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Home My WebLink AboutMarketing Cmte - 05/18/2010 PALM DESERT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, May 18, 2010 — 2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Emily Bird-Hrivnak called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Sara O'Flynn, Chair Lee Morcus Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Vice Chair � Theresa Maggio �'��'vc�'t��_�^w�'tC:ACTt�� Marlane Wolf f��'��z�)v��:�� r�:�� __ Michael Shimer ��:�rtvl�,t� � F,��e. x.� � ��;.:;; � ��_ Kimberly Bowers _. �_ Stephanie Loog ��=��-�'��c� ��ATr _ ��-3�io _ t�Y[;:�: _ ��75 u F�i t�i rsun�i. �i�� , i/��/' , Staff/Others Present: No�=`': N�`''n� � Robert Spiegel, Councilmember `��t�'�T: � �'�� RSTAIN:IV u✓1 f Justin McCarthy, Assistant City Manage vEtt�F►Ft� I3Y: � �� r� Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager Original on File with City Cler °s oeticc Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager David Hermann, Management Analyst Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Manager Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary Roger Hurni, Off Madison Ave. Amy Rushia, Off Madison Ave. Michael Mathews, Palm Springs Life III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF APRIL 20, 2010. Michael Shimer moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the April 20, 2010, meeting as presented. Motion carried by unanimous vote. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 18, 2010 V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. PRESENTATION BY OFF MADISON AVE. Kristy Kneiding introduced Roger Hurni and Amy Rushia from Off Madison Ave. The City subcontracted with Off Madison Ave. through Full Gallop Marketing for online marketing services. Previously, this company helped develop the tourism website. Mr. Hurni gave an overview of the company's services. Ms. Rushia described the February 2009 to April 2010 results in the following categories: online media, paid search and search engine optimization, showing that conversion and click through rates are well above industry average. She also described the tactics and strategies in those areas for the coming year. Off Madison Ave. also assists city staff with interactive media, such as Facebook and Twitter, email updates, and the tourism website. Discussion ensued regarding opportunities for targeting customers using social media and mobile devices. Councilman Spiegel inquired as to when the current contract will end. Ms. Kneiding responded it will end on June 30, 2010, and the proposed monthly fee for fiscal year 2010-2011 will be the same as it was for 2009-2010. She is recommending there be one more year of results before going out to bid for these services. Theresa Maggio moved, by Minute Motion, to approve staff recommendation to contract with Off Madison Ave. for online and interactive services for a one-year term, fiscal year 2010-2011. Motion was seconded by Michael Shimer and carried 7-0. B. FASHION WEEK WRAP-UP AND REQUEST FOR SPONSORSHIP Ruth Ann Moore gave an overview of the past five years of Fashion Week, and introduced Michael Mathews from Palm Springs Life magazine. Mr. Mathews distributed a booklet recapping Fashion Week 2010 and one outlining sponsorship opportunities for next year. He detailed event attendance and additional sales on EI Paseo reported during Fashion Week 2010. Attendance was up 50% over 2009, there was over$200,000 additional sales reported. Also listed are the charities that benefited from the event as well as the media coverage in editorial, news and paid media. Mr. Mathews answered questions regarding future strategies and identified the vision for Fashion Week. He described the proposal for the requested sponsorship. Videos from all the 2010 fashion shows are available year-round on the Palm Springs Life website. Links to EI Paseo Merchants Association members are also on the website. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 18, 2010 Ms. Moore added that Palm Springs Life made a presentation at the EI Paseo Merchants Association's annual budget session and were approved for continued $20,000 sponsorship, which is 10% of the association's entire budget. The association will also devote one month's advertising to the event. Sara O'Flynn moved by Minute Motion, to 1) receive and file the report; 2) approve sponsorship of Fashion Week 2011 in the amount of$50,000. Motion was seconded by Kimberly Bowers and carried 7-0. C. APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR DESIGN SERVICES AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A SELECTION SUBCOMMITTEE Ms. Kneiding reminded the Committee that marketing will be taking a new approach this year to find cost savings. As a result, the City will no longer retain a full service advertising agency. Full Gallop Marketing has been the advertising agency for the past nine years. Media buying and online services are recommended to be handled by JNS Advertising and Off Madison Ave. respectively. With the change in strategy from brand ads to `call to action', seasonal ads, design services will be needed. Ms. Kneiding offered a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Committee's recommendation to send out to design firms or individuals for submittal of examples of their work. A subcommittee will then select several that would best suit the City, and possibly negotiate creative services and ad sizing. Upon question, Ms. Kneiding said that the RFQ would be sent to the agencies that submitted proposals last year, as well as any that have previously expressed interest. The RFQ will also be posted in the newspaper, which will bring in responses from around the U.S. Michael Shimer moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the RFQ for design services as presented and form a selection subcommittee. Motion was seconded by Sara O'Flynn and carried 7-0. Kimberly Bowers, Marlane Wolf and Stephanie Loog volunteered for the selection subcommittee. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS A. Robert Spiegel and Ms. Moore reported on a new strategy regarding the top sales tax generating entities in Palm Desert. They will be invited to roundtable discussions on ways in which the City can assist their businesses. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 18, 2010 X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Sara O'Fiynn reported that Fashion Week helped all the businesses along EI Paseo, not just the fashion stores. She and the Gardens' General Manager, Bob Fliday, wrote a letter to Council thanking them for support of Fashion Week. A copy of the letter was given to the Committee. B. Marlane Wolf reported several items from market research that she thought would be helpful to the Committee. People across the country are dropping out of country clubs. The cruise business has seen an increase in bookings after two tough years. U.S. states are putting money into advertising. People are planning drive vacations, two to three hours from where they live. Michael Shimer suggested that at the roundtable discussions mentioned by Mr. Spiegel, information is offered to smaller businesses in the city on low- cost or no-cost ways to market their business, especially during Fashion Week. Kimberly Bowers reported that The Living Desert surpassed their visitor goal for the year, and thanked the businesses they partnered with for events. There will be a twenty-five cent increase in the attendance price starting July 1St. Visitors will receive a token to vote for a highlighted conservation project. The Children's Discovery Center will be opening in early November, and the attendance price will be increased again. C. Kristy Kneiding reported that at the recent Council budget study session, staff was directed to reduce the number of issues of the BrightSide newsletter to six. As a result, there will be an issue every other month starting July-August. There will be less space for the community information insert and the story deadline will be moved up. Negotiations with The Desert Sun for the !n Palm Desert magazine are continuing. Recent marketing initiatives approved by the Committee should be going before Council on July 8th, as well as the Fashion Week sponsorship that was approved at this meeting. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Center Report — Donna Gomez said that sales have been very good this year. Compared to last year, April sales were down for a few reasons. Last year's events around the release of the Historical Society book, Images of America, boosted sales, and visitor numbers typically fall off after Easter, which was earlier this year. XII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m. Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary 4