The City Advertising and Promotion Commission received positive financials as well as a review of Paradise Marketing’s work during their April 26 meeting.
Interim Director Scott Bardin told commissioners that collections for March were the highest amount for the month they had ever received. Total collections came in at $158,110 compared to a budget of $100,00 and collections of $98,768 from last year. This total means the CAPC collected $59,342 more than March of last year, or a 62 percent increase.
In collections for the period of January – March, the CAPC has collected $405,487 versus a budget of $350,000 and comparing to last year’s collected $337,467 means a $72,019 increase for the period.
In Paradise Marketing’s review they noted that while visitor volume this March was below March 2022, average visitor spending increased from $107 – $129.
In paid media, Paradise showed the Spring Campaign, launched on March 20, with total impressions of 835,253 and total clicks being 2,942. This leaves a click-through-rate of .35 percent which is more than the industry benchmark of .08 percent.
Total video views were 138,177 with a video-completion-rate of 85 percent. Paid media includes displays on Expedia, Google, MobileFuse, VRBO, and others, as well as boosted posts on Facebook and Instagram. Up until March 20, boosted posts were the only marketing Paradise was performing for Eureka Springs as they sought the commission’s approval of their budget. Full results for the Spring Campaign will come from Paradise in May.
A breakdown of data Paradise Marketing provided can be found on visiteurekasprings.com on the Partners page. In looking ahead. the agency intends to present their media strategy for the summer and fall/winter campaigns. They will also continue training CAPC staff on updating and website management.
Parks survey gets thumbs up
Executive Director of the Parks Department Sam Dudley gave a quick breakdown of issues at Basin Park that need repair and are beyond the department’s budget. In 2011 McClelland Engineering gave a report that the park would need major repairs in 10 – 20 years to keep its integrity. Previous Director Scott Miskiel had McClelland Engineering do another survey of existing conditions. Parks recently gave a second payment of $10,000 to a $49,000 contract, leaving approximately $16,000 before the final phase would be completed.
The survey would take until the end of summer and would tell the department what needs fixing and how to fix it. Commissioners were open to assisting in payment of the survey, with commissioner David Avanzino saying it was in the CAPC’s purview. Chair Chris Clifton agreed since the park is utilized so much for events. In reviewing the contract, Avanzino noted the study was not to exceed $16,500. He went ahead and made a motion to allocate $17,000 to Parks to complete the study and it passed unanimously.
Other Items
- Commissioners agreed to move $15,000 from account 6079 to account 5067 to allow for more marketing support requests.
- On June 28, The Great Race comes through Eureka Springs. The Great Race is a premier old car rally where stops allow several hours for visitors to look at antique vehicles in a festival like setting. Sandy Martin requested $3,000 from the CAPC in support, with $2,500 to give Eureka Springs sponsorship placement on all Great Race material, and $500 to print decals. The sponsorship would also give the city access to The Great Race’s list of car clubs for future advertising of car festivals. Commissioners approved the request unanimously.
- Scott Bardin was hired by unanimous vote to be the permanent Tourism Director.
- Jeff Carter resigned from the commission.