PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE Tuesday, May 19, 2015 2 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Rolf Hoehn called the meeting to order at 2:02 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Emily Bird-Hrivnak Franchesca Forrer Kerry Graves Rolf Hoehn, Chair Theresa Maggio, Vice-Chair Bruce Nation Jeffrey Norman Ray Rodriguez Members Absent: Arlene Amick Sara O Flynn Diane Williams Staff /Others Present: Bob Spiegel, Mayor Pro Tem Donna Gomez, Tourism & Marketing Manager Rudy Acosta, Assistant City Manager Martín Alvarez, Economic Development Director David Hermann, Management Analyst Barbara Blythe, Visitor Center Supervisor Deborah Glickman, Management Analyst Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary Mahasti Islami, The Gardens on El Paseo & El Paseo Village III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MARCH 24, 2015. Theresa Maggio moved, by Minute Motion, to approve the minutes of the Adjourned meeting of March 24, 2015, as presented. The motion was seconded by Emily Bird- Hrivnak and carried by 8-0-3 vote. (AYES: Bird-Hrivnak, Forrer, Graves, Maggio, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Amick, O Flynn, and Williams.) V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER VI. NEW BUSINESS A. CONSIDERATION OF AGENCY PRESENTATIONS FOR MARKETING SERVICES Donna Gomez began by saying that the City currently has contracts with Off Madison Ave. (OMA) for digital marketing services and with JNS Media Specialists for media buying services. The RFP for marketing and advertising services went out for those main services. Since then, the City Council has given their thumbs up to fund the white paper projects for video production, a new ad campaign, and PR services. Therefore, the chosen agency moving forward would need to be a full-service agency, providing the full array of services, including ad design. The agencies presenting today have been notified of the change and were asked to address those. Formal approval by the City Council to fund the additional services would not be made until June. Thirteen qualified proposals were received from the original RFP, which were all very strong. An internal committee of five staff members narrowed the list down to the four agencies that are presenting today. Ms. Gomez explained that a formal rating of the agencies was not required. She asked that the Committee consider the following criteria to provide the best fit for Palm Desert s future marketing efforts: Strategic planning ability Traditional and digital advertising Communication skills with City staff Media buying power Knowledge of Palm Desert and the tourism industry Government accounts Can they see the big picture? 2
The four agencies will each give a 15-minute presentation and there will be 15 minutes for questions. Ms. Gomez expectation is that one of the agencies will stand out and the Committee will make a recommendation. Responding to question, Ms. Gomez said she will ask the chosen agency to utilize the Feel the Warmth tagline and come up with new creative to go with it, and also provide several new campaign concepts. Ms. Maggio added that it is important for the agency to take the City into the future. Mr. Hoehn went on to explain that the agencies will have a challenge today with only 15 minutes to make their presentation. It would be fine for the Committee to provide guidance by choosing the two best and asking them for more information. A final decision does not need to be made today. Ms. Gomez stated that there are a few weeks of wiggle room because the contracts expire on June 30 th, 2015. As a follow up, reference checks could be done or a sample ad campaign could be requested. Four agencies made presentations to the Committee: Civilian from San Diego, CA H & L Partners from San Francisco, St. Louis & Boston Off Madison Ave. from Phoenix & Los Angeles Perceptiv from Glendale, CA Following the presentations, the Committee expressed some interest in getting follow up information from H&L Partners. Ms. Gomez will make some inquiries into references for H&L that are the same size as the City s account would be. Mr. Norman suggested finding references from their website. There was discussion regarding getting more local businesses involved collaboratively with social media programs. Ms. Gomez felt that the City could look for additional local co-op partners. Mr. Hoehn said that since H&L didn t have much time today, we could find out more regarding their social media. Ms. Maggio stated that the chosen agency needs to digest the marketing portion of the Envision Palm Desert Plan to understand where the City is going. Emily Bird-Hrivnak moved, by Minute Motion, to ask the H&L Partners team that would represent Palm Desert to come back and re-present their proposal including a creative component. Motion was seconded by Ray Rodriguez and carried by 8-0-3 vote. (AYES: Bird-Hrivnak, Forrer, Graves, Maggio, Nation, Norman, Rodriguez, and Hoehn; NOES: None; ABSENT: Amick, O Flynn, and Williams.) 3
VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS VIII. OLD BUSINESS IX. REPORTS FROM CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel asked the Committee if they were aware of an upcoming golf event at the JW Marriott, and if the City was involved. Bruce Nation stated that June 14-17 event is for the International Association of Golf Tour Operators. Desert Willow is hosting a tournament for them on Saturday, June 20 th, and is considering doing a dinner as well. Emily Bird-Hrivnak offered to follow up. Mr. Spiegel also mentioned the website for the CVA summer campaign www.chillpass.com where local discounts can be found. Mr. Hoehn added that this campaign is tied in with the co-op for commercials on KTLA that the City, JW Marriott, and El Paseo took advantage of. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair B. Committee Members C. Staff XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Visitor Center Report No report. 4
XII. NEXT MEETING DATE A special meeting was not scheduled. The next regular meeting will be June 16, 2015. XIII. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 5:13 p.m. Jane Stanley, Recording Secretary 5