Okaloosa County BOCC — Aug 29, 2013 — reading text

Tourist Development Council 1540 Miracle Strip Parkway Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 Regular Meeting http://www.okaloosafl.com ~ Agenda ~ Monday, September 9, 2013 2:00 PM Emerald Coast Convention Center Council Members & Staff Dale E. Peterson Chairman Thomas Rice Vice-Chairman Daniel Empson Owner, Harry T's Lighthouse Restaurant Thom Gossom Owner, Best Gurl, Inc. - Mktg & Comm. Firm Joe Guidry Manager, Ramada Plaza Beach & RV Resorts Rachel Joyce General Manager, Hampton Inn Kelly Windes Commissioner District 5 Honorable Tuffy Dixon City of Destin Representative Honorable Charles Rigdon City of FWB Representative Daniel O'Byrne Director, Tourist Development Department, Okaloosa Lynn Hoshihara TDD Attorney Greg Stewart TDD Attorney Pledge of Allegiance and Welcome (Dale Peterson - Chairman) I. Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale Peterson - Chairman) a. Tourist Development Council - Regular Meeting - Aug 29, 2013 2:00 PM II. Consider Peter Mayer Advertising Initiatives / Go Forward Strategy (Peter Mayer Advertising) TDC Co-Op and Christmas a. A Very Emerald Christmas Campaign - 2013 b. Proposed Co-Op Advertising Strategy 2013 - 2014 c. Provide input on establishment of a singular large advertising campaign for all of 2013 - 2014 (versus 5 seasonal campaigns proposed in budget outline) III. Schedule next TDC Meeting (Dale Peterson / Dan O'Byrne) IV. Public Comment a. General (3 minutes each) V. Adjourn Tourist Development Council Page 1 Printed 9/10/2013  1.a Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department 1540 Miracle Strip Parkway Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of Aug 29, 2013 3:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale Regular Meeting http://www.okaloosafl.com ~ Minutes ~ Thursday, August 29, 2013 2:00 PM Emerald Coast Convention Center Tourist Development Committee Members Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Departed Dale E. Peterson Chairman Present - - Thomas Rice Vice-Chairman Present - - Rachel Joyce Present - - Daniel Empson Present - - Thom Gossom Absent - - Joe Guidry Present - - Tuffy Dixon Destin Councilman Present - - Charles Rigdon FWB Councilman Present - - Kelly Windes Commissioner District 5 Present - - Daniel O'Byrne Director Present - - Greg Stewart & Present - - TDD Attorney Lynn Hoshihara Mr. Mark Mayer Michelle Clarke & Peter Mayer Advertising Present - - Ellen Kempner Mr. Peterson called the meeting to order at 2:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed everyone to the meeting. I. Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale Peterson- Chairman) Mr. O’Byrne requested the previous month’s meeting minutes have a single change to specify that Mr. Rice called the meeting to order at 2:01pm and then Mr. Peterson introduced Ms. Joyce. Motion to Approve, July 25, 2013 TDC Meeting Minutes RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Rice SECONDER: Dixon AYES: Empson, Joyce, Guidry, Rigdon, Windes, Peterson II. Peter Mayer Advertising Update / Go Forward Strategy Workshop (Peter Mayer Advertising) Mr. Peterson stated the meeting’s agenda would be a briefing by the Peter Mayer firm explaining the marketing campaign. He added that public comment and questions would Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 1 Packet Pg. 2  1.a Regular Meeting Minutes AUGUST 29, 2013 be allowed, in addition to the normal queries by committee members, during the briefing. Each individual would be limited to one three- minute opportunity to share their Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of Aug 29, 2013 3:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale concerns, comments, or questions. Mr. Mayer began by stating he and his colleagues would share what they have already done on the marketing campaign, what the results of those efforts have been, and what they are planning in the future. Mr. Mayer paused to share some information about the firm. Located in Louisiana, the firm has been in business for more than 45 years and boasts a staff of 200 employees. The company is particularly strong in the areas of hospitality and tourism, added Mr. Mayer. He went on to say the company has represented many well known companies such as the Waldorf Astoria in New York, Louisiana State Office of Tourism, South Seas Tourism, Sonesta Corporation and Cruiseline. Short Term Objectives: 1) To enhance Emerald Coast brand and drive visitation. 2) Position Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and Okaloosa Island as a top regional destination for leisure groups and meetings. 3) Design and create and launch a best in class tourism website for Okaloosa County. 4) Create a new visitation season that drives business form Thanksgiving to New Year’s. • Very Emerald Christmas; Mr. Mayer stated he believed there is great potential in this area 5) Leverage event and festivals to drive repeat visitation. Long Term Objectives: 1) Position Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island as one of the best beaches in America. 2) Increase visitation during the non-peak months. 3) Measure ROI through research and trends to increase visitation and revenue. 4) Pursue and secure positive media coverage with national and international leisure, groups and meetings/publications. Target Audience Profile Demographics • Adults • 25-64 • Annual HH income of $50,000, skewing higher Mindset/Lifestyle: • Frequent travelers, for a three night stay. Interested in niche attributes; fishing, shopping, beach, culinary opportunities. Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 2 Packet Pg. 3  1.a Regular Meeting Minutes AUGUST 29, 2013 Media Markets • Within a single day’s drive, regional markets Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of Aug 29, 2013 3:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale National Travel Trends • 2/3 of U.S. internet users will research travel via digital channels in 2013 • Nearly 50 million U.S. consumers will research travel on smartphones and tablets in 2013 • Adults traveling in 2013 remain stagnant, only 4 out of 10 traveling • U.S. travelers are taking slightly fewer trips in 2013, down from three to 2.8 • Holidays of seven nights or longer represent a quarter of all travel. Florida is doing better than 2013 national average for travel. In first six months of this year 50 million travelers came to Florida. This is a slight increase from 2012. Next, Ms. Clarke spoke about the Spring Shoulder Season campaign. Objective: • Drive visitation from post-Spring Break to Memorial Day • EmeraldCoastOffers.com, no previous webpage or landing zone Timeframe: March 19- May 27 Budget: $244,316 Results: Very top level; over 50M impressions, over 134,000 clicks Mr. Peterson queried if the entire budget for this season’s campaign went solely to the website/take-overs. Ms. Clarke stated it did not and proceeded by providing the breakout for the entire campaign. She explained less than 20% of budget went to OTA’s. Ms. Joyce queried the method used to direct traffic from OTA’s to individual vendors. Ms. Joyce asked if all banner ads directed traffic back to EmeraldCoastOffers.com, Ms. Clarke stated that was correct. Ms. Kempner continued the presentation by briefing the group on the Summer