Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Lodging Tax Advisory Committee - 09/19/2016 (2) 40 • Lodging Tax Advisory KENTa Committee Agenda Mission: Promote the City as a destination to increase tourism and business development Committee Members: Bill Boyce, Chair, Tim Higgins, John Casey, Barbara Smith, David Kwok, Andrew Hutchison, Josh Bang, Andrea Keikkala, Bryan Powell City Staff: Ben Wolters, Julie Pulliam AGENDA September 19, 2016 4:00 p.m. CENTENNIAL 4th Floor Conference Room (402) Item Description Action Speaker(s) Time 1. Welcome & Introductions NO Bill Boyce 2. Response to Follow Up Questions NO Bill Boyce 10 min 3. Decision of Marketing RFP YES Bill Boyce 50 min Motion: Move to approval the firm of for a one year term, with two one year options to renew. The budget is approximately $100,000 to $150,000. 4. Next Meeting Date: Unless otherwise noted, the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee meets every other Month on the 4rd Monday at 4:00 p.m. in Centennial North &South Conference Room, 400 West Gowe Street, Kent WA 98032. For information on the above item(s), or upcoming meetings contact Julie Pulliam (253) 856-5702. � � ff V onw� m 3 J �. I Jy. �f.• —�Ott. N+h •�_f _ 'jy,�4• •. yr - +I 4f[. Z er a ? ' O CIO W `" { a Z O y � N V W N (/� W J w Q V a Q w H D Q = Z cn cn V CY0Z � W Z Z oC � u LIM Qoc V u LLJ m Z ::E Or 0 9 �-n z !C z � Y � O N Ln Y C E > 41 N "4 N 7 0 4- O 41 N r' N u O L S (C 4- c0 O 4' O N O L O u L ° 3u tz i i c; O a� v c c 4 ns a� O + a O N u a E N CL E O c .N U O O V) m 40 4' M an O On ( � n3 c Ln E c C Z `1 t0 L 0n H O E L F-- 4� > o O O O O L- uj a ° N C s L N a a on a 5 L 3 c ` MuX N m -� u M O )V � L I - O / " u E a+ 0 L d N L L L a Q) O O O L O �u�,yy L W E U u H a N j O 3 uLM vi 4 c c 4- M ° 3 Ln Z u aU � u E E o W a LA 0N o N 4-1 � 3 3u ns N SeE Jj o iz am (6 uI ao om uo L z O O U +N, :j N N = H L .0 O LLI W .0 O 0 u g aLn4-JL a 4� -0 o V) O4' LU 4-1 N aid 0 0 O O p Own H u U > O W L) 0 -0 w u E 0 0 z E a) ® a, 4.1 E u > 0 u 0 w F- z - -0 " CL > c: u a_ LL =3 a c ro W c Ln U — r4 41 L- On > on E 0 V) z > E c — < Ln On— - 3-1: - (L) 0 o F- 0 V) rz w o in 0 4� V) V) w -0 (n CL w Q) LL Z aj 0 C) Ise ry 0 LU -0 on ro -;5 ro E a On CL 0 u U E own > a) On 0 -'-'Z ro Zj 0 V) (z " - :E 'n LU U " ru M C: ro 2 M F- w 0- ca - C: u uj M -0 U" 0 a) ro uj w CL Z E 7) 0 E 0 u z x u , > .14 4� Z E UJ 0 > 0 an CL 0 ro w -C Uj F- Zn a) 0 G. w an x 0 ro u 0 M 4- � O m o 4� uj a) ro 0 to > V) W W _0 W 6 — E -C 2� E LA - -0 0 0 _0 m .7 �e D M U 4- 0 = .,A 0 4rol (AO U -0 0 ro :3 u :3 fu 0 4� 0 Lu C: m ro a) u in'A =3 0 CL 0 4� W W V) E toran on = q 4� -1� v' 0 4� E on 0 C: roe A w w 0 Ln U 4.1 E CL- u Q as T ca ro U �n H Z W N Y Z `" O > � a w V Q Z OC D O V 06 � C7 Z Z H LLI Z 1- Y W CC W W. Q > � G W Q V W N J � J � � V W Z p� Q W Y z � Lu LU W V a W J a ` a s � a a c o O c z L Y W m fQ > N .c a) � a) > Y C P V, o E N o O U Y O U U L � c •O On c a) a N E c: E a) a) O g O C 4 c N + 4 3) +•+ 3 E a) Q to E E ° b 0 c c E� .E tA ° °33 � on M ° O a; ao -0 O LO o O Z L L N Q ° 4- ro�i � V, m V J O M 'a ° L O (� O c Q a a) Q u_ i N ate- X Q YL T Ln OOn3 a) Q) Lnn M. E O =L Li 4-1on N a) 3 ro � c N � ° E � c 3 °0 � a ° > H" a) � � � -0 -° V 3 U � N o . U c N ° c U N m � U L 4= C Y O c c :t:' tC Z ro a r- E � � W -0 .- O L O O U �, on a.- o " " c ° ,� u m a) `o Q q V o d0., � N E � Fn 6 � c � L '^ O a) O � � aJ 0 �n3 CL N � C Qj °; o � uo , cE ° a) O c c ° 'C V 1 Q) o � p O N � t6 0 t� 4, U -, 0 > QN U On � Ln L N N i a) "O O ~ E t H •3 � O E a) Y ) o a) O.-°c � LI.� ° o % a) F-- Ln > o >. � 3LaEinns W N U N c L a) �+ +� O > L a) i '� 3 3 E c as U L Vt `^ c L +� c a) Z 4- -0 a) VI O aJ N o N on L > ° a3 � �nE U �' � c- a) EuE ° "' a`�i � a c 4- U M N 4-1 � H e aL.., X On ✓� E o 0 0 on O U E a'i c 'c N Q) Z O a c L 0 0 c m N ^ � .� V v�i c u + u U N ._ �p H N ° a ° (A p L Z E L W N ° a) � N L L a) onz 0 a) QJ � .N z yL,, 49 E N CE o Ea) � v c ou U a' is aci a) � ~ ° oon c 1 y v c w ro " a (U ° o E � ° o C u + •° z 1 m N ra - c 0 .N_ w N Y y tC N On e O "a to n vUi u + Z ''c ac uv a E >o E o J On c L a L ° t6 f v O On a) c p r0 H � a) '� O a) ' L. a) ro a) "a u Q on-o L Q y on o_ > (6 > O > H (0 Y N .` 7 d W e O O Q a) L Q O 0 0 O E O c a) .0N L Ja ° ° ° E J a on. W Q a H _ Z O Y s- > O 4 a) 00 N 4J ! O > N O p 'p p 4J p) L On f— p Y 4-1 o � L •L Y 'L L (� N > p Q a Y u O O _a (o 'fa ; +� Q) Y L L (o L .61 C u N a � Q) L w 3 u li (a u v- (0 0 ��' 3 O N a) p at- Q ns � I � -oc 3 � Q 7 E S Q i t^ N o Y m O ON N 3 Y O N ro o Y + p L 0 �; Q 0 pJ N E � J v c fu pp J Q) L a-' '> 3 0 o c ~ 3 o v� 7" a Y om . Lnn CC QQ 0 � LO - LA Q fa � ° s1 a) ° EL� a - O ono > ° > s o +L+ rpa N o v p a c aU > � 3 E L 'N" `° Z on a) C H r�c W on Q) a) a)Q) N C O > LA N a zto fl O o E r O cn aaon N �atoNQ - - - � m ontiC MclLLJ N = O (O N O d L (O O U Q) (a ce fo � N 0 d C Z (aN a >` m C Q n3 Q) on ra 'a }+ p) O +� Q) O m L •N a) cu i "p c Q) 3 on s_ O Z N 'L.L. Q) 3 M !a 0 ,N Q) H •L `S a0-+ a:.+ N LLI a)0 N O + L- O p (a O !u6 Q) O o on_ � C7 � 3u � us3 auu N i s a W 0C V Z N L Q L (O - >+ Q 4- Z �6 4-.i Q a..i (a _ L p) O L L J E I N on O %0 p �+ N onro c6 N •� o > a) T p) � O > 'C Q) on U �_ M 0 N O •L O L O •� (a LA 0 N E to O u 0 a Q) L E '� w Q) -0 O On� >+ E o W 4 J Q w +� N >, m ns N � vLooa .4' Q) L- > W on � � __ a= p � C i Y 'L N ate.+ Q) Z (U CL = a 34Q' 0 u N 0 -0 ,- 0 .N N C Q W 4-J (0 kn N Q C Z L Z +-1� 0� � � -C on NY cr� O L O O O (a N o ra .p L E H a>^+ 4. W V a � Ln CNE v � C: Y ro0c O 3Yco H O Qv > N n3 (a a� u Z a o > era on ofu o � 0) - a) o on Q) 4-1 'c o 4� � a-v +' o o � � rEo u v E Qi � o`n� aE 0 g N m0 3 3 uu � H oo n 3 � ° '> r r a @ LLI z / � � ) \ \ > § § @ 2 � 4-1k C 2 ƒ E § a m » � ƒ j � 2@ 2 � < 32 'ASf £ g E � 2 3 k / >1 M R § % / U § y f 2 % E ) \ k u \ k 0 . 0 '0 \ � a) } ° / / � US� / / > WfuE / ° § d -0 ° _ 0 ® » 20 � § § \ 77 � * CA ƒ m u x 3 E # � » / \ E » _ / § { ƒ 7 y / ) \ R go � � = � 7 G 2 � � > 5 0 > o o u o 0k & kk �/ \ \ / \ 0 / / fa ® 3\ / E « » E E ± E » C: / / / 2k > > z k / e ) E S Ea S E / o u g LA _ «2 ) u § � 0 § c § § 3 E » / \ / / d E 2 tA t 2 « o \ tc -0 Q / CL � t tA � � / % 2 \ k � $ 2 r / EE 0 C � $ 2 > u 3 on / k 0 � kA o § 2 = ) ) § 2 E ® / e / / 0 f , /= -!0 bo 4 ƒ # 3 & # on � & / y g � Q \ ra § / ° o = oV Q ' » a a u � § E 0 z — © E # � c r / u $ 2 / / � ƒ E Q / \ / C\ E " ) / ( 0 x q E q > K r $ ® z \ f 2 f r m 3 § Q e y l 2 o f / / $ ' | \ / ) 2 2 § 1 ƒ � / ) 5 3 / = 2 ® U 2 S " E / / ƒ § « / \ § 0 ] c 3 / z_ / \ § & � § / 3 E on C § g 6 u ® E/ E u u 2 u ^ � f > �: k / / oa > 2 / 2 \ \ ƒ ::E / / / u a a « w / & k C>1 Z W Y H v z Q a v Y O 3 J W 0 O 3 � 2 O Q Z +' W W O V E Z :E Q Z O H H G Q W +, > V i W L� LL O Q O m N W O 0 W W t41 V Q W LLI ® > Z Zu O u Q W J LU Y. E V III I O Z � W N � n. J Z T U. N Z W Y b w w �. L 16 Ln LLI 0. J V O Q W w � � Y J Q Z I F- 3 0 O W Q J X � � W � Q a a a T m a 0 C� L Q ro T ro T ro L L o a a Y ro ro O O T T to O ro ro N ro ro U LL- O` 0 O L 00 O01) Z ro O - u ro I- O 4 .+.� CD E U V) ro Q L 0 L u � W O O ` J O �--+ LY) M O u M Ln Ul Lfl N -C September 16,2016 Dear Ben and LTAC, way k you for the opportunity to respond to your questions.Because the goals and their success are so closely tied together,our ,✓vers to both are intertwined below. How would your firm balance the need to market Kent in a way that elevates the community in the minds of its various audiences,while also increasing the number of hotel stays,a primary goal of Kent's hoteliers? How would you measure the success of achieving both of these goals? Our team's long-term focus forVisit Kent is to refine the existing brand,including creating and utilizing a range of marketing and promo- tional tools (e.g.,website,social media,print materials,online advertising,video,etc.)to share that brand,while addressing the hoteliers' desire to increase hotel stays.We would achieve this by working on both goals simultaneously. TWO-PRONGED STRATEGY AT WORK We've been testing this strategy with Kent Downtown Partnership by helping promote their HAWKtoberfest car show on Sept.24. While Kathryn Schmidt refined the look for the event to create a cleaner,more sophisticated look and adding the existing Kent,Washing- ton brand,I developed a marketing proposal with two goals:increasing event attendance and encouraging hotel stays. INCREASE EVENT ATTENDANCE To increase event attendance,we used a variety of tools: • Paid social media advertising on Facebook • Editorial content and advertising on iLoveKent.net • Local event calendar entries (e.g.,SeattleTimes,KINGS,iLoveSeattle.org,News Tribune) • Posters and handbills • Large banners in visible spots around Kent • Press release for earned media,leveraging my existing media relationships MOTE HOTEL STAYS - ) i in the likelihood of hotel stays,we used several different techniques.On the posters and handbills,we used the Kent,Washing- ton logo,created two years ago,and text encouraging folks to stay in Kent and directing them to VisitKent.com.We shared posters and handbills with Kent businesses and hotels to share with their customers and guests. PAID SOCIAL MEDIA: RESULTS ON A BUDGET In blogs and social media posts,we encouraged out-of-towners to stay in Kent.We targeted our paid Facebook advertising outside the Seattle metro area: • Ocean Shores,which held a car show a few weeks ago • Yakima • Wenatchee • Spokane • Portland,Oregon • Vancouver,B.C. • Edmonton,Alberta. As of 6:45 a.m:,Sept. 16,our Facebook campaign had reached 9,732 people.Since we began the campaign on Aug.31,86 new people have said they'd attend the car show for a total of 164 attendees.There are another 506 who've indicated an interest in attending the car show,all on a$200 budget.This experiment has shown us that we don't need to spend thousands on paid social media to yield results. TWO ADS,TWO GOALS LOOKING FOR' PLACETO On iLoveKent.net,we posted two ads,one to • promote the event(linked to KDP) and the other to encourage car show attendees to -"V,in Kent (linked to the hotel page on VisitKent.com.)After the event,we'll be able to measure click-throughs the ads.By creating a two-pronged strategy for HAWKtoberfest,we can test and measure different tools and wchniques.We would apply the same strategy to Visit Kent. VIDEO PROMOTION: COMPLETE PROMOTION & DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY In our proposal,we outlined a range of tools and how they might be used to increase overnight stays in Kent,including a high-quality video to elevate Kent's image and visibi I ity,Targeted to different audiences,the video would include reasons to stay in Kent and feature ,ocal hotels and attractions.We would develop a complete promotion and distribution strategy for the video to maximize its use,but `\fe are a few examples of how it could be used. Hotel use:From the main video,we could create a shorter version of the video for the hotels to play in their lounges,lobbies,business centers and on in-room video channels.Hotel guests would get a sampling of Kent attractions,shops,restaurants,activities and culture to encourage them to stay longer or come back for another visit. Online distribution and earned media:Another example is to post the video to Vimeo and YouTube where we could measure views, click-throughs and shares.We would develop an earned media campaign to share the video with my network of media and travel writing/ editing/publishing contacts gained from my years as a travel writer and as past president of the Society of Professional journalists. NEWSLETTER: MARKETING TO DIFFERENT AUDIENCE SEGMENTS With the right editorial content and branding,we could implement a newsletter quickly,highlighting local attractions,shops,restaurants, events and hotel options.We would target specific audience segments,based on interests and location gathered during newsletter registration,and feature a different hotel in each issue.We would measure our success for each campaign by reviewing the open and click-through rates and comparing those to industry standards as well as past campaigns.We would employ A/B testing to ensure our subject lines,content and format are optimized for each audience. MAGAZINE/VISITOR'S GUIDE INYEARTWO Another tool that would directly benefit the hotels is the quarterly magazine or visitors guide that we've proposed in year two.This would be a seasonal print piece that hotels could share with their guests,Each issue would be tailored so each hotel would have a full- page ad in the front of the magazine and include upcoming events for that season.This would be ideal for business travelers and other guests new to Kent who aren't familiar with all we have to offer. Initially,there would be a cost in creating the magazine,but after the first issue,it could be self-sustaining,supported by advertising revenue,While this is a year two item due to time and budget constraints in year one,we believe it showcases our vision for a multi-year I out on developing and engaging outside audiences to see Kent as an evolving and active location for short and long-term stays. INCREASE VISIBILITY AT LOCAL EVENTS THAT DRAW OUTSIDE VISITORS We want to increase the visibility of Kent to outside visitors,specifically,those attending local events including hockey games,farmers markets,the business expo and festivals (e.g.,Kent International Festival,Kent Cornucopia Days,etc.).By creating a consistent presence and utilizing every opportunity to get in front of out-of-town guests,we'll spread the Visit Kent brand while giving visitors more reasons to stay overnight in Kent.Again,measurement will require a collaboration with the hotels. MEASUREMENT OFTHE PERCEPTION OF KENT Throughout our branding and promotion of Kent,we want to focus on elevating the Kent brand.As we discussed during our presenta- tion,Kent's image begins at home.Before we can expect anyone else to believe Kent is a great place to visit,we must believe it ourselves and ensure that our residents are proud to share Kent with their out-of-town family,friends and other contacts. The City of Kent has given us a jump start by recently completing a survey of 51 1 Kent residents who gave the city an overall star rating of 3.5 out of 5.0.In a recent Kent Reporter article about the survey,Northwest Research Group's Nathan Wiggin said our rating was ..a pretty positive place to be.You are very close to bumping up to a 4 star."That's a good starting point.We want to review the survey results in detail and use them as a baseline for how our own residents view the city and build on and promote our successes.We can use that information to direct our branding and promotional efforts locally and measure our efforts with subsequent surveys, For example,quality of life was included in the 3.5-star rating.When reviewing the survey results,if we can identify what some of those factors are,we can use some of those factors in the video,interviewing local residents who can talk about some of Kent's best features. The emotion and credibility of a resident highlighting why they love Kent could be very persuasive. SUMMARY We view our initial proposal as a set of recommendations for marketing and promotional tools and our vision forVisit Kent,but it isn't in stone.Our proposal's suggested approach and tactical plan create a starting point for a discussion with the JAC about how Visit t and lodging tax dollars could be better utilized to promote Kent and its hotels.It is a flexible plan that can be adapted to best meet everyone's needs. If you select our team to manage and grow the Visit Kent brand,we will work with you and other key stakeholders to create a brand that elevates Kent's image and that reflects our city's many assets.We would do so in a way that achieves short and long-term goals to position Kent as a"must see"city with many events,attractions and resources to draw visitors, �HANKYOU Nu have any specific questions about our proposal,we'll be happy to answer them.Thank you for your consideration. VirtuallyYourz,ilovekent.net Schmeedes Creative