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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarketing Cmte - 12-18-2012 �� ■ �' � � ['ALM D ES E RT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, December 18, 2012 —2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Sara O'Flynn called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Ab Sara O'Flynn, Chair Emily Bird-Hri n k c 'r Arlene Amick Stephanie Lo g d Rolf Hoehn Jennie Rayn a °- � Theresa Maggio � � G Tim Snyder � O v `' `f Diane Williams � ��; ma-, Marlane Wolf � �, c � � � Staff/Others Present: = � M Jan Harnik, Mayor Q .- W�-- �� Donna Gomez, Tourism & Marketing Manager '�'� �. C G � � �� �� Martin Alvarez, Economic Development Director �, c � �� , '�: David Hermann, Management Analyst C > ; �.� � `,� '� Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary '" ' "� '� � ,C � �~ ✓: ;'r: �;. =c �„• ; ._ ..a , „ �� �,;,,, ,�- : F .^�.� G,;,;, �"'; ': a fy:,. C u�% �': III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS v � w` r� ` �' Mayor Jan Harnik presented cards to each committee member from the City Council, and thanked them for their time, effort, input, and insight in making our City better. Sara O'Flynn congratulated Mrs. Harnik on becoming Mayor. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF NOVEMBER 20, 2012. Diane Williams moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the November 20, 2012, meeting. Motion was seconded by Rolf Hoehn and carried 7-0-3, with Emily Bird- Hrivnak, Jennie Rayner, and Stephanie Loog absent. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 20, 2012 VI. NEW BUSINESS A. ELECTION OF 2013 OFFICERS � Donna Gomez stated that the election of Chair and Vice-Chair is done in December for the next calendar year. Theresa Maggio nominated Sara O'Flynn as Chairperson, and Ms. O'Flynn accepted the nomination. Sara O'Flynn nominated Theresa Maggio as Vice-Chairperson, which she accepted. Marlane Wolf moved, by Minute Motion, to re-elect Sara O'Flynn as Chairperson of the 2013 Marketing Committee. Motion was seconded by Rolf Hoehn and carried 7-0-3, with Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Jennie Rayner, and Stephanie Loog absent. Sara O'Flynn moved, by Minute Motion, to elect Theresa Maggio as Vice-Chairperson of the 2013 Marketing Committee. Motion was seconded by Rolf Hoehn and carried 7-0- 3, with Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Jennie Rayner, and Stephanie Loog absent. Donna Gomez mentioned that she will be looking at the Committee by- laws, specifically addressing adding a category for an alternate Committee member to represent the larger organizations, such as the JW Marriott or The Living Desert. B. UPDATE ON REAL ESTATE SUBCOMMITTEE Ms. Gomez reported that twelve people met. Representatives from the Realtors Board and other real estate business people came up with various ideas regarding partnering and cross-promoting with the residential real estate market. A few of the concepts are low or no-cost, such as adding Palm Desert property listings and open houses to the e- government website. Another idea is to develop a one-page flyer with the benefits and features of living in Palm Desert. Some of the group will be meeting to discuss what people are asking for when they are looking to purchase property and how to address those needs. Diane Williams explained that real estate agents will be able to add their own personal information to the flyer and will print it themselves. The general consensus at the meeting was that Palm Desert has a lot to offer and needs to be promoted more. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 20, 2012 Ms. Gomez added that when the Realtors Board resumes regular meetings, she would like to host educational meetings with them at Desert Willow to remind them of the benefits of living in Palm Desert. Marlane Wolf suggested having an educational seminar geared toward people who may wish to purchase a second home. Ms. Gomez said she had met with Nancy Samuelson, who is the City of Indian Wells' Director of Marketing and Community Relations and heads their real estate program. After reviewing the program, elements were chosen that are more relevant to Palm Desert and low cost, such as education and training. No action taken. C. DISCUSSION OF CANADIAN MARKET Ms. Gomez reminded the Committee that at the last meeting Sara O'Flynn mentioned having been contacted by a vendor representing the Canadian market. The program analytics in item D will indicate the activity in that market. Ms. O'Flynn expressed that she had been contacted by a representative from a Canadian digital publication after several of the Gardens' store managers told her how important the Canadian market is. No action taken. D. PRESENTATION OF MARKETING PROGRAM ANALYTICS Ms. Gomez reviewed the November report from JNS Advertising. The program started out strong in October with some great exposure and added value in the target markets. Rolf Hoehn suggested that at some future time the report should show the dollar amount for the added value. Ms. Gomez then reviewed the October digital report from Off Madison Ave. Some highlights are that the "events" page gets the most hits, proving that people want to know what is happening in the area. Canadian users have gone up nearly 10% this year. Efforts have been focused on the Southern California drive market because of the limited budget. The analytics are providing justification to increase the budget for specific programs, and the Canadian market may be one. International users are up 19%, which does not include Canada. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 20, 2012 Upon question from Mr. Hoehn, Ms. Gomez explained that the 2 conversion points that are measured are to either sign up for the email club or request a vacation guide. The low conversion rate is an indication that since the website is not yet mobilized, people leave the site rather than filling out information from their mobile device. Noticing that the October conversion rates were lower, Ms. Gomez had challenged OMA to address this. They were already aware of the lower numbers and made some changes, such as the banner ads and landing pages. Ms. Gomez then distributed more detailed analytics, which would be considered a quarterly report, and reviewed the results from the various pages. Theresa Maggio noted the "Visits by Region" report and asked if the "Remaining US" metric could be more detailed. She mentioned that their website is seeing more traffic from New York, which had not been seen before. Upon question, the Committee agreed that the 2-page summary is sufficient, and the more detailed report would be reviewed quarterly. Mr. Hoehn recommended that OMA research the best practices for what works best for conversion on mobile devices. Ms. Gomez stated that as part of OMA's contract they produced a strategy for social media and PR. They developed a media calendar, which will require staff time to implement. Mr. Hoehn added that the most common conversions on mobile devices are downloading coupons and bar codes. Ms. Maggio referenced the Bighorn app that links directly to their event calendar and suggested an editorial calendar be done for Fashion Week. Ms. Harnik said that the charities involved in Fashion Week could be promoted as well. Ms. Gomez reported that she had found another Facebook page called "Palm Desert CA" that has over 10,000 fans. She challenged OMA to reach those fans and to better identify our website as the official tourism site for Palm Desert. No action taken. 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 20, 2012 VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS Mayor Jan Harnik conveyed that there are two new members to the City Council who bring new vision, skills, and talents, and they will be wonderful for Palm Desert. She also reminded everyone that Cruise Night on EI Paseo will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Fridays of the month through the season. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Sara O'Flynn reported that retail sales are up 3-4% over last year and foot traffic is up slightly. The 2-hour "Paws and Claws" event outdid the finro 3- hour "Playtime with Santa" events. B. Committee Members Rolf Hoehn stated that at the last CVB Board meeting hotels reported continued increases, which confirms what is being reported from the Airport Commission. Advance bookings for the tennis tournament hotel packages are selling out. Theresa Maggio was happy to report that the Bighorn BAM "Miracle on EI Paseo" was very successful with 870 attendees. More restaurants participated and sales were reported to be up 35% over last year. Last week Diane Williams pulled a report for south Palm Desert regarding non-gated communities and residential homes. For properties greater than 3,000 square feet the average sale price in 2011 was $580k and this year it's just under $750k. For smaller homes there has been a 5.6% price increase. Arlene Amick does not have numbers to compare with last year but the Museum is busy. The Sculpture Garden is installed and has brought in quite a few people as well. Events will start up in February. The museum 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 20, 2012 will be participating in Modernism Week and will be hosting the after-party for opening night of Fashion Week along with Pacifica and Mastro's. C. Staff Martin Alvarez updated the Committee regarding the City-owned property on Larkspur where Fashion Week is held. The State of California will let the City know sometime after April what can be done with the site. David Hermann said that the 2013 City calendars have been completed and are being distributed throughout the community. Ms. Gomez said that Tim Snyder has provided names of people who could serve on a restaurant sub-committee to discuss a restaurant promotion. The sub-committee will meet after the first of the year. The JW Marriott may have an opportunity to host about 140 convention and travel planners in April and the City will be looking at ways to participate. Mr. Hoehn added that the Tennis Gardens will host tennis clinics with that group. A co-op program for February and March with the JW Marriott in the Canadian market has been approved. The media plan and ad design are completed. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Center Report Ms. Gomez is happy with the numbers for the Visitor Center. Sales are up partially due to expanded merchandise. Staff finally had a chance during late summer to visit all the shops along EI Paseo to let them know about their presence and the services that are available. Ms. Gomez said that another opportunity that is available is a link on the website for coupons. The header was created for the Dine Out promotion. That link is available for offers within Palm Desert to keep it interesting and active. Marlane Wolf suggested soliciting coupons for new businesses to be added to the website. XII. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 3:25 p.m. J e Stanley, Rec ding Secretary 6