Okaloosa County BOCC — Sep 9, 2013 — reading text

higher or lower budget plan. Mr. Craul said he preferred to address the plans line by line. He mentioned some different options such as Beach TV and its Atlanta and New Orleans channels instead of or in addition to cable, to cut the budget. He also commented that he didn’t believe lights at the Armament Museum would attract visitors. Mr. Rice queried the firm about fleshing out the calendar with events that are already locally offered, or plan to capitalize on them instead of continuing to plan new events. Mr. Mayer agreed the firm has solicited and is happy to add such events to the working calendar. Ms. Joyce showed concern that there was a lot of things to be done and she is worried there is not enough time. She queried Mr. Mayer on the ability to pull the campaign off at this stage in the year. Mr. Mayer and Ms. Clarke underscored they believe it is the right move and absolutely “doable,” however they underscored the need for a team effort. Mr. Gossom added it would be a build and that has to start somewhere. His question was how much to spend in the beginning and what areas are to focus on. Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 4 of 9 Packet Pg. 213  2.a Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of Sep 9, 2013 2:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale Peterson Ms. Joyce agreed it was a good idea, but wanted to go with the lower option in view of the late date. Mr. Mayer identified that the firm is extremely flexible in their planning; the only rigid part is the time frame for approval to implement. Mr. Rice shared how looking back on the birth of his restaurant, he wished he would have invested in certain areas more to further its success. He also shared that the firm was hired for this campaign specifically, and they should be allowed to put this plan into action. He concluded by saying, ‘It will take some extra money to get it done and they should be allowed to do so.’ Rebecca Job, Dale Peterson Vacations; She believes the firm has some great ideas. She said that it’s a lot of money to spend and a little too late. She stated the budget for the campaign should be cut back significantly. She previously proposed a budget of $200,000 for the campaign. She added the money could be allocated better to other areas, not all lumped into December and not built up enough yet. Atlanta has a one week fall break, a lot of feeder markets. She conceded that Beach TV is a great medium to take advantage of. Lastly, she asked if the TDC staff is engaged, asking if they will be helping to run these events. Ms. Joyce stated that the lodging partners are speaking loudly and said it is too late to pull the support from the community to make this campaign successful. Mr. Peterson agreed that “A Very Emerald Christmas” is coming. He believes the committee should spend the money judiciously, though. He stated that the job of the committee is renewing and growing the tourism industry. He concluded by saying the Council needs to listen to the lodging partners and not spend as much money on this campaign. Motion to Approve the recommendation of the 2013 “A Very Emerald Christmas” Marketing Plan to the BoCC, Option 1, Budget Up to $525,000 RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [BY MAJORITY 5:3] MOVER: Rice SECONDER: Foreman (Dixon) AYES: Empson, Rigdon, Foreman (Dixon) NAYES: Windes, Peterson, Joyce b. Proposed Co-op Advertising Strategy 2013 – 2014 Ms. Kempner began by discussing upcoming planning for co-op opportunities. Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 5 of 9 Packet Pg. 214  2.a Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of Sep 9, 2013 2:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale Peterson Objective: Develop partnership opportunities with Visit Florida for local accommodations to participate with TDD Campaign Timing: Oct 1, 2013 - Sept 30, 2014 Budget: $106,645 Ms. Landry continued the section by reviewing the breakdown of co-op opportunities. Ms. Joyce shared a concern that some of the opportunities are not cost effective for the smaller properties. Ms. Kempner said digital is more cost efficient; however, it is possible to split others by more partners to cut the costs down more. Joyce said the sooner the information became available the better, because everyone in the industry is in the middle of budgeting and needs the information to forecast. Motion to Approve the recommendation of the Proposed Co-Op Print Budget of $106,645 to the BoCC RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Joyce SECONDER: Gossom AYES: Empson, Rigdon, Windes, Rice, Peterson, Foreman (Dixon) c. Provide input on establishment of a singular large advertising campaign for all of 2013 – 2014 (versus 5 season campaigns proposed in budget outline) Mr. Mayer provided some statistics to the committee about the average visitor, their income and the time of the season they visit the destination. He reviewed the previous meeting’s discussion on focusing more and attracting more affluent visitors. He queried the board on making a definitive decision on the matter. Commissioner Windes responded that he has received many comments on the matter and would be in favor of sliding the target audience up to $75,000. Mr. Peterson, questioned, of the people in each income bracket that currently visit, how many are in their party? Mr. Mayer said 20% of visitors are within the $50,000-$75,000 household income. Mr. Gossom asked how a change in minimum income brackets from $50,000 to $75,000 would change the plan. Ms. Landry stated there is not much difference in the initial plan. What may change later on would be the list of print advertising. Television would stay the same. There may be a change on the digital side. Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 6 of 9 Packet Pg. 215  2.a Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of Sep 9, 2013 2:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale Peterson The committee agreed to move the target income up to $75,000. Mr. Mayer then reviewed the question of brand identification. He stated that testing of branding and taglines showed a definite confusion from visitors on what qualified as the Emerald Coast. Mr. Mayer suggested the use of “The Heart of the Emerald Coast: Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island.” Among those queried, this identifier was the preferred method to solve the geographic challenge. He went on to say the wording “Identifies us as being the epicenter… the very heart and the best part.” He added the usage of the word heart brings to mind warmth and heat, life. Finally, he showed a slide with an image of the suggested branding. Commissioner Windes showed support for the idea and requested feedback from the public. Mr. Craul stated he liked the ‘heart part’ and he has seen other TDCs take advantage of the use of the Emerald Coast brand and geographical confusion of visitors. He concluded by suggesting the firm subtract the Okaloosa Island part. He stated it helped the logo esthetically, but many people don’t know what or where Okaloosa Island is. Mr. Martin liked the idea, also. He added that Okaloosa Island doesn’t come up in the top 100 listing for keywords associated with the area anyway. Ms. Richardson and Ms. Joyce agreed with the previous comments. An unidentified woman suggested the addition of a map identifying our location. Ms. Kempner mentioned the firm is exploring the map idea. Mr. Mayer requested the board approve the change in branding, minus the Okaloosa Island discussion. The board unanimously agreed with his request and asked the firm to move forward with the initiative. Ms. Kempner continued the meeting by stating the firm would like to know what time of the year the committee suggests the firm begin planning for each season. The firm plans on incorporating this information in the annual plan they will propose in three weeks. Shoulder Season Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 7 of 9 Packet Pg. 216  2.a