Consideration and Approval of Sole Source Purchase: Purchase of advertisements from Republic Media Advertising (Arizona Republic, AZ Central.com, and LaVoz Spanish publication)

This action will allow the Flagstaff Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to place print and online advertisements throughout the upcoming fiscal year in target markets in accordance with the media plan proposed during the annual FY2015 budget process.

The $75,000 for advertising with Republic Media Advertising is allocated in the CVB's FY2015 Media Plan and corresponding marketing budget (053-07-214-0851-4-4271).

Retain, expand, and diversity economic base

No, however each year the City Council reviews this sole source advertising purchase in advance of the new fiscal year to ensure marketing efforts are not interrupted and proceed according to the media plan.

Option A: Approve the purchase of advertisements from Republic Media Advertising

Option B: Amend the FY2015 Media Plan and corresponding Republic Media Advertising allocations

Option C: Reject purchase of advertisements from Republic Media Advertising

The CVB develops and executes a comprehensive media plan each year in order to generate interest in Flagstaff as a visitor destination and to promote overnight stays. In addition to developing the media plan, the CVB also generates all of the creative elements of the advertising campaign.

Per the developed FY2015 Media Plan, the CVB places advertising with Republic Media Advertising outlets throughout the year. In order to place these ads, the CVB must contract with these outlets prior to the new fiscal year beginning. By signing an annual contract with Republic Media, the CVB will secure much more favorable rates and reach potential travelers in our markets.

The CVB is responsible for executing an aggressive and targeted marketing campaign which will attract overnight visitation and increase both general sales tax and BBB revenues. These tax revenues are a critical component in creating a sustainable community, as BBB revenues fund arts and science initiatives, beautification projects, economic development programs, parks and recreation programs and future tourism promotion, while the general sales tax revenues generated through tourism support general funded programs. It is anticipated that the total media plan for FY2015, as outlined in the attachment, will be approximately $525,000 as budgeted. The cost of the Republic Media Advertising contract will not exceed $75,000. The Arizona Republic is the state's largest newspaper with a Sunday circulation of 463,000 and AZCentral.com is the newspaper's corresponding website. In addition to these outlets, the CVB also places advertisements in La Voz, a Spanish language publication that is distributed in the Tucson and northern Mexico region. Our online ads throughout their network of websites, including Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook and more help with our overall search engine marketing (aka pay-per-click) campaign.

By advertising with Republic Media and others, Flagstaff is promoted as a year-round visitor destination. The goal of the CVB's advertising is to increase overnight visitation to Flagstaff, thereby generating tax revenues to be reinvested in the community.

Consult - The CVB budget, which included the proposed FY2015 Media Plan, was presented to the Tourism Commission on March 25, 2014, and was recommended by the Commission. Collaborate - The proposed media plan includes opportunities for cooperative marketing in order to gain coverage for our partners as well as Flagstaff as a destination.