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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Marketing Committee April 26, 2011PALM DESERT PALM DESERT ADJOURNED MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, April 26, 2011 — 2 p.m. North Wing Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Emily Bird-Hrivnak called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. 11. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Sara O'Flynn, Chair Michael Shimer Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Vice Chair CITY COUNCIL ACTION Theresa Maggio APPROVED DENIM Marlane Wolf RECEIVED, -�o,,-El r;aa Stephanie Loon �- - - Rolf Hoehn MEETING DATEi/ - Jenna LeMaster AYES:i,y, NOES: N Me - Staff /Others Present: A13SENT: Robert Spiegel, Councilmember ABSTAIN: -N t,Ale Jan Harnik, Councilmember VERIFIED BV. z )--Lrc Justin McCarthy, ACM for RedevelopmenPrihinal on File with City Clerk's s:4� Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Manger David Hermann, Management Analyst Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary Bruce Nation, Desert Willow Golf Resort Judy Sage, JNS Advertising Garry Sage, JNS Advertising III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MARCH 15, 2011. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 Rolf Hoehn moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the March 15, 2011, meeting. Motion was seconded by Marlane Wolf and carried 6-0. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VII. NEW BUSINESS A. UPDATE ON INITIAL RESULTS OF ADVERTISING EFFORTS - JNS Garry Sage from JNS Advertising presented information for March 2011 advertising, which reflects the first month of the new media plan. He distributed out the analytics for the publications and explained each one. The data showed the publications' Circulation, Readership, "CPM" (Cost per Thousand), Clicks, "CTR" (Click Through Rate), "CPC" (Cost per Click), Ad Size, and Online Banner size. Added value is shown by a "N/A" for the online banner and $0 for CPC. Since the national average for CTR is 0.12% - 0.15%, the results shown are above average. Also reported are the traffic and weather report 15-second spots. San Diego and Los Angeles will be targeted during "May Gray" and "June Gloom." Numbers for April so far are beating the March numbers. Upon question, Mr. Sage responded that the Readership is calculated at 2.5 times the Circulation for all publications. Stephanie Loog asked how results from these ads could be tested. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak suggested that without a landing page it is difficult to track effectiveness for print ads. At this point Sara O'Flynn arrived at the meeting. One number that stood out is the $50.00 Cost per Thousand for Palm Springs Life. Mr. Sage suggested that since the cost is so high in comparison to the others that those ads could be pulled. All the other ads are doing very well. Judy Sage also commented that people who see Palm Springs Life are already here and the ad directs them to the Visitor Center. Donna Gomez recommended that the Committee see a quarterly report from JNS and make recommendations for the next quarter. Ms. Gomez distributed a copy of the ad that was placed in Orange Coast magazine, which had additional advertorial as part of the ad placement. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 Rolf Hoehn questioned the media budget, which does not reflect Palm Springs Life. Ms. Gomez responded that it is included in the Palm Springs Life Desert Guide line item. Theresa Maggio moved by Minute Motion, to receive and file the report from JNS. Motion was seconded by Sara O'Flynn and carried 7-0. B. CONSIDERATION OF CONTRACTING FOR MEDIA BUYING SERVICES WITH JNS ADVERTISING FOR FY 2011-12 Ms. Bird-Hrivnak commented that the review just presented shows the success of JNS. She also thought it was important that they have the ability to be flexible with media buys. Mr. Hoehn liked the synergy created with JNS and other desert organizations. He recused himself from the vote because of the JNS contract with the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Ms. Gomez stated that because of her contact with the CVA she can see that JNS' efforts have been very well coordinated. She met with the CVA, showed them, the media plan, and identified areas of duplication. She then met with JNS and was able to rearrange the duplicative ads. Sara O'Flynn moved, by Minute Motion, approval of the contract with JNS Advertising for fiscal year 2011-12 under the same terms and conditions. Motion was seconded by Emily Bird-Hrivnak and carried 6-0. Rolf Hoehn abstained. Vill. OLD BUSINESS A. CONSIDERATION OF CREATIVE/AD CAMPAIGN Following is a verbatim transcript of the discussion and action taken for Item A. Key BN Bruce Nation DG Donna Gomez EH Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Co -Chair GS Garry Sage JH Jan Harnik JL Jenna LeMaster, Member JM Justin McCarthy JS Judy Sage MW Marlane Wolf, Member RH Rolf Hoehn, Member RM Ruth Ann Moore RS Robert Spiegel 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 SL Stephanie Loog, Member SO Sara O'Flynn, Chair TM Theresa Maggio, Member SO The next is the OMA proposal, is that right? We did look long and hard at this last year. I'm trying to remember who here was on that committee. So we did really look through those proposals, and I know we were very happy with their creative. I felt we were, unless there are some other comments you would like to share. DG The creative is up on the wall as a reminder of the campaigns that they submitted at that time. You've had a chance to take a look at the staff report that was in your packet. I took the opportunity to talk a little bit about the history of the process and it has been almost a year since we went through this process. There was a delay with the entire marketing program for some time, so the decision of this Committee was not carried forward to City Council at that time. There have been some changes not only in Council and the direction of the marketing program, but with the focus of our marketing efforts. As you'll notice in our media plan this year, or for next fiscal year, we've really targeted the weather issue. We've really decided to put a heavy focus into those markets that are experiencing the May Gray and June Gloom and those types of things. So we wanted to give you an opportunity just to reassess this. It has been some time since that decision was made and to be honest there was a little bit of concern at least from one Council member at our last meeting that we seem to be sending a lot of business OMA's way. So as staff I felt it was appropriate to bring it back since it has been ten months since this was considered and just get some input. SL Can you, one specific campaign used, how was this... DG Several campaigns were proposed. The direction that was given to the agency was create a campaign that addressed the four seasons. JH You know, I was here when these were presented. I was a guest during that committee. DG So the top four, the four on the upper left., that's one campaign. RH Is there a recommendation for a campaign, or is it for... JH A specific one of these? DG So part of the approval back in July of last year was to select 2 or 3 of these proposed campaigns, and OMA would test those. They would do online testing to see which received the best consumer response, and then we would select the most, the most positive. SO Today we're asked to reassess the original decision to recommend contracting with OMA for ad campaign development, testing, and production. So we're not deciding 0 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 on ... we're deciding on whether we're comfortable with working with what they've presented, which we worked on a year ago, and I would go ahead and say in the interest of lost time and in our interest of moving forward, I think that we also showed confidence in them, that we know that they have the creative capability. What that creative capability might be in the end and what we vote on is another thing, but they clearly have ... I mean, the 4 in the middle wouldn't be my cup of tea. What I like about those, each one jumped out more so than some of the others. TM They were more creative and they are open to, if we Like this piece from this piece, and this piece from this piece, then we can try and combine them together and see how it works, and if we can test it on the website and see how it's perceived, that would be great. Obviously we would like to keep it all together, but that's just not humanly possible these days, the art piece that we received and we went through. We want to have the best quality for the City of Palm Desert. JH The comment I would make, and I remember thinking this at the time, the creative with the golf balls, who cares? It's not only about creativity, everybody in here I would bet is a really hard worker and when it's time for vacation, we're not looking at something and going, wow, that's creative. We're looking at something that says, oh, I could relax, I could get a massage, I could go play golf, the mountains are gorgeous. So that's what concerns me, and that concerned me back then. RH That's why I am asking about the process, really, if you move forward with that agency, now, you said 2 or 3 being tested. That assumes already a selection process, but who is involved in that selection process? DG This Committee. SO Initially. I guess what we're tackling today is the idea that we've already addressed this and gone through a lot of different campaigns. So, I almost wish the 4 weren't in the middle from the perspective that, again, it screams creativity, but maybe we want a little bit more continuity in terms of seasonality and what have you. Because we're talking about the hotel industry, and the people here that make, well, my point is, I think we can have confidence in them in the major things. And I don't think it's smart to go back and look at 10 different agencies again and have 3 more meetings, and then get to a point where we're like, OK, now who are we deciding to work with again? RH I agree on that. My question was... DG You can make that decision today as well. RH Is what is being asked for is simply agreeing to have, to appoint the agency, basically. SL I think the motivating factor because you weren't involved in the initial presentations, there were some very creative agencies that had very unique advertising, but what sold us APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 on this was that they will have, they came up with several campaigns. They are going to have a focus group of individuals put together to look at these campaigns and test them to see which one... RH I understand that. Are they testing all 4? Because you said 2 or 3. DG It was 2 or 3 that they said. RH That's why I am saying that is assumes a pre -selection process. DG Right. A couple of things. I have spoken to OMA again because this process has been extended, and I asked them to give us a new proposal based on the timeframe, and also based on the discussions that we had with the hotel industry and their direction that they really strongly encouraged us focus on, which was weather -related type of program. Based on my discussions with them, they are more than willing, and included in their new proposal, alterations to the campaign. So if we want alterations to some of these existing campaigns, they built that into the new pricing. The testing is built in. The testing that they built in, because that was separate last time, that was not part of the original proposal, I asked them to give an all-inclusive proposal. It's just over $38,000 for testing 2 campaigns and the creative and design, the whole package. And that was included in your... SO So when is it we have to decide on which 2? DG If you could do that today, that would be great. We could move forward. If you read the proposal, they have based their proposal and the pricing on these campaigns with some alterations to it, but not a whole new creative. TM So Ruth Ann, what do you think really will drive people to the City of Palm Desert based upon the conversation that we had with all the hoteliers? How would you switch this? I'm interested; I want to see your take on it too. RM Well, you know it's really funny. When we were doing this we hadn't talked to the hotels; it was under a different era and different things. We were all thinking, wow, it's kind of stale what we've always done, and I think that the hotels reinforced the message to us again that, we forget, we live here all the time, so we're used to seeing the beautiful vistas and everything. But when you're in New York, or you're in Chicago, or you're in Portland, and up pops the beautiful scenery and the spas and the recreation and all of those things in the dead of winter or in June gloom, that's what we should sell. Don't forget our core message. So to me when I look at some of this they look really dark to me. TM So this last column is something that would go along with what you're thinking. I'm just asking, because it's more of the desert vistas and the lifestyle. RM I think they really brought us back to that, about don't forget your core message, that this is the place you come when you want to have that beautiful vacation. . APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 TM I happen to agree. While I loved this first campaign over here, not the actual first, that one looks kind of weird... RM As a former retail marketer that appeals to me because that's what I'm used to doing. TM Right. It's like a different, it was kind of a disconnect from what we think (unclear) 10 years or so, and that was very successful, to something where (unclear) this was fun, that was more clever and that kind of thing. Is that getting the right message across, I don't know. I don't know that these full page ads over here are going to be great half page or quarter page ads. I think that they are just too much. And so how do you simplify it down. JH When I choose a vacation, we're all visual, so it's not because I'm going to read the text there, I'm going to see the picture, I'm going to see myself relaxing, playing golf, shopping, one of those things. So I wonder, to your point, you reduce that... MW I think they're a little busy. I think they're talking about the thing that you were talking about, which is our core message, but what I think, when I look at them in the packet, some of them I wasn't sure if it was a single picture or if it was one on top of the other. The other thing I would just generally say is, I really think on any of these that we choose we should up the Palm Desert. It's really very, very small and you have to kind of hunt to find the city. JH Not one of those would make we want to go "Ah." JM Let me ask a question. Who decides where to go? (All: the woman) Uh, I see a lot of golf in here. RH Wait a second. I have to speak up for all the males in the room. JM You're on your own. (laughter) I kind of figured that was the answer. JH And even when it's the male we're appealing to, what does he want to do? RH Make the wife happy. (laughter) JH He wants to relax. JL To your point about the Palm Desert with the campaign on the right had side; to me there is a sea of sameness going on. Is that Florida, is that Arizona? That's kind of what's sticking out to me, and a little bit concerning. TM We talked about this too. It's just like every other city's ad. RH That's the thing, the first time I saw the campaign in going through the book and this is the point that struck me, and also based upon on what you were saying Jan, we also 7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 need to keep in mind the budget and the number of the frequency really, or the lack thereof, based on the budget that we have, the number of impressions that we are going to be able to get. And so the smaller the size, the more complex the image, the more difficult it is to convey the message. And the message is basically what you're saying. But I think what struck me as I look at these pictures, this could be anywhere, and there are so many. My only recommendation to the agency would be to look for the motif in the city that is really different from, and yet meet that, whether it's relaxation, or everything going on in the city, that you could somehow capture in a picture, in a very simple image to convey what we want to convey and make sure that it is viewed as Palm Desert. There needs to be a uniqueness about the message that you want to suggest. TM To Jan's point, I think we need our own Corona ad, basically, because that's what draws you is, let's go sit on a beach somewhere and drink a Corona, but what are you doing in Palm Desert? Just a simple, simple image. RM I actually think that's why this works a little bit better. Maybe not these particular images. (Unclear) SO Did OMA do this? RM No, actually. We had this campaign in a different format, but because we had everything kind of stop, actually, I did this with the local guy who did the production of it in the past, which was Gary Wexler. And we just kind of moved around a little bit, simplified it, changed the tag line and added some stuff. But it looks like ... look at this picture on all the ads the year prior, and we wanted to add the golf and the mountain vista element, so that's how this came about. It came about out of necessity. TM It's great, it's actually so much more fresher than we've seen in the past year. It was just the same over and over and over again. This is tried and true great, but what's going to get you there. You have a happy couple working you know, lifestyle, that's good. I don't know about any of you but I've seen so many 20-somethings in the last month, it's mind boggling. It's crazy, and I feel like, really, we're missing that market. Most of the advertising going on in the city, other cities, not this city, is that there is a whole girlfriend weekend, let's go to Palm Desert, let's get away, let's have fun. JH (unclear) should shift the marketing just a little bit. As our demographic shifts, so shall the marketing target. TM And maybe San Diego and LA, especially in May and June, where they want to have the discounts for the hotels. That would be more of a shift than, you know, more of an idea. MW Another question, and this may muddy this up more, but we also have some events that are, Fashion Week, and some of those things that are unique draws. Rock and Roll Marathon has got to be, you know, successful. It's got a much younger audience, and we APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 do nothing to address any of those special things that go on in our valley. We picked the seasons, but we didn't pick some of the things that would draw people in here. DG They have proposed as part of their message here that they can do some photography, so I think the point is well taken about having photography that is much more specific to Palm Desert and what we have to offer. JM We have some great vistas, we have some beautiful golf mountain vistas, we have some extremely dramatic El Paseo and mountain vistas, we have them in our own archives. These things are just knock -your -socks -off attractive images. I looked at these and I saw golf, golf, golf, and thought, OK, guys will love this. I kind of thought I'd get that kind of response about who makes the decision. RH You're right, but when I thought about the one on the left, especially the one in the store, I would never take an interior shot. But if you take the shot of El Paseo, appealing to women, I mean that's Worth Avenue, Rodeo Drive, that's what they are looking for. And the younger ones too, that's where it's at, and to capture that, and for the guys, well, you have Tommy Bahama's. Somehow, I think you knew all of that, and set yourself apart. JM Outdoor dining in January for Chicago. JH If you talk about what are, people had to site 3 things they look for in a vacation, what would they be? Dining, shopping, and probably some sort of recreation. RM We could do that, and pay a little (unclear) not as expensive, and move things in and out, and change a few in the month. JH I'll tell you one of the strong points, it says Palm Desert. TM And that was a huge change, when you did that it was a huge change. The event that we did in December with the shops on El Paseo, Mark Davison (?) took an amazing photo of Gucci and all that whole side of the street, all at night with the Christmas trees. There was actually a car (or cart?) came by with the lights and that kind of thing. Every time I've used it, we actually used it in our newsletter, people go "wow, that looks like so much fun." Maybe that would be something for, you know, a holiday photo, that you go, "I want to go shopping there, that's really fun." SO So have we gone full circle? RM I think you've got yourself to the point that maybe ... As an observer I remember a real heavy weighting towards the selection was the testing concept, and yet you've done some testing right now. And it's come up a little short. So this process in invaluable. We're just trying to make sure we get the right message, we're also, I asked Donna, we wanted to be responsive to some sensitivities about either local or the fact that we weren't really getting what we wanted out of this process. That's why we brought it back. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 RM Garry, what was the response to this, did they it was very different, or what were they telling you? GS They liked the crisp, clean look of it. We always ask the vendor, what do you think of the ad, and they'll tell you. They'll tell you what looks good in their publication, and what doesn't look good. JS Something else you could do with something similar to this, is you've got a little bit of a shot that could be shopping, but again, if there's that dynamic photo of El Paseo, put that in here, you've got the golf down here. You could change these out depending on the publication you put it into and the focus of that particular publication. You could have 6 different ads going in any one month depending on who we're reaching with that particular publication, or online, or whatever. You can really tailor it if it needs to be, it this publication is heavy towards women, then you do the spas, something with shopping. If you're reaching the guys, you're doing a golf publication like we did Real Golf, then of course you want something pertaining to men, or maybe even men down here and the women up here, so that you're keeping the wife happy. RM It took us about 5 days to produce all the ads for all the magazines because that's the deadline that we were on when we did get approval from Council finally, so we have to think back to the fact that, yes, they did run in March, but I think we had 10 days to produce all the ads. There is that element that we could take and lift things out and put them in (unclear). SL The percentage of male/female golf, that's something to factor in there. RH The wife keeps the guy happy; he can go golfing... BN You need a combination, though, because wives ar All No! e BN But I think we need to know, as a Committee, if you find something you like as far as one of those formulas, you need to beat them up and have them put the pictures in that you want if you like the campaign. That's what we do with our marketing company at Desert Willow. If we don't like what they send us, we tell them, hey, you have to change pictures. DG Like Justin said, we do have some good photos, that maybe what we do is invest our money in a new photographer and really get some great new photos that would work well in these spots. We could invest our money that way. 10 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 RM The photos we shot before, we can go back and look at a couple of different things, what we have missing in those elements. I love that shot, it just never got picked up... JH We're doing the seasons, isn't it always the season in Palm Desert? SO If you look at this one campaign, if you take all that text out, a lot of it is really the same. And I get back to, you're saying that our process right here we're finding a lot that's wrong, which is true, we might be finding some (holes?) in what we don't like, but I'm also finding that there's a lot that maybe we forgot about. Like someone else brought up the testing, you know, testing is something that we keep going back to. We want to believe in a company. We want to go back and say, this is... because this is basically... those shots look very similar, don't they? (sounds of agreement) Yeah. So (unclear) is just telling them, you know, we just would maybe like this a little more, but we're leaning this way. I still think they're the right firm to work with to do creative. JM You probably really can't get away with more than maybe 2 images per ... you know, to borrow Amadeus, too many notes, you know, the Prince of Austria. RS Something you guys aren't looking at is teaming up with somebody. The other cities do that. Rancho Mirage does that with the River all the time. You see them in the paper — Rancho Mirage, the River. Nothing more dramatic than going to the Marriott Desert Springs, with a big Palm Desert on it. You walk in there, you see the boat going out, it's marvelous. Same thing at The Gardens. Same thing at Westfield. They've got dramatic shots, spots on all those stores and all those locations. Same thing at Desert Willow. You could team up with somebody. See if you can get some money from the Marriott. See if you can get some money from... SO No. (laughter) It just felt good to say that. RS We could double what we're doing and show really exciting things that are unique to the City of Palm Desert (holds up ad) with a big Palm Desert on it. SO The thing with co-ops though, I would just be really careful of, I think it always sounds easier than it is. I think at Rancho Mirage, out of respect for your idea, I love it, but... RS Thank you. SO I knew you were really concerned about that. (laughter) The point being with Rancho Mirage, they don't have as much, in my opinion, I don't think they don't have as much to work with. RS Probably not. No, we've got a lot of exciting things. I just mentioned a few, the Living Desert... SO When I think about getting money, that's why. ill APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 RS With the giraffes, they spend money. We spend money. Here's a giraffe in Palm Desert. (holds up ad) That what I'm talking about. And you get double exposure. Maybe we put a bighorn up on something and there you go. People would do that. But the big thing is saying it's in Palm Desert, and it's unique to us. Somebody with a pool is nice, but somebody could go in my back yard and there's a pool, and that wouldn't bring anybody here. JH Again, we have different markets, we have the people with kids that are going to want the giraffe. We have people like me that want the pool and the drink. RS Pacifica and Tommy Bahama's to do one thing, with Palm Desert in the middle of it. They're both very unique. The martini bar, my goodness, that will bring people. SO So we're back to our task at hand. RS I really screwed you up, I know that. SO Back to our task, which is do we decide to go with the firm for what we're looking at, because we can decide to, I mean, Bob, having said... RS It doesn't have to be done overnight. It doesn't have to be done for the next 2 months. SO But having shared those ideas do you feel confident in this company or not? RS Not really. SO OK. DG Your recommendation will go to City Council for consideration. SO How's the vote been going based on our recommendation? DG We received a 5-0 for Off Madison Ave., for their online marketing program. SL What's our deadline? DG We don't have a deadline. We have money in this year's budget. If we don't make a decision and allocate those funds for June, then we will go into next year's budget, which we do have funding to decide for this as well. RM We want to be done when we place the ads for next fall. SO If we don't work with them, then you want us to go back to the table with all of it, maybe 2 or 3... 12 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 RS In La Quinta they've got Old Town, and I'm sure the City of La Quinta helps pay for the ads for Old Town, and they're in the paper all the time. DG I've met with La Quinta's marketing rep as well as the Indian Wells marketing rep. Their budgets have been cut dramatically. You'll notice that, I believe it's La Quinta specifically is only doing local marketing and they're doing all co-ops with local businesses because their funding is cut so drastically that they can't afford to do regional or national marketing. So, that's part of the reason you're seeing that. They are being kind of forced or pushed into co-ops opportunities because of their limited budget. JH That's why they advertised in PD Style, I guess. JM We're still, I think everybody agrees we're still in the weather season, heads and beds, in response to the input from the hotels. The question is what are the appropriate images that really evoke what you think needs to be evoked for the prospective markets. It seems like we've got a great deal that we can play with and have a little bit of time. OMA may be the right person or the right organization, but with maybe a little more direction by this body, with maybe some graphics to guide them; work with these, reduce the busyness, that could be an approach. RH I have a question. Looking at their summary and when we talk about testing, I agree, testing is an important part of the development of the creative approach to whatever input we provide, but I notice that their testing proposal is only online testing. DG Correct. RH There is no testing of print. Because here we are talking really about print campaign so we're not talking about testing of the print campaign. DG This would all translate into online advertising as well. The only testing would be online. That's really the most measurable testing you can do. MW But you would learn a lot from focus groups. RH And the question I have is that's fine if the online or the digital testing would go to the same target group that the print could go to. We would have to be careful in the testing environment. I don't know what the... DG Maybe we could a,sk them to propose, let's look at some banner ads, and we can ask them to make some adjustments if they're leaning towards this one campaign. We can ask them to make some adjustments to this with fewer photos and mock up a banner ad or how they would utilize it online if that would give a better picture. JH You said you need direction and you're the group to give it to them, that's for sure. 13 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 TM Whatever the campaign ends up being, it needs to translate into everything, especially online. So I believe that the testing is very important. It's different for someone who is trying to work online and do tourism than it is for real estate, there is a totally different process. But I think whatever the campaign you come up with it needs to be consistent all the way across the board because it wasn't being consistent for a while. Right now it's really important to focus on that and make it happen. Is this the group that will be able to do it? I think their online services and everything has been top of the line. Whether we go with them or not, I just think we need to be consistent across the board. I myself have several vendors that I work with, but the message is always consistent and they all know that they all have to work together. It's a newsletter designer, a magazine ad designer and (unclear) designer, they all have to have the same feel and look, and that sort of thing. RM So how did you do that? Did you then set one thing with one artist rendering and then tell everybody you need to use this format? TM Yes, Basically I worked with my print designer first, with all the photography and that kind of thing and all my resources, and then I would show it to Point 7 West and say "OK this is our campaign for print, I want you to follow this." "Newsletter, this is our print campaign and I want you to follow this with our look for our newsletter." And so everything we do is all heavily photo -driven, and it's all about the richness and the lifestyle. The color is huge for me. Every green you see on golf course photography all looks consistently that color green, because no one wants to see a yellow lawn. Basically I just make sure that it's all being done and has the same kind of look and feel all the way across the board. Anything we do online is done through a print designer to make sure that it looks just like our ad. But it's hard to manage all of that. You have to have people who want to play together. MW I really like the stuff that you did. (current ad) RM You can hire me if Redevelopment doesn't win. (laughter) SO So what are our choices? JH You know it kind of looks like, the campaign is really just like, the branding effort right now. We're trying to brand Palm Desert. How do you do that? What direction do you... RS What (unclear) do you need? RH That is the question we need to vote on, whether we give the job to this agency... SO "Reassess original decision to recommend contracting with OMA." RH And then the direction would be given by staff to that agency in line with what we've been talking about? 14 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 SO What I'm sensing is that not everyone is comfortable with OMA. Some of us more than others, so it could be very split, I don't know. TM What about this. What about for our next Committee meeting we all need to bring in 5 photos of the City of Palm Desert that represents the businesses that we all work with that would be that Corona image ad. We lay them out on the table and say we like this, we like this, we like this, we like this, and then we go forward from there and say, you know what, is OMA the group to do this or is, what was his name? Wexler, can he do this, or can we do this in-house, or do we invest the money in photography to make it happen. I hate to push this off one more month, because honestly, I wanted us to figure this out last year. It was year after year we were looking proposals and looking at... JM There is no urgency at the moment. That's why we brought this back, there's no urgency. I think the idea of comments that were made that were visual, maybe the comment exactly ... (tape ended, turned over) And let this body sort of pore over those and dwell on it a bit. SL I kind of like that idea. That's what we are is the marketing committee. That's what we're here for. JM We just want to stipulate we're not trying to force this Committee to do something that it does not want to do. DG I think that's part of your expertise - in the marketing field. That's why you're here. I think we want to look to you for your advice and input. SO So based on the discussion we've had today and the suggestion made by Theresa, do we have a motion on the table for each of us on the Committee to bring back some sort of photography or rendering that represents what we think is Palm Desert? And go from there? MW Could we also, you have stuff? DG I made a list of some of the things we talked about so I can pull from our existing TM Even if it's just a quick photo from your phone or whatever, it's still the image, it would be nice to see. I listened to a lot of ideas and opinions in here and it would be nice to be able to say, ok, let's visually put it on the table and say, we like A, B, C, D and E. SO What do you like about it, what don't you, and that type of thing. JL Is that going to solve the issue though of choosing or not choosing OMA? TM I think if we don't have enough visual pieces that we're (confused?) by, then yes, I think we go back to an agency. If not, then we say, let's try and do this branding campaign, you know, with someone here local. 15 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 JL And are we comfortable with the consistency online and offline, though? In the campaigns, because I'm hearing that may not exist. DG It's consistent now, but.. SO Good point. JM We will probably need some expertise to help us get there. SO We can make sure that's one of the... DG But OMA is very open, I mean, they can change out photos if we have a new campaign that we go with and we just have our own photos that we plug in here, we can provide those photos to OMA to incorporate into the website. TM I remember that during their presentation they said that they would be happy to work with whoever it is that we decide to work with. RM Donna, if I'm right, the only issue was that they could test for their own, but they couldn't test... DG Right, they couldn't test someone else's campaign, only their own. SO So do we have a motion? MW I move that's what we do. (laughter) SO Each committee member bring if they have a photo or rendering that represents Palm Desert, that they get one, and that could be from you, because you have stock on all of this. We use that as a starting point to reassess who it is we work with to maintain the continuity of our branding campaign for Palm Desert. Do we have a motion? May I make that motion? TM I'll second. (Motion carried 7-0.) RH Is there still a vote necessary on this to table this? On the agenda point? Or is that not necessary? DG No. For purposes of clarification the motion is: Sara O'Flynn moved, by Minute Motion, that each Committee member bring a photo or rendering that represents Palm Desert to the next meeting for the purpose of reassessing 16 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 the choice of contracting with OMA for ad campaign development, testing, and production. Motion was seconded by Theresa Maggio and carried by a 7-0 vote. IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS A. City Council Mr. Spiegel reported that the aquatic center grand opening will be on Saturday, June 11. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Ms. O'Flynn stated that activity has not slowed down yet at The Gardens and El Paseo Village. Sales are still up. A Bighorn event is this Thursday, and a pre -disco bash event is scheduled for Friday. B. Committee Members Emily Bird-Hrivnak mentioned that it's been a great month. The renovation is in the final planning stage and is scheduled for summer. year is the 25th anniversary at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, and million will be spent on the renovation to guest rooms, the golf course, possibly the lake view restaurant. There may also potentially be a restaurant at the hotel. hotel Next $25 and new Stephanie Loog announced that as of April 29th she is leaving Bank of America to work full-time with her husband in his perimeter systems security business. Theresa Maggio was happy to report that five houses were sold last week. She praised the Bighorn staff for their excellent work. The Bighorn Behind a Miracle cancer fundraising reached $600,000 raised this season, which all goes back to the community. Jenna LeMaster noted that there have been positive sales comps for eleven months running. The first Easter Egg Hunt just occurred, with an estimated 4,000 in attendance. Happily there were no injuries even though the eggs were cleared out in ten minutes. She listed several businesses that will open soon at Westfield: Richies Real American Diner in the former Marie Callender's location, Charming Charlie, Tootie Fruitie Yogurt, Frickle Burgers, and Revolution Ride Skate Shop. 17 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 Rolf Hoehn reported that the recent tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden was highly successful and exceeded all targets that they had set. Over 350 thousand attended and the impact was felt throughout the Valley. A huge buzz in the tennis world was the Hawkeye challenge installed on all the competition courts. Another recent success was the parking and shuttles offered at the Tennis Garden for the Coachella event. The Rock and Roll Half -Marathon Indian Wells/Palm Desert is definitely coming, and will be run by The Competitor Group, who will be asking the City for marketing support. The official announcement for the event will be in June. It is anticipated that there will be 10,000 runners and they will stay three nights. The Competitor Group is open to the idea of the JW Marriott Desert Springs being the host hotel. Upon question by Mr. Spiegel, Mr. Hoehn agreed to find out how much money the City of Indian Wells will be putting into the event. Mr. Hoehn also reported that the Tennis Garden will be updating the economic impact from the tennis tournament. The last time it was done was 2006, which showed $221 million gross economic impact. He will be happy to report the findings when they have been completed. Marlane Wolf recounted that the state of Washington has pulled marketing funding as of June 30th for the Washington State Tourism Office, including their website. Interestingly, the state of Alaska is increasing their tourism budget. C. Staff Ms. Gomez related that she had attended an e-marketing conference last week. It was very informative and enlightening regarding coordinating online program efforts. She also mentioned that she is enrolled in the marketing certificate program with UCR. There is an item on the Thursday, April 28th City Council agenda regarding approval for Jennie Rayner to fill the vacancy left by Kimberly Bowers. Ms. Rayner also works at The Living Desert. Ms. Moore relayed that she has been assisting the owners of Richies Real American Diner to get through the process at City Hall. There will be an outdoor patio for the diner as well. The Jeffrey Alen Salon will be opening on El Paseo, as well as the Pastry Swan returning in a new location with a new concept called the Fix. Another new store called Cilantro will be an art and jewelry store. The Toys r Us space has been leased to a tenant to be announced at a later date. A wrap-up report for Fashion Week will be presented at the next Committee meeting. Local charities received $120,000 from the various fundraising events associated with Fashion Week. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APRIL 26, 2011 In response to Ms. Loog's question, Ms. Moore said Red Lobster has passed the Architectural Review Committee approval process, with an uncertain opening date. Mr. McCarthy noted that permits have been pulled for the Westin timeshares to construct another building. Bruce Nation reported that Desert Willow is coming off of a great season. Six hundred attended the Easter brunch. Pete Carlson's 1st Annual Charity Golf Tournament was held yesterday. Willie Mays was there signing autographs. Next week is a big week with Cinqo de Mayo, wine tasting, and Mother's Day events. The patio expansion has produced great results and golf is doing well. Goals for the year have been exceeded. David Hermann commented that the May/June BrightSide just went out. The aquatic center grand opening is the featured story. The final edition of PD Style will be out May 12th, with stories on the aquatic center, Desert Willow and the EIP program. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Center Report Ms. Gomez stated that it will take time to build up the numbers. There are great results with the online marketing. Facebook fans, friends, likes have surpassed the 5,000 mark in the first year and a half. B. Marketing Plan Review There is no specific marketing plan, so Ms. Gomez is in the process of doing research and gathering information. She would like to utilize the Committee members as a resource to draft a marketing plan. In accordance with the Brown Act, comments would need to be sent directly to Ms. Gomez as opposed to discussion as a group. The draft plan will come back to the Committee for their consideration. XII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3:25 p.m. Jan Stanley, Recordi g Secretary 19