City Advertising and Promotion Commission’s Jan. 26 meeting focused on looking back to 2021 with glowing reports from all.
Finance Director Scott Bardin gave a view of revenue made in the previous year. Year-to-date collections for 2021 were $1,868,100. Compared to 2020 collections this was up $595,633 and compared to 2019 up $356,376. In comparison to the 2021 budget of $1,633,000 the CAPC had completed 2021 up $235,100.
Bardin presented a second page of collections remitted compared to the budget breakdown. In food and beverage collections actual collections were $913,190 with an original budget of $819,000. Lodging collections were $954,909 with a budget of $814,000 and total collections were above budget by 14.3 percent. Bardin described it as “healthy growth.”
The second part to the handout given to commissioners showed graphs of monthly collections for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. Bardin made note of 2020’s drop in revenue starting in March and lasting through May with commissioner Patrick Burnett commenting it went in line with the original shut down mandates of the pandemic. Bardin also noted growth in 2021 from July until a dip in revenue in September saying the graphs were, “indication to be used by anyone here locally who owns a business to see where tourism starts to increase.”
Looking at the December 2021 financial report, commissioner Autumn Slane questioned what the expense of memberships entailed. Tourism Director Madison Dawson explained it included annual software licensing such as Adobe and music licensing for ads.
Commissioner James DeVito asked why delinquent payments had not been included in the report, and Bardin explained that while there had been a month in 2021 where nearly $15,000 in payments were made, he did not include delinquent payments in the report because they did not amount to a significant amount.
Paradise and report view on 2022
During staff reports, Dawson covered items the CAPC had recently accomplished. The wheelchair lift in the Aud is fully installed and ready for use, painting in the basement has begun, and Dawson is waiting for advice from the Municipal League about the CAPC offering grants to event organizers. She summed up the 2021 financials as a “record year” before bestowing accolades for every staff member.
Dawson described Paradise Marketing as “Imperative to CAPC’s marketing success,” and let Paradise representative Sarah Galen, via Zoom call, speak to the commission. Galen said that Paradise’s marketing team would have a more comprehensive review in February but said that they are working on planning 2022’s marketing goals and plans. She also spoke on the opportunity the CAPC had in redesigning their websites.
In response to Wright asking how Paradise’s closer relationship with NWA marketing would help Eureka Springs, Sarah said that they will be collecting more data from other municipalities in the area. The data would help Paradise see who travels to the area and how they visit locations within the region, giving them more insight in how to advertise the city of Eureka Springs in the process.
Auditorium Marketing Director Molly Horton covered the five shows at the Auditorium in the first quarter of the year.
In relation to marketing, Horton said she had created the Eureka Springs CAPC Announcement Page on Facebook and would be working with Paradise to create more Instagram and Facebook Live posts. She gave examples of parades, concerts, and features on local business and artists as posts for those pages. She also said she was working on making a more comprehensive calendar of events and a way businesses could submit their event to for that calendar.
Other Items
- Anthony Christopher, promoter of Arkansas Continental gave a follow-up to the marketing support received from the CAPC. He said that despite the uphill battle due to unpredictable weather and a slow month, the AR Continental Pageant had gone well. He presented commissioners a map showing guests coming from 49 cities and 14 states with more than 400 attendees. The Auditorium had made $1,081.74 in concessions.
- Carter and Wright were renominated and voted in as Chair and Secretary. DeVito nominated commissioner Patrick Burnett as vice chair and the nomination passed unanimously.