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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-06-04 CSE MinutesCSE Minutes Regular Meeting: June 4, 2014 Page 1 of 6 MINUTES: COMMISSION ON SPECIAL EVENTS MEETING Vail Town Council Chambers Wednesday, June 4, 2014 @ 8:30 a.m. CSE Members Present: Jeff Andrews Bobby Bank Amy Cassidy Barry Davis Rayla Kundolf Nicole Whitaker CSE Member Absent: Mark Gordon Town of Vail Staff Present: Sybill Navas, CSE Coordinator Kelli McDonald, Economic Development Manager Others Present: Laura Waniuk, Event Liaison Margaret Rogers, Vail Town Council Meggen Kirkham, Site Marketing Sandra Perrig, Vail Valley Partnership Brooke Macke, Vail Resorts Angela Mueller, Taste of Vail Missy Johnson, Highline Peggy Wolfe, Highline Chris Chantler, Taste of Vail Tracey Flower, Vail Symposium Scott Cross, Vail Film Festival Sean Cross, Vail Film Festival Meeting Materials may be viewed at: http://www.vailgov.com/WebLink8/Browse.aspx?startid=48965&row=1&&dbid=0 CSE Chair, Barry Davis, called the meeting to order at 8:34 a.m. Administrative Approval of the Minutes of the CSE Regular Meeting of May 7, 2014  Motion to approve the minutes of the CSE meeting of May 7, 2014, amended as requested by Andrews. M/S/P: Kundolf /Andrews/Unanimous The motion passed 6-0. CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: June 4, 2014 Page 2 of 6 Financial Report Navas stated that there needs to be a larger strategy discussion about event producer surveys for the 2015 RFP process. Currently, as the spreadsheet indicates, there are a number of event producers who haven’t provided survey results or net promoter score and other key pieces of information required for their 2014 event recap. Reschedule joint meeting between ERC (Event Review Committee) & CSE Need to find an alternate date that works for everyone. Kundolf raised the topic of liquor license discussions with regard to events. She suggested it might be helpful for the CSE to understand the process and be aware of the requirements. Davis suggested the date of June 26 to meet with the ERC and the liquor license group. The meeting is planned to be held from 1pm-3pm in the Town Council Chambers. Update on marketing efforts for summer events: Laura Waniuk Please see presentation for detail. In addition to the report, Waniuk stated that she had received a number of Vail Arts Festival marketing materials, ads, poster and promotional event plans on 6/4. Goodness Research Project overview and discussion following as to how the information may affect the CSE criteria for funding: Meggen Kirkham Please see presentation for detail. This presentation was given to the Vail Town Council on May 20, 2014. VLDMAC, Vail branding and messaging goals all roll up to Town Council Goals. Kirkham stated that the value of overnight guests is strong, due to their spending on shopping, restaurants, etc. The international guest attendance could be underrepresented due to lack of data on their visits. Andrews asked about the definition of conversion, Kirkham stated that it’s based on actual bookings. Kirkham mentioned that it would be good for the event producers to map to the timel ine of when people are planning and booking their vacations. McDonald mentioned that it’s incredibly important to have event calendars up on the websites (vail.com, etc.) in January/February when guests are planning their trips. Navas stated that the rese arch indicates the ambient events have a positive impact on guests when they arrive in town. Rogers stated that how relaxation and physical activity are interrelated covers a broad range. People view luxury vs. wilderness experience differently: there is an overlap between being active in the mountains and rest/relaxation; guests define rest and relaxation differently depending on who they are. Event Recaps Vail Symposium: Tracey Flower The Symposium had a phenomenal season. They had some well known guests and a great variety for everyone who attended. Next year they will plan more thoughtfully about venue size and location, as many events were sold out, while others were too remote. There was great feedback from local residents. Areas of improvement are data collection and understanding their attendees better. Although many attendees represent an older CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: June 4, 2014 Page 3 of 6 demographic, such as retirees, there is a trend for younger people to attend as well. Engaging them with marketing is a focus for next year, planning for more targeted marketing efforts on specific channels and demographics. The summer Symposium features 10 programs which cover lighter subjects. The Symposium is working with local event producers, such as Bravo! and the International Dance Festival to provide content to their attendees. Looking ahead to W inter 2015, they plan to keep consistency in programming, host 13-15 programs, feature some heavier topics and provide greater variety in subject matter. Kundolf stated they could enhance the way they collect data and focus on Vail Valley residents vs. second homeowners. Navas mentioned that the NPS scale is a key part in reporting the overall success of events. Flower mentioned that they currently collect information via the website registration form and they plan to implement live polling in Summer 2014 and Winter 2015.  Motion to approve the recap for the Vail Symposium and release the final funding disbursement. M/S/P: Bank/Kundolf/Unanimous- The motion passed 6-0. Taste of Vail: Angela Mueller Angela will email out their NPS (Net Promoter Score) data for the event. The event was challenging due to the weather, but it was still a great success. This event shows Vail as a strong culinary destination. The Debut of Rosé was an event component that the CSE additionally funded that also was sponsored by USA Today. Walking Mountains took care of the event green footprint; recycling and composting. The event grew its social media presence and presence in the Front Range. There was growth in number of stays after the media day. Despite the inclement weather, the Lamb Cook-off was still successful. There was an estimated attendance of 9,000+ at the Lamb Cook-off. Demographics: 42% of attendees were from Colorado; the balance was from the rest of the country and included international visitors. Whitaker mentioned that there is still an opportunity to do earlier advance marketing; the hotels can use that information to sell opportunities to encourage guests to return in springtime.  Motion to approve the recap for the Taste of Vail and release the final funding disbursement. M/S/P: Bank/Whitaker/Unanimous- The motion passed 6-0. Spring Back to Vail: Missy Johnson, Peggy Wolfe There are still some missing attendance and survey details from Vail Mountain. It’s unclear if they will get that complete data. There was a lot of this information in the intercept study, and they stated that they will double check to see if that information is publicly available. McDonald will participate in the discussion regarding the intercept study data with Highline and Vail Resorts. Andrews asked how media impressions are calculated. Vail Resorts works with a Front Range media planning company, the impressions are a combined total of all different channels of media. Bank mentioned that he thinks that more thought should be put into the selection of bands. There were two different views on the attendees of the concerts. Pond Skimming is a huge CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: June 4, 2014 Page 4 of 6 draw for the event. Davis commended that they took some chances with bands and they have delivered over the years some of the most iconic and memorable days in Vail. Kundolf noted that there needs to be a detailed, clarified advance notice for the sound check. Including what type of music and how long it will last. Whitaker asked about Great Race 2.0, Presented by Red Bull, Johnson mentioned that it was a fantastic event, but the advertising started late. For 2015 there is more lead time needed for the marketing. Bank mentioned that there may have been confusion by the event name, “The Great Race”, as it had been an event held in Vail a number of years ago. Whitaker asked if the span of the two weekend event was a positive or a negative, Highline stated it worked really well. There was a discussion between Andrews and Kundolf regarding funding of the event, which is dependent on their agreement to provide the survey data in their recap. Navas mentioned that Highline may need to do their own survey in the future to be independent of Vail Resorts survey. McDonald will work with Highline to procure data from Vail Resorts, as it does impact funding allocations. Johnson stated again that they are not certain which data they will receive. There may be some data that could be confidential to Vail Resorts.  Motion to approve the recap for Spring Back to Vail and release the final funding disbursement based on subsequent receipt of all available data survey information by June 30, 2014. M/S/P: Andrews/Whitaker/Unanimous - The motion passed 6-0. Vail Film Festival: Sean & Scott Cross Additional event survey data will be provided by the end of the day. The event had a challenge with sponsorships. Cadillac had withdrawn as a sponsor 5 weeks prior to the event. Chipotle decided not to sponsor due to their internal strategy change. The attendee response was that many people enjoyed that the festival was more intimate. Thirty films was a reduction from the previous year, but still a good size festival. They have many new plans for 2015; they hired a sponsorship agency that has a good track record with film festivals. They plan to have multiple sponsorships across all categories, if possible. They are already at work on film submissions. They have just launched their online film festival. It’s a great opportunity for sponsors to see their brand activated online. For 2015, Cinebistro will be a VIP location only. The event producers are also on the Cultural Committee for the 2015 Ski Championships. They plan to activate and gain some exposure there. They are planning to partner with hotels a lot sooner in 2015 and they are currently in talks with a major airline for sponsorship. Andrews asked about their weakness in marketing due to sponsorship and funding loss. What types of things they would do differently next year? They stated they would involve the community more, getting more stores, merchants, hotels involved and market to the Front Range. Andrews mentioned that he enjoyed their email newsletters and Whitaker stated she had been following them on Facebook. The post-event survey includes two numbers, a total of 10,000 attendees who were exposed to festival signage and activities onsite. The second number is the direct attendance number, 5,182. Whitaker commended the event producers on the quality of films and that they were able to keep the quality high despite the loss of the sponsors. They CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: June 4, 2014 Page 5 of 6 plan to cross promote the Vail Film Festival at the Cabo San Lucas Film Festival and to continue working with those event producers.  Motion to approve the recap for Vail Film Festival and release the final funding disbursement based on subsequent receipt of all available data survey information by June 30, 2014. M/S/P: Andrews/Bank/Unanimous - The motion passed 6-0. Memo from CSE: Outcome of discussion with Stan Zemler: Jeff Andrews, Bobby Bank McDonald gave a recap of the meeting; the memo was well presented and had an open dialogue. There will be further discussion and it will be considered in the budget discussions for 2015. Andrews stated that the group needs to keep in mind that all other departments are held to the same budgetary standards, that was the biggest takeaway from the meeting. McDonald stated that the CSE request is submitted, and every department is aware of it. There are three possible outcomes: 1) all of the request could be accepted, 2) a portion of the request could be accepted, or 3) none of it will be disbursed. Rogers stated that there are lots of opinions about the value of events among different town council members. Rogers went on to say that having back-up data and analysis would be most effective tool as supporting evidence for this request. Rogers continued to discuss the difference between "value of" vs. "investment in" for events. McDonald explained how Town funding and budgets are approached. The budgeting comes back to looking at both revenue and expense. Navas stated that this is an important conversation to have with the ERC; they are the ones who feel the immediate pressure to make these events happen. They are part of the infrastructure where the effect on internal town resources and departments is most significantly felt. McDonald stated that the data exists and it will be provided to Rogers. Kundolf explained that the open forum is a good evolution for the CSE and how they interact with the Town Council. Navas provided insight into the impact of events on the direct and indirect expense to Town of Vail staff. Andrews asked about the incremental cost for each event, McDonald stated that does not exist and it’s up to each department to manage their resources. Rogers questioned the large amount of funds for the Burton event, and that since they come from the Town of Vail reserve budget, are not sustainable over time . Are there other opportunities to fund the event at a lesser amount? Bank said it was a question of how much the funding can be reduced before the producers take their event somewhere else. Bank mentioned that there is a definite difference in looking at events from the CSE point of view vs. the Town Council, and continued by stating that a big part of t he economic contribution delivered by Burton is in the value of the marketing and the resulting exposure for Vail and our brand to a younger demographic. A big the difference between summer and winter events is that in the summer the VLMDAC is able to help evaluate the marketing contributions of individual events, which he believes is the biggest value to the Burton event, making if a bit different than the “usual” events that the CSE evaluates. Whitaker pointed out that among the sponsorships for the Burton event, the front and center location of Town of Vail logo with its broad exposure is valuable. She asked why Burton doesn’t approach local merchants for sponsorships. Rogers noted that Burton CSE Minutes Regular Meeting: June 4, 2014 Page 6 of 6 focuses on national sponsors. Davis commented that Burton is an iconic event and exceeds the Pro Challenge exposure. Andrews re-stated one of the strategies from the branding firm is that “Icons play with Icons,” i.e. Burton and Vail. Review and approve or amend CSE Work Plan for 2014 Andrews noted that the CSE goals align with the VLMDAC, as well as fitting into the Town Council Goals. McDonald stated that this serves as a roadmap for the CSE. Navas stated that the CSE is accomplishing what is clearly outlined in the Town Council Plan. This work plan will be incorporated into the strategy discussion for event funding requests and assessments. Rogers stated that there was a little confusion regarding Tier IV event funding. Davis said that we should think about what types of information we ask the Tier IV event producers for. Bank asked Rogers to explain the educational opportunities portion of the Town of Vail mission statement. Rogers stated that there could be more done for the Vail community from an educational point of view. She stated that the CSE has been asked to do the assessment for the Tier IV proposals because they are the experts. Bank used the Film Festival as an event example – it could become a Tier IV candidate. Rogers stated that she thinks there are a lot of opportunities for health and we llness events and programs as drivers to Vail. The challenge is to define those events and understand the impacts of different types of events. McDonald stated that the Town Council allocation requests are due by the end of June. Navas said that the Film Festival would apply for Town Council funding and if they don’t receive it, then they can follow up and apply for the CSE funding. Navas said that if we had held the funding for Tier IV events earlier, some of the CSE funded events would likely have fallen under the Tier IV category. Andrews stated that the funding requested of the Town Council for surveys would alleviate that cost in the event producer’s budgets and hopefully will free up some of their budgets to focus on more marketing. McDonald stated that the community survey will be presented on June 17. There are a lot of special events questions in the survey that will be reviewed.  Motion to approve the CSE Work Plan for 2014-2015 for reference as a living and ever evolving document. M/S/P: Bank/Kundolf/Unanimous - The motion passed 6-0. New Business and Community Input: There was none.  Motion to adjourn @ 11:42 a.m. M/S/P: Andrews/Cassidy/Unanimous -The motion passed 6-0. Next CSE Meeting: Wednesday, July 2, 2014 @ 8:30 a.m. Vail Town Council Chambers