HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-14-2017 Minutessheet she had been working from was from 2016, which was prior to when she
was employed by the City. The formulas had not been updated, so the numbers •
were incorrect. It has since been updated and vetted by Finance, and there are
more funds available than what was thought before.
Passport Initiative
Coordinator Chachere wanted to gauge how the members received the Passport
Initiative from Smarthouse Creative. It was suggested that research marketing
should be done first and then data pulled so that, when they go forward with the
Passport Initiative, the marketing agency will have something from which to
work, and there will be a framework for who they are targeting, where they are
going to target, and how they are going to support the app. Getting data is also
important to get the buy -off from businesses, to support a strong Initiative. It
was suggested that it be launched around the Veterans Day Parade. That would
give them time to establish branding, to establish data utilizing our assets (ie:
Tourism website), and then building the entire program.
In discussing where to start, it was agreed that some generic, Auburn -based
digital marketing and online ad buys are the most important to get a baseline
and find where people are coming from and give an idea of where to target next.
Once the framework is established and the data is collected, they could get back
to the Board about how they would like to implement it, how long it would take,
and what kind of information they would provide to us after that. The Board •
would then have a meeting with them to discuss what would be done with that
information.
The Board agreed that, if Smarthouse were to turn down the offer, then M
Agency should be the next choice.
B. 4tn Quarter Marketing Campaign Update
Coordinator Chachere reported that there have been around 30,000 views of the
30-second YouTube video with about 30% actually watching the video all the
way through. She asked the Board if any modifications should take place now,
since there are two weeks left to run it. It was recommended that statistics be
pulled to see who is clicking on it the most and who is watching it the longest,
and that would give a new parameter to hone in on the target.
The Board discussed ways that the Auburn video could best be promoted. It was
thought that it should be shown at places or events where there are a lot of
people gathered. There was discussion about having a film festival and it was
mentioned that Smarthouse has experience in that. Member Bray reported that
one of the largest softball tournaments will be coming to Kent in 2018 and ideas
were discussed about how to target market the people who will be attending to •
stay in Auburn.
IV. New Business
SA. Tourism Updates
1. October Budget Report
This topic was discussed during the RFP — Marketing Agency Update
discussion earlier in the meeting.
2. LTAC Update
The LTAC Board agreed to add an additional $10,000 in the line item for
Community Grants to the 2019 and 2020 budget. To make that happen, the
hotel owners were comfortable with adjusting anticipated revenue of
$1,000 per month per new hotel. They also requested more data prior to
allocating funds for the 2018 applicants on precisely the way in which
requested funds would be used, as well as requesting that previous grant
recipients show how the money that was given benefitted them.
3. BIA Meet and Greet for January Meeting
BIA members were very receptive to the idea of a meet and greet where
Tourism Board members could meet businesses owners and find out more
about the businesses and better understand their needs and concerns. The
idea of a mixer to come meet and talk with the Tourism Board was also
discussed.
4. City Council Update Study Session January 22"d 5:30 PM
Tourism is on the agenda at the January 22 Council Study Session to report
on what the Board has been doing. Coordinator Chachere recommended that
a couple Board members attend and give their perspective. It was suggested
that the decision about the marketing agency be shared with the Council at
that time.
S. BIA Business Plan
Regarding a business plan for the BIA, Coordinator Chachere presented her
2018 focus that included ideas taken from previous meetings. She will share
more at the January meeting.
V. 2018 TOURISM BOARD MEETING SCHEDULE
A. Membership Renewal
Because the terms of the Board had to be staggered at the beginning of the year,
for the Board Members who were given a one year term, the Mayor's Office has
already been in contact to renew membership to a three year term.
I]
There is one vacancy for a new Board member which is now listed on the City's
website with the online application 0
B. Election of Chair and Vice Chair
Election of a new chair and vice chair will take place at the January meeting.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned
at 11:53 pm.
TING PHONSANAM, SUBSTITUTE CHAIR HOLLY FERRY, BOARD SECRETARY
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