Okaloosa County BOCC — October 6, 2015 — SMP Change - Discover America, Garden & Gun — agenda request

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: October 6, 2015 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Ed Schroeder SUBJECT: SMP Change - Discover America, Garden & Gun DEPARTMENT: Tourist Development Department BCC DISTRICT: 2, 4, and 5 STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Request approval to 1) amend Discover America and NPR podcast placements for the leisure campaign and 2) amend Garden & Gun, Coastal Living, and ad serving fees for the co-op campaign. BACKGROUND: First, the adopted Strategic Marketing Plan (SMP) includes $10,000 for a full-page ad in Discover America. This placement is part of a Visit Florida Co-Op partnership, the details of which were not finalized at the time the agency developed the SMP. The placement has now been confirmed at a cost of $11,737 for a half-page ad. The insertion deadline for Discover America is October 2. To offset the additional expense for Discover America, the agency has recommended reducing the NPR podcast buy. This means a reduction of approximately 10,000 impressions from the 2.5M minimum impressions budgeted. Second, the adopted SMP includes three issues of Garden & Gun for the co-op program. The agency recommends canceling the Garden & Gun June/July Great Southern Towns issue and reallocating the funding to expand the Coastal Living September Fall Escape issue full-page ad to a two-page spread to accommodate more partners. The dollars saved from the Garden & Gun insertion total $26,000, of which $24,000 will be allocated to the Coastal Living two-page spread. The number of partners joining the Coastal Living digital partnership in February and March has increased, so a portion of the remaining $2,000 will be reallocated to ad serving fees. Exact dollar amounts will be based on actual partner participation. Pursuant to Section D.200(2) of the Tourist Development Department Operations and Procedures Manual, the Strategic Marketing Plan (SMP) sets forth the proposed marketing activities and expenditures for the year. Any amendments to the SMP shall be reviewed and approved by the Council and the Council’s recommendation presented to the Board for final approval in the form of a Resolution. Staff is seeking TDC and BCC approval for this change, with formal amendment to the SMP quarterly via resolution to memorialize the change. The Tourist Development Council voted to recommend approval for these revisions at its September 24 meeting. OPTIONS: Approve or Disapprove RECOMMENDATION: 1) Approve half-page Discover America ad at a cost of $11,737, and reduce NPR podcast to remain budget-neutral and 2) Approve reallocation of approximately $26,000 from Garden & Gun June/July Great Southern Towns issue to Coastal Living September Fall Escape two-page spread and ad serving fees. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator