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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarketing Committee - June 19, 2012MA X-J3 02 CALM DESERT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, June 19, 2012 — 2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Sara O'Flynn called the meeting to order at 2:02 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Sara O'Flynn, Chair Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Vice Chair Theresa Maggio Marlane Wolf Stephanie Loog Rolf Hoehn Diane Williams Members Absent: Tim Snyder Jennie Rayner CITY COUNCIL ACTION APPROVED DENIED RECEIVED. OTHER Arlene Amick 11WEET NG DATE AYES Staff /Others Present: NOES: Robert Spiegel, Mayor ABSENT: _kkly.up- Jan Harnik, Councilmember ABSTAIN: Ajoyw- Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager VERIFIED BY: David Hermann, Management Analyst Original on File with City Clerk s Office Ruth Ann Moore, Economic Development Manager Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary Michael Mathews, Palm Springs Life III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MAY 15, 2012. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE JUNE 19, 2012 Theresa Maggio moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the May 15, 2012, meeting. Motion was seconded by Emily Bird-Hrivnak and carried 7-0-3, with Rolf Hoehn, Jennie Rayner and Tim Snyder absent. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. CONTRACT RENEWAL FOR JNS MEDIA SPECIALSITS Referring to the staff report, Donna Gomez stated that the existing contract with JNS allows for a one-year extension with identical terms and conditions. Staff believes JNS has done a great job and is recommending approval of the request, which will go to the City Council. Marlane Wolf moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend approval of a one-year extension of the JNS contract for media buying services under the same terms and conditions. Motion was seconded by Emily Bird-Hrivnak and carried 7-0-3, with Rolf Hoehn, Jennie Rayner and Tim Snyder absent. At this point in the meeting, with Committee concurrence Fashion Week 2013 Request for Funding was addressed. Please see Section VII, Continued Business for discussion and action. B. DIGITAL MARKETING PRESENTATIONS Ms. Gomez noted that the staff report summarized the selection process the subcommittee went through to select the three agencies that will be making presentations today. Ms. Maggio stated that Ms. Gomez did a fabulous job in coordinating the subcommittee. All eight proposals were reviewed in depth. The four local agencies that submitted proposals were disappointing and unfortunately were not chosen. Three agencies each made a fifteen minute presentation, with fifteen minutes for questions afterwards. The three agencies were: • Marketplace Communications (Sacramento, CA) • Off Madison Ave. (Tempe, AZ) • SAESHE (Los Angeles, CA) 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE Overall comments on the agencies: JUNE 19, 2012 The Committee members all agreed that the agencies had different strengths and had very different perspectives. Marketplace Communications: Focus on social media. More relevant, government experience. Facebook campaign is exciting. They would do things differently with a new fresh approach and a lot of energy. Not well- rounded. Off Madison Ave: Focus on functionality, analytics, measurement and digital marketing. More relevant experience. Did not offer as much assistance with public relations and marketing. Brings experience to the table. SAESHE: Focus on content and PR. Did not show people in their photos. Eighteen years of travel experience. Not all about social media. Did not talk about the online component. Did not have out -of -the -box thinking. They recently found out about "Feel the Warmth", even though their taglines were along the same lines. Discussion: Key SOF Sara O'Flynn MW Marlane Wolf EBH Emily Bird Hrivnak DW Diane Williams TM Theresa Maggio RAM Ruth Ann Moore RH Rolf Hoehn DG Donna Gomez SL Stephanie Loog JH Jan Harnik SOF: The subcommittee thought the agencies all stayed within the budget. MW: All three have such distinct strengths. TM: How has OMA been working with Scott Burch? The new ads on the website don't totally incorporate the new ad campaign, such as the type face that was chosen, and there are still stock photos. With OMA's understanding of Google analytics, didn't they know that a year ago? (70% of mobile users leave after the first page.) Love the Hot Deals and bright colors, but the idea of "Feel the Warmth" and the people who are here doesn't show through. TM: People don't understand what's here until they see the photos or until they feel the warmth from the people when they are here. The interaction 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE JUNE 19, 2012 is what we have been missing. From her recent trip to colleges, she saw screens everywhere with student postings of video projects. It would be cool to have a video screen somewhere on El Paseo where pictures could be posted immediately. It would be very interactive and simple. SOF: Is there a natural lifespan when working with an agency — is there a detriment — does there need to be a shift after a while? EBH: Social media is not everything; there has to be a balance — optimizing your website and being mobile is part of your success. Marketplace would bring energy and a youthful side to our area, but I would like to see more ideas besides the social element. Could they develop the other areas we are looking for? All three had their strengths but missed the mark on everything we are looking for. Maybe we were looking for too much. JH: The mobile component is really important. SL: Were you (DG) aware of the mobile issue? DG: This has happened within the last year. OMA told me we need to go mobile for quite some time, but it's a $35,000 investment. There is no money to go mobile this year. TM: $35,000 is a lot of money. Bighorn did a simple three -page mobile app from their flash site for $500. RH: The RFP was for digital marketing, not digital advertising. With the limited available budget, how do we get the biggest bang for the buck? What you need in order to run a digital marketing campaign is constant review, measurement and metrics, and to be able to adapt to change, which requires expertise, tools, and how to use those tools. OMA's expertise is something that carries a lot of value. Going mobile is important; how do we afford it, or what can we afford? Maybe it could be built incrementally. We shouldn't overlook OMA's track record — they have taken direction and have stayed within the budget. The results show it. DG: Marketplace had fresh, great ideas, but everything they were proposing is not within our budget. That would all be extra creative and development costs. They said they would have to contract out some of the work. (website management) OMA has everyone on staff; they have experts in each area. We have a conference call twice a month with the team. It would be easier to stay with OMA, but that isn't a reason to stay with them. Their performance is exemplary; they have been very responsive; they are aware of what needs to be changed and they let me 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE JUNE 19, 2012 know; they keep us up-to-date, and are very professional. I will work with OMA to get more of our ad campaign features onto the website. DG: If you look at the proposed budgets, Marketplace retainer is $120,000 per year, which is $10,000 per month. We currently pay $6,250 per month. The extra amount would eat into the advertising budget. OMA proposes $7,250 per month; SAESHE proposes $9,000 per month. Separate expenses for additional programs with OMA have been about $30,000 this year. David Hermann pointed out that the $2,750 difference per month between OMA and Marketplace would just about cover the mobilization costs. RH: I had asked OMA how important is the mobilization? Would they still recommend it if the mobilization cost was included within the budget parameters instead of an additional cost and they said yes. DG: I have a level of comfort and confidence with OMA because I know they know how to do the job. I would be very confident in going with OMA again. TM: I thought SAESHE was remedial. We spent a lot of time developing our new campaign and we don't need to reinvent the wheel. DG: No one took the initiative to ask for our marketing plan or media plan or existing budget, which is all public information. On a separate note, feedback from JNS is that the new campaign is very positive. JH: I had heard of someone who had just moved to Palm Desert because they saw the "Feel the Warmth" campaign. DW: I would recommend OMA because of their expertise. JH: You have a level of comfort with OMA. Do you feel you could direct them and get what you need from them? Can the committee identify what those needs are to help you? DG: There could be a subcommittee working with staff. OMA has been very responsive. They have the analytics to identify what is not working immediately, and they make a change. I think they would take direction well. SL: I like the idea of a subcommittee. It's overwhelming with the amount of work that you do. Sometimes it's nice to have some brainstorming and to keep a pulse and help to keep everything fine-tuned. 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE JUNE 19, 2012 DW: You want a company that will help you go global with Fashion Week and other events. Sara O'Flynn moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend Off Madison Ave. to City Council as the most qualified agency to provide digital marketing services for FY 2012/2013. Motion was seconded by Rolf Hoehn and passed 8-0-2, with Jennie Rayner and Tim Snyder absent. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. FASHION WEEK 2013 REQUEST FOR FUNDING Donna Gomez pointed out that Michael Mathews had given a thorough presentation at the last meeting and the staff report includes Palm Springs Life's specific funding request for next year's event. The sponsorship request is for $150,000. Staff is recommending a three-year commitment for $75,000 each year because of budget constraints and the possibility of the location not being available in the future. The recommendation would go to City Council on July 12cn Theresa Maggio expressed that this is a huge event for the City and she would like to see the dollar figure increase. She also would like the City of Palm Desert to have a larger presence at the event, showcasing the City to travelers and tourists. Jan Harnik asked the Committee to share their thoughts on why they think Fashion Week is an asset to the City. Sara O'Flynn stated that because it's on El Paseo, activities are enhanced during the event. Fashion Week is strategically positioned between the BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament and the Kraft Nabisco Golf Tournament, and El Paseo stores piggyback off Fashion Week by having in-store events. From a personal perspective she would like to see the top retailers take a bigger part. Theresa Maggio commented that it seems like the El Paseo Merchants Association is sponsoring the event, not the City of Palm Desert. The event has an economic benefit throughout the city. At this point Rolf Hoehn arrived. (2:08 p.m.) Mr. Mathews stated one way that the City could have a presence is in the reception area with whatever the City would like to do. Advertising will be pushed out -of -market through public relations. Everything done via the internet is linkable back to the Palm Desert website, and yes, more 0 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE JUNE 19, 2012 branding could be done. The Food and Wine Festival is still not adequate and could be expanded. Upon question regarding the current event location on Larkspur, Ruth Ann Moore responded that the lot has entitlements for a boutique hotel and a developer has made a proposal to purchase. The earliest for the sale if it were to go through would be April 2013, so Fashion Week 2013 will still be at the Larkspur site. Ms. Gomez stated that staff was looking at the three-year contract as a benefit to keep the event in Palm Desert. If there is also a three-year commitment from Palm Springs Life, then we can work to find them a new location within the city limits instead of seeking another venue. Ms. O'Flynn mentioned that the City has supported the event over the years and has a good relationship with Palm Springs Life. More sponsorships are needed because of the City's budget constraints. Ms. Gomez said the three-year commitment gives everyone a place to go and Palm Springs Life knows what they can financially depend on from the City. There also may be additional expenses if the event has to be relocated, which would be considered at that time. Marlane Wolf moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend funding of Fashion Week El Paseo and Food and Wine Festival Palm Desert with a three-year commitment of $75,000 per year, and the City would work in partnership with Palm Springs Life to secure another location if necessary. Motion was seconded by Rolf Hoehn and passed 8-0-2, with Jennie Rayner and Tim Snyder absent. VI11. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS None X. REPORTS AND REMARKS Ruth Ann Moore updated the Committee on recent store openings. The much anticipated opening of Red Lobster is June 25t". She and Councilmember Harnik went to the ICSC conference earlier this month in Las Vegas and met with Westfield staff while there. They also went to Mastro's in Las Vegas and met the person who will be the manager of the Mastro's that is coming to Palm Desert. Wolfgang Puck will be coming to El Paseo. 7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Center Report Action: Continued to the next meeting. XII. ADJOURNMENT JUNE 19, 2012 With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 4:48 p.m. Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary