Okaloosa County BOCC — June 26, 2014 — reading text

about last 18 year was putting together and integrating marketing 19 campaign. A total campaign. 20 MR. GUIDRY: Yeah. 21 MR. GOSSOM: You could maybe do some things on the 22 fly, you could maybe do as you get into it, and you cross 23 integrate all the different markets and so forth, so on. 24 There are probably maybe some things that slip through 25 the cracks, but hopefully you guys will catch it. Destin Reporting & Technology Group (850) 837-5078 scheduling@destinreporting.com Packet Pg. 62  1.a 57 1 MR. GUIDRY: That's why we have these sessions. Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of May 29, 2014 2:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale 2 And I think they're paying attention. 3 MS. JOYCE: Yeah, I -- I mean -- you know, it's not 4 -- I'm in no way saying they have not done an amazing 5 job. 6 MR. GUIDRY: No, I think you bring up really good 7 things -- 8 MS. JOYCE: -- we have two different meetings. 9 It's just, you know, my concern is, are we putting the 10 dollars in the areas and on those seasons. Specifically, 11 you know, is the plan going out for what we know will get 12 the business in the off seasons? It was just a question. 13 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: And I don't know how y'all's 14 numbers are looking, but our -- our fall season is 15 already looking strong -- stronger than in the past 16 pace-wise. So that -- that's been working. 17 MS. JOYCE: It's too soon for hotels. 18 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: It's been too soon. It's been 19 a tough year this year to look at our numbers. But as I 20 think that -- you know, October, you still do have 21 leisure market. You still have a fishing rodeo, you 22 still have a Seafood Festival. You still have a mullet 23 festival. 24 You know, you have things going on in October, 25 September/October. November, I can see, you know, Destin Reporting & Technology Group (850) 837-5078 scheduling@destinreporting.com Packet Pg. 63  1.a 58 1 looking for some way to bring somebody in here in Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of May 29, 2014 2:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale 2 November. You know, which is -- it can still be a very 3 pretty month. 4 MR. SCHROEDER: Mr. Chairman, if I could? 5 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: Yes. 6 MR. SCHROEDER: On leisure travel, our 7 advertising's going to carry all heavy water to win that 8 customer. It's going to be 85, 90, 95% because of the 9 ads they see, and we see them over, and over, and over, 10 and we get it. 11 On the group side, it's a little different. Our -- 12 our advertising is not as impactful to move a group to 13 come down here. So we don't have as much advertising 14 paid just for the group business. 15 What we do have is a very robust sales schedule. 16 And if we are successful in getting groups here, it's 17 because that meeting planner has developed a relationship 18 with our salesperson, or with Rachel and her salesperson, 19 and they're buying that person as much as they are the 20 property or the destination. They're buying that 21 salesperson. They're putting all the eggs in that basket 22 that that salesperson can make the dream happen that they 23 claim they can. 24 So seeing that, our -- our emphasis is on the 25 direct sales being out there in the Southeast, being at Destin Reporting & Technology Group (850) 837-5078 scheduling@destinreporting.com Packet Pg. 64  1.a 59 1 the shows, going on trade missions, going on sales Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of May 29, 2014 2:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale 2 missions, bringing those people here and developing those 3 relationships, you take those two together, I think we've 4 got a -- I think we have a strong group campaign. 5 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: See, this -- this goes back to 6 the mentality of staff directing these. You know, 7 because there's a bunch of condo people that also do 8 groups, you know, that have the facilities. You know 9 it's not just the hotels that look for groups. 10 MR. GUIDRY: Right. 11 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: You know, we have -- there's 12 restaurants onsite, a number of the hotels. It -- you 13 know, I think the -- I think it's a good plan, I think 14 everybody's covered. Can we tweak it? All our lives we 15 always will. You know, but I think, you know, good 16 points. But I think we're all in this together for the 17 county. 18 MS. JOYCE: Absolutely. 19 MR. GUIDRY: If I can just throw out one more thing 20 since we opened this up. 21 On Friday morning, last Friday morning, I was 22 sitting at 80% for the weekend, okay? And we sold out. 23 Three nights we sold out. Now, to pick up 20% of our 24 occupancy -- starting on Friday, the day of -- you know, 25 I mean, people would -- when we were talking about March Destin Reporting & Technology Group (850) 837-5078 scheduling@destinreporting.com Packet Pg. 65  1.a 60 1 earlier, what you didn't mention was we also had the Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of May 29, 2014 2:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale 2 worst March weather that we've ever had. It was terrible 3 here. 4 You do any fishing in March this year? 5 MS. WINDES: Not much. 6 MR. GUIDRY: And it just becomes -- that booking 7 window just gets so narrow, and narrow, and narrow. And 8 the job is to get our message out there to where it is in 9 the people's mind to where they're going to make that 10 decision at the very last minute, oh, let's go to the 11 beach; where are they going to think of? Emerald Coast. 12 You know. That is just a daunting challenge, you 13 know. It's probably going to give me gray hair before 14 this I mean ... 15 (Laughter). 16 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: Me too. 17 MR. GUIDRY: You too. 18 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: It's been very tough this year. 19 Very tough to figure. 20 MS. WINDES: Had to open that up. 21 MR. GUIDRY: I'm like that. 22 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: Let's move along. 23 MS. CLARKE: Okay. 24 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: Thank you. 25 MS. CLARKE: Thank you. We do value that feedback. Destin Reporting & Technology Group (850) 837-5078 scheduling@destinreporting.com Packet Pg. 66  1.a 61 1 And to everyone's point, this is absolutely correct. We Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of May 29, 2014 2:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale 2 will tweak this as we go on, we continue to look at the 3 numbers, things need to shift. This is a fluid plan. 4 But to your point, it's a base plan for now to get us 5 going. 6 CHAIRMAN PETERSON: Yeah. 7 MS. CLARKE: So this is the overall first kind of 8 budget option. The second one that we'll go through in a 9 second is an incremental spending. And with that we kind 10 of mentioned earlier still, but incremental spending in 11 terms of digital items. 12 So if you want -- do you want to take -- 13 MS. DUNWORTH: Yeah. So this is our annual 14 consolidated marketing plan. We are at this time 15 anticipating to spend about $3.3 million for promotional 16 activities. These are expenses that are classified as 17 promotional activities in the chart of accounts. 18 And so if we see in the 1.9 million there towards 19 middle, the media campaign, that is what the agency just 20 went over, the slides that you saw with all of those 21 details. The sum of all of that is 1.9 million. 22 So some other aspects that are part of the 23 strategic marketing plan are promotional items and 24 collateral, which that includes items that are given away 25 at trade show, sales calls, sell of commission, and as a Destin Reporting & Technology Group (850) 837-5078 scheduling@destinreporting.com Packet Pg. 67  1.a 62 1 hand-out at the visitor's center, convention center, and Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of May 29, 2014 2:00 PM (Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale 2 other types of activities of that nature. Then we have 3 some local events, promotional activities that may 4 include, like, the sock hop that we did this year, some 5 Snowbird welcome events, those types of local events that 6 we put on here. 7 Then we have the trade show fees, and this is what 8 Ed alluded to earlier. This is the cost of the hard 9 trade show registration fees and such associated with our 10 internal sales team, the destination marketing team and 11 the convention center marketing team going out there 12 marketing our convention center, and our location, our 13 destination. 14 Then we have the advertising agencies that are base 15 services and their travel fees; some agency time 16 associated with doing the media planning and purchasing. 17 We also have website development and maintenance. 18 We have fam tours and press visits. These are 19 items that both we put on, our TDD staff puts these on. 20 An example that occurred this year was the military fam 21 that Sherry did a fabulous job putting on. We have some 22 of those activities scheduled for next year as well, as 23 well as some press and journalist visits that the