance record. He said the employees were proud that they were contributing to that record. Upon question by Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Hoehn said the Golf Experience was a small business development company. He said the company wanted to expand its business and was interested in developing programs to Mexico. He added that he was developing golf programs to Cabo San Lucas, which would be sold and marketed directly to Golf Experience's client base. Upon question by Mr. Darius, Mr. Hoehn responded that he was the only employee of Marketing Solutions Group. CATHY TEAL, of Firebrand Design Inc., addressed the Committee. She stated that she had over 20 years of experience in advertising, design, marketing, communications, managing creative teams, vendors, and clients. She said she had worked for the City of Santa Monica since 1987 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 and was still employed by them. She had also worked with the City of Anaheim, the City of Pasadena, the City of Los Angeles, and the MTA. She added that she had also worked for the City of Hollywood on its "Discover Hollywood" and "Hollywood Festival" campaigns, which was a destination marketing communications plan. She also spoke to the work she performed for the Harvey Milliken Foundation. Ms. Kneiding inquired about the kind of projects Ms. Teal had done for other cities. Ms. Teal said for the City of Santa Monica she had done everything from t-shirts to increasing the ridership on the Big Blue Bus. She was also involved in the campaign to help persuade residents to be more conscientious with their water usage, and she worked on private/public sector partnership events coordinated by the City, as well as events by the Third Street Promenade Merchants Association. Mr. Mandelbaum asked Ms. Teal if she had experience with budgeting a plan at the beginning of a fiscal year and then executing that plan within that budget. Ms. Teal responded that the City of Santa Monica worked differently in that they did not have a centralized control center. She said she performed work for the Environmental Programs Division and the Utilities Division. Those two divisions had budgets for the projects that they wanted completed. Mr. Mandelbaum asked who had hired her from those departments. She said sometimes she responded to an RFQ, and other times she pitched creatively for the projects. Upon question by Ms. Bowen, Ms. Teal responded that the first thing she would do to familiarize herself with a new client would be to review the previous ad campaign and figure out what hadn't worked in the past. She would also ask the client what they wanted to achieve in the future. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Ms. Teal stated that she and her husband purchased a home here in 1995 and moved here permanently in 2002. She added that they previously lived in Tucson, Arizona. Upon question by Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Teal said she and her husband preferred the Coachella Valley to Scottsdale because it was still small. Mr. Rodriquez inquired about how Ms. Teal viewed the area, and what she felt was interesting and unique or worth presenting to the world. Ms. Teal stated that every area was different, but she felt it was real clear that the quality of life here was so much better than that in Los Angeles or San Diego. .c7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 Upon question by Ms. Bowen, Ms. Teal responded that she was involved in the budget process for the Environmental Programs Division at the City of Santa Monica and for her private sector clients as well. She added that she would regularly create full marketing plans for her private clients. Upon question by Ms. Kneiding, Ms. Teal said that she had experience with media buys and was familiar with the local and national newspapers. Upon question by Councilmember Benson, Ms. Teal responded that the 20 hours listed on her proposal were collective hours. She added that she could act as the City's agent, or she could act as the City's agency. Ms. Gilligan asked Ms. Teal if she was familiar with the City's existing ad campaign. Ms. Teal said she unfortunately was not. Ms. Bowen asked if Ms. Teal had looked at the City's website and, if so, what stood out for her the most. Ms. Teal responded that she had seen the City's website and thought it was one of the better of the Valley cities. She thought it had a great deal of information and was concise and fast. Upon question by Mr. Mandelbaum, Ms. Teal said that she was aware of the growth in the Coachella Valley. She felt the City had a very important role to play in terms of keeping up the infrastructure, developing campaigns to inform the residents about water conservation, and protecting the environment. She felt development should be planned, thoughtful, and in keeping with planned growth. Upon question by Ms. Kneiding, Ms. Teal said she was a designer and did her own production work as well. She added that she worked with two freelancers on a full time basis. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Ms. Teal said she was familiar with several key events that the City had throughout the year. Councilmember Spiegel asked Ms. Teal what she believed she could bring to the City of Palm Desert. Ms. Teal responded that she had 20 years of destination and event marketing experience and could contribute a great deal. She added that she had invaluable experience with public and private partnerships, building events, working with advertisers, and working with cities to make sure that all parties get what they need out of the process. Ms. Teal distributed some examples of her work to the Committee members. 12 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 Discussion: Ms. Bowen said Ms. Teal did not exhibit any chemistry, passion, or energy for the position of Advertising Coordinator for the City. She felt that the fact that Ms. Teal was not familiar with the City's current ad campaign was contrary to her comments about contacting Ms. Kneiding for the past two years. Also, the fact that Santa Monica was dropping her to go with local vendors concerned her as well. She also felt that Ms. Teal was having difficulty explaining her fees. Ms. Bird felt that Ms. Teal's creativity was a step down from the City's current standards. Mr. Mandelbaum commented that Mr. Hoehn was very prepared and that he reviewed all of the Marketing Committee meeting minutes prior to his presentation. He said Mr. Hoehn had a lot of qualities that he liked and spoke to instrumental concerns, like the infrastructure, and covered all the main selling points of Palm Desert. He thought Mr. Hoehn's presentation was interesting and believed that they were getting a good cross representation of what was available out in the market. FRANK FURINO and STEPHANIE GREENE, Creative I Group, introduced themselves to the Committee. Ms. Greene described their marketing firm and elaborated on their client list and the body of work they were currently performing for those clients; i.e., radio, television, billboard projects, and special events coordination. She stated that they were public relations experts, and that was something they would bring to the table, as well as other skills. Ms. Greene complimented the City on its current marketing campaign. Mr. Furino said one of the nice things about their client base was that they were all Palm Desert oriented. They were fortunate enough to be with the McCallum Theatre during its growth, and they felt privileged to be able to work with them. They had taken El Paseo and kept it in the forefront of the retail business industry. They loved working with and for the City, and if there were something they could bring to the party, over and above the incredible job that Ms. Close had done, they would be thrilled to be a part of that. Upon question by Councilmember Benson, Mr. Furino responded that he and Ms. Greene believed that working with the El Paseo Business Improvement District would be complimentary to working with the City of Palm Desert. In fact, they felt that it would be advantageous to provide marketing for both entities. Ms. Greene added that the City of Palm Desert account would be further reaching, wherein El Paseo does not 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 leave the Valley. Councilmember Benson inquired about how the El Paseo Business Improvement District would feel about their working with the City of Palm Desert. Ms. Greene responded that she and Mr. Furino spoke with the Board about the prospect of their working for the City, and the Board was unanimously in favor. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Mr. Furino said that the City of Palm Desert was unique in what it had to offer, especially in goods and services. Certainly the growth here was phenomenal, and he was waiting for the growth to peak, but it does not look like it would anytime soon. Ms. Greene said what was really important for the City of Palm Desert, and the future, was to leverage what the City had done into bigger and better things. She said her first job in the Valley was working with Sonny Bono on the P.S. I Love You campaign, which put Palm Springs on the map. She said that was the kind of deal they could bring to the table. Mr. Mandelbaum asked if they felt the City of Palm Desert should be playing a bigger role in going outside the box to promote Palm Desert. Ms. Greene said absolutely. She said Palm Desert had everything a city needed to be a destination location; i.e., hotels, golf, restaurants, dining, and entertainment. She said every advertising dollar should work extremely hard. Mr. Furino added that the marketing should be designed to bring in the right kind of visitor. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Ms. Greene responded that they do not represent Spotlight 29. Upon question by Mr. Mandelbaum, Ms. Greene said the reason their client list was so selective was because when you hire Creative I Group, you get Mr. Furino and Ms. Greene. All of their clients have access to them. Ms. Greene gave a brief overview of the Creative I Group's staff. Mr. Rodriguez inquired as to what impressed them the most about the City's current ad campaign. Ms. Greene said the coffee table book was absolutely stunning and a stroke of genius. The Palm Desert Rocks campaign was an excellent way to execute the multi -dimension of Palm Desert. Mr. Furino added that from a creative perspective, he loved the Palm Desert Rocks campaign. Upon question by Ms. Kneiding, Ms. Greene said their retainers do not include a set hourly limit or a commission structure. Whatever it takes to get the job complete, they would do. She added that the $6,000 per month fee listed on their proposal would guarantee the City 60 hours per month. R APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 Ms. Bowen said she was the only one in the room who had not had the pleasure of meeting them. She congratulated them on their wonderful presentation. Discussion: Mr. Mandelbaum commented that with Creative I Group they would get a team and with Full Gallop Marketing they get total commitment and loyalty, plus Ms. Close had done a very good job for five years. He said Mr. Hoehn had a very good thought process. If he could reinvent the wheel, Ms. Close would join Creative I Group, and they would have everything. He felt the one thing that Creative I Group could bring was a world of experience, and it would be nice to have that. He added that he had known Ms. Greene fairly well and worked with her for about four years. He added that she was probably one of the most dedicated and committed people you would ever meet. Ms. Bowen said she thought of that as well, joining forces. She said it would take Ms. Close's career to a new level and move Creative I Group to new heights. Ms. Kneiding said she liked the fact that Creative I Group complimented Ms. Close on doing a good job. She respected them for acknowledging the progression the City has had in its ad campaign. Ms. Gilligan commented that everyone who submitted a proposal had the same opportunity to go to City Hall and get information, including the City's budget. She said Mr. Hoehn was the only one who requested all of that information. Mr. Darius stated that he enjoyed working with Creative I Group at the McCallum Theatre. He said their experiences and strengths complement each other. However, he did feel as though they rarely showed initiative when it came to gathering information for projects. Ms. Gilligan said that working with an advertising agency was quite different from working with an individual. She said an agency would come with more experience and expertise; however, they were always looking at the net billings because ad agencies make a lot of money off of their ads and buys. She was very impressed with Creative I Group, and with what they had accomplished with El Paseo. PIPER CLOSE, Full Gallop Marketing, addressed the Committee. Ms. Close gave a presentation on the projects and campaigns that she had created for the City during the past five years. She further spoke about 7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 the process of creating a logo, a website, branding the City, and the Table Top book, which won a distinction at the local Addy Awards. The book went on to the district level and won a Silver Addy. She added that awards were nice, and it was nice to be recognized for the work that you had done, but it by no means measured what was good, what produced results. She also spoke about the virtual tour that she was currently working on, which was her way of taking the Table Top book and turning it into a video that would be included in the new vacation planner. Ms. Close also reviewed the projects that she had been involved with for the following departments: Business Support; Art in Public Places; Visitor Information Center; Community Services (Recycle); Public Works (Landscape); and the Sister Cities Committee. She said she had been with Desert Willow since its inception. She was its first Marketing Director and was involved with the image creation of Desert Willow. She enjoyed being able to return to Desert Willow through the City. Ms. Close concluded that she was pleased and proud to have been a part of the marketing of the City of Palm Desert for the past five years. She would very much like to remain as the City of Palm Desert's Advertising Coordinator. Mr. Mandelbaum asked Ms. Close how she saw the City keeping up with the projected changes over the next five years. Ms. Close said she maintains a production job schedule that she starts at the beginning of every fiscal year. She said she could not have better support than she has had with staff. Ms. Kneiding and Donna Gomez were the best at being there, looking at things, turning things around, getting them back to her, and giving her good input for what would and wouldn't work. It had been, in her estimation, a fabulous team effort. Councilmember Spiegel commented that UCR would be opening in the fall. He asked Ms. Close how the City could help the University and vice versa. Ms. Close responded that she felt the University was probably the single most important thing that would be happening in the City and would impact every industry, including food & beverage, hospitality, and demographics. She did not know if she had one answer, but it was certainly something she had given some thought to. Councilmember Spiegel commented that all areas of the City were doing very well, and he was pleased with the results of the City's advertising and marketing programs. Upon question by Ms. Kneiding, Ms. Close said that she could not give a specific number of hours that she spent working on projects for the City. 0 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 She said she thinks about her work all of the time. She added that she tried to keep track when she first started but did not continue doing that. Discussion: Ms. Bird commented that the presentations were interesting, and each person had his/her own unique style. Ms. Close had been doing a great job. She was a little concerned that she did not talk about the future, but she really did believe that Ms. Close had taken the City to a new level and would continue on that journey. Her decision would be to stay with Ms. Close. Mr. Mandelbaum said the City was getting an exceptionally good value with Ms. Close as well as exceptional quality. He said she always stepped up to the plate and continues to produce quality work. Ms. O'Flynn commented that Mr. Hoehn's background and presentation were very corporate, and Mr. Furino and Ms. Greene brought their knowledge of the City; however, Ms. Close blew her away. She had nothing to go on except for a few preliminary materials, but the energy that Ms. Close brought into the presentation was phenomenal, and she also did not rest on her laurels. Ms. O'Flynn continued to say that between the four, because she didn't rest on her laurels, and she had such a great background, and she understands the City so well, she would recommend retaining Ms. Close. Mr. Darius said the presentations covered every spectrum. He said Mr. Hoehn was corporate, and although he enjoyed working with Creative I Group at the McCallum, he believed Ms. Close was really the best person for the job. Mr. Rodriguez said the work speaks for itself, Ms. Close's reputation speaks for itself, and he felt that Ms. Close represented the City in a dignified and professional manner, which was called for by a city like Palm Desert. He was an enthusiastic supporter. Ms. Bowen commented, " if its not broken, don't fix it." Ms. Close had been supporting the City heavily for the past five years, and Ms. Bowen believed that Ms. Close would continue to work very hard for the City. She thought Ms. Close was a class act and had passion for the City and her work. She liked the fact that Ms. Close recognized her team as being the staff at the City of Palm Desert. She continued to say that Ms. Close worked with a lot of other departments in the City and spoke well of that experience. She said Ms. Close did not take anything for granted and presented herself and her work as if she may not have the contract next 0 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 year. She concluded by saying that Ms. Close had been doing this work for 21 years, was connected to Palm Desert, and believed that some good things were coming. Mr. Rodriquez moved to, by Minute Motion, recommend to City Council the retention of Piper Close, Full Gallop Marketing, and accept the increased fee schedule as proposed. Motion was seconded by Mr. Mandelbaum and carried by unanimous vote. VI. OLD BUSINESS ►= VII. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL ACTION (S) Ms. Gilligan reported that the City Council approved travel for three members of staff, plus one member of the Marketing Committee, to travel to Aspen, Colorado, on June 10th to research its food & wine festival. Councilmember Spiegel mentioned that the concert at The Gardens on El Paseo benefited the City of Palm Desert `s After School Program. He said there were over 300 people, which was the largest attendance, to date. Palm Desert Middle School and Lincoln Elementary will receive the $3,000 raised for the Palm Desert After School Program. VIII. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Chairwoman Bowen announced that she attended the ribbon cutting for the UCR Palm Desert Campus on Friday, April 15th, and was proud to be a part of such a wonderful city wherein the City Council was supportive of the future of education in the Valley. Councilmember Benson said she was proud that UCR recognized the City, and they were very gracious in all of their comments. She added that the event was very nice. Chairwoman Bowen reported that Westfield had its national conference in San Diego, April 4 — 7, 2005. She said the decision was made to drop the word "Shoppingtown" from its name, and it would now be known as "Westfield Palm Desert." Chairwoman Bowen extended her best wishes to Ric Mandelbaum, as he will be going through some challenges in the next few months. 10 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 B. Committee Members Ms. Bird reported that Tammy Perezchica, Director of Resort Activities, implemented the idea of visiting well-known wine festivals throughout the nation; i.e., Aspen, Colorado; Sonoma, California; and Naples, Florida. A group of individuals would research the possibility of putting together an art & wine festival in Palm Desert. The Marriott would be the host property for the festival, but it would incorporate the entire city. She said the Marriott was very excited about the prospect of the event and was completely on board. Ms. Gilligan said when the Marriott came forward with the idea of an art & wine festival, the City decided that it was worth the expenditure to determine what its involvement should, could, or would be. The City would be sending Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager, Pat Scully, Special Events Coordinator, Deborah Schwartz, Public Arts Coordinator, and Michael Shimer from this Committee. She said the Marriott expanded its focus with the addition of artwork from El Paseo and felt that was a good opportunity to explore a major event proposal. She said after the research was completed, a presentation would be made to the Committee for its recommendation to the City Council. Ms. O'Flynn announced that new dates were added to The Gardens' Saturday night concert series for those performances that were rained out. The new concert date for `The Art of Sax' would be April 30th, and the proceeds would benefit the Pegasus Riding Academy for the Handicapped. She said she would appreciate the Committee's help in getting the word out. C. Staff Ms. Gilligan commented that the future of the City is the responsibility of the Marketing Committee. She said the Committee needed to set the future of where the City was going, and it was up to the Advertising Coordinator to take the City in that direction. Councilmember Spiegel inquired about arranging an off -site meeting about the direction for the City. Ms. Gilligan said that could be arranged in the afternoon around everyone's work schedules. Ms. Kneiding suggested that the meeting take place after the budget was approved. Kristy Kneiding thanked the Committee members for their time and hard work. Ms. Gilligan noted that the marketing contract was year-to-year and must go out to bid every five years. However, the Committee must review it 11 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 19, 2005 annually. Councilman Spiegel added that while the RFP process is required every five years, the City has the option of initiating that process sooner if it is unhappy with the marketing results at the end of any given year. D. Other Comments Mike Osgood announced that Desert Willow won the Kemper Sports property of the year award. He also announced that he was in Chicago last month to receive the Director of Sales & Marketing of the Year award. IX. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Visitor Information Center Activity Report 2. California Desert Nature Festival Sponsorship Packet X. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 5.25 p.m. Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary 12