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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-16-2017 Auburn Tourism Board Meeting November 16, 2017 – 10:00 AM Auburn City Hall Council Chambers AGENDA I. ROLL CALL II. APPROVE SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES III. OLD BUSINESS 1) RFP – Tourism Map Update 2) RFP – Marketing Agency Update 3) Tourism Updates a. Budget Report  September  BA#3 Application. b. 4th Quarter Digital Marketing Campaign Update IV. NEW BUSINESS 1) 2018 Business Plan: Discuss 2019 – 2020 Budget Recommendations V. NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14th AT 10:00AM IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS VI. ADJOURNMENT Auburn Tourism Board Meeting September 21, 2017 – 10:00 AM Auburn City Hall Council Chambers MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER A. Roll Call Meeting was called to order at 10:07 a.m. Board Members present: Vice Chair Rachael McAlister and Board Members Kacie Bray, Tonia Jones, Julie Krueger, Ashley Mohoric, Ronnie Roberts. Excused absence: Chair Rebecca Frisch and Board Members Reggie Matto and Jim Wilson Staff Present: Lorraine Chachere, Tourism Coordinator; Holly Ferry, Board Secretary II. APPROVE JULY MEETING MINUTES Board Member Mohoric motioned and Member Bray second to approve the August 17, 2017 meeting minutes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6-0 III. NEW BUSINESS A. Tourism Updates 1. Hotel Concierge FAM event: Wednesday, September 27 Coordinator Chachere informed the Board of the Fam event and requested that Board members representing hotels would encourage their Front Desk staff to attend the event. She has arranged to visit Emerald Downs, White River Valley Museum, and Vinifera so that staff can experience it for themselves and learn of any updates of the attractions as we head into winter. 2. 2018 Japan – America Grassroots Summit Host Coordinator Chachere informed the Board that Auburn will be hosting the 2018 Japan – America Grassroots Summit. They are looking for host families and will come up with a three-day itinerary of fun things to do that are uniquely Auburn and Pacific Northwest. Our counterparts in Japan are circulating a brochure and potential visitors will select which city they would like to stay in. In the draft, she proposed that this might involve participation from some of the Tourism Board members and will reach out to them closer to the date of the event. 3. 2018 Mardi Gras Parade and Celebration – Save the Dates Coordinator Chachere provided a save the date postcard to the Board for the Mardi Gras Parade and Celebrations that will take place on February 10 and July 14 that will bring people into the downtown area and businesses. The Quarters restaurant and Geaux Brewing enthusiastically participated in a preliminary planning meeting, and it was decided to have two celebrations. She also mentioned that recognition was given on the Tourism website to PyeongChang, our Sister City in South Korea, who will be hosting the winter Olympics in 2018. This was done to drive traffic to both the Auburn Tourism site as well as PyeongChang’s website as a gesture of goodwill to Auburn’s Sister City. As a result, the US Speed Skating Association reached out and requested help in setting up contacts for their VIPs and their benefactors as well as the athletes and their families. Manager Lein is currently in South Korea and will unveil the Auburn website and this portion during his meeting with dignitaries and businesses. 4. Budget Report The August report was not ready, but the July financial numbers were provided. B. Local Marketing Proposal In an effort to change local residents’ perception of Auburn and to get them to “buy in,” Coordinator Chachere presented an unconventional way of advertising and proposed showing a 60-second version of the Tourism video with a message from Mayor Backus at the end, prior to every movie at the Regal Auburn Stadium 17 theater between October and the first part of January. This video would also play in the lobby. She informed the Board of the benefits of this kind of advertising. The goals would be to make viewers see Auburn in a new way, to change the perception of where they live, to learn something new about the City, and to generate enthusiasm about where they live. She presented the 60- second version of the Tourism video that would promote the attractions, retail and restaurants in the downtown area. The hope is to have a collaboration between the Tourism Board, Economic Development, and the BIA Board. Several members were concerned that there would be no way to track the return on investment. Coordinator Chachere shared the numbers for 4th quarter advertising from the previous year. Board Member Roberts asked what king of a discount could be offered for the campaign. It was also asked whether it would be possible to have placement closest to the beginning of the movie to ensure as many moviegoers as possible view the ad. Coordinator Chachere will find out the answers to those questions and report back to the Board. C. RFP – Visitor Guide Bids Coordinator Chachere showed the Board what had been done with visitor guides in the past. She also passed out publications from some other cities for the Board to see. When asking for proposals, the bidding agencies were informed that the product should be user-friendly, and it should be something that locals could also make use of. They were told who the target audience is, and that help would be needed with the actual design. Request for Proposals were sent to eight different agencies, and only four proposals were received. Different types of maps with different kinds of content were discussed. Coordinator Chachere thought the focus should be on things to do and see rather than on places to eat, which is what the Chamber map will provide. It was suggested that the map should be generic enough that it’s not promoting a business but should show only the major places of interest in Auburn. The thought was that a simple map is a subtle way of offering communication but also marketing the City. The Board decided a tear-off map would provide a visual cue to communicate Auburn’s main attractions, shopping, and the downtown core to encourage visitors to stay longer. It should be two-sided with a QR code that would take them to the Tourism website, and the size should be at least legal size or larger. Since the original RFP requested a different type of guide, Coordinator Chachere informed the Board that she would send a revised RFP on Tuesday, September 26. D. RFP – Marketing Bids Coordinator Chachere provided the proposals from the three marketing bids she received – APEX, Smart House Creative, and BCF. It was decided to invite Smarthouse Creative for an interview. Coordinator Chachere requested that Members send her questions for the interview before the end of the business day, Friday, September 3. She will provide the panel the questions at the interview. Board Member Mohoric motioned and Bray second to have Smarthouse Creative come out and make a proposal in person. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6-0 Board Member Roberts motioned and Krueger second to have a Special Meeting to further discuss the proposal. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6-0 IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Tourism Logo Board Member Krueger motioned and Member Bray second to table the logo. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6-0 V. NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 AT 10:00AM IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS Board Member Roberts inquired whether a new hotel owner could participate in Board meetings if the hotel is not yet built. Coordinator Chachere said they must have a business license with the City to be a member of the Board. She will research whether they currently have one or not prior to breaking ground and send the answer by email to the Board. Member Roberts requested to see the financials at the next meeting. Coordinator Chachere said she will provide the numbers for August as they should be available by then, but she will not be able to have the revenue numbers for September. VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 11:59 a.m. _____________________________ _____________________________ RACHAEL McALISTER, VICE-CHAIR HOLLY FERRY, BOARD SECRETARY Auburn Tourism Board Special Meeting October 9, 2017 – 10:00 AM Auburn City Hall Council Chambers MEETING NOTES I. CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL A. Roll Call Meeting was called to order at 10:08 a.m. Board Members present: Chair Rebecca Frisch and Board Members Kacie Bray, Tonia Jones, Julie Krueger, Ashley Mohoric, Ting Phonsanam, Ronnie Roberts, Jim Wilson. Excused absence: Vice Chair Rachael McAlister and Board Member Reggie Matto. Staff Present: Lorraine Chachere, Tourism Coordinator; Doug Lein, Economic Development Manager; Holly Ferry, Board Secretary II. SMARTHOUSE CREATIVE Members gave feedback on the interview with Smarthouse Creative. The Board appreciated their willingness to work with non-profits and small budgets, and they have video editing skills. The Board discussed Smarthouse’s idea for providing small gift bags that would be left in hotel guests rooms, which partners around the city would take turns contributing to, as well as a campaign to find gold nuggets around Auburn, and the use of membership cards. Coordinator Chachere provided their report on the cost breakdown for a 12-month campaign. She also recommended that, regardless of which company the Board chooses, it is critical that a lot of importance be placed on the ad search and word buy campaign so that our website can be easily found. Members thought it was important to use a company from the Pacific Northwest. Coordinator Chachere and Manager Lein talked to the Board about the budget. Coordinator Chachere informed the Board that because a Budget Amendment will be submitted within the next month, the amount of expenditures from 2016 commitments should free up funds that originally had been allocated for Marketing. It appears as if we are currently over budget; however, the Budget Amendment request, if granted, should rectify the financials. Coordinator Chachere indicated that the Board will need to specify how funds will be spent in 2017, as part of the request. Board Member Krueger motioned and Member Bray second to reissue the RFP and repost it within one week’s time and to have all bids deliverable by the end of the month. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 7-0 III. PROPOSALS RECEIVED FOR TOURISM MAP Since the Board had decided on a tear-off map at the September 21 meeting, Coordinator Chachere went back to the companies who had submitted proposals and asked them to send a revised proposal with a cost breakdown to fit that need. She provided copies of the proposals that she received from four companies to the Board: DEI Creative, Design Maps, Sun Press (a local company) and Alpha Graphics. The idea of having the hotel front desk people fill out a survey that would give input as to what people are looking for was discussed. These things could be included on the map, and the map would always be evolving to stay relevant. It would not be to scale, but it would show quickly, easily and visually that they don’t need to leave Auburn to find what they are looking for. It was discussed that Board Members should send their favorite tourism maps as examples to Coordinator Chachere by Wednesday to provide examples as a guide of a potential Auburn tourism map. The Board decided to have the Graphic Design department students at Green River College compete in designing a map, with a Board-funded $500 prize awarded to the winner. Coordinator Chachere will talk with Andy Orr, the IT Program Manager at GRC. Along with Coordinator Chachere, Member Bray volunteered to be part of the conversation with the professor of the graphics class. Chair Frisch asked that the hotels represented give feedback to Coordinator Chachere about destinations in Auburn that are usually requested so that they may be included on the map. The map would be completed this year. IV. MEDIA BUY PARTNERSHIP A. Tourism, BIA, Economic Development Coordinator Chachere reported that she asked the theater’s ad agency if the Board could get a discount for cinema advertising, and they came back with an offer of nearly a 30% discount to run the 60-second video from mid-October through mid-January. There was a concern that there would be no way to track the return on investment. After discussing, it was decided that the money would be better spent on a digital campaign on multiple platforms. The digital campaign could start right away. The videos could be marketed to specific demographics, and the return on investment could be easily tracked. Manager Lein and Coordinator Chachere will present the digital marketing partnership proposal to the BIA. Board Member Krueger motioned and Member Wilson second to spend $2,500 on a digital platform with the BIA and Economic Development each contributing $2,500 for a broader campaign digitally so we can target specific populations with different ads in the 4th quarter, but Tourism should spend its own $2,500 on a digital platform, no matter what. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 7-0 V. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, the special meeting adjourned at 12:06 p.m. _____________________________ _____________________________ REBECCA FRISCH, CHAIR HOLLY FERRY, BOARD SECRETARY C:\Users\scampbe\Desktop\New folder (2)\Budget Snapshot as of 9.30.17.xlsx 2016 YTD Comparison YTD as of 9/30/2017 2017 Budgeted 2016 Remaining Commitments Carry Forward Revenues: Hotel/Motel Excise Tax $78,906 $86,170 $110,000 Investment Income $644 $1,150 $400 Total Revenues $79,550 $87,320 $110,400 Expenditures: Administration Tourism Manager Salary $31,735 $44,800 Marketing Consultant $10,000 $2,500 $10,000 $0.00 Travel $0 $1,000 Dues $500 $500 Conference Fees $60 $500 Meetings $35 $500 Printing/Promo Supplies**$0 $2,700 Subtotal $34,830 $60,000 2017 Remaining** ** Marketing Media Buy,Trade Shows, Digital***$24,725 $42,805 $36,900 Web Site $2,445 $2,500 Multi Media $465 $1,000 Subtotal $45,715 $40,400 $0.00 Community Support - Grants Grant Program $2,500 $10,000 Subtotal $34,725 $83,045 $110,400 $0.00 Total Expenditures YTD $83,045 $35,632 YTD Ending Fund Balance as of September 2017 $184,421 Total 2016 Commitments**$35,632.00 Reserves*$20,080 2017 Year End Budgeted Reserve Balance $84,044 Reserve Restriction $20,080 Unresticted Reserve Balance $61,964 *Restricted reserves should equal 20% of budgeted annual expenditures. **This amount needs to have a budget amendment 4th Quarter 2017 ***$33,130 of this line item is from 2016 commitments Approved HOTEL/MOTEL TAX FUND 2017 BUDGET