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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Marketing Committee November 16, 2010, z xLM DESERT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, November 16, 2010 — 2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room 1. CALL TO ORDER Sara O'Flynn called the meeting to order at 2 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Sara O'Flynn, Chair Stephanie Loog Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Vice Chair Michael Shimer Kimberly Bowers Theresa Maggio Marlane Wolf Staff /Others Present: Robert Spiegel, Councilmember Justin McCarthy, Assistant City Manager Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Manger Donna Gomez, Visitor Center ManagerCITYCOUNCILACTION David Hermann, Management Analyst APPROVED 1)ENIFD Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary RECEIVED e rilP-O'1'111.1t -- Gary Sage, JNS Advertising _ Judy Sage, JNS Advertising Bruce Nation, Desert Willow MEETING DATE vrs: j Rolf Hoehn, Indian Wells Tennis Garde AV ES: � � ��' ; — Ill. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ABSENT:. }. nne ABSTAIN: None VERIFIED BY: Original on File -with City Clerk's flice IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF OCTOBER 19, 2010. Marlane Wolf moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the October 19, 2010, meeting. Motion was seconded by Emily Bird-Hrivnak and carried unanimously. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 16, 2010 V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION WITH HOTELIERS ON TOURIST ADVERTISING The following Palm Desert hoteliers were present at the meeting for the roundtable discussion: Craig Gilmore of the Best Western Palm Desert, Matthew Diefenbach of the JW Marriott, Terry Sullivan of the Embassy Suites, Arnold Kirschenbaum of The Inn at Deep Canyon, Cindy Calquhoun and Michael McFarlane of the Shadow Mountain Resort, and Sejal Bhakta of the Hampton Inn and Suites. Ruth Ann Moore reminded the Committee that City staff had met previously with Palm Desert hoteliers in May. They thought it would be pertinent to bring the group together with the Marketing Committee to hear their advertising and promotion ideas, where customers are coming from, and how the City's advertising can better support and target their efforts. She then gave an overview of the City's advertising budget and areas of focus. Responses regarding where hotel customers are coming from include: drive-in market (within 150 miles), local, mid -Atlantic, East coast, Canada, Pacific Northwest, Phoenix, and airport hub cities. Another source for guests is events, such as Coachella and the Indian Wells tennis tournament. Repeat business is generated because of these types of annual events. Once someone has come to the valley, many become repeat clients. Ms. Moore asked the panel to describe how they get their message out. The ways include billboards and tagging onto the palm-springs.com website. The palm-desert.org website is among the top five referral sources. All the hotels have a website, and it is where most make their room reservations. Websites are cost-effective and have tracking capability. It was suggested that Palm Desert could have an app for electronic media such as iPhones. Theresa Maggio reported that the app developed for Bighorn has been a huge success with a relatively small up -front cost. She suggested using a billboard on the freeway to advertise the app. This would be a way to market the City as a whole. Discussion followed regarding a city app. E APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 16, 2010 Mr. Spiegel asked the panel if they would benefit from offering a retail discount brochure. All answered affirmatively, and it was suggested that the discount brochure be available only to registered guests as opposed to putting it in the lobby for anyone to pick up. Mr. Kirschenbaum stated that Palm Desert has the lowest TOT tax, and that fact could be marketed. He also tries to piggy -back on other marketing campaigns to maximize his marketing dollars. Other suggestions were to have a live web -cam on the website, and post the five-day weather forecast. Many commented that the number one reason visitors come is for our weather and that when the weather is not good on the southern California coast, visitors increase. Successful promotions include: resort credits, coupon book and gift card for shopping at Cabazon, and rewards programs. After discussion on discount packages, it was determined they would appeal more to the drive-in market. Mr. Diefenbach stated that when and where advertising is done is key, such as in airports and when there is bad weather in feeder markets. A simple message is all that is necessary for long distance travelers. The panel affirmed that the best time to market are the shoulder seasons and during the season. Because the hotel rates are higher during the season, it is the desired time to have the rooms booked. Challenges faced are filling rooms during the week and getting the drive-in visitor to come on Friday. Mr. Sage advised that a continual marketing campaign is necessary to keep our area in the forefront of visitors' minds. The CVA has radio ads running in western Canada, and ads in the Midwest that run when the weather is cold. It would be beneficial to complement these print ads run by the CVA because they reach more areas than hoteliers can alone. Hawaii, Mexico and Palm Springs are the three top destinations for good weather. Mr. Spiegel asked if the hoteliers were distributing the PD Style magazine, and found out that several did not get any. He described how the City gets revenue and explained the BID. Ms. Moore wrapped up the discussion by stating the goal is to take a marketing plan to Council which incorporates the ideas given today. All the participants said that business so far is slightly better than last year. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 16, 2010 B. REVIEW OF SCOPE OF WORK FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL CONCERNING WEBSITE MANAGEMENT Donna Gomez reminded the Committee that the contract for services for online and website marketing expires on December 31st. She distributed an overview showing the strategy moving forward. The current marketing program for website management and online marketing responsibilities would be broken up. The website management with Off Madison Ave. (OMA) has been successful thus far. Starting a new website would be very expensive, in the area of $25,000 to $30,000. By staying with OMA, this initial cost would be prevented, as well as the continuation of the website without interruption. Another reason for delaying a new website is that new technology will be perfected in the next few years. Since the website management has a yearly cost of less than $25,000, we would not have to go out to bid for these services, and could continue the contract with OMA if the City Manager approves. There would be a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the online marketing portion, which includes account management, development of an online advertising plan, ad placement, search engine optimization, monthly tracking and results reporting. The RFP would be written based upon the services currently provided by OMA. Until the RFP process is finalized, OMA could possibly work month to month. Ms. Gomez asked for Committee input regarding the direction being taken by staff. Upon question, she replied that based upon the current contract for all services of $75,000 annually, OMA had submitted the $25,000 cost of just the website management portion. Also, selling Palm Desert merchandise online has been tried in the past, and was not successful. She also stated that the website was designed three years ago and is constantly being updated by OMA. Emily Bird-Hrivnak stated that breaking up the services makes sense in that you can get the best price for each area, and is not an abnormal process. She commented that OMA has done a great job keeping the City on the cutting edge, and hopefully can be retained. There was no motion on the table. This item was for discussion only. (This item was considered first on the agenda.) VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None n APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 16, 2010 VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS A. City Council Mr. Spiegel informed the Committee of a possible event that is being discussed with the City of Indian Wells for December of 2011 - a Rock and Roll Marathon. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Ms. O'Flynn reported that The Gardens and El Paseo Village are doing well. With the new retailers foot traffic has increased. Holiday events are coming soon. B. Committee Members Ms. Maggio described the Bighorn Behind a Miracle (BAM) cancer fundraising and accompanying events. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak stated that the JW Marriott had just hosted a large event and has more planned. Bruce Nation informed the Committee of the renovation in process at Desert Willow. The first scheduled public event for the new areas will be February 2, 2011. Desert Willow was featured in the current Golf Digest magazine, the front page in the `Hot Spots' section. Ms. Wolf reported that more money has been going into marketing research. Ms. Bowers was happy to report that the 3rd annual Halloween event had increased attendance over last year. The Children's Discovery Center had just opened, Wild Lights will start next week, and attendance is up about 11 % at The Living Desert. B. Staff Ms. Moore thanked the Committee for their assistance. Since last season, 25 new stores have opened on El Paseo and 10 new stores in Westfield mall. Panera and Buffalo Wild Wings will be opening soon. There is a lot of excitement from retailers. Construction on the new Visitor Center on El 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 16, 2010 Paseo is almost finished. A report regarding the Dine Out promotion will be given at the next meeting. David Hermann has been working on the 2011 City calendar with Mrs. Kelly. The theme is "Seasons of Fun", chosen by Mr. Kelly, and will be available after Thanksgiving. February 261" is the deadline for the City's eight pages of content in the winter edition of PD Style magazine if anyone on the Committee has something to contribute. Justin McCarthy was asked if there would be a similar meeting with the local retailers and restaurateurs. He replied that direct interaction with the hoteliers was the most important because the visitor has to be here before they will shop and dine. A similar meeting could be held at some future date. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Center Report Ms. Gomez had left the meeting early. The Visitor Center report will be discussed at the next meeting. XII. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m. li: 11 � /LLc., Jan Stanley, Recording ecretary L