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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Marketing Committee 02/28/201203 PALM DESERT PIRIVII, ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, February 28, 2012 — 2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Sara O'Flynn called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Sara O'Flynn, Chair Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Vice Chair Rolf Hoehn Michael Shimer Marlane Wolf Jennie Rayner Members Absent: Jenna LeMaster Theresa Maggio CITY COUNCIL ACTION APPROVED DENIED RECEIVED % UTIIF,R. Stephanie Loog MEETING DATE ' I - 1 Diane Williams AYES: ­r Par i '5P i _ i NOES: Staff /Others Present: ABSENT: _ rOoan o Robert Spiegel, Mayor ABSTAIN: _N LA C Jan Harnik, Councilmember VERIFIED BY: - Justin McCarthy, ACM Redevelopmeftiginal on File with City Clerk's c dice Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager David Hermann, Management Analyst Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Manager Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary Michael Mathews, Palm Springs Life Kim Crandal, Palm Springs Desert Resorts Restaurant Week III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Diane Williams was appointed to the Marketing Committee on January 26th and was sworn in by Rachelle Klassen, City Clerk, prior to the start of the meeting. Sara O'Flynn welcomed Ms. Williams. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Ms. Williams introduced herself as a real estate broker with Windermere Real Estate. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JANUARY 17, 2012. Michael Shimer moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the January 17, 2012, meeting. Motion was seconded by Emily Bird-Hrivnak and carried 8-0-2, with Jenna LeMaster and Theresa Maggio absent. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR SPONSORSHIP OF RESTAURANT WEEK Kim Crandal is the Executive Director of Palm Springs Desert Resorts Restaurant Week, and explained that 2012 will be the 51" year for this event. The event is run by volunteers and is a non-profit association. Last year, the theme was rebranded to "Eat, See & Stay" to create what they call an entire desert experience. Last year 55,000 meals were served in 10 days. They are requesting sponsorship at the $2,500 level. Mr. Mathews added that Palm Springs Life has partnered with the event this year to add substantially to the marketing. Currently participating are 63 restaurants valley -wide, 9 hotels and 9 attractions, including the Deep Canyon Inn and The Living Desert, with 15 Palm Desert restaurants among them. Ms. Crandal went on to say that they have hired Wagstaff Worldwide, a hospitality driven public relations and marketing firm. They have been tasked with building hotel packages to create a value-added experience. As an incentive, if a hotel is on board with a restaurant as an "Eat and Stay," their spa will get its own page on the website. She responded to question that the cost for a restaurant to participate is $350. Ms. O'Flynn commented that the dates of the event are good for something to do during the shoulder season and will appeal to year-round residents. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Ms. Rayner mentioned that The Living Desert had increased attendance during last year's Restaurant Week. Ms. Crandal made note of the fact that participating restaurants are on the Restaurant Week website year-round. Each participant is in control of their page and is able to update anytime. March 1st is the deadline for participation so that materials can be printed. Even though Palm Springs is in the name of the event, they own the URLs for all the desert cities, so you could type in "Palm Desert Restaurant Week" and would be directed to the Palm Desert site. Donna Gomez conveyed that Palm Desert has sponsored the event the past two years at the $2,500 level. Funds are available in the marketing budget. Upon question Ms. Crandal responded that in order to facilitate continued participation, each city has been approached at the $2,500 sponsorship level. Cathedral City and Indio are not participating. Rolf Hoehn moved, by Minute Motion, to approve sponsorship of Restaurant Week at the $2,500 level. Motion was seconded by Sara O'Flynn and passed 8-0-2, with Jenna LeMaster and Theresa Maggio absent. Ms. Gomez requested that Ms. Crandal provide results after the event, to which she agreed. Mr. Spiegel added that the recommendation will still need to go before City Council for approval. B. PRESENTATION OF PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ACTIVITY Because Kim Crandal was not yet at the meeting, this item was considered first. Rolf Hoehn serves on the Airport Commission and presented the update for the Palm Springs airport activity, growth of air service and air travel to the Coachella Valley. Some highlights of the presentation are: • A new tower is being built and should be complete in another 1-1/2 to 2 years. • The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Convention will be here in October 2012 for the first time in 3 years. It is the biggest convention that the Valley entertains, with 12,000 attendees and 8,000 room nights. • Virgin America and Frontier Airlines are new to the airline portfolio. • Current airlines have started additional service. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 28, 2012 • Calendar year 2011 had number of seats down 3% due to reduced flights and use of smaller planes. In spite of this the number of passengers was up 1 %. • Less service at the Ontario airport benefits the Palm Springs airport. • Having numerous carriers is a positive for the Coachella Valley. • WestJet has been a great partner to the Canadian market. • Number of seats to/from San Francisco is up almost 100% over last year. • Highest capacity of passengers is between 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with an average of 1,300 passengers per hour. • Some redesign at the airport is intended to make the passenger experience better. • October through December 2011 achieved the highest passenger numbers in history; up 19% in December alone year over year. • January 2012 results are up 14% year over year. • Increasing oil prices may affect people's travel plans. • The updated required FAA 5-year Master Plan is almost complete. Funding from the Federal government could come afterwards. Upon question, Mr. Hoehn responded that the reports given to the Airport Commission are updated monthly and are public documents. Jan Harnik questioned when the airport welcome sign will include Valley cities. In response, Mr. Hoehn stated that the Airport Commission is addressing this issue. Robert Spiegel is on the SunLine Board and asked Mr. Hoehn to have the Airport Commission consider allowing busses to go to the terminals. They currently do not go into the airport. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. UPDATE ON FASHION WEEK 2012 Michael Mathews from Palm Springs Life distributed marketing materials for Fashion Week 2012. Additional funding recommended by the Marketing Committee on May 17, 2011, allowed for some upgrades for the 2012 event. As a result of the additional funding the following issues were addressed: • Reception area was crowded • Create reserve seating • Guests should not walk on any dirt • Guests should not see the workings of the back end of the facility 0 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 28, 2012 The facility footprint has been expanded by 50% to address overcrowding. Seating capacity had been increased from 650 to 900. The runway has been extended and widened. To enhance the visual experience, there will be an 11' high by 19' wide LED screen on the stage. Mr. Mathews then described all the various print and online advertising as well as the scheduled events. New for 2012 will be several events for dog owners and internet contests. He then showed a depiction of the site plan. Dirt areas are completely covered with carpeting or flooring. In response to question, the average ticket prices are $50 - $65. Most people are purchasing reserve seating tickets. He then listed the local charities that will be benefited by each event. He added that because of the James Beard recognition, celebrity chefs are willing to come to the Food and Wine portion of the event. Further responding, Mr. Mathews mentioned that besides featuring Saks Fifth Avenue on Sunday night, about 25 El Paseo merchants are featured on Monday night. Macy's will be doing an in-store event; Cos Bar and Sephora are participating in the online contests. To prepare for next year's budget, Mr. Spiegel asked what the level of sponsorship would be requested for next year. Mr. Mathews responded that they would be requesting $100,000. VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS A. City Council Ms. Harnik stated that the Council has discussed having Committee and Commission meetings off -site, which she believes the Marketing Committee could benefit from. Mr. Spiegel related that even though sales tax and TOT are up, the upcoming budget process will be very tough as a result of the loss of the Redevelopment Agency. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Sara O'Flynn was pleased to report that for the last 10 months retail sales have increased. In conjunction with Fashion Week, The Gardens will be having a "Spa Day" on March 21 st and benefiting Guide Dogs of the Desert, the 5tn annual "Furry Friends Fashion Show" on March 23`d. The goal of these events is to increase foot traffic and raise retail on El Paseo. The concert series benefiting local charities is in full swing and will wrap up on April 14tn B. Committee Members Emily Bird-Hrivnak reported that the JW Marriott is zooming. Rockwood Grill, Blue Star Lounge, and Fisherman's Landing restaurants are under renovation with an anticipated opening. in May. Wilson tennis will be doing a photo shoot on property March 6 n with 4 of the world's top tennis players. Rolf Hoehn expressed that he is very busy with the upcoming PNB Paribas Tennis Tournament. He invited everyone to come out. A number of sessions are sold out in certain ticket categories. Advance sales are much higher than anticipated and much higher than last year. Michael Shimer reported that the restaurant is very busy. Marlane Wolf declared that she had done an unscientific survey regarding newspaper articles in the major feeder markets. She did not find any articles on the Coachella Valley other than one her family had sent her from the Chicago Tribune. Jennie Rayner mentioned that her aunt had also sent her an article on Palm Springs from the Minneapolis StarTribune. Ms. Wolf's suggested that this kind of PR would help and felt that a PR firm may be a good investment for the future. Mr. McCarthy agreed and said that the City had previously retained a PR firm that gave out a great deal of information about Palm Desert to the media. The contract was cut from the budget 3 years ago. The fixed cost structure was one of the problems with the firm. Having another PR firm would merit a possible discussion moving forward. Stephanie Loog suggested that with the economy being what it is now some PR firms may be agreeable to alternative rate structures. Ms. Wolf concluded from her unscientific survey that the further east you go you will find articles on places such as Florida and New Orleans. The west coast markets are friendly with their neighbors and had articles that complimented each other. The articles also fell into buckets: family vacations, outdoor vacations, and getaway vacations for warm and cold weather. R APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Stephanie Loog shared an article from the February 6th LA Times called "More Bang for Your Buck" where a town called Bernal Heights has issued a "Bernal Bucks" card which rewards locals for local shopping. It is like frequent flyer miles for the neighborhood where customers earn "Bernal Bucks" by using the community -branded debit card at participating businesses. Points earned can be redeemed at local businesses or donated to non -profits. Diane Williams has compared housing sales for the past year and found that the housing prices have stabilized, with the price per square foot for homes above $1 M increasing. She feels it is extremely important for the Coachella Valley to separate themselves from the major media markets because the information that is being disseminated is not always accurate. Jennie Rayner indicated that The Living Desert has had the best January ever; February is looking very good, and March will be very busy. The Annual Zoobilee! Gala is on March 4th at The Renaissance Esmeralda. As mentioned last month, The Living Desert is hosting two events for 600 members from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' mid -year meeting March 24th _ 30th C. Staff Justin McCarthy advised that it will probably take a few years to see the net effect of the loss of Redevelopment, which was primarily a capital program with a lot going to debt service for previous capital projects. About $40M was received each year with about 10%, or $4M, to defray operations. The City needs to identify $2 - $4M per year to replicate what the Redevelopment Agency was contributing to the City. Programs are currently being looked at, such as the Courtesy Carts and the Energy Program. Council has elected to retain the Housing component, which is outside of the $40M and has its own revenue stream, so there is a good chance it can defray a good portion of the staffing component that was assigned to Housing. A hole is definitely being blown in the budget. The City Manager is looking at a separation incentive to encourage staff to retire early. There are a number of vacant positions so staff is already being moved to positions that will be retained. At some point there may have to be decisions made regarding staffing levels. Therefore, the process will not be finished until deep into next year's budget cycle, which is starting now. Ms. Harnik added that Council will need to get creative and figure out how to plan for the future. 7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Mr. McCarthy related that much of the infrastructure and physical attributes that make this community what it is, such as the parks and the parking garage at The Gardens, was done with Redevelopment funding. A good portion of the Capital Plan is in place and other ways will have to be found to finance the balance. A key challenge will be economic development. There will be some significant changes in terms of how the City operates. Mr. Spiegel pointed out that without Redevelopment there would be no Tennis Garden, River in Rancho Mirage, or Palm Desert San Bernardino and UCR campuses. However, a lot of projects have been done that don't have to be done again. Adding to the information about Fashion Week, Ruth Ann Moore stated that the designers will be returning the morning after their show to do trunk shows in the tent. This has not been done before and will be free to the public. Wednesday and Saturday nights are already sold out. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Center Report Ms. Gomez was happy to report that sales and visitor numbers are continuing to increase. With two days left in February, visitor numbers are up 16% and sales are even with last year. For Committee review, Ms. Gomez distributed the entire new ad campaign, which has been made available to City Council. She also displayed posters of the existing and prior ad campaigns to compare the photography. Off Madison Ave is starting to incorporate the new campaign into the website. In answer to Diana Williams' question, Ms. Gomez recounted the reasoning for the new campaign theme direction, which was in response to the hoteliers' desire to focus on the weather. Ms. Moore expanded by saying the ads are placed in the Northwest, Canada, Minnesota, Chicago, Denver, and then during the "June gloom" in Los Angeles and San Diego. Mr. McCarthy added that the intent of the radio ads in these markets is that when someone is in a cold climate they will hear that the weather is great and would want to come here. Also, besides the weather there are multiple meanings of "Feel the Warmth", such as the hospitality and, warmth of the community. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 28, 2012 XII. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 3:38 p.m. J e Stanley, RecordirAf Secretary 0