Mike Maloney’s City Advertising and Promotion Commission Director’s report gave a positive outlook of CAPC marketing efforts during their March 26 regular meeting. Maloney covered that for the first quarter, marketing efforts have been on Search Engine Marketing to push visitors toward the CAPC website. He presented a graph on those efforts showing 15,397 visitors reaching the website in February while “organic” website visits were an additional 12,000. Organic site visits might come from optimization of a website’s content and technical aspects so that it ranks higher in searches through relevant keywords, but SEM includes that and paid advertising.
Maloney explained that year-to-date the increase of website traffic from SEM organic traffic had grown 11 percent compared to last year, and that for February the website was seeing a 22 percent increase in new visitors. He said that SEM jumping over SEO (organic traffic) was a good marker that marketing was working.
Maloney also presented commissioners with a breakdown of page views, as well as the results of META prospecting campaigns. Prospecting campaigns are meant to reach people who have never seen or interacted with a brand and may be broader in scope than campaigns that, as an example, market a specific event.
In reporting on staff activity, Maloney said that the Robert Earl Keen show at the Aud had been a near sellout. He said that he and Administrative Manager Danyelle Harris had joined Mayor Butch Berry as he received the Arkansas Arts Council Community Development Award at the Governor’s Arts Awards Ceremony in Little Rock on March 7.
He also said staff had received training from Madden Media on March 11 on the use of Voyage, the media platform that helps the CAPC place media; that Danyelle Harris and Group Sales Manager Jana Taylor had recently attended the Dallas Travel Show; and also, thatAuditorium ushers are to receive the last of CPR training.
During the finance report, commissioners discussed the procedure of when the CAPC has business licenses revoked if a collector has failed to send taxes in. Finance Director Ty Reed said that he had been busy contacting late collectors and had made payment plans to get those late back up to date on monthly collections.
Total collections for February were $90,789.70 with a year-to-date collection of $201,000 with a budget of $106,000 and year-to-date income at $225,633 with a budget of $229,000.
Two funding requests relating to Blues Party Weekend were approved.
Jack Moyer gave a breakdown of Eureka Springs Blues Party with shows in Basin Park, the Basin Park Hotel Ballroom and in venues across Eureka Springs with more than 20 total shows. Moyer said the event is expanding this year with a street party and entertainment district on Thursday, May 29. The event also includes a show produced by Larry Shaefer, as well as a Saturday show at Grotto and a sendoff show at Chelsea’s.
Commissioner Robert Schmid asked if the second applicant, Center Street Block Party, happening on the same weekend would constitute the same event. Moyer argued that the Community Center has its own event to promote in that regard, and Blues Party had plenty to promote with its request. The commission unanimously approved $5,000 in marketing support for the Blues Party.
Anna Smedley, executive director of the Eureka Springs Community Center, requested $2,500 for the Center Street Block Party. The event is on Saturday of the Blues Party schedule and is a fundraiser for the Community Center. Smedley said they estimate 300 attendees this year and the event will have a bar as well as regional beer tastings that will be ticketed and live music. Commissioners passed the marketing request unanimously
- The commission voiced intention to work on cleaning up by-laws regarding new commission appointments. Commissioner Steve Holifield said that the lawsuits the city is dealing with is from commissions and that the CAPC can work to clarify how commissioners are appointed, kept, and removed if they overstep boundaries of duties.
- The commission is scheduled to vote on chair term limits at the next meeting.