Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council — Aug 29, 2013 — Minutes — reading text

Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department 1540 Miracle Strip Parkway Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 Regular Meeting http://www.okaloosafl.com ~ Minutes ~ Monday, September 9, 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 Present - - Joe Guidry Absent - - Tuffy Dixon Destin Councilman Absent - - Charles Rigdon FWB Councilman Present - - Kelly Windes Commissioner District 5 Present - - Daniel O'Byrne Director Present - - Greg Stewart & Absent - - TDD Attorney Lynn Hoshihara Mr. Mark Mayer Michelle Clarke & Peter Mayer Advertising Present - - Ellen Kempner Tonya Landry Mr. Peterson called the meeting to order at 2:00 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. He began the meeting by introducing Mr. Ben Anderson, Okaloosa County Tax Collector. Mr. Anderson explained the Tax Collector’s office will be responsible for collecting tourist development taxes beginning Oct. 1st and introduced his staff. Mr. Anderson stated the transition has run very smoothly, and that he and his staff will do everything they can to ensure stakeholders are kept informed. Mr. Peterson continued the meeting by introducing Mr. Jim Foreman from the Destin City Council. Mr. Foreman is in attendance at the City of Destin’s request and voting in Mr. Dixon’s absence. I. Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale Peterson- Chairman) Motion to Approve, August 29, 2013 TDC Meeting Minutes Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 1 of 9  RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Rigdon SECONDER: Rice AYES: Empson, Gossom, Windes, Peterson, Foreman (Dixon), Joyce II. Consider Peter Mayer Advertising Initiatives / Go Forward Strategy (Peter Mayer Advertising) Mr. Dan Martin, Pelican Beach Resort Management, Inc., Assistant General Manager/ Sales and Marketing Director, was asked to provide his input on the Peter Mayer marketing campaign, because he was previously unavailable to do so. Mr. Martin stated he reviewed the “Very Emerald Christmas” campaign, options one and two, and he is completely against the campaign. Mr. Martin started by stating he is concerned about the way data is being compiled and the way the campaign is being carried out. Mr. Martin also shared he has concerns about the county commission and their involvement in the process. He stated the BCC selected the firm without input from those in the industry. He felt the selection of the firm was a poor choice and not done with consideration from those in the county’s tourist industry. Mr. Martin went on to recommend the establishment of a marketing committee, based on the top tax collection earners. He believes if a committee was established, they should be tasked to review & update marketing plans quarterly. a. A Very Emerald Christmas Campaign – 2013 Mr. Mayer began by showing the Emerald Coast average occupancy rate by month, as well as average RevPar per month. The illustration showed rates peak in March through August, and decline drastically in the fall and winter months. Ms. Clarke spoke more about the firm’s proposed campaign targeted for Sep. 26 through Dec. 15. • Emerald Coast Holiday Light exhibition: Lighting of 20 boats along Destin Harbor every weekend in December • Light Display in Fort Walton Beach and at the Armament Museum • A Very Emerald Christmas Culinary Experience - Restaurant Month - $15 and $30 meal price points - Cooking Demonstrations • A Very Emerald Christmas Sand Sculpture Spectacular- Life size sculptures Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 2 of 9  • A Very Emerald Christmas Shopping Experience Ms. Clarke provided a breakdown of the budget for each individual event, which totaled $40,000. She also showed the proposed calendar of events. Ms. Landry continued by briefing about the media plan involved in the Very Emerald Christmas campaign. She explained that a visual multimedia mix would provide the best results using television, regional magazines, and online mediums; which extends the target market. She went on to explain the television markets and mediums suggested for targeting. She continued by discussing online tactics for marketing the season. Ms. Landry then provided the committee with two advertising plan options. Option 1: Cost: $525,510 • Television and cable (5 weeks) • Regional magazines (16+ feeder markets) • Geo and behaviorally targeted web banners • Trip Advisor, TravelZoo • Google text ads • Prominent homepage tile ad placement and banner support Option 2: More markets at a lower time frame Cost: $365,510 • Television and cable (4 weeks) • Regional magazines (16 feeder markets) • Geo and behaviorally targeted web banners • Trip Advisor, TravelZoo • Google text ads • Prominent homepage tile ad placement and banner support Mr. Peterson briefed the board and attendees to be aware that the purpose of this meeting is to provide the firm with an opportunity to tweak their project task order before it is due on Wednesday. He continued by opening the floor to stakeholders and the public. Mr. Martin Owen, Wyndham Vacation Rentals, started the group off stating he believed funding would be best spent focusing on the fall and spring seasons, instead of the Christmas campaign. He also shared concern over who would plan the events suggested, the short time frame involved, and whether feeder markets would be Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 3 of 9  attracted to the events planned. He added that if the Council is in favor of attempting the ‘Very Emerald Christmas’ campaign, that they should choose the cheaper of the options. He concluded his speech by asking if anyone from the Okaloosa TDC or TDD would be attending the Governor’s Conference on tourism this week. None of the committee members, nor Mr. O’Byrne’s staff, have plans on attending. Toni Richardson, Best Western, disagreed with Mr. Martin. She liked the options that have been provided. As a member of the FWB Chamber of Commerce, she is confident that the campaign can be accomplished successfully. Bruce Craul, Emerald Grande, stated he believes there is an opportunity to do something in the winter season. He said ‘if you are always looking at what the ROI is this year, you’ll never do it.’ He said he believes that doing something during the holidays is big. This is the time of year they (visitors) go shopping. If you light the lights, they will come. If you start a tradition, they will come. Whatever we start, it is only the beginning. You can’t just look back in 6 months and say that’s not going to work, you have to stick to it. Commissioner Windes asked Mr. Craul whether he was leaning toward the 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  Ms. Joyce