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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarketing Cmte - 03/17/09 � ['RLN[ D ES��ZT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, March 17, 2009 — 12:45 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Sara O'Flynn called the meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Vice Chair Michael Shimer Sara O'Flynn, Chair Ted Giatis Theresa Maggio Lee Morcus Brent Wise —Arrived at 2 p.m. Ct�'Y C(�tJNC[LACTION APd'ROV(�,D �)�;N!�'!)_ Staff/Others Present: krCrlvE[) �'F`/e ��3 �E[;,�z� Bob Spiegel, Mayor _T�___ Dick Kelly, Councilmember mFi:TING DATE / - � Sheila Gilligan, Assistant City Manager A�'F�: `��a �� so Fin�t �' � Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager NOF�S: Nan� Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager A��rN'T: _n/vn� AB�TAIN: ��n� Bruce Nation, Desert Willow Go/f ResortvEr�iFirn �3v: ��.(� � Amy Spittle, KemperSports p�•���n�� ��n File with Cit Clerlc 5�c Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary y III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JANUARY 20, 2009. Sara O'Flynn moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the January 20, 2009, meeting as presented. Motion was seconded by Emily Bird-Hrivnak and carried 3-0. Lee Morcus abstained. Brent Wise was not in attendance at time of vote. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MARCH 17, 2009 V. NEW BUSINESS A. PRESENTATIONS OF PROPOSALS FOR ADVERTISING/ MARKETING SERVICES CONTRACT Ms. Kneiding explained the evaluation process to the Committee. The RFP listed experience by categories: strategy and vision, experience, competence and tracking performance, creativity, price and past performance with City government, and tourism. She distributed a score sheet based on a 1-5 scoring system; 1 = poor and 5 = excellent. She scheduled 30 minutes for each proposal with a 15 minute Q & A session. 1. Santy Santy executives introduced themselves to the Committee: Dan Santy, Principal, Joe Caponigro, VP/Media Director; Rebecca Seymann, Digital Director and Steve Koch, Director of Client Services. A presentation was made on the Company's advertising and marketing experience. Ms. Kneiding commented that their pricing was not in their proposal; however, Santy bills their clients at $150 per hour. Upon question by Mayor Spiegel, Ms. Kneiding responded that Santy does not have anyone working in the area. Upon question by Lee Morcus, Ms. Kneiding responded that she believed that Santy has worked with some Convention & Visitors Bureaus. It was noted that no creative or spec ads had been presented. 2. Revnolds & Associates Charles Reynolds, President, introduced himself and Margie Gostyla, Executive Vice President, to the Committee. Mr. Reynolds gave detail on his firm's experience in advertising and what they could bring to the City of Palm Desert. They focused primarily on their media buying skills. Upon question by Ms. O'Flynn, Ms. Gostyla responded that they would be happy to provide a list of references. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MARCH 17, 2009 Committee discussion: Ms. Maggio did not feel they were progressive and their creative was not very strong. Ms. Byrd-Hrivnak agreed with Ms. Maggio's comments and did not feel the City needed to change just for the sake of change. Mayor Spiegel liked how the company sought additional advertising value. Brent Wise stated that their partnership marketing was a definite plus; however, he would have liked them to expand on what they would be bringing to the table. He felt that their proposal did not cover the overall offerings of the entire city. 3. Full Gallop Marketing Piper Close, Full Gallop Marketing, Mike Corak, Mighty Interactive, and Amy Rushia, Mighty Interactive introduced themselves to the Committee. Ms. Close presented a campaign of how times have changed. She believed the current campaign had great momentum going forward and wanted to move the campaign to the next level. Mr. Corak and Ms. Rushia presented their ideas of continuing the internet marketing program, currently in place, but stepping it up a notch with new ideas and greater exposure. Mr. Morcus thanked Ms. Close for all of her years with the City. Upon question by Mr. Morcus, Mr. Corak explained that Twitter was a social networking site and that the City of Palm Desert currently has a Twitter account. Upon question by Ms. Maggio, Mr. Corak said the trend for older Twitter users was increasing. Upon question by Ms. O'Flynn, Ms. Close responded that the offline/online budget split was 60/40. Committee discussion: Ms. O'Flynn stated that since her time on the Marketing Committee she has appreciated and respects Ms. Close's work. She also 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MARCH 17, 2009 appreciated the working relationship she has with Ms. Kneiding and felt that was important. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak was impressed and thought Ms. Close's proposal was very creative. The presentation focused on all areas outlined in the RFP. She thought there was nice diversity in all areas of marketing. Ms. Maggio stated that her campaign was stronger now with the new ideas she presented. She was pteased with her proposal. 4. Greenhaus Craig Fuller, Principal, Stacy Weber, Media Director, and Kimberly Stouffer, Account Supervisor introduced themselves to the Committee. Mr. Fuller presented several creative campaigns via story boards. Ms. Weber gave information on how Greenhaus would market the City through print media and the internet. Ms. Stouffer covered other ideas for marketing the City. She outlined how they could do more with areas of the City that they believed were being underutilized Upon question by Mr. Morcus, Ms. Weber responded that she believed social media was important but it may or may not suit the City. Ms. Maggio loved that they brought the family element into the presentation because this community is family oriented. She was really drawn to the board's statements and warm colors. Upon question by Ms. Bird-Hrivnak, Ms. Weber responded that they will either use specific URL or phone tracking mechanisms to track print ads. Committee Member Summary Comments Mr. Wise was impressed with Greenhaus. He liked that they mentioned the Canadian market and cross partnerships. Their look was progressive and he thought they would be out looking for new and younger markets. He stated they had an interesting thought process and rated Greenhaus his number one choice. 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MARCH 17, 2009 Ms. O'Flynn was happy to see Ms. Close come in with a very strong presentation. She felt Ms. Close answered the concerns that she had going forward and also answered her questions regarding creative. Ms. O'Flynn hoped to see enhancements to the current campaign. She thought Greenhaus made a strong statement without a power point presentation. She felt that the two individuals accompanying Mr. Fuller really energized the presentation and ranked it second. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak said that Full Gallop was her first choice. She thought that Ms. Close and Mighty Interactive presented a comprehensive plan rounding out all sides of online and offline advertising. She felt their creative may not have been as strong, but she thought there was great potential, and the campaign was moving in a good direction. She said her second choice would be Greenhaus. She said they presented a lot of creative so it was hard not to find one you liked; however, she did not believe that some of the ideas were realistic for implementation due to current budget cuts and restraints. She was disappointed about the lack of online experience and philosophies. Mr. Morcus felt Ms. Close made a strong presentation. He said it was extremely well thought out, well presented, and very progressive in many ways. However, he believed that Greenhaus would be the one to select. He felt their approach was fresh and cutting edge. Regarding social media, he thought they were strategic and tactical. He believes Greenhaus could craft a powerful message. To Ms. Bird-Hrivnak's point, he agreed that if we stay with Full Gallop the City would probably have a more affordable program this year. Ms. Maggio stated that she felt working relationships with agencies were extremely important. She was pleased with Ms. Close's presentation and she felt she made some good points. However, she said it was exciting to see the creativity of Greenhaus and their out of the box ideas. Mayor Spiegel believed that Greenhaus really thought outside the box. They presented a lot of different ideas, some better than others, and they did their research. He felt Greenhaus was the most interesting of the proposals. He added that we do know what we have with Ms. Close. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak said we still need to get a little more detail on Greenhaus and their budget. 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MARCH 17, 2009 Ms. Kneiding stated that she would talk with Greenhaus about their budget, their technical online stand point, and to see how they would work as a team. She felt that the most important thing was not whether you like the ad, or I like the ad; it is how many people are interacting with it or making a call to action. Requesting a guide or coming into the Visitor Center wanting more information is what iYs about. She stated that she knows with Mighty Interactive that is going to happen based on one month of online activity. Our conversion rates for requests are high. Mr. Morcus said Mighty Interactive really impressed him. Ms. Kneiding said they are very sharp. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak responded that she agreed. Ms. Maggio agreed with Ms. Close about the advertising photography and would like to see the current campaign refreshed. She liked that the proposal made a personal connection. Ms. Kneiding said she was excited to have two companies that she felt comfortable with and that whatever happens, the City would be well represented. Committee Member Results Emily Bird-Hrivnak — Full Gallop, Greenhaus Theresa Maggio —Full Gallop and Greenhaus tied Lee Morcus — Greenhaus, Full Gallop Sara O'Flynn — Full Gallop, Greenhaus, Santy, Reynolds Brent Wise — Greenhaus, Full Gallop VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VII. OLD BUSINESS None VIII. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS A. City Council None 6 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MARCH 17, 2009 IX. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair None B. Committee Members Ms. Maggio announced that the Hagadone property will be featured as the "Ultimate Home of 2009" in the Robb Report magazine, accompanied by a 17 page article in its April issue. C. Staff None X. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Visitor Information Center Activity Report — January & February 2009 Donna Gomez stated that Visitor Center numbers have been up consistently for the past four months and March was looking great. XI. ADJOURNMENT Adjournment was at 6:15 p.m. � * ��� ,� , � Lori imbish, Recording Secretary 7