CAPC to whip up the ‘egg’

By Nicky Boyette – “Let’s see if we can change a few things,” commissioner Susan Harman stated as she began a PowerPoint presentation to the City Advertising and Promotion Commission at its Jan. 11 meeting. She said she had suggestions for changes in marketing strategy.

She said the state, using an algorithm, determined that Eureka Springs brings in one million visitors annually. Harman showed maps representing where the CAPC currently advertises frequently, an area Executive Mike Maloney calls the egg, which represents approximately a six-hour driving distance from Eureka Springs. Cities inside the egg include Shreveport, Dallas, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Memphis, Omaha, St. Louis, Kansas City, Wichita and Springfield.

Harman noted that this six-hour egg represents maybe 20 million people, and, since one million came to Eureka Springs, one could interpret this to mean five percent of the targeted audience came to Eureka Springs. She proposed expanding the egg to an eleven-hour distance, which would up the ante by an additional 80 million people.

She said in her experience as a Bed & Breakfast owner, some guests tell her they drive two five- or six-hour days to get here. Those extra hours, Harman maintained, would add Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Chicago, Des Moines and Denver. She envisioned short online videos she called “introductions to Eureka Springs” as a teaser to draw viewers to the website.

Harman said this “targeted digital campaign” would be a logical format for the Made in Eureka Springs promotions Maloney has been developing. She reiterated the importance of expanding the egg, and Maloney said he was in favor of trying it every other month during the year to see what happens, and would talk to his digital ad team about it soon.

Harman also asked for these other items:

• keeping commissioners informed of ad campaigns in development so the commission knows what is going on
• preparing a campaign checklist for all campaigns
• informing the commission of data related to ad spending
• setting periodic revenue goals
• meeting with the digital vendors at workshops to ask questions
• considering the shelf life of the Made in Eureka Springs campaign
• making sure staff get the training they need

On the road again

Maloney reported that Sales Director Karen Pryor was off to Cleveland for the American Bus Association and Progressive Motorcycle shows. In February, she will be in California for the Select Traveler show and then back to Chicago for another Progressive Motorcycle show. In March, she has two events scheduled in Eureka Springs with representatives from Travel South, plus the Branson Travel South Showcase. The final event in the first quarter will be a big Eureka Springs presence at the Travel and Adventure Expo in Denver March 17-20.

Other items

• Finance Director Rick Bright reported that total collections through November were $109,241 over budgeted expectations, and expenses were $60,792 less than had been budgeted.
• After a brief discussion, commissioners agreed that Bright would re-write the Auditorium Management Agreement to reflect that the CAPC would pay up to $40,000 for the utilities at the Auditorium for 2017.
• Commissioners voted to seat Ken Ketelsen as the chair for 2017.

Next workshop will be Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 4 p.m., at the CAPC office, and the next meeting will be Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 6 p.m.