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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarketing Cmte - 05/19 & 05/27/09 . � P�LM D ES E R.T PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, May 19, 2009 — 2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Sara O'Flynn called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Vice Chair Michael Shimer Sara O'Flynn, Chair Theresa Maggio Lee Morcus Brent Wise CITY COUNCILACTiON AI'1'ROVF,D i�i'Nl�;n Staff/Others Present: RF,CEIVED � ' _ O'F�[ti�,R _ Bob Spiegel, Mayor Dick Kelly, Councilmember 1l9F.F.T(NG DATE � �- Sheila Gilligan, Assistant City Manager AYES: "r�' �' ��� /' � � Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager NpFS; �l<;fIP ` _ Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager A8S!?NT: ���r° Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Man��;-�,q[;�: - ,� Bruce Nation, Desert Willow Golf Resort VERIFI�D I3Y• ` � Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary Or;�;inai on File w�th City Clc ' Ofiace III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None N. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MARCH 17, 2009. Theresa Maggio moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the March 17, 2009, meeting as presented. Motion was seconded by Sara O'Flynn and carried 5-0. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 19, 2009 V. NEW BUSINESS A. FASHION WEEK WRAP UP Mr. Jones introduced Susan Stein and Mike Evans to the Committee. He said over 35 merchants participated in in-tent events and 70 merchants had in-store events. Ms. Kneiding stated that Mr. Jones provided a summary of Fashion Week 2008, as well as its budget, which was included in the Committee's agenda packet. Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Manager, commented that the EI Paseo Business Improvement District was voting on a proposed contribution of $20,000 for Fashion Week 2010. This would double the amount it gave to Fashion Week 2009. To put that number in perspective, Ms. Moore stated that the EI Paseo Business Improvement's budget was $230,000 per year. She announced that negotiations were currently underway regarding the opening of a new store on EI Paseo because of Fashion Week. Ms. Kneiding said that during an economically trying time, 23 stores reported an increase in sales and 29 stores had an increase of traffic overall. She felt it was important to note that ticket sales doubled over the previous year. Mr. Morcus congratulated Mr. Jones on a job well done in a down economy. Upon question by Mr. Morcus, Mr. Jones responded that they have reduced the request to the City by $50,000. There were three initiatives being discussed to increase the dynamics of the event that would benefit every merchant on the street. Tent design, technology and the addition of shows were going to be primary objectives. He believed they had a solid plan to go forward with those initiatives. Mr. Morcus agreed that participation needs to be expanded up and down the street. Susan Stein, Fashion Editor for Palm Springs Life, stated that stores have already committed to next year's event. Mr. Evans said that they received positive feedback on and off the street. There was more involvement from the local ASID Chapter, which put on a terrific show and helped spread the word throughout the valley and beyond. Upon question by Mr. Morcus, Mr. Jones responded that 48% of the attendees were from outside the valley. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 19, 2009 Upon question by Mayor Spiegel, Mr. Evans responded that last year's sponsors included Cambria, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, The Gardens, and Jackie Lee Houston, just to name a few. Ms. Stein said there was interest from people in Los Angeles, within the industry, who would like to be involved. She could not divulge any names, but she thought the interest was a good sign for next year's event. Upon question by Ms. O'Flynn, Ms. Kneiding explained that Palm Springs Life is requesting a $100,000 contribution from the City as a Presenting Sponsor; however, due to the City's budget constraints staff recommended $50,000. She felt it was important for the City to be involved and continue to support the event. Upon question by Mayor Spiegel, Mr. Jones responded that they would move forward confidently with a $100,000 sponsorship. They would do the best they could with a $50,000 sponsorship. Mr. Evans stated that they were ahead of schedule as sponsorship packets have already been distributed. Ms. O'Flynn stated that the goal for Fashion Week four years ago was to take advantage of the traffic generated between the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament. She said traffic at The Gardens was well above that seen during either of those two events, which speaks a lot about Fashion Week. In addition, the 48% of attendees coming from outside the Coachella Valley speaks to tourism and how that translates into increased sales. This brings us to the intangibles created by Fashion Week, monies brought into the City from an influx of people attending Fashion Week. She respectfully recognized staff's recommendation, but recommended that the Committee support a $75,000 sponsorship. Ms. Kneiding stated that staff's recommendation is just that, a recommendation. The Committee can, at its discretion, make any recommendation they feel is appropriate. A discussion was held regarding the sponsorship amounts requested from the City in previous years. Mr. Brent Wise said the event had a strong foothold and was in good position to take advantage of the lack of interest in Los Angeles Fashion Week. He thought they needed to contribute and support the event and felt that Palm Springs Life had met its requirements in decreasing its demands from the City. Although, it doesn't directly support businesses off EI Paseo, it does indirectly affect Westfield and its sales were up 46% during Fashion Week. He felt that reducing contributions would create an uncertain outcome and, in his opinion, he could support the full $100,000. However, he would second the motion made by Ms. O'Flynn to support a sponsorship of$75,000. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 19, 2009 Ms. O'Flynn moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend a sponsorship amount of $75,000 for Fashion Week EI Paseo 2010. Motion was seconded by Mr. Wise and carried 5-0. B. NANCY J. FRIEDMAN PR REPORT, JANUARY—APRIL 2009 Ms. Kneiding stated that the Friedman Agency focused on Marriott Desert Springs and the City's Energy Program. A Nancy J. Friedman Agency representative and several travel writers were here in May on a press trip. Ms. Kneiding spoke to the Daily Green's Heart of Green Award honoring Pat Conlon. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak announced that there will be a feature in the June Alaska Airlines magazine regarding the Marriott's golf course. The press trip was successful, and a great group of writers attended who were interested in the area and had a lot of questions. She felt the press trip would result in some great articles. Ms. O'Flynn moved, by Minute Motion, to receive and file the Nancy J. Friedman PR Report. Motion was seconded by Mr. Morcus and carried 5-0. C. MEETING GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES Ms. Kneiding stated that David Hermann did a great job outlining the guidelines and procedures, which were put together for informational purposes. Ms. O'Flynn appreciated this information. Ms. O'Flynn moved, by Minute Motion, to receive and file the Meeting Guidelines and Procedures report. Motion was seconded by Mr. Wise and carried 5-0. VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VII. OLD BUSINESS A. ADVERTISING AGENCY SELECTION Ms. Kneiding stated that after the presentations by proposed advertising agencies, the Committee members were split between Full Gallop and Greenhaus. Subsequently, she and Ms. Gilligan conducted follow-up interviews with each one. Ms. Kneiding's concerns with Greenhaus were its lack of experience with online initiatives. She learned that Greenhaus often contracts out online services, which would result in additional costs. When she and Ms. Gilligan meet with Full Gallop, they were most impressed with its 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 19, 2009 online initiatives and cost savings for the City. The cost of advertising and online services would be all inclusive in the Full Gallop contract. She spoke with Ms. Close regarding creative, and the agency would be looking at getting new photography, depicting real people in real locations, and making the "Plan to be Spontaneous" secondary with Palm Desert being the headline. The cost of creating a new campaign with Greenhaus could run $30,000. She said there were real results with the partnering of Mighty Interactive and Full Gallop. Combined with the uncertain budget year and experience that Full Gallop brings to the table, staff was recommending Full Gallop. Upon question by Mayor Spiegel, Ms. Kneiding stated that she would propose a one-year contract. The new contract will not be an extension of Full Gallop's current contract. She thought this would be a good year to test new advertising online vs. offline and review those results at the end of the year. Ms. O'Flynn stated that the relationship between city staff and Full Gallop was strong and that stands out for her. Full Gallop is a known entity and reliable and with the addition of Off Madison/Mighty Interactive, there have been positive changes to website development. Considering budget issues and the economy, it makes good marketing sense to continue working with Full Gallop. The only misgiving she sees is that when you have worked with somebody for as long as the City has worked with Full Gallop, there can be issues with keeping a campaign fresh. She felt the reason the Committee liked Greenhaus was because it was fresh and had a "punch" and a "wow" to it. She felt confident that Ms. Kneiding and Ms. Close could work together to make the City's current campaign fresh and alive. A discussion was held regarding the new website tracking tool and how that change affected the numbers on the Visitor Center's Activity Report with regard to visitors to the website. Ms. Maggio moved, by Minute Motion, to approve staff's recommendation for a one year contract with Full Gallop Marketing for advertising services for fiscal year 2009/10. Motion was seconded by Ms. Bird-Hrivnak and carried 5-0. VIII. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS A. City Council Mayor Spiegel reported that Bob Marra made a presentation at a recent CVA meeting wherein he stated that one out of six people employed in the Valley were either involved directly or adjacent to the tourism industry. These individuals represent a combined salary of over $280 million. He felt this was proof of how important the tourism industry is and how equally important the CVA is to the Valley. Mr. Morcus stated that not only would the BID program put $750,000 back into the City's general fund, it would increase occupancy and revenues as 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 19, 2009 well. He expressed great concern that if the City decides to leave the CVA, it would be impossible for The Gardens, the JW Marriott, or any other business to be a member of the BID program. The City of Palm Desert will be locked out. Councilman Kelly was concerned that City Councilmembers were so busy figuring out how to cut the budget that they had forgotten how important revenue is to the budget. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak asked why the BID program had never come to the Marketing Committee for a recommendation and could the Committee give a recommendation to City Council on this matter? Ms. O'Flynn inquired of staff as to how that might be accomplished. Mr. Kelly said he was concerned that some committees and commissions were reluctant to speak their minds. It has always been his opinion that the purpose of city committees and commissions were to bring a citizens' point of view and opinion to matters of the City. Ms. O'Flynn stated that Councilman Kelly brought up a good point. She asked staff what the Committee needed to do to request a presentation by the CVA. Ms. Gilligan stated that the Committee could adjourn this meeting to a date specific. Staff could then arrange for a CVA representative to make a presentation to the Committee wherein the Committee could then take formal action and send that recommendation to the City Council. Mr. Morcus stated that two months ago during agency interviews the Committee listened to presentations and marketing ideas; and 90% of that content and creative was directed at getting visitors into this valley, this city, this community. He stated that the CVA is one of the most significant vehicles and means by which to bring outside business into this valley and puts money into the cities' pockets. He felt strongly that leaving the CVA was a patently wrong decision. He also stated that the only way it was going to change was if there is an uproar and outcry from the business community, which would hold the City Council accountable for its decisions. A discussion was held about what date would be good for the Committee to meet and have a presentation by the CVA on this subject. The Committee agreed on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 2 p.m. 6 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 19, 2009 IX. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Ms. O'Flynn said she appreciated all of the comments made at this meeting today. She said The Gardens were working on website development and social networking. They were working in conjunction with Palm Springs Life to get the word out about summer promotions in a more cost effective way. She does not think its usually prudent to spend a lot of money on summer events because it is too hot, but they were looking forward to seeing the results of their technological efforts. B. Committee Members Ms. Maggio reported that twelve homes in BIGHORN have been sold since January 2009. She gave an update on Xavier High School. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak stated that they were getting ready for summer by offering great room rates. They were also in the process of designing their own Twitter and Face Book pages. She added that Memorial Day weekend was beginning to pick up. Mr. Wise reported that Westfield was falling in line with a lot of retail groups/developers looking for ways to assist its tenants in this down economy. He gave an update on events happening at the Westfield Center. Mr. Nation reported that the Mountain View golf course was closed down for renovation. He announced that an independent film was being shot at Desert Willow, which is slotted to be released at the Palm Springs Film Festival and possibly at the Sundance Film Festival. Desert Willow will hold putting contests every Friday and Saturday nights at the Power Ball stadium in Palm Springs. There will be give-aways for free play at Desert Willow. He also announced that they were very close to hiring a catering/beverage manager. 7 PA.LIV'i I�ES�,FZ.T PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, May 27, 2009 — 2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Sara O'Flynn called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Vice Chair Theresa Maggio Sara O'Flynn, Chair Lee Morcus Michael Shimer Brent Wise Staff/Others Present: Sheila Gilligan, Assistant City Manager Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager David Hermann, Management Analyst Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR None V. NEW BUSINESS A. PRESENTATION BY PSDRCVA RELATIVE TO THE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT Kristy Kneiding introduced Jeff Beckelman, President/CEO of Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention & Visitors Authority (CVA). Mr. Beckelman introduced Robert Enriquez, Sr. Vice President of Sales & Marketing and Beth Cleary, Assistant to Jeff Beckelman. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 27, 2009 Mr. Beckelman gave a detailed presentation on the history of the CVA and the Board's expectations of him since his appointment as President/CEO. He also outlined the CVA's goals going forward. He presented a PowerPoint slide presentation that detailed every aspect of the BID Fund Program. The Business Improvement District (BID) is a tax assessment district publicly sanctioned and privately directed. The Hospitality Industry Business Council (HIBC) is a body of 17 industry representatives, which will increase to 30 as they assume governance responsibility for the CVA. In February 2008, a task force was created and a representative from every city worked with CVA staff to review the BID and representatives of the Joint Powers Executive Board to develop the plan. The Joint Powers Authority (JPA) is a Board of elected officials from each of the eight cities which make up the CVA. In May 2008, the HIBC and JPA Executive Committee met and discussed the plan, which was passed by the Board. Mr. Beckelman attended the Board of Supervisor's meeting in Riverside two weeks ago and the BID was passed for another year. The BID is renewable with the County every year. Mr. Beckelman spoke to the additional marketing dollars generated by the BID and how those additional funds help the CVA market the Coachella Valley in amore expansive way. The Coachella Valley is the defined boundary of the BID with the exception of Palm Desert. The City of Palm Desert has not joined the BID, although, three of its hotels have decided that it was beneficial to do so. A discussion was held explaining the 2% assessment and how that would affect the payment made to the CVA by the City of Palm Desert. Ms. Kneiding stated that the reason Palm Desert had the lowest TOT in the valley was to give the city a competitive edge. It was further discussed how the 2% BID assessment could be split out separately from the TOT. Mr. Wise wanted to clarify what he believed to be the reason for the City not wanting to be in the BID. The City did not want to loose control of its TOT money to the County. It was his understanding that the 9% TOT still gets collected by the city and the additional 2% assessment would go to the County. Mr. Beckelman stated that if the City wanted in on the BID they would have to wait until February 2010. A discussion was held regarding the Palm Desert businesses that have already joined the BID and how those businesses would be affected by the City not being in the BID. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 27, 2009 Mr. Beckelman stated that the Marriott and the other two properties in Palm Desert would continue to collect the 2% assessment from their customers and write their check directly to the CVA. This year, Palm Desert will pay the full contracted amount of TOT to the CVA, which would probably be $750,000 to $800,000. Mr. Morcus said our city was contemplating not belonging to the CVA. This is a very important point; there is movement among other City Council that wants to send a letter withdrawing from the CVA effective December 1, 2009. When that happens, there is not a business in the City of Palm desert that will be allowed to be a member of the CVA or reap the benefits of any CVA marketing. He believed strongly that this was a political decision on behalf of a city council member. Ms. O'Flynn said there were two separate issues here. There was the membership and the BID. We cannot do anything about the BID right now because it is too late. Mr. Morcus was emphatic about getting the message out to businesses that the City is contemplating getting out of the CVA. This is especially important when we are looking at a comparison of a cost of$250,000 a year, compared to $1 million. The Committee discussed the process of getting this item on the City Council agenda and appearing before the Council in mass. Mr. Wise said that the Committee's opinions need to be heard. He stated that the businesses have to be prepared for when the economy comes back. You just cannot throw away the baby with the bath water. To save $750,000 speaks for itself. He wants to send a strong recommendation to City Council to revisit whether or not we become a part of the BID. He understood that it will take a year now to get in, but we need to revisit that and get that started again. And, to obviously continue our membership in the CVA; that is an absolute must. The Committee further discussed the number of businesses in Palm Desert that belong to the CVA. Mr. Morcus believed that businesses who pay to be a member do not realize the repercussions they will endure by the City not being a member of the CVA, aside from participating in the BID program. It seems like all of a sudden the City has this sky is falling mentality about everything. Mr. Shimer expressed that it made absolutely no sense to him as to why the City would not want the $750,000. That money could be used to recover the cost of everything the City has been cutting out of marketing. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 27, 2009 Mr. Morcus continued to rally for the businesses to go to City Council meetings and argue the point that withdrawing from the CVA and ignoring the benefits of the BID program would be detrimental to individual businesses and the City's residents, who rely on their elected officials to do what is best for the City. Our businesses are driven by our out of town visitors. Otherwise we wouldn't have these seasonal adjustments. We have got to get more people in our valley. Mr. Wise believed that hey could get a majority of the businesses to send a very strong message to the Council. Mr. Wise moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend that the City of Palm Desert remain in the CVA, and that the City of Palm Desert become a part of the BID Funding Plan to save the City $750,000. Motion was seconded by Ms. O'Flynn and carried 5-0. VI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 5 p.m. � ', � , � , , ;� � � Lori mbish, Recording Se retary 4