Last Wednesday, CAPC Executive Director Mike Maloney addressed a request from illusionist Sean-Paul of Intrigue Theater to promote Eureka Springs as Halloween City during October with an original request was for $8000, but Maloney said he and Sean-Paul had whittled that down to $3500 – 4000.
The plan is for the CAPC to begin Sept. 15 using digital resources, radio ads and billboards in Bentonville and Tulsa to get word out about Halloween events. Maloney noted Sean-Paul is very adept at promoting himself online, and would build and maintain the website and handle the Internet work.
Maloney predicted the investment would return in triple. He acknowledged the question of “why bang the drum in October?” when it is traditionally a busy month anyway, but pointed out there will be mid-week events and it would be an opportunity to reach millennials, an additional good investment. He said his target area this year would be the two-and-a-half-hour radius.
Once the amount of the request was clarified, commissioner Terry McClung moved to approve $4000 and in-house support for the Halloween promotion in October. Vote was unanimous to approve his motion.
Maloney said there were funds in the budget he could peel away for Halloween because he saw a branding opportunity – Eureka Springs would have a product no one else has.