February 25, 2015 Minutes for the TVPC of Folly Beach page 1 of 7 The Folly Beach Tourism and Visitor Promotion Committee was called to order by the Chair, Ron Hill, at 6:03, February 25th. At the roll call, Ron Hill, Paul Lauer, Nancy Moore, Kerry Hupp, Alex Hunter, Carol Hally, and Adam Killerman were present. Ron Hill opened the floor for nominations for officers, with the following elected unanimously: President, Carl Hally; Secretary, Nancy Moore; and Treasurer, Paul Lauer. Ron Hill was thanked for his great leadership. Under old business, Dan Krosse of DPK Media Solutions and the TVPC website creator, described the global traffic of the website as follows: 47,000 Sessions 41,000 Users 151,000 Page views The website drawing for vacation time has captured about 10,000 emails that might be used for a newsletter. Krosse continues to refine search words. Also under old business and at Kerry Hupp s suggestion, the Committee decided to work with the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the SC Chamber of Commerce to distribute TVPC brochures to hotels and welcome centers. Under new business, Soraya McKay of Little Dog made the following points about the full service marketing of her agency: Familiarity with Folly Beach because they do marketing for Folly s Business Association, The Grill and Island Bar, The Crab Shack Capacity to do websites for about $4000 with messages tailored to both locals and others. Statistics (some given at the meeting and more fully later by email): 57,702 Total Sessions 43,182 Users 124,416 Pageviews Average time spent on the site 1:44 minutes Bounce Rate: 52.71 New Sessions: 79.49 Capacity to create mailers and other print options Experience with events, profit, nonprofit, and service operations
February 25, 2015 Minutes for the TVPC of Folly Beach page 2 of 7 Also under New Business, Carl Hally presented the need to do some ground work about whom we want to attract and the impact of those choices on stakeholders before we do an RFP to hire professionals. His worksheet: TVPC Marketing Plan Worksheet Stakeholders Property Owners House Rental Owners Condo Rental Owners Room Accommodators Bed and Breakfasts Hotels Marinas Guest Houses Ancillary Businesses Retail Restaurants Services Rental Agencies Folly Based Web Based Government City County Exiting Conditions Goals Numbers by Type of Accommodation Single Family Condos Rooms Slips Guest Houses Occupancy by Season in each Category High Mid Low Holidays Events Long Term Image Sustained Growth Quality of Life Short Term Maximize Occupancy Compatible Guests Benefit Ancillary Businesses
February 25, 2015 Minutes for the TVPC of Folly Beach page 3 of 7 Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths The Folly Experience Ocean River Proximity to Charleston Value Weaknesses Golf Beach Traffic Local Competition Isle of Palms Seabrook/Kiawah Sullivans Edisto Grand Strand and Pawleys Outer Banks Coastal Georgia Charleston Peninsula Target Customers Who? Individuals Families Friends Where? Why? Groups Business Agencies Event Planners Weddings Celebrations Historical Data Demographics THIS TAKES US TO THE NEXT PHASE: WHY FOLLY, OUR FEATURES AND BENEFITS DEVELOPING THE PLAN TO IDENTIFY AND REACH OUR POTENTIAL CUSTOMER CONVINCE OUR TARGET AUDIENCE TO COME TO THE EDGE OF AMERICA.
February 25, 2015 Minutes for the TVPC of Folly Beach page 4 of 7 Discussion followed about the need to hire professional help for a marketing plan. Carl Hally, Nancy Moore, and Kerry Hupp were appointed to discover some initial information and suggest the steps needed for preparing an RFP. Throughout the meeting, references were made about the budget, which is included below. The consensus seemed to be to hold over most of the remaining budget for next year. Budget Worksheet Budget Actual Difference SALARIES C. MCMANUS 6,000 2,307.60 3,692.40 R. BROOKS 3,900 3,900.00 TOTAL 9,900 6,207.60 3,692.40 BROCHURES PRINTING 9*11 FULL COLOR 20K DISTRIBUTION TO W/C, HOTELS 3,000 763.25 2,236.75 600 0.00 600.00 SHIPPING COSTS 300 87.21 212.79 TOTAL 3,900 850.46 3,049.54 PRINT SPIRIT MAG SOUTHWEST AIRLINES-DEC. 15,500 10,999.8 4,500.18 AAA CAROLINA-NOV/DEC 6,000 5,000.00 1,000.00 CHARLESTON LIVING-NOV/ DEC/MAR/APR 4,200 4,170.00 30.00 COSTAL LIVING-NOV 8,300 0.00 8,300.00 AAA NORTH-MAR/APR 6,200 6,200.00 0.00 CACVB 2015 10,000 0.00 10,000.00 AAA GOING PLACE - GA CIRCULATION INTRO CHARLESTON-MAY/ OCT CHARLESTON REGIONAL BUSINESS JOURNAL 3,000 2,905.00 95.00 3,000 3,000.00 0.00 1,000 1,000.00 0.00
February 25, 2015 Minutes for the TVPC of Folly Beach page 5 of 7 Budget Worksheet Budget Actual Difference HOME AND AWAY 3,000 3,000.00 0.00 WHERE CHARLESTON MAG-FEB/MAR WHERE CHARLOTTE MAG- FEB/MAR 2,400 3,460.00-1,060.00 2,400 2,700.00-300.00 AD RESIZE 1,000 350.00 650.00 STATE NEWSPAPER BUNDEL 7,500 7,498.00 2.00 TOTAL 73,500 50,282.8 23,217.18 VACATION GIVEAWAY 2 STAYS AT TIDES WITH GITF CARD 3 RADIO CHARLOTTE GIVEAWAYS 2,000 2,000.00 0.00 3,000 200.00 2,800.00 TOTAL 5,000 2,200.00 2,800.00 WEBSITE MAINTENANCE 12 MONTH CONTRACT WITH DAN KROSSE 12,000 0.00 DEVELOPMENT COSTS 3,000 0.00 TOTAL 15,000 0.00 15,000.00 SPONSORSHIP MARKETING GAMECOCK BASEBALL AD 2,500 0.00 2,500.00 CHAS.BATTERY SOCCER BILLBOARDS 2,500 2,500.00 0.00 TOTAL 5,000 2,500.00 2,500.00 TV NETWORK CHANNEL 5 - BRIDGE RUN/ GOLF 8,500 0.00 8,500.00 IN ROOM HOTEL VIDEO 12,000 0.00 12,000.00 NEW VIDEO EVENT SHOOT 2,000 0.00 2,000.00
February 25, 2015 Minutes for the TVPC of Folly Beach page 6 of 7 Budget Worksheet Budget Actual Difference TOTAL Note: 2014 amt pd out of 2015 budget WEB ADVERTISING 22,500 708.57 21,791.43 CITY PAPER BANNER AD 5,000 0.00 5,000.00 AD/LINK CREATION 500 0.00 500.00 TOTAL 5,500 0.00 5,500.00 OUTDOOR ADVERTISING GAME COCKS LED IN STADIUM DISPLAY 29,700 27,300 2,400.00 TOTAL 29,700 27,300 2,400.00 GRAND TOTALS 170,000 90,049.5 79,950.55 Here is the agenda used for this meeting: 1. Call To Order 2. Roll Call 3. Chairman s Comments 4. Election of new Officers 5. Old Business: AGENDA a. Dan Krosse to talk about the website, leads database, etc. b. Brochures and distribution Kerry Hupp 6. New Business: a. Soraya McKay Little Dog presentation on full service marketing b. Carl Hally would like to take a few minutes to present the elements of a marketing plan for 2016.
February 25, 2015 Minutes for the TVPC of Folly Beach page 7 of 7 c. General Discussion 7. Adjournment The Committee adjourned with a meeting scheduled for 6pm March 25. Respectfully submitted, Nancy Moore, Secretary