Loading...
SR-802-007 CED:1>IT:JM:ng Council Meetlnq: . 1" tJ?..-t:)O-P- uly 26, 1983 . ~anta Monlca, Californi~ /1-13 To: Mayor and Clty Councll JUl 2 6 \in From: Clty Staff Subject: Summary of Save The pier Week and Proposal for On-golng Pier Prowotion Introduction As a follOW-Up to lnformatlon presented to Council In the May 10 pier Staff Report, thls report presents a s~~ary of Save The Pler Week, May 23-30, 1983, lncludlng a flnanclal state~ent. The report further analyzes the benefits of contlnulng nromotlonal efforts for the Santa Honlea Pler and recorrunends that Council ap- prove a $100,000 Pler ProIDotlon Program to be flnanced from current proflts from Save The pier Week and future revenues WhlCh have been ana wlll be placed lD an Agency Account, to be used speclflcally for Pler Promotlon. In addltlon, thlS renort recowmends that the Counell authorlze the Clty Manager to enter into a contract with LOUlse Kleffer for the purpose of plannlng and lmplementina. events subJect to the avallablllty of funds ln the Agency Account. Save The Pier Campalgn A. Purpose The storms of January 27, 1983 and 11arch 1, 1983 not only damaged the Pier, but damaged 1tS lMage. r1any people In the reglon were convlnced that it had elther been totally destroyed or so badly da~aged that it was permanently closed. Pler lessees re- port that bU51ness decllned 30-50% In the weeks fo11rnvlng the second storw. It was declded that some sort of Pler ProIDotlon was necessary. The Clty'S CjED Department contracted wlth LOUlse - 1 - 11- (3 JUL 2 6 19!3 CED:MT :J~1:ng Councll ~Ieet:Lng: .r . July 26, 1983 Santa ~onlca. Callfornla K:Leffer, Pler Promotlon ~anaqer for the Santa Mon:Lca Pler Lessees Assoclat:LOn (SMPLA) to create, organize and produce a speclal one-week proMotlonal event that would accowolish the followlnc obJectives: (1) demonstrate that the Pler was, despite the damage, stlll here, still open, and stlll a terrlflc place to spend the day (2) attract a large and dlverse crowd to the Pler (3) draw the medla down to the Pler and stlmulate lntensive coverage, and (4) prove that the Pler remalns a vltal soclal and econoffilC cOMwunlty resource A Steerlng Commlttee representing Clty Staff, SMPLA, Pler Task Force and Arts CO~mlsslon met regularly wlth t1s. Kleffer and deterITlned that the prlIDary al~S of Pler promotlonal efforts would be to raise awareness and stlffiulate communlty partlcloatlon and support of the Pier. Ms. Kieffer des:Lgned a uSave The Santa Honica P:Lerfl CaJl1palgn, beginn:Lng wlth the creatlon of Save The Santa Monlca P:Ler promo- tlonal products and cllroaxing In a Save The Santa Monlca P:Ler week at the end of Nay. Cash flow requlrements were to be pald out of the Clty Emergency D:Lsaster Account and all monles advanced frow thlS fund would be repald from the proceeds of the Save The Pler campalgn. B. Promot:Lonal Products Ms. Kleffer met with executlves of General Telephone of Call- forn:La (GTE), and GTE agreed to prov:Lde Save The P:Ler pro~otlonal - 2 - CED:l'1T:JM:ng counc~l ~1eet~nq ~ . July 26, 1983 . Santa ~onica, Callfornla products, lncludlng a poster. buttons, bumper stlckers, Vlsors, tee shlrts and a Save The pier Week proaram. In add~tion, GTE offered a 810,000 challenge grant to be pald if the pre-Pler Week campalgn raised $10,000. With the exceptlon of the poster and program WhlCh were to be dlstrlbuted free, the promotlonal products were sold wholesale to various outlets around Santa Monlca and con- tlnue to be sold at a retall prlce from the Save The Pler booth on the Pler. Ads were sold In the 24-page two-color Droara~ as well. C. Save The Pier Week Events Save The Pler Week was set for May 23-30 and the baslc ele- ments lncluded an all-star variety show, a film tr~bute, a crafts falr, contests, mln~-concerts, and an art exhlblt. A Press Party was held ln the Carousel on the Pler ln ffild-Aprll ~71th food and beverages donated by Pler lessees and area wholesalers. Group W. agreed to underwrlte the cost of a sound system and to contribute $5.000 l.n cash. J1m R1ssffilller, a leadlng concert promoter, agreed to produce the variety show and offered to slgn his $5,000 fee back to the Save The pier Fund. The flnal 11ne-up for the show conslsted of emcee Buck Henry, S2ngers Tony Geary, Bllly Burnett, Iiood Indlgo, Ry Cooder, actor Katherlne Helmond and wrlter-nerformer Lorenzo MUS1C. There were cartage and sldemen charqes for Burnett and Cooder, but all others performed free of charge. Immediately pr10r to Pler Week, the Promotlon Offlce under- took a medla blltz and the media responded. Euery TV channel lD the area, wlth the exceptlon of channel 2, was on the Pler at least once durlng Pler Week, and all ran feature stories once or - 3 - CED: MT : J'\1: ng councll MeetlDS'! tlY 26, 1983 . Santa Honlca, callfornia twice durlng the week. The openlnq cere~onies of Pler Week, featurlng remarks by Hayor Ken Edwards and John Alschuler, an Arabian horse cavalcade, and a balloon release, ~~ere covered by vlrtually every maJor TV,radlo statlon and newspaper lD the area. More than twenty bands and street performers entertalned throughout the week. Crafts and food vendors' booths stretched the length of the boardwalk. Though the weather was unusually cold and grey, the Pler was Ja~ed wlth people all week. The mlnl- concerts, dance performances, as well as the contests drew large crowds. Volunteers circulated donatlon cannlsters through the crowds. A tent was erected on the Pler for the week and was used as a staglng area for performers, a hospltallty room for the varlety show stars, and a fll~ trlbute. Filrr-s were donated by four StudlOS and the day-long festlval ran the "Stlng", '"InSlde Dalsy Clover'", 111941" and "Elmer Gantry". The fllw tribute was the only unsuc- cessful event of the Week, perhaps because lt was held on the day on WhlCh the sun flnally appeared. Evaluatlon of Pler Week The Pler was busy all week. The crowds were large and dlverse, spannlng a broad range of aqe, inco~e and lnterests. An estlmated average of 25,000 people visited the Pler dally, for a total of 180,000 for the week. Prlor to the storms, the average nu~ber of vlsltors to the Pler durlns the su~er months, based on parklng space utlllzatlon, was 6,000 on weekdays and 18,000 on weekends. Medla coverage, as noted, was extenslve and posltlve, and deroonstrated that the Pler was open, busy and lively and stlll a vltal communlty resource. - 4 - ED :!-1T: J!1: ng Councll Meeting: . . July 26, 1983 Santa Monlca, Callfornla PLer lessees were enthusLastLc about the campaLgn lD general and Pler Peek In partlcular. Fourteen lessees responded to a questlonnalre prepared by the Pler BUSlness Offlce. The ratlngs for Pier y,leek ~.;ere all wi thln the two highest categorles out of a posslble four. 86% of those respondlng favored sponsorlno a serles of regular events and promotlons on the Pler. All those who responded to the questlon comparing buslness of Pler Week to the saf[le 1<leek ln 1982 indlcated that business was two to four tlffies better than for this ?erlod ln the prevlous vear. Further analysls of sales revenue data, based on Clty Treasury records of monthly recelpts for each lessee, Ylelds strong con- fir~atlon of the posltive effect of Pler Week on sales revenues. Total gross revenues for Pler lessees durlno Pler week was $93,583 as compared to a total of $59,074 for these lessees during the same perlod ln May 1982. ThlS represents a 58% lTICreaSe lTI sales revenues. A f~nanclal statement of income and expenses appears In Attach- ment A. As shown, expenses totalled $34,786 against revenues of 554,156 for a balance of $19,370. Ongo~ng Pler ?rowotlons Save The Pler Week was an experlment and lt worked. It cap- tured the attentlon of the medla, drew thousands of people to the Pler, lncludlng many who had never been there before, and generated much needed buslness for the Pler. Staff proposes that the City bUlld on the momentUPl generated by Save The pier "~eek and continue to create and produce events for the Pler, lncludlng mlnl-concerts, exhibitlons, performances by dancers and varlety artlsts, sports competltlons, and speclal events. - 5 - CED:HT:JM:ng Councl.l Neetlng: . July 26, 19B3 . Santa l1onlca, Callfornla As noted above, P1er lessees responded favorably to Save The Pler Week. Durlng June, a wrltten ballot was clrculated a~ong SMPLA members, with all but one me~ber votlng to unden~rlte the costs of bUlldlng a slMple stase on the Pier. The groundwork has been lald by LOUlse Kieffer for sustainlng a year-round pro~otional cawpaign for the Pler. Ms. Kieffer contlnues In the role of pier Promotlon ~anager for SMPLA and thlS report presents a reco~menda- tlon that the C1ty Manager contract wlth LOUl.se Kleffer to implement an ongoing promotion effort under the dlrection of the C/ED Depart- mentA The obJectives of the ongolng promotlonal effort would be to brlng a broad ~lX of people to the Pler,to generate medla coverage on a contlDuing basis, to generate com~unity support for the pier 1n general and Pler reconstruction 1TI particular. In add1tlon, as events unfold in the process of restoratlon, 1.e. formation of the Pler Restoration Corporatlon, selectl.on of archltectural/engl.neer~ng flrw for reconstruction, the promotional effort would serve to alert the public of progress as ~t 1S Made. The $lOO,OOO annual promotlonal program would ~nclude the con- struction of a slmple stage, 20' x 32' x 3', which would be per- manently located ~n the open area between 11oby' s Dock and the Bumper Cars. The stage would feature a wlde range of events wh~ch would be planned and produced to serve dlverse lnterests. For example, Jugglers and acrobats mlght perform on a regular basls, fashion shows could be he]d at lunchtlme. and a tent could transform the stage ~nto a theatre sUltable for muslcals, concerts, or dance. Corporate sponsors such as Mlller Beer have eXDressed lnterest 1n - 6 - CED:MT:JM:ng ... Councll Meetlng: ~uly 26, ~983 . Santa Monlca, Callfornla underwrlting events and members of Actors' EqUlty have suggested cooperatlve efforts wlth cowmunlty groups. The budqet, as pre- sented In Attachment B would cover the costs of planning, pro duc- lng and promoting an average of four events per month. The alm would be to have somethlng happenlng on the Pler most weekends. In addltlon, the Pler Promotlon Offlce would work in concert wlth SMPLA on proJects that would enhance the vlability of the P1er, such as a tram syste~. Likew1se, the Arts CO~lSSlon has expressed interest in the Joint production of cultural events and art exhlbltS. FlnanClal Analys1s As the flnanclal statement for Save The Pler Campalqn lndl- cates, a balance of $19,370 re~a1ns ln the Save The pier Fund. As has been recommended ln the Flscal Year-end Closeout Staff Report, the remainlng promotlon revenue ln Account 30-934-208-000-000 1S to be approprlated to an Agency Account for the purpose of Pler Promotlon. This ln1t1al aroount of $19,370 ~ill be used to produce events that will ln turn generate more revenue. All result1nq revenues will be deposlted in the Agency Account. The proposed promotlon budget, Attachment B, calls for an annual expenditure of $100,000 based on the productlon of 4 events per TIonth. Staff proposes that thlS amount be broken down lnto five modules of $20,000 each. The program for each module wlll be approved by the Clty Manaqer, subJect to its appllcabillty to P1er PrOTIotlon efforts and to the ava11abillty of adequate funds 1n the Agency Account. Thus, the C1ty would be assured that promotlonal efforts were pay- lng for themselves. The reason for the modular approach 15 to prevent potentlal llablllty to the General Fund and to safeguard agalnst a negat1ve cash flow. - 7 - CED;MT:JM:ng Counc1l Meet1ng; . . July 26, 1983 Santa ~on1ca, Cal1fornia In order to adminlster the promotion contract, an account will be estab11shed 1n the P1er Development D1V1Slon operatlng budget aga1nst wh1ch promotion expenses ~~i11 be charged. ThlS account 30-400-626-000-251 wlll be flnanced by Agency Account revenue. Recomrrended Act10ns Staff respectfully recommends that the Councll 1) Appropr1ate the balance of funds in Account 30-934-208-000-000 to an AGency Account to be used solely for P1er Pro~otlon. 2) Approprlate $100,000 to Account 30-400-626-000-251. 3} Authorlze the Clty Manaqer to enter lnto a contract wlth LOUlse K1effer, dba Flfth Buslness, to lmp1e- ment the Pler Promotlon budget of $100,000. The contract wll1 speclfy that the $IOO,OOO promot1on budget w111 be broken down 1nto f1ve $20,000 modules and lmplementat10n of each $20,000 module wlll be approved by the City Manager subject to 1ts appllcab11lty to P1er Promotlon, and subject to the avallab1llty of adequate funds In the Agency Account. Prepared by: JUdlth Me1ster, P1er Developrr-ent 11anager Attachments: A - Flnanclal Statewent for Save The Pier Carpalgn B Pler Promot1on Budget, 1983-84 - 8 - Revenue Expel!ses E . ATTACHMENT A . SAVE THE PIER FINANCIAL STATEMENT Donation Booth Promotional Product Sales Save the Pier Week Donations (cannister collect1ons) Program Ad Sales Vendor Booth Rental GTE Grant Group H Cable Seafood Broiler Rand Parking Lot Donatlons Jim Rlssmiller Salarles Office suppl1.es Printing Graphics Advertlsing Equipment rental (tent, mOVle screen, stage) Banners Performers Cartage & Sidemen Producer RlssIDlller TOTAL REVENUE TOTAL EXPENSES NET PROFIT ~54,156 -$34,786 $19,370 7,912 9,040 6,000 2,025 4,400 10,000 5,000 2,754 2,025 5,000 $ 54,156 12,701 481 743 4,908 3,128 3,185 1,920 2,720 5,000 $ 34,786 . . ATTACHMENT B PIER PROMOTION BUDGET 1983-84 Operating Expenses Eve nts Average Event Cost ~ $886 (lncludes equlpment rental, perforMers, expenses, overt1me for Pler Crew) 4 events per month = $3,544 x 12 42,528 Promotlon Off1ce Expenses Salarl es Offlce expenses (supplles, prlnt1ng, telephone Advertlslng (lncludes brochure) 21,000 8,340 17,200 $89,068 Capltal Expenses Construction of stage Purchase of Tent Purchase of 300 cha1rs 3,500 5,000 3,000 $11,500 ProJected Income Less Annual Expenses Projected Endlng Balance 19,370 13,000 12,000 83,000 3,500 $130,870 SlOO,568 $30,302 Beg1nnlng balance Product Sales Donatlons Event Revenue (corporate sponsorsh1p, admlss1on) SMPLA contrlbutlon for stage