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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMARKT CMTE - 12/15/07 ['ALM a ES�F�� PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, December 18, 2007 — 2:00 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Sara O'Flynn called the meeting to order at 2:06 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Rick Darius, Vice Chair Emily Bird-Hrivnak Sara O'Flynn, Chair Theresa Maggio Lee Morcus Michael Shimer Staff/Others Present: ���y� �����gL A��ION: Dick Kelly, Mayor �,pR���� ��.�I�� Robert Spiegel, Councilmember ���g���� c _���� 0�'HER Sheila Gilligan, Assistant City Manager — Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager �e14��A 4;���; �=;�.:;:}�,-:� 1 -�,���, Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manage�,Tti:�;;o F�,��,L,�5��� `� �� ��Sr.r� Piper Close, Full Gallop Marketing ����'��,�,o N��� ��-�''�}���� - .�����'�;��T Ke 1 I�a ---______ ----- III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ��ST����vY: ��;,�� - ��Ra�°��n�yn c�d K(rc� None Oxiqs.n�� on �ile wzth..�City C1,erk' s Office IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF NOVEMBER 28, 2007 Lee Morcus moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the November 28, 2007, meeting. Motion was seconded by Michael Shimer and carried 4-0. V. NEW BUSINESS A. TOURISM WEBSITE SURVEY RESULTS Kristy Kneiding said that although the website was only a couple of years old it was time to update the site. A survey was placed on the City's tourism website and the information gleaned from that survey will be taken into consideration with the new design. She stated that the survey results were interesting. Forty APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 percent of the people who took the survey had never been to Palm Desert and the next majority of individuals visited in 2006-07. Upon question by Lee Morcus, Ms. Kneiding responded that they found that people were looking for specific information and wanted a more interactive way to find that information. This budget year the City will be looking into diverting funds to have a bigger on-line presence on websites that fit the City's demographics. Upon question by Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel, Ms. Kneiding responded that research showed that eating and shopping ranked higher on the list of activities that visitors engage in while vacationing. Spa activity has not only increased substantially over the last two years it has also surpassed golf in all research documentation. Upon question by Mr. Morcus, Ms. Kneiding stated that the survey had been removed from the City's website; however, it could be placed back up and be used to determine differences with seasonal visitors. Ms. O'Flynn moved, by Minute Motion, to receive and file the Tourism Website Survey Results. Motion was seconded by Michael Shimer and carried 4-0. B. ART OF FOOD &WINE BS Mayor Pro Tem Bob Spiegel RK Councilmember Richard Kelly SG Assistant City Manager Sheila Gilligan KK Marketing Manager Kristy Kneiding SO Chairperson Sara O'Flynn MS Vice Chairman Michael Shimer LM Committee Member Lee Morcus RD Committee Member Rick Darius MT Sister Cities Foundation Mark Talboys RH Sister Cities Foundation Rolf Hoehn SO I would like to go ahead and make an observation. I think that I agree with the report, Kristy, in that, the event has gained momentum and now moving into its third year. I think we would all agree that it is something that fits the community really well; fits the City really well. I think where I struggle is that the $285,000 that is proposed for Kemper. I don't have anything to compare that to in my background. I am not exactly sure how you gauge what company gets paid to do something like that. So, I want to take a closer look at what we are doing with this in terms of what we pay them. I was looking for maybe other feedback from the members and other staff members. MS Is there any results yet from Kemper? SG The City Manager has preliminary results and he was working the final figures with Kemper and will be taking it to the Council in January. BS Would you be asking the Council to confirm having it or not having it next year? 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 SG Yes. BS This organization gives us some feedback as to what their feeling is without knowing the figures? SG Yes. BS Would that be good? SG That would be great. I understand where they are coming from on the contract. ThaYs a question that we can answer at your next meeting. We can get some comparisons. I think we based it on what we paid for the golf course contract and comparing it to that. It is a figure that Kemper came in with and if you remember last year we were pushing it along because we needed to get the event going if we were going to do it again. So, Kemper had the event division and what they proposed and what we paid was less. We didn't accept the proposal. The proposal that they submitted last year was more than the actual contract agreement approved by the City Council. It was less after negotiations. BS When is that January meeting? Is it before the Council meeting, or no? SG It will be after the Council meeting, which is why we agendized the item today to get some feedback from the Committee. KK Staff's perspective we were really looking for the types of things you said. What overall do you see the fit for the City and community; just that kind of feedback from everybody. SO If we talk about the event in general, in terms of when I wear my Garden's hat and what went down as far as retail on EI Paseo, there needs to be some fine tuning and some adjusting and I have every bit of confidence that that can be achieved. But, if I take that part away and I look at the event, I think it is definitely a good event for the City and so I do not have a problem motioning that we go ahead and move forward with the festival as proposed. What I do have a problem with is, you know, is it necessarily under the management of Kemper Sports or is that something that we can take a closer look at? BS Will there be changes next year, probably. SG Absolutely. BS Will they improve whaYd being done on EI Paseo, probably. Kemper has the experience to get the word out and that is basically why they were used this year to bring the chefs in. I can't get Emeril. I would love to but I don't know him. But they brought in some pretty darn good chefs from Chicago that I was impressed with and what staff, I think, is going to be asking is that we commit a contract with Kemper in the amount of $285,000. So you might want to add that to the agenda and get the consensus of this group as to whether or not you feel adding $285,000 to the budget next year for this is a worthwhile enterprise. How's that? SG That's good. I think it is unfair in response to your question because we need to get her some figures before she can make that. What we are looking for is, "Was 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 the event successful?" Certainly grew over last year. Is it something that we think can grow to a third, fourth, fifth year? Is it a good match for the City of Palm Desert? What we are trying to do not just in sales tax and TOT but in image as well. Did we get exposure to the City of Palm Desert through this event? That is what we are looking to you for. You participated so we were just trying to get feedback from each of you as to...is it a good event? Is it a good match? Is it something the City should pursue? The actual budget figures will go to the Council on January 10. At this stage, staff is recommending that we do it a third year. We see it as a good fit for the City as Kristy has very well outlined in her memo. RD What was the City's investment the past two years? SG $500,000 MS Is the difference between the $500,000 and the $285,000 costs? SG Yes. MS To Sara's point, I was on the exploratory committee two years ago when we went to Aspen and to South Beach. I think this is definitely a great fit for the City. I think it is something you definitely need to carry on. I think just that anyone who paid this year for any of the events would have seen an improvement over last year. I think from the back side, from the vendor side, it was, in my opinion, much worse than it was the first year. Not that that cannot be improved on. The EI Paseo part definitely needs to be worked on. I think it was run way too much this second year because of the first year and issues that we have and I think it would have been better not to have expanded it quite so much. I guess we're looking for...it's hard to say we want to go on with Kemper or recommend Kemper Sports when two months past the event we don't have any figures to look at. It's just like any event that I would do. My golf event...l make out a budget and one week after iYs over Habitat has the bill and sees everything laid out. And, I guess we are kind of questioning for that $285,000 management fee we didn't get much communication up front and now two months later we are still waiting to hear how it went. From my stand point, I didn't see anymore paying guests this year than I did the first year. I saw a lot of free passes being given out and just, you know, I'm sure they have their facts. On a side note, I find it fascinating that we got little to no coverage from the Desert Sun yet in the paper this morning it was reported about our committee meeting today and the City losing $100,000. So, I appreciate K coming today. SG We would like to know where she got that figure since it hasn't been out, interesting. It is not an accurate figure, I will say that. MS So, again, I think it is a great event for the City. BS It is the only signature event the City has that will bring people to Palm Desert to participate in activities. The Indian Wells just paid $4 million plus for 3 years. RK They are paying over $1 million a year to have the Skins Game. 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 KK That does not include the operational costs. RK The cost of an event. You can't look at it like losing money. It is the cost of an event. The Desert Sun today called it a loss, iYs not a loss iYs a cost. ThaYs an important difference. BS It was the cost of promoting the City of Palm Desert. RK If we had a golf tournament...like if we had a major golf tournament here you would be looking at more than what it cost to have the Skin's Game. The Skin's Game is a very minor effect on the golf course and expense. You do a major golf tournament like the Samsung and you are talking $3 to $4 million. MS I don't want what I said to be taken out of context. Again, I think it is an amazing event. The advertising and outreach that we did is priceless and I don't even know what that costs. RK If you add up all the costs of how many times you saw Palm Desert Art of Food & Wine in the media and magazines and everywhere. BS You don't know how you would weigh that. Indian Wells didn't make any money on the people who are doing the tournament. They hope to grow from the television exposure and seeing the hotels and their golf courses. MS At the EI Paseo Mixer I talked about the wine festival and one thing I pointed out is the ones that choose to participate and the ones that choose not to. IYs fine to have comments both positive and negative but at the end of the day they have to see the big picture of what we are trying to do. And, every event is not for everyone in the City or those coming to the retailers on the street. So, that is the approach I am taking with everything we do on EI Paseo. Its fine that you choose not to but you need to look at the big picture and months or years down the road what that event might bring back to you. SG Kristy, Piper and I spoke after the event and the EI Paseo event required closing off the street. That was the second year in a row that we have closed all or part of EI Paseo. I think it is not an option ever again. We have talked about it and we have tried it that way. Is there a better way of doing it? Is there a better way of incorporating the galleries on EI Paseo? So, those are things that will be processed if we move forward with the next event. Everybody's critique has been taken in and analyzed and we are taking it with great care and concern because you guys are the ones that can tell us what worked and what didn't work. Is it good or is it bad? In response to you Michael, I think it is difficult without the figures. Honestly, I don't have the final figure either. I have a blush but I am not involved in that so we will bring it back. The whole purpose of putting it on this agenda was to get an initial feedback from you. If you don't take a final step on a recommendation that's fine. It would be nice to know how the Committee felt as a whole about moving forward with... but if you just want to give input and say "good evenY' we need those critiques and these are, rest assured, Kemper is looking at all of that critiques. My whole point in saying this is that we didn't mean to put you on the spot. We were just trying to get the input prior to taking it to the City Council on January 10. 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 KK If the idea of the event everyone thinks its worthy doing a third year we are looking for that. If this committee thinks absolutely not, whatever it cost, iYs not worth it we need to know that. So, we are trying to move forward with that kind of recommendation and agreeing with Michael, in a way, it was our second first year. Kemper was new. They were fearning who was involved, who does what, and how things work. There is always room for improvement and as Sheila mentioned, discussions about what could happen next year I think will resolve a lot of the issues each of the events had this year. One of the exciting things is that a couple of the people who were involved the first year exhibited the second year but didn't really come up with anything big said, "Gee, we were really sorry we didn't. Let us know for 08." So, the momentum for the event with regard to sponsorships and community interests and all the restaurants loved it. It became a valley wide event this year by not limiting it to Palm Desert restaurants. I think it helped a lot as it took the burden off the Palm Desert restaurants to fulfill every food need for the event. So, I think all of those things added up together and gives the event a lot of momentum going into next year where some of the logistical issues we had this year won't happen. I think Kemper sort of saw what we did last year, looked like a great event, they thought they could do the same. There wasn't too much shift in programming, which I think next year there would be a larger shift in the types of events that we do. SG But again, you say that the event grows, but we learn as we grow. So... KK You can't take away the exposure for...through advertising, marketing, and PR. Some of the Chicago chefs... The chef in Seattle said he had someone come into his restaurant from our event. All of the chefs were extremely happy. They all want to come back next year; bring their friends. So, from that standpoint we made an impression on chefs from last year. SO I just want to...the first year because it was an inaugural event and there was a lot going on and a lot to take in for being the first year I completely understand how the second year we were so open to having an outside company come in and organize the event. So, I think that was really important because the first year had a lot of snags to kind of work out. I think a little bit of the discomfort I have this year is that I want to understand what the pros and cons are of having Kemper do this again as opposed to bringing in somebody who is local. Is it better to have somebody who's a Kemper because they are able to get that national kind of coverage that we are looking for the tourism market? Is that...or can somebody locally get that same kind of...l would like a better idea as to...l don't have any problem recommending the event again for a third year at all and I didn't have any problems with Kemper this year this year personally, but moving into the third year I am looking at $285,000 I would like to know the pros and cons between having someone like Kemper and somebody local. KK One thing we look at Kemper is that they do other events so they have a lot of contacts for national sponsors and those types of things. So, not necessarily from just a marketing perspective, but from an event education standpoint and their contacts in the corporate world are very, very good. I think, as I mentioned, they came onboard in January so by the time they got rolling and got sponsorship packages out a lot of people had already budgeted for this year. 6 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 They were able to let people know to be looking at this for the following year. See what happens at our event and look at it so there is a bit more momentum. Through the first year some of the contacts that they had might have been interested but it opened up a whole new world for us from that perspective that I don't know that we could find from a local person. BS And also one of the things that I was really interested in, and I was there everyday, was their chefs that performed and almost every one of them was from Chicago. That is where Kemper is located is Chicago and they are all very, very good. There were some television chefs there that you see on television all the time. There were some other people like the Hardy Boys who were just great and they are caterers out of Chicago and put on a wonderful show. One of the things I would like to see is the show tent closer to where you come into the place because that is one of the more exciting things that happens. And then they give you some of their samples and thaYs pretty good too. MS Where they have the chefs staged and the fact that all the demonstrations took place when the grand tasting tent was closed but the retailers that were set-up in that area once the tent opened very little went one. That would be one improvement for next year to make it a bigger and longer tent and include everybody in that same area. So again, there were some big improvements and obviously there will be something to improve on. So... SG If I could just answer Sara. When we finished...we didn't produce the first year the Marriott did. We were a sponsor but in the throws of it all we had to jump in and participate both through our staff and financially to make the first year go. I'm not sure but we went over the $100,000 that we budgeted for sponsorship and we added marketing opportunities and promotional efforts through the City's marketing budget. We knew at the end of that year that we had neither the expertise nor the talent and especially the staff to do something like this. We did look at local and I think what we wanted to do most was to get somebody in here who knew what they were doing and have them produce it and get it off us. We all agreed it was a great event for the City and something we would do for a couple of years; a signature event. But, it was not...our business isn't producing events. Because they already have that expertise...they have a PR department, an advertising department, and because they manage Desert Willow very well for us, they came prequalified in essence and it was not difficult for the City to have that faith in them that they would come forward and produce an event. So, I think they did a great job and if you knew...we learned, these two about killed themselves, the first go around, and I think the team at Kemper took about 90% of that burden off of us. The comments about getting to things and vendors, those are logistical issues, and your comments are already on the table and I have seen the critiques. This year; however, there are far more positives than there was last year and far fewer critiques. And the critiques this year really were move the road, let the vendors go in from behind, move the tents forward to the Marriott. Marriott is already looking at that and how they would do that logistically so we had word from the Marriott they want to definitely do it again next year. Kitchen Aid, which is huge because they have the contacts with the Food Network want back next year and expanded. Our restaurants, we got... and I will say to Lee, we got really favorable turnouts from the restaurants who participated. 7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 LM Our guys had a ball. The team from Mexico was awesome. Just over the top in every event that they were in. KK That goes back to Sheila's point too that Kemper has a Sponsorship Department, a Logistics Department, a PR Department with marketing, they have a dedicated event director for the event; those types of things. So you are paying for a company that has all the expertise... SO And they came in under what they originally proposed. BS ThaYs right. SG They signed a contract for less than what they proposed. KK ...so I think you figure buying all those departments as well with your fee as opposed to just...it's an impossible task for one person to be out there doing all that and doing it well. SO And to your point, as well, the idea that the money that is spent the first few years of an investment on those that are taking place in future and really establishing it in the City. BS The Council is looking for two things, whether or not you recommend it being done again next and whether or not you recommend Kemper be the sponsor. SO And as far as asking questions, again, it didn't have anything to do with my personal experience with Kemper because mine was...l think it had more to do with the idea that the first year was, you know, you had to expect it and the second year...now I have a better idea of how it evolved. BS Who ever made the comment that this is our second first year made a good comment because Kemper wasn't here last year. KK They were learning from what we tried to tell them, from taking their own expertise and trying to work that in, it was a big undertaking. For the first and second year. SO And I think moving forward with a company that you have worked with for one year that understands the event already and if they came in under what they initially proposed and also the input with regard to what they can do PR wise is important. SG They are going to be preparing information and we will bring it to the next committee meeting on every piece of public relations, newspaper advertising, they say there are books of it so we will bring that to the Marketing Committee next time. Again, it is because we need to take this to the Council on January 10 that we are bringing this to you now for initial feedback. And we do have Mark Talboys and Rolf Hoehn. The Sister Cities part of it this year...the first year was a little shaky we couldn't get any response out of them. These two took over and 8 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 their participation from Sister Cities was just phenomenal. I don't know. Do you have any input? You are sitting here do you want to say anything? RH One of the things we have to say is that the way we organized it, and this speaks again to the expertise of Kemper; we made sure that there was a direct connect between the cities of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo and the organizers. We organized it initially. We went down there and put everything together and green lighting the whole thing for them we then said from here on out you just work directly with Kemper and that worked out extremely well. We just kept after them to make sure they met their deadlines and all of that. Together we managed to make it work. SG What was their feedback? RH Very positive. MT Very positive. Rolf and I together planned all the specifics and received a letter of support for the continuation of the event and in that correspondence we may be presenting to Council in January we have already indicated we received a long-term commitment from Ixtapa Zihuatanejo and to them long-term have indicated the next three, four, to five years, certainly. And New Zealand... we are hopeful that we can put a greater investment from them. We have also got other ideas and that is why we also like being included in the earlier stages here at ground zero. RH We have a unique opportunity to continue to improve on the event as Mark said. Now comes the time to review and to fix what needs fixing, especially in the logistics but also in the structure of the event and certain elements of the event. That they are actually complimentary to the event and there is a good fit whether it be the concert or other elements...but most importantly also to have a greater community involvement leading up to the it and creating events in advance of the Food and Wine that will again help gather momentum for the event and also hoping to get more media exposure because that was one of the main problems, not only just getting the word out about the event, but also the information about the event to the local population. Local businesses want to be involved but I think it is also a question of creating certain events like we have the Mexican chefs from Monday on...we create an event Monday or Tuesday whether it is at Bristol Farms do a Mexico day or something featuring the chefs, or some of the restaurants. I know Lee has already indicated that he would be very happy to host some of the chefs and feature some kind of an event. That in and of itself gathers media attention, hopefully. LM It is also fun for the chefs. The greatest way to recruit additional chefs is to get chefs down here and let them have a good time. There is a brotherhood of chefs particularly that hate us front of the house guys probably more than anybody, but when they get a chance to cook together and drink together that is their joy. IYs not just their business thaYs what they do by choice so to get them in the culinary side of the community before the cooking class etc. let them help raise a little money and have fun with other chefs; maybe play golf together and things like that. Nothing will generate more chef interest than the chefs having a blast when their down here. In my opinion. 9 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 RH That is another reason for an early start on this event because I know what we heard from Kemper, one of the issues of getting chefs and name chefs, was the fact that last year they came in fairly late and I think the earlier you start the easier it is to get more name chefs because their schedules are filled months or years in advance and get them down, especially for a number of days not just one day, just as Lee was saying that is key and that would be great. KK Just one last comment, I know that it is very often mentioned and some of the other sponsors but Southern Wine and Spirits has presented their feedback to Kemper as well and they are onboard again next year. They really feel that this event could be positioned as the premier West Coast Food and Wine Festival. ThaYs still their goal as well and obviously everyone knows we probably couldn't do the festival without them and what they bring to the table with their wineries and the high quality and amount of product. They are thrilled to be involved and looking forward to growing the event as well. SO So then getting back to today's purpose...it is not to do with the actual details of some of the ides we have thrown out it is simply that we recommend the event again with Kemper managing it. BS That's correct. SO Okay. LM With or without a number on it: I'm not clear. BS It is not that important at this point. SO Do we have a motion to move fonrvard with the third annual Art of Food & Wine under the management of Kemper Sports? RD I'll motion. MS Second. SO All in favor. Motion carries 4-0. SG We will bring you books and figures at your January meeting. LM I thought with everything that the Marriott did was 150% more than was necessary. The grounds were immaculate, the staff was amazing, they were everywhere all of the time. If you needed anything they had it before you needed it and I just want to share that perspective. I thought that they did an amazing job with and for the event. I doubt seriously there were profits in occupancy that justified what they really put into the event both emotionally and financially because both of those investments were huge. KK We hope that eventually they will be blocking out this weekend just for our event. 10 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 SG Also from the word of mouth from people who attended. I was talking to him after the event and he said he was just thrilled, the manager of the Marriott, but he said they leave and they tell their friends or they want to come back and maybe its not a part of Food 8 Wine but they have seen the Marriott and what a great destination resort it is. He said the numbers in the spa increased over the weekend. So it wasn't just the Food & Wine it was the whole hotel. They did have a conference in there so we are hoping next year, should we do it, that the rooms will be filled with Food & Wine attendees. KK I just wanted, from the City staff, thank everyone on this committee as well because everyone had a hand in absolutely all of the successes of the event from the McCallum and EI Paseo to the restaurants and The Gardens and everyone. I think one of the great things about the event is that it truly is the community coming together showcasing everything that is great about Palm Desert and just wanting to share it. BS The Marriott as I understand it is setting aside that weekend next year for some kind of an event in the theater at the McCallum. VI. OLD BUSINESS None VII. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS A. City Council Councilmember Kelly stated that he made three welcome presentations to the Travel media Showcase writers who visited Palm Desert. They traveled from all over the country. He considered it a worthwhile endeavor considering the how many articles in a magazine and/or a newspaper might mention the City of Palm Desert. Ms, O'Flynn complimented Donna Gomez for all her hard work. She said it was a great example of teamwork and she was looking forward to more of those opportunities. Ms. Gomez responded that the event helped create a partnership with the business community, which will be beneficial in the future. Councilmember Kelly stated that he spent a lot of time at The Gardens with the kick off of the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign and he enjoyed the event. VIII. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Ms. O'Flynn thanked Councilmember Kelly for officiating at the Salvation Army Kettle Kick-off. The Gardens had its first cookies with Santa that benefited Big 11 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 Brothers and Big Sister of the Desert and for a $10 donation you got a photo with Santa. It far exceeded their expectations and hopes to make it an annual event. This year will be the 10`h year of The Gardens Wine and Music Series. Jim Fitzgerald will be in the inaugural concert in partnership with the College of the Desert and its Foundation for his Man About Town nomination. B. Committee Members Mr. Darius stated that the three candidates for this year's Man About Town are Jim Fitzgerald, Peter Solomon, and Joaquin Delgado. Mr. Darius said the new program for the McCallum went out in the mail and several new shows were added. Aretha Franklin was replaced by David Spade as she cancelled her dates. January 8`h is the actual anniversary date of the McCallum Theatre, which will be its 20`h year and the opening night for "Hairspray." Mr. Shimer noted that a home invasion incident in the La Quinta involved one of his employees. The employee suffered serious head injuries. Mr. Shimer was in the process of planning a fundraiser on his behalf. C. Staff Ms. Gomez mentioned that the Visitor Center has received telephone calls from individuals who have seen the Palm Desert ads on Journey TV. The Holiday Wreath Lighting went very well even with the rain. They moved the event inside and it was wonderful. Ms. Kneiding added that the LED Holiday Light Exchange was going very well. Ms. Gomez said they have had to reorder more boxes due to the success of the exchange program. IX. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Visitor Information Center Activity Report No comments. 2. Advertising Media Schedule July 07-June 08 Ms. Kneiding announced that Palm Springs Life has decided to publish Palm Desert Magazine solely in January of each year. The Marketing Department is looking at redistributing some advertising dollars to expand into the Canadian market. 12 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2007 X. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m. . � , � 1 * Lori imbish, Recording Secretary 13