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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarketing Cmte - 05-21-2013 1� � � l'ALM DESEI�.T PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, May 21, 2013 —2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Sara O'Flynn called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. Jeffrey Norman was sworn in by City Clerk Rachelle Klassen. He was appointed to the Marketing Committee by the City Council on April 25, 2013. Mr. Norman introduced himself as the Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the McCallum Theatre. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Sara O'Flynn, Chair Arlene Amick Theresa Maggio, Vice-Chair Emily Bird-Hrivnak Rolf Hoehn Stephanie Loog Jeffrey Norman Nyla Patzner CITY COUNCILACTION Tim Snyder APPROVF,D 1)I?NIF.D Diane Williams RECEIVED '� File� oTHF,it Marlane Wolf MF,ETING DATE �- a�-a 0�3 Staff/Others Present: AYES:�ns�►�.���l,�'�r�er� ��1 Pher a�nr� Robert Spiegel, Council Member NOEs: ����►� Van Tanner, Council Member ABSENT: �o�P.,,_. Donna Gomez, Tourism & Marketing BSTAIN: b Economic Develo me �-��D BY: y c Martin Alvarez, P t un File with Cit Clcrk's fice David Hermann, Management Analyst Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF APRIL 16, 2013. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 21, 2013 Theresa Maggio moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the April 16, 2013, meeting as presented. Motion was seconded by Marlane Wolf and carried 7-0-4, with Arlene Amick, Emily Bird-Hrivnak, Stephanie Loog, and Rolf Hoehn absent. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. CONSIDERATION OF MARKETING PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013/14 Donna Gomez summarized that the Marketing Plan will direct, guide, and � set the strategy for the next fiscal year. It includes the impact of tourism, brand statement, overall objectives, target markets, strategies to achieve the objectives, and budget allocations. Upon question from Mr. Spiegel, Ms. Gomez reported that the general advertising budget for La Quinta is $210k compared to Palm Desert's $645k. Palm Springs' total budget is $1.9M, Indian Wells' is $1.6M, and Rancho Mirage's is a little over $1 M. She will provide more information at the next meeting so the breakdown can be compared. Marlane Wolf made an observation that in the past year, hoteliers and real estate people provided valuable information to assist in the City's marketing efforts. She inquired if the same could be done next year with other key target groups. Ms. Gomez then informed the Committee that an Economic Development Strategic Plan has been developed by Ruth Ann Moore and has been approved by the City Council. Ms. Gomez will invite Ms. Moore to make a presentation at the next meeting to explain the plan. Marketing and tourism are mentioned various times in the plan. The Marketing Plan under consideration today needs to remain flexible because elements of the Economic Development Strategic Plan will need to be incorporated as the strategic plan moves forward. Also, with the assistance of the National Civic League, the City is in the beginning phase of developing a 20-Year Strategic Plan. Tourism and Marketing are part of that plan as well, and Ms. Gomez will be assisting with that portion. She will provide updates to the Committee and will share the final plan. David Hermann stated that meetings will take place through the beginning of December to formulate the 20-Year Strategic Plan. The plan will go 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 21, 2013 before the City Council for approval a few months after the meetings are completed. About 100 volunteers from the community will participate. The plan is called Envision Palm Desert— Forward Together. Teresa Maggio praised Ms. Gomez for a tremendous job on the Marketing Plan, pointing out that the targets are focused and the ads look great. Because the Valley is so event-oriented, she suggested that a portable kiosk at some local events would extend the friendliness of Palm Desert and provide a personal touch. Ms. Gomez pointed out that because of limited staff, opportunities for a City presence at events are lost. She would be happy to incorporate something like a portable kiosk into the Marketing Plan. Nyla Patzner mentioned that recently she investigated a portable, Wi-Fi capable kiosk with a cost of about $3,000. Ms. Gomez asked Ms. Patzner to share the information with her. Councilmember Van Tanner inquired if a kiosk would be provided as a service or if it would be used to generate revenue. Ms. Gomez responded by saying the City typically provides everything as a service to the community, but selling ads could be looked into. Rolf Hoehn suggested having a business finance part of the content if they are part of it. Marlane Wolf moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend approval of the Fiscal Year 2013/2014 Marketing Plan incorporating the idea of a portable kiosk. Motion was seconded by Rolf Hoehn and carried 8-0-3, with Arlene Amick, Emily Bird-Hrivnak, and Stephanie Loog absent. B. CONSIDERATION OF DIGITAL MEDIA PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013/14 Referring to the media plan, Ms. Gomez stated that the philosophy and strategy are very similar to last year, which is to identify and target people in various stages of travel planning. 29% of the digital dollars are for those who are looking into travel; 38% of the budget is for those who are lap nninq their trip; 25% for those bookin a trip; and 8% for in-market advertising. Based upon research done by Off Madison Ave. indicating a major drop- off in activity in April, a change was made to the timeline. The program will run October to March instead of October to April, which will allow for more buying power. The target audience is the same: 30+ years old, $100k 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 21, 2013 average household income, and the southern California market. A little more funding will go towards the Canadian and New York markets. Ms. Gomez is working closely with the CVB so as to not duplicate efforts. However, the CVB has been working on one project at a time so it has been hard to plan. Another reason for the plan to be flexible is to coordinate with the CVB's media buys. Rolf Hoehn mentioned that the CVB's new summer program is "Chilling Out in the Summer," and will link to local hotels. Key to the program is the LA and Orange County markets as well as television spots on KABC. Ms. Gomez distributed the media buys spreadsheet, which she had just received yesterday. Orbitz and Trip Advisor were very successful and will be repeated. New buys are in Google Display Network and Sojourn. Responding to question, Ms. Gomez explained to Jeffrey Norman how results are measured and tracked quarterly. He added that he has been a regular visitor to Palm Springs and in-market advertising should be a focus. Ms. Maggio suggested that a "Visitor Guide" button be easily seen on all the landing pages. Rolf Hoehn moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend approval of the 2013/2014 Digital Media Plan as presented. Motion was seconded by Diane Williams and carried 8-0-3, with Arlene Amick, Emily Bird-Hrivnak, and Stephanie Loog absent. C. CONSIDERATION OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013/14 Ms. Gomez stated that the 4 main media buy areas managed by JNS Advertising are the Visitor Center, co-ops, print, and radio. The ads are typically in the feeder markets and local publications. New magazines this year are San Francisco and Denver. Radio ads with Clear Channel are 30-seconds piggybacked onto weather and traffic reports. Diane Williams moved, by Minute Motion, to recommend approval of the 2013/2014 Traditional Media Plan as presented. Motion was seconded by Marlane Wolf and carried 8-0-3, with Arlene Amick, Emily Bird-Hrivnak, and Stephanie Loog absent. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 21, 2013 VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS Councilmember Robert Spiegel made note of the fact that the City provided airfare for the recent visit by convention planners to the JW Marriott, and is hopeful that the visit will prove to be fruitful. He distributed a photo of a 30-foot decorated Christmas tree, which has been chosen by the Holiday Decorations Committee to be placed in front of the Gardens for the holidays. 37 lamp posts along EI Paseo will also be wrapped with lights. The City Council will be considering the recommendations at a future Council meeting. Mr. Spiegel issued a challenge to the Committee. November 26, 2013, marks the 40t" anniversary of the incorporation of Palm Desert. He challenged the Committee to provide some ideas for what can be done for the residents. Ms. Maggio mentioned that the "Miracle on EI Paseo" is scheduled for November 23�d, and maybe something could be done then. Diane Williams also suggested a Christmas tree decorating contest for kids in a park setting. Mr. Spiegel reported that construction in the north sphere is up 42%. The May 18t" "Swim to Win" event brought in 2,000 people, where past Olympic swimmers gave free swimming lessons at the Aquatic Center. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Sara O'Flynn stated that the Gardens is winding up a good season — better than last year. They are looking forward to renovations, including the center lawn area, interior landscaping, and the dirt paths. The renovation project will be done by November. B. Committee Members Rolf Hoehn related that the construction of the second stadium at the Tennis Garden is on schedule. The outside will be complete by the end of the summer. In spite of the whole area being a major construction site, they were able to host the Leadership Coachella Valley group last Friday. 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 21, 2013 Theresa Maggio remarked that Bighorn had a very busy season, wherein her staff held 100 events and the catering staff held 200 private events. Bighorn BAM raised $750k for the Eisenhower Center. Sara O'Flynn noted that the recent Bighorn Ladies' Home Tour was the best one yet. Tim Snyder is looking forward to the upcoming Restaurant Week. Business has been down a little but not as bad as they thought it might be. Nyla Patzner reported that The Living Desert did better than they thought they would. Their summer promotion is called "Zoo Chill" and will be on the first Saturday of the month, June through September. Two thousand people attended "Brew at the Zoo." Diane Williams stated there is a strong housing market, but buyers are more demanding. The housing inventory is low and appraisals don't support the current market conditions. She then added that Leadership Coachella Valley is one of the most beneficial programs she has participated in. Marlane Wolf gave Ms. Gomez a recent document done by Duane Knapp. Jeffrey Norman declared that the McCallum has finished its Silver Anniversary season. In June there will be a week-long summer session for educators where partnerships with Coachella Valley schools are planned for the upcoming school year. The McCallum was named the number one performance venue in California for the first quarter, selling 91.5% of their tickets. He would like to meet everyone on the Committee in order for the McCallum to develop more partnerships. Responding to Mr. Spiegel's question, Mr. Norman said cooling the building in the summer is cost prohibitive for having additional events. They are hosting the 1St Annual Palm Desert International Dance Festival, which will be for 2 weeks in November and will incorporate the Choreography Festival. Three very popular dance companies will be included; Jabbawockeez, Lulu Washington Dance Company, and Les Ballets de Jazz de Montreal. The hope is that this could become a destination event for the City. Upon question from Rolf Hoehn, he responded that the McCallum is not required to charge admission as long as the costs are covered. C. Staff Martin Alvarez informed the Committee that he is working on a property management plan which encompasses all the former Redevelopment 6 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE MAY 21, 2013 Agency properties. Those properties will be put on the market and sold to pay off the bonds. There has already been interest in the various types of properties, which total close to 500 acres. He offered to bring the plan to the Committee once it is completed. Mr. Spiegel added that the State of California has approved transferring adjacent acreage UCR, but not to Cal State. Mr. Alvarez said transferring the 120 acres adjacent to Cal State is part of the property management plan. Ms. Gomez has been working with the YMCA to brand the Palm Desert Aquatic Center. She distributed images of the logo and website landing pages that have been developed. Van Tanner added that it is a great looking logo. Ms. Maggio thanked staff for the new left-turn lane on Magnesia Falls into the Aquatic Center. Mr. Spiegel added that 2 more left-turn lanes are planned for this summer, one by the McCallum and by the Red Lobster on Fred Waring and Highway 111. Also, Highway 111 will be resurfaced this summer. The May 13t" Amgen Tour of California tour gave the City great exposure on NBC Sports with a very low investment. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Center Report Sales continue to grow, but visitor numbers are not. The month of May will mark one year since the Visitor Center has been closed on Sundays. B. JNS Advertising April 2013 Report No discussion. XII. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m. � � ���� Jart Stanley, Recor ' g Secretary 7