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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04. 2017-03-01 CSE Minutes DRAFTCSE Minutes March 1, 2017 Page 1 of 5 DRAFT COMMISSION ON SPECIAL EVENTS MEETING Vail Town Council Chambers Wednesday, March 1, 2017 @ 8:30am AGENDA: Meeting materials can be accessed at the following link: http://bit.ly/2lVJqS7 CSE Members Present: Samantha Biszantz Barry Davis Mark Gordon Rayla Kundolf Kim Newbury Rediker Marco Valenti Alison Wadey TOV Staff Present: Kelli McDonald, Economic Development Manager Ernest Saeger, Special Events Coordinator Laura Waniuk, Event Liaison Specialist Others Present: Beth Pantzer, Bravo! Vail Missy Johnson, Highline Brooke Skjonsby, Vail Resorts Liz Gladitsch, Vail Resorts Janet Bunning, Cactus CSE Chair, Barry Davis , called the meeting to order at 8:33am. Administrative Items Approval of the Minutes of the CSE Meeting February 1, 2017  Motion to approve the minutes of the CSE Meeting on February 1, 2017 as presented. M/S/P: Valenti/Rediker/ Unanimous. The motion passed 7-0 Reminder: Meeting Reminders: CSE Deadlines & Meeting Reminders: 2017 Allocations/budget status $10,000 balance in funding allocation budget CSE Minutes March 1, 2017 Page 2 of 5 Rediker noted that the Vail Rec District was approached by the Golf Course Superintendents Association who are holding a tournament at the Vail Golf Club in August. Rediker noted they will bring several hundred people to town that weekend. McDonald asked if it is a conference as well. Rediker said yes. McDonald suggested they contact the Vail Valley Partnership for funding since they have a marketing budget set aside for this type of event. Kundolf noted that the Gerald R Ford golf tournament was a great event and brought a lot of people to town. Waniuk noted that this $10,000 is going to stay on the agenda. Kundolf noted the last time the money was put into fireworks. Biszantz noted that is was originally allocated to a beer event (Ed Fest) so does it make sense to allocate to Vail Craft Beer Classic since they are a first year event and did not receive the full amount of funding they asked for. Gordon asked that Waniuk contact the Vail Craft Beer Classic to see what $10,000 would do for them. Wadey noted that Pioneer Weekend is coming back this year and may be an option. McDonald asked if Packy is going to come to Council for funding. Wadey said it is the Vail Chamber who is running the event. McDonald noted that Council funding for the year in the year is due in May. Kundolf noted Gordon’s suggestion of putting out an RFP. Davis said making a motion at this time would close the door on a few ideas such as additional fireworks funding. Davis said we will have Waniuk contact potential events and provide feedback. Waniuk noted that the RFP process would take an estimated 6 weeks from start to finish. Gordon clarified that there is no policy to require an RFP. McDonald confirmed. San Miguel de Allende Exchange Visit & Literary Conference Report Davis noted the event drew about 350 attendees. Davis said it was started through a friend’s network and the attendee demographic is very narrow. Davis noted their town has the same issues that Vail does and they are always looking for new venues for their events. Davis noted that Gordon and he felt lucky that we have the CSE in Vail. Gordon noted that all events are privately funded and do not have seed money. Davis noted the idea of what events could Vail bring to San Miguel de Allende through our sister city partnership. Gordon noted that the demographics are narrow but there is still an overlap with Vail’s demographic. Gordon said there is interest from the event producer to have a literary conference in the shoulder season in Vail and perhaps they would apply for funding from CSE. Davis noted there is not an event like this in Colorado’s mountain region. Davis noted the talent they were able to bring in was very impressive. Gordon said he attended the Colorado Humanities event and found interest in this type of literary event. Gordon noted that San Miguel de Allende has relationships with other schools in the USA and they tasked Jody about creating a connection between San Miguel de Allende and Homestake Peak. Waniuk asked if this event was brought to Vail how would it evolve or change to make it fit. Davis said they would need guidance with their marketing. Davis said the demographic would need to be broadened. Davis noted the strength is that it is indoors and works any day on the calendar. Kundolf noted that the event would be good to have in May because it is inside. Kundolf said that the community should participate in helping bring this event to Vail. McKenny noted that the Vail Centre may be a good fit for this type of event. Biszantz asked if the attendees were writers or readers. Davis said they were a majority of women who aspire to be writers but they were all hobbyists and fans. CSE Minutes March 1, 2017 Page 3 of 5 Biszantz noted that we should look at what happened with the writer’s conference in Avon. Waniuk noted that she did contact the writers’ conference to gain their interest in submitting an RFP but did not receive a response. VEAC Meeting Report Kundolf said the emphasis was that the CSE works very well with all boards and commissions to ensure success. Waniuk noted that Brian Nolan said one of the items that Beaver Creek does is ask each retailer and restaurant to run reports based on the specific event that happened that day or weekend. Gordon does not believe this is possible. McDonald said the Town of Vail finance department believes that is very proprietary information. McDonald noted that the CSE has spent $50,000 annually for much more significant data through event surveys. Wadey noted the idea to ask businesses which top 2 events work and which top 2 events don’t work. McDonald noted that she can add the conversation to the VEAC neighborhood business report. Event Liaison Marketing Update Waniuk said that the Vail Whitewater is adding new aspects such as rodeo and team competitions. Waniuk noted that they have almost 800 followers on their Facebook page. Kundolf asked if they could partner with GoPro Mountain Games. Waniuk said that their last event is the week of GoPro Mountain Games and they do cross promote. Waniuk noted that the GoPro Mountain Games are adding a new dog tank and speed event. Waniuk said they are adding more yoga, expanding further activation to Lionshead, and having all of their concerts in the Amphitheater. Waniuk said they are also revamping their Ultimate Mountain Challenge and adding a new running event. Waniuk said that Outside TV is their media partner and the Town of Vail will provide a commercial. Waniuk noted that Ariel with the Vail Summer Bluegrass Series is working together well with the Arrabelle. Gordon asked if there is a lineup yet. Wadey noted that Ariel is releasing the week of March 6th. Waniuk noted the success of the Vail Yeti Hockey Club surveys with a total of 70 responses. Waniuk noted that they are working with Malen Yantis Public Relations to identify influencers for certain events to take over Instagram, etc. Waniuk noted the Vail Craft Beer Classic is bringing a beer yoga specialist and influencer. Saeger noted that Vail Craft Beer Classic tickets are on sale. Valenti asked if the Vail Craft Beer Classic has an all access pass for sale. Waniuk noted that the Vail Craft Beer Classic has a weekender package that includes Saturday and Sunday events. Wadey asked how the Big Beers went in Breckenridge this year. Waniuk said it went well and they were nominated as one of the best beer festivals this year. Cactus Branding Update/VLMDAC See Presentation for Further Details Bunning said the summer campaign personas focus on the customer first. Bunning noted the first target is dynamic families. Bunning said that they focus on the early summer because families have kids that go back to school in the fall and are less likely to travel then. McDonald asked if the active professional group is what used to be millennials. Bunning confirmed. Gordon noted that they will then become families and/or super boomers. Bunning noted that active professionals are highly motivated by CSE Minutes March 1, 2017 Page 4 of 5 their peers and usually are influenced by social and digital. Bunning noted the third is super boomers. Bunning noted that just because they are a little bit older doesn’t mean they aren’t young at heart and they want to have fun. Bunning said that super boomers are into Facebook but not as much Instagram, Twitter, and other social media networks. Bunning said the platform they decided on is called “For Those Who…”, Waniuk asked for explanation on the super boomers data driven TV. McDonald noted that they can now target customers in different markets who will see our ads on TV as soon as they turn it on. Waniuk noted that there is a grid that identifies specific events that will be promoted such as GoPro Mountain Games, Bravo! Vail, International Dance Festival, Oktoberfest, Gourmet on Gore, Vail Craft Beer Classic, Kids Adventure Games, Outlier Off-road Festival, and a few that are mid week messages. Kundolf noted that she believes the super boomer persona generally make more than $100,000 and so do active professionals. McDonald noted that the VLMDAC was originally at $75,000 with the goal of attracting a broader audience but increased it to $100,000 to be one step above other mountain towns. Bunning noted that $100,000 is the starting income, not the maximum. McDonald noted that Cactus can super target as well. McDonald asked when it is launching. Bunning said the last week of March and pre-roll around mid April. Waniuk said that the event promoter brand summit will be on April 20th. Spring Back to Vail Event Discussion See Presentation for Further Details Skjonsby noted Vail Resort’s overall event strategy and collaborative partnership with the Town of Vail, CSE, and partners in Highline. Skjonsby said Vail Resort’s events are on brand and drive destination guests. Skjonsby noted they will have a full marketing and advertising campaign through social, print, and digital outlets. Skjonsby noted the event begins on Friday, April 14th with partner expo in Mountain Plaza and concert on Saturday April 15th. Skjonsby said the concert on Saturday night may be in Solaris or Ford Park parking lot. Skjonsby noted that Volvo is going to have a popup display on the International Bridge that weekend which directly competes with Audi and are currently waiting for further details from Volvo. Gordon asked if there are any formal events taking place on closing weekend. Skjonsby confirmed that no there are not. Gordon noted that Spring Back to Vail was originally for bringing people here for closing weekend. Skjonsby noted that the calendar affects that and since it is so late it is more of a local weekend and the weekend before is more of an opportunity to bring guest in from out of town. Wadey asked if there is an occupancy report for this weekend. Skjonsby said the Destimetrics report looks good for this weekend. Gordon noted that it is looking good even before the concert is announced. McDonald noted that there is an expectation that there will be a concert. Skjonsby noted the direction to find a mainstream act with a big name that will bring people in from out of town. Skjonsby noted the new direction this year to add elements such as RRR Rewards with local businesses, family skate & s’mores night at Arrabelle, guided snowshoe tour, and two mornings of Yoga at Eagle’s Nest. Skjonsby noted that for 2018 her goal is to add more elements to their events outside of concerts and expo village. Wadey asked if Spring Back to Vail will continue to be on the weekend before closing weekend. Wadey believes that with it already being Easter Weekend hotels and businesses are already busy. Skjonsby noted that nothing is set in stone and she wants to hear feedback from CSE Minutes March 1, 2017 Page 5 of 5 CSE and the Town of Vail as to what date Spring Back to Vail falls on. McDonald noted that occupancy is at 34% but trending way ahead and last year it only got to 65%. McDonald asked the CSE if they would like to include any comments into the Council packet. Wadey noted that the date is a conversation to be had. Kundolf noted that the concert is expected and that it should be an A-list band. Gordon said they asked the Council for the additional $100,000 to be put toward Spring Back to Vail and it was not provided. Waniuk noted that $30,000 was funded by CSE. Waniuk noted that Highline proposed two funding options; one with a concert and one without. Gordon noted that the CSE should make the argument to Council to ask for the $100,000. Wadey noted that Council should include this as one of their Signature Events. McDonald noted that Council members did express that this is out of cycle and there will be discussion on how this moves forward. Wadey noted that they had already expressed this to Council. Waniuk noted that it is a positive that Council supports events. Valenti confirmed that the intent is to maximize the return on the dollars spent. Davis said that when an event becomes a line item it should be removed from the CSE. Davis said that Vail America Days should be a line item and by taking it off of their plate it would free up the CSE to have further discussions about other events. New Business and Community Input Gordon asked for an update on Vail Film Festival. Saeger said they are screening their films at the Cascade theatre and CineBistro. Waniuk noted they are focusing on women in film this year. Wadey noted that there is Vail Chamber open informational session on April 6th in either Arrabelle or Blue Moose at 8:30am. Wadey said they will have a summer kick off on Tuesday June 6th at the Sebastian.  Motion to Adjourn at 10:14 a.m. M/S/P: Wadey/Valenti /Unanimous. The motion passed 6-0. (Rediker absent)