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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarketing Committee MIN - 9-20-05CALM DESERT APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 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: Norine Bowen, Chair Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Co -Chair Rick Darius Ric Mandelbaum Ray Rodriguez Michael Shimer Staff/Others Present: Jean Benson, Councilmember Robert Spiegel, Councilmember Sheila Gilligan, Asst. City Manager Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager Donna Gomez, VIC Manager Piper Close, Full Gallop Marketing Mike Osgood, Desert Willow Jane Brady, CVA Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Members Absent: Sara O'Flynn vizl Ms. Bowen welcomed back Ric Mandelbaum. He thanked everyone and announced that he was Cancer free. Ms. Kneiding introduced Jane Brady of the CVA to the Committee and stated that from now on she would be attending the Marketing Committee meetings. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JUNE 21, 2005 Mr. Rodriguez moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the minutes of the June 21, 2005, meeting. Motion was seconded by Mr. Shimer and carried 6-0. V. NEW BUSINESS A. REQUEST FOR FUNDING OF DESERT WILLOW TRAVEL CHANNEL OPPORTUNITY Ms. Kneiding stated that New Line Media contacted Rodney Young at Desert Willow with the opportunity to be featured on the "World's Best" series on the Travel Channel. She added that the Resort would be featured on the segment of "Unique Golf & Vacation Destinations." RODNEY YOUNG, General Manger of Desert Willow, addressed the Committee. He stated that Desert Willow would be the only Coachella Valley golf course featured on the program. Upon question by Ms. Bowen, Mr. Young stated that his staff would have a measurement tool to track the number of people who contacted Desert Willow through the Travel Channel show. The Committee and Mr. Young discussed further ideas of getting the word out to the public about the show. Mr. Young believed that this was a unique opportunity and felt it would help bring new visitors to Desert Willow and the City. Ms. Kneiding stated that the request for funds would go to City Council for appropriation. Mr. Mandelbaum moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the contribution of $14,000 to Desert Willow for the Travel Channel opportunity. Motion was seconded by Mr. Shimer and carried 6-0. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. REQUEST FOR SPONSORSHIP OF PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL DARRYL MCDONALD, Executive Director for the Film Festival, made a presentation to the Committee. He elaborated on the Marketing and Programming Initiatives proposed by the Festival in return for the City's 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 sponsorship. There were seven key points outlined in the initiatives, which he addressed thoroughly. Mr. McDonald stated that cooperation from Palm Desert, in terms of providing support for the Festival, would have to be clear before they could further engage themselves with the initiatives. He added that the relationship between the City of Palm Desert and the Festival was very important to them and particularly important with regard to moving forward within the next five to ten years. Upon question by Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. McDonald stated that between sixty and sixty-seven percent of the Festival audience comes from outside the Coachella Valley. Upon question by Mr. Mandelbaum, Ms. Gomez stated that in the past, the Visitor Center had a promotional rack card with a fifteen percent discount, and those could definitely be created and distributed at the Festival. Upon question by Councilmember Benson, Mr. McDonald responded that he spoke with the hotels regarding transportation. He said the hotels seemed receptive to the idea of using their own buses for transporting the attendees to the Festival. He added that the cost associated with that type of transportation was prohibitive for the Festival. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Mr. McDonald stated that the decision was made to pursue permanent installation of the equipment at the McCallum Theatre. The cost for the equipment and installation could run between $60,000 and $100,000. He said permanent installation would be more cost effective. Upon question by Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. McDonald responded that for the first time in the history of the Film Festival, the "Best of the Fest Day" would be held in Palm Desert at the Palme d'Or Theatres. The tickets would be available to individual ticket holders with the availability of a "One Day Only" pass. Mr. Rodriguez moved to, by Minute Motion, approve sponsorship of the Palm Springs International Film Festival in the amount of $50,000. Motion was seconded by Mr. Mandelbaum and carried 6-0. B. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF REVISED 2005/06 MEDIA PLAN Ms. Kneiding stated that during the budget process, the Committee approved the draft media plan. She said the final version of the proposed media plan included new media buys in Modern Luxury magazines. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 Ms. Close gave a presentation to the Committee regarding the proposed media buys in the Modern Luxury magazines. She said the magazines were basically high -end image publications. She said they did not have paid subscriptions, which she typically would not agree participating in, but its mail distribution was so strong she felt it was a good media buy -in and wanted to bring the information to the Committee for its recommendation and a vote. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Ms. Close responded that the size of the ads would be a quarter of a page. Upon question by Mr. Mandelbaum, Ms. Kneiding said that the circulation numbers were not clear. She said the magazines state how many were published and then there was a pass around rate. Ms. Kneiding listed the published numbers for each magazine on the staff report. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Ms. Close said the magazines were very similar to Highway 111 (i.e., story -related, not politically - oriented, and big society sections). Upon question by Mr. Mandelbaum, Ms. Close responded that a reply card inside the magazine would be an extra expense. She said the ads would be tagged for website tracking in the same way as existing ads. Upon question by Ms. Bowen, Ms. Close responded that the magazines were published monthly. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak stated that she was familiar with the publications and thought they were beautiful and great. Mr. Mandelbaum moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the revised 2005/06 Media Plan. Motion was seconded by Ms. Byrd-Hrivnak and carried 6-0. C. PRESENTATION OF PALM DESERT VIRTUAL TOUR VIDEO Ms. Kneiding gave a brief presentation before showing the video to the Committee. Mr. Rodriguez moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the Palm Desert Virtual Tour Video. Motion was seconded by Mr. Mandelbaum and carried 6-0. VII. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL ACTION (S) Councilmember Benson gave an update on the activities of the CVA. She said they were close to hiring a new CEO, Jeffrey Beckelman, from Reno Convention 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 and Visitors Bureau. She welcomed Jane Brady, Director of Tourism for the CVA, to the Marketing Committee. Vill. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Ms. Bowen welcomed back Mr. Mandelbaum to the Committee. Ms. Bowen suggested that since the Marketing Department had moved to the new Palm Desert Visitor Center, the October Marketing Committee meeting could be held at that location. B. Committee Members None C. Staff Ms. Kneiding reminded Committee members of the Committee/Commission brunch at Desert Willow on Sunday, October 2, 2005, from 11 a.m. to 2 pm. Ms. Kneiding also mentioned the VIP Reception at the new Palm Desert Visitor Center on Friday, September 23, 2005, from 5 to 8 p.m. Ms. Kneiding welcomed Jane Brady to the Marketing Committee. Ms. Brady said she was very happy to be a part of the Marketing Committee. She met with Ms. Kneiding, and they discussed ideas for cooperative advertising. She was looking forward to working with the City of Palm Desert. Upon question by Ms. Gilligan, Ms. Brady responded that the CVA's marketing budget was between $500,000 and $600,000. IX. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Visitor Information Center Activity Report 2. Vacation and Relocation Guides Ms. Kneiding distributed the Vacation and Relocation Guides to the Committee members. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 3. Athena Awards Update Ms. Kneiding announced that Patti Gribow and Monica Khanna, MD, were named the 2005 Athena Award recipients. The Athena Awards luncheon will be held at Desert Willow on Wednesday, October 26, 2005, at 11:30 a.m. 4. CVA Dateline — August, 2005 & September, 2005 X. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m. Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary 0