CH-OCVB minutes 052015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 | Page CHOCVB BOD Meeting May20 , 2015 Ms. Rich announced that Laurie Paolicelli would take the new position of Director of Community Relations under the County Manager beginning July 1. Ms. Paolicelli replied that it is a tremendous opportunity and is a reflection of this board. Ms. Paolicelli explained that historically in past jobs, the county manager has leveraged a department such as this for the county as a whole. Back to the budget, Mark Sherburne inquired about the original sales manager position during Linda Ekeland's tenure. Ms. Paolicelli replied that with Ms. Ekeland’s retirement and the hiring and acclimation of Marlene Barbera, it was determined that a sales person working remotely made better sense. The position is currently advertised on HCareers, with a preference to find someone in a strategically geographic area, such as Charlotte, where there is a draw for Carolina Alumni. Advertising Update Mr. Storrow gave the floor to Clean Design for an update on the current and proposed 2015-16 marketing plan. Stephanie Perri gave a quick review of past creative designs and the small transition away from ‘Edge of the Triangle’ to a more image based type of ad that reflects more on the people and events in our communities. Ms. Perri noted that the creative shows a larger headline for ‘reason why they (visitors) should come’ and ‘what to do when they get here’ and a UNC identifier was also added. Ms. Perri commented that they are now reviewing whether the ads need to strategically evolve even more to remain relevant. In response, Ms. Paolicelli commented that based on Clean’s comment she senses there may be a need for refreshing the brand and invited Dwight Bassett to comment on the Town of Chapel Hill’s view. Mr. Bassett conveyed that the Town of Chapel Hill hired a consultant from Seattle to help with a new commercial development strategy and it was about a month in, after looking at everything the Town has been doing, the contractor stated that it looked like the Town is selling off an old brand and the approach needs to be refreshed. Paolicelli responded that moving forward the challenge is how do we ally with preservation and the growth aspects of who we are, where we’ve been and where we’re going. Clean Design’s Tom Hickey resumed the marketing update. Mr. Hickey reviewed macro trends in peer-to-peer influence in terms of dreaming and planning a trip and technology usage in terms of tracking & measuring, and online marketing. Mr. Hickey also reviewed highlights for the year ahead. Discussion followed on video marketing, paid social media, Googles role in travel & destination planning and tracking studies & actual arrivals to a destination through a company called Arrivalist. Ms. Paolicelli commented that we are not decreasing ad dollars, just a reflection of Marlene’s style where the call out is more through consumer channels rather than group media. Old Business In response to a question from April’s meeting, Laurie Paolicelli referred board members to a handout “Summer Months vs. Academic School Year” which showed a comparison in the hotel key indicator metrics for those segments. Ms. Paolicelli reported that there has been significant growth in rooms available since 2011 as well as Revenue per room; Orange County is attracting more hotels and seeing greater revenues. She also reported that the summer season is showing a greater increase in revenues siting corporate meetings, In-state visitors, advertising , town/gown conferences, healthcare related meetings, UNC student move-in (August), and summer events, camps as contributing factors. Paolicelli reported 2014 showed a 17.6% increase in occupancy tax revenue from 2013 to the amount of $185,575. Paolicelli noted that while summer is strong, RevPAR is lower and it is important to remember Epic, Lux & the US Open