Okaloosa County BOCC — July 6, 2016 — TDD Manual 070616 redlined — reading text

attractions, and attributes of the Emerald Coast; to create a favorable climate of opinion concerning the Emerald Coast; to cooperate with other agencies, public and private, to accomplish these purposes; and, in furtherance therefor, to authorize expenditures for the purposes here enumerated, including transportation, lodging, meals, and entertainment of persons in the interest of promoting and engendering goodwill toward the Emerald Coast. Additionally: a. Travel outside the United States requires approval in advance from the Board. b. The County recognizes the rental of furniture, services, and accessories may be required for attendance at trade shows in connection with the performance of promotional duties. These 13 of 38 TDC 06-23-2016 BCC 07-06-2016  types of purchases shall be considered to be part of the registration fee for the trade show and shall not be considered payment in advance requiring Board approval. c. Estimated transportation, lodging, meals, entertainment expenses, and promotional incentives shall be identified and approved as part of the Strategic Marketing Plan. Such expenses not identified in the Strategic Marketing Plan shall be pre-approved by the County Administrator and must not exceed $10,000 for any occurrence without Council recommendation and Board approval. c. The County recognizes that deposits are typically required for the reservation of meeting space (e.g. road show) or catering services (e.g. familiarization tour) in connection with the performance of promotional duties. As long as the amount of the deposit does not exceed 50% of the total quoted cost, the deposit shall not be considered payment in advance requiring Board approval. d. The County recognizes that a glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage with dinner is customary within the tourism industry (e.g. meals for familiarization tours). As long as these expenses are reasonable and necessary in connection with the performance of promotional duties, they are authorized by Florida Statutes. County staff and the advertising agency will remain cognizant of the public perception of county funds being used to purchase alcohol and limit alcoholic beverages to no more than two glasses per familiarization tour participant. e. The County recognizes that tips and gratuities are customary within the tourism industry (e.g. tours, excursions). As long as these expenses are reasonable and necessary in connection with the performance of promotional duties, they are authorized by Florida Statutes. County staff and the advertising agency will remain cognizant of the public perception of county funds being used for this purpose and will limit tips and gratuities to no more than 20% of the retail cost exclusive of taxes or other fees. e.f. The County recognizes that providing transportation for familiarization tour participants is customary within the tourism industry. Either airfare or mileage reimbursement will be provided, considering the most efficient and economical means as well as familiarization tour participant convenience and preference. Purchase of airfare for a familiarization tour participant shall not be considered payment in advance requiring Board approval. Participants for whom airfare is purchased may be required to sign an agreement identifying the terms under which reimbursement to the County will be required in the event the participant cannot attend or reschedule. g. The County recognizes that giveaways promotional incentives (e.g. overnight stay, tour tickets, airline tickets) are customary within the tourism industry (e.g. familiarization tours, road shows, sweepstakes) for the promotion of the destination. As long as these expenses are reasonable and necessary in connection with the performance of promotional duties, they are authorized by Florida Statutes. County staff and the advertising agency will remain cognizant of the public perception of county funds being used for this purpose and will attempt to receive such items on a compensatory complimentary basis from partners prior to purchase with tourist development tax dollars. TDD staff shall adhere to the Human Resources Code of Conduct. 2) The Director is responsible for presenting post-event reports for promotional travel and entertainment-related expenses. Reports may address the following areas as appropriate: a. Purpose of the event b. Attendee information c. Room night information 14 of 38 TDC 06-23-2016 BCC 07-06-2016  d. Return on investment / Metrics for success (e.g. business booked, media coverage) F.300. Promotional Entertainment-Related Expenses (Not Travel-Related) 1) Defined as entertainment-related expenses incurred in the performance of promotional activities carried out pursuant to the Tourist Development Plan, Strategic Marketing Plan, and/or annual budget. Most commonly, these expenses will be food and beverage for meetings held with stakeholders related to authorized activities. Reimbursement for these entertainment-related expenses is governed by the County Purchasing Manual, the provisions of Section 125.0104(9), Florida Statutes and this Manual. F.400. GIFTS, GRATUITIES, DISCOUNTS, SERVICES, FAVORS 14) TDD staff is prohibited from soliciting money, loans, credits, discounts, gifts, entertainment, favors or services (collectively referred to as “gifts” in this section) from present or potential vendors and partners for personal benefit. 15) TDD staff is prohibited from knowingly accepting, directly or indirectly, gifts from present or potential vendors and partners which might influence or appear to influence decisions or exhibit favoritism by the TDD and/or County. 16) Gifts offered less than nominal value (<$100) shall be evaluated as to intent and perception of acceptance to ensure that it is legal, that it will not influence decisions, and that it will not be perceived by the TDD, County, or tourism industry as unethical. 17) Gifts offered exceeding nominal value (>$100) shall be returned with an explanation or either 1) if perishable, donated to a charity in the name of the vendor or partner or made available to all TDD staff or 2) if non-perishable, turned over to the TDD Director for use in a future promotional activity or sweepstakes. G. DELEGATION OF SIGNATURE AUTHORITYINDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS G.100. DELEGATION OF SIGNATURE AUTHORITYMEDIA CO-OPS In the Director’s absence, the Finance, Administration, and Compliance Manager shall have full signature authority of the Director. 1) Media co-ops are defined as advertising partnerships between the TDD and industry partners. Offering media co-ops (e.g. print, digital, broadcast) provides an opportunity to work with industry partners to jointly market the destination. 2) Estimated media co-op revenues shall be identified in the Strategic Marketing Plan based on historical participation, along with the methodology for computing the amount per partner. 3) After media has been placed by purchasing, TDD staff is authorized to develop and send media co- op opportunities to all industry partners along with a respond-by date. The number of partners may vary by placement. If demand is greater than the available slots for a particular placement, a lottery system shall be used to determine co-op partners (primary & alternate) for that placement. 4) The media co-op schedule including all responding partners, confirmed partner placements, and amount per partner shall be identified in tourism promotion and marketing reports to the Council and Board. 15 of 38 TDC 06-23-2016 BCC 07-06-2016  5) TDD staff shall distribute the media co-op schedule, including deadlines for submission of creative, to partners. In the event a primary partner is unable to provide creative by the deadline, the alternate partner may be contacted. 6) TDD staff shall invoice partners upon receipt of proof of performance, with a copy of the invoice forwarded to the Clerk’s office. G.200. TRADE SHOW CO-OPS 1) Trade show co-ops are defined as trade show partnerships between the TDD and industry partners. Offering trade show co-ops provides an opportunity to work with industry partners to jointly market the destination. 2) Estimated trade show co-op revenues shall be identified in the Strategic Marketing Plan based on historical participation, along with the methodology for computing the amount per partner. 3) After budget adoption, TDD staff is authorized to develop and send trade show co-op opportunities to all industry partners along with a respond-by date. The number of partners may vary by show. If demand is greater than the available slots for a particular show, a lottery system shall be used to determine co-op partners (primary & alternate) for that show. 4) The trade show co-op schedule including all responding partners, confirmed partner shows, and amount per partner shall be identified in tourism promotion and marketing reports to the Council and Board. 5) TDD staff shall distribute the approved co-op schedule to partners. 6) TDD staff shall invoice partners no less than thirty (30) days prior to the show, with a copy of the invoice forwarded to the Clerk’s office. In the event a primary partner is unable to participate, the alternate partner may be contacted. Refunds may be provided if a partner is unable to attend. H. SOCIAL MARKETING H.100. SOCIAL MARKETING 1) Social marketing is defined as creating web content through social media. The Tourist Development Department is authorized to engage online travel writers (e.g. bloggers) to promote brand awareness and image to specific demographic groups by covering specific topics in their posts written specifically for publication on the County’s leisure website. 2) Determination of whether a particular blogger meets the needs of the County is at the discretion of the Tourist Development Department. The following factors may be considered as appropriate: a. Target audience (e.g. demographics, geography, reach) b. Relevance of usual posts and expertise to Emerald Coast’s current campaign c. Success rate for this blogger (e.g. number of website clicks, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc generated from previous posts) 3) Bloggers may be utilized to build the Emerald Coast message and drive traffic to the website on a “pay per blog” basis, including base pay and performance pay. 4) To ensure consistency and continued reader engagement, bloggers may be expected to produce a certain number of words per week or the equivalent of several shorter posts or a few longer articles. The following factors may be considered as appropriate in determining the base price per blog: 16 of 38 TDC 06-23-2016 BCC 07-06-2016  a. Target audience (e.g. demographics, geography, reach) b. Length and/or