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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Marketing Committee 05/16/06y� D3 PALM DESERT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, May 16, 2006 — 2:00 p.m. Administrative Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Chairwoman Bowen called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Norine Bowen, Chair Rick Darius Sara O'Flynn Michael Shimer, Vice -Chair Staff/Others Present: Robert Spiegel, Councilmember Richard Kelly, Mayor Pro Tempore Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager Piper Close, Full Gallop Marketing Mike Osgood, Desert Willow Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR Members Absent: Emily Bird-Hrivnak Ric Mandelbaum Ray Rodriguez A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MARCH 21, 2006 Mr. Shimer moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the March 21, 2006, meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Ms. O'Flynn and carried 4-0. V. NEW BUSINESS A. INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION FROM PALMDESERT.COM ART DAVIS, Director of Community Relations for Globally Locally, Inc., introduced himself to the Committee. His company has owned the URL palmdesert.com for 10 years. The website was developed to provide marketing space for hotels and restaurants. Within the next month, a sales force will be in APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 16, 2006 the field introducing and selling website space on palmdesert.com. Mr. Davis wanted to explore the opportunity of working with the Marketing Committee to help promote the City. Upon question by Mr. Osgood, Mr. Davis stated that they had about 18,000 to 20,000 hits per month on the site. Upon question by Ms. Kneiding, Mr. Davis responded that the search capabilities on the site would include only advertisers. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Mr. Davis stated that the minimum deposit for an ad on palmdesert.com was $20.00; and there is a fifteen -cent minimum charge per click on each ad. Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Mr. Davis stated that they had sites for the following cities: San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Oklahoma City, and Lake Arrowhead. Ms. O'Flynn moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the information presented. Motion was seconded by Mr. Shimer and carried 4-0. B. CONNECT-CTY AUTOMATIC CALL SERVICE CHAD CASTRUITA, the representative for Connect-CTY, addressed the Committee. Mr. Castruita gave an overview of how Connect-CTY could be beneficial to the City. The service was currently being used in 32 states, predominately by the K-12 school system. Its emergency purposes, as well as its ability to contact a large number of individuals at once, was an important component for the school system. Mr. Castruita gave a demonstration on how Connect-CTY worked. Mr. Castruita stated that unlisted and private numbers would receive only emergency calls. He reiterated that this was not a telemarketing tool and that no more than four calls per month would go out to any individual. He stated that Connect-CTY follows the dos & don'ts of the "Best Practice Rule." Upon question by Councilmember Spiegel, Mr. Castruita commented that a detail report regarding information about who answered their telephones and who did not would be sent to the City. If any of those individuals were seniors, the City could go out and knock on doors to make certain that that those individuals were all right. Upon question by Ms. Bowen, Mr. Castruita said an Emergency Messaging Card would be available to the City for the purpose of accessing its staff and/or citizens in case of an emergency. The Emergency Messaging Card could be used if the Internet was not available and/or the power was out in the City. The number of households would determine the amount charged to the City. There were no surcharges associated with the service, and it would support the community 24/7, 365 days a year. E APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 16, 2006 Upon question by Ms. O'Flynn, Mr. Castruita described how the company's system worked during the Katrina disaster. He explained that if local exchanges were down, the system would not reach households or businesses, but it would reach cell phone numbers. Ms. Kneiding stated that Gary Rosenblum, the City's Risk Manager, requested that she bring this item to the Marketing Committee for feedback. Mr. Rosenblum believed that this was a rather large expense to incur in case of an emergency. Ms. Kneiding was concerned about it being intrusive to residents if used as a marketing tool; however, she did believe that it could be useful for emergency purposes. Mr. Shimer moved to, by Minute Motion, concur with staffs recommendation to decline the purchase of Connect-CTY based on marketing usage. Motion was seconded by Ms. O'Flynn and carried 4-0. VI. OLD BUSINESS None VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VIII. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL ACTION (S) None IX. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Ms. Bowen announced that Nick Gomez, Donna Gomez' son, was working at Westfield Palm Desert as its Concierge. She reported that she would be attending a West Coast Regional Conference and unable to attend the Marketing Committee meeting in June. Mr. Shimer stated that he would be out of town as well. B. Committee Members Mr. Darius mentioned that the McCallum Theatre's season was winding down, and its new season would begin September 24, 2006. Mr. Shimer noted that Tommy Bahama's sales from Mother's Day weekend were greater than the day after Thanksgiving 2005. He added that Tommy Bahama's outdoor heaters had been installed. Ms. Close announced that a new book entitled "Art & Architecture" would be on sale at the Visitor Center very soon. It's a soft cover book priced at $14.95. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 16, 2006 Mr. Osgood announced that Stephanie Kelly would be performing at Desert Willow for its last concert of the season, and activity was ongoing for Desert Willow's 101h anniversary celebration. He added that Desert Willow had launched its new website. C. Staff None X. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Visitor Center Activity Report Councilmember Spiegel commented that Visitor Center sales were up substantially. The number of telephone calls received by the Visitor Center impressed Ms. Bowen. Ms. Gomez reported that the sales of Palm Desert's book were still doing well, and orders continue to come in from Barnes & Noble and Borders, Books and Music. She said there was a noticeable drop in sales the last two weeks; however, they were planning a Community Sale, June 7-11, 2006. Sale prices will range from 15% to 50% off. Ms. Gomez noted a book signing was held for the new "Monument to Treasure" book. She said they were looking at other opportunities to bring in more traffic as well as working with the art department to possibly have a "Living Desert" month, which would include exhibits and programs featuring desert animals. She added that the Visitor Center sells "Living Desert" tickets at a discounted rate, and selling very well. The Visitor Center's LEED brochure, which focuses on the energy and environmental aspects of the building, was in design and should be available within the next four to six weeks. Ms. Kneiding stated that the City's "Art and Essay Awards" was held at the Visitor Center this year instead of Civic Center Park. She believed City officials felt it was very successful. Ms. Kneiding announced that the Visitor Center had a newly designed rack card. She added that Visitor Center radio advertising was underway. XI. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 3:10 p.m. to the meeting on June 27, 2006. Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary 4