By Vicky Wedig
Editor
The City of Delavan plans to hire a marketing firm to consolidate the advertising of local organizations in statewide publications.
City Administrator Denise Pieroni said the city hopes to be able to buy fewer, larger ads that represent all of its tourism entities rather than more, smaller ads by individual organizations. The intent it to draw overnight guests to the city from out of the area to increase room tax revenue, she said.
The city’s Room Tax Advisory Committee is recommending the city’s $36,000 request to use room tax funds to pay for the endeavor. The Common Council was expected to consider the committee’s recommendations Tuesday.
Pieroni said the city expects to have about $100,000 in room tax funds from 2013 to distribute in 2014 to projects that will bring overnight guests to the city’s hotels that generate the funds. The funds are distributed in two rounds of funding. The committee is recommending funding for the following projects for Round One:
• $15,000 to the Delavan-Delavan Lake Area Chamber of Commerce for marketing in 2014. The chamber requested $18,000, but the committee took out $3,000 for administration of the city’s marketing program, Pieroni said. The city included in its request $2,400 for the chamber to administer its marketing;
• $8,000 to the Phoenix Park Band Shell for marketing in 2014;
• $12,500 to the chamber toward the $34,800 cost of bringing a winter event, Sky Circus, to Delavan. Pieroni said Sky Circus is a humongous team kite-flying competition that will take place on Delavan Lake over Presidents’ Day weekend;
• $1,000 to Congdon Gardents for marketing to out-of-area or out-of-state garden clubs and for weddings. Pieroni said Congdon Gardens requested $3,000 but some of the funding requested was for local marketing, which the committee felt didn’t meet the criteria of generating overnight stays;
• $18,000 toward the city’s $36,000 plan to hire a firm to market the community. Pieroni said the advisory committee will recommend using $10,000 from the room tax fund balance and allocating $18,000 in the second round of funding to fully fund the project.
Pieroni said the stricter criteria the committee is using to determine whether to fund projects is paying off in additional room tax revenue. She said the city historically had about $30,000 in funds to distribute yearly and now has about $100,000.
Search for ad firm
Pieroni said she expected to send out a request for proposals from marketing firms early this week and receive proposals back the week of Dec. 18.
The firm the city selects will develop a marketing program for all advertising for the city encompassing organizations such as the Delavan Downtown Business Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Friends of the Phoenix Park Band Shell and Congdon Gardens.
The firm will develop a brand for the community and create cohesive ads using the brand to market the community and to advertise specific events such as Delavan Daze, Scarecrow Fest, First Fridays and the Phoenix Park Band Shell schedule.
Pieroni said the goal is “to create a plan for us to more effectively advertise Delavan as a good place to come and visit and do your business.”
Because the funds being used are generated from the city’s hotels, the idea is to target tourists and transient visitors to generate overnight stays and increase hotels’ revenue and, in turn, room tax revenue, she said.
The firm will create ads that work for everybody so that the city can purchase larger, more visible ads rather then individual organizations buying smaller ads.
Pieroni said organizations within the city were requesting funds to advertise in publications such as Wisconsin Trails, Experience Wisconsin and Fun in Wisconsin magazines and the Geneva Lake Visitors Guide. The organizations could buy quarter-page ads in the publications on their own, but together could purchase a full back-page ad, she said.
Pieroni said the firm can also recommend a format for the city’s media buys and generate ideas for other forms of media the city should be using, such as radio. The firm will also monitor whether the city is generating interest in the community by advertising in certain publications.
“It’s kind of a full scope,” she said.
Of the $36,000 cost, $30,000 is for the marketing firm, $3,600 is for the actual cost of ads and $2,400 is for the chamber to administer the program.
Pieroni said a chamber representative will be the contact person for the marketing consultant and will conduct administrative duties such as coordinating deadlines for advertising and issuing press releases. A panel of representatives from various organizations will likely be formed to review certain things such as designs or plans that are being developed to ensure they meet all groups’ needs, she said.
