SR-6-L (69)
CARS:BFM:CAC:slf/ADSTAFF.RPT
Council Meeting: July 9, 1991
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JUL 9 1991
Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE
AND EXECUTE AN AMENDED CONTRACT WITH THE GARY GROUP FOR
PREPARATION AND PLACEMENT OF ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY
MATERIALS PROMOTING THE SANTA MONICA CIVIC AUDITORIUM
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that the City Council authorize the City
Manager to negotiate and execute an amended contract with the firm
of The Gary Group in the amount of $75,000 for preparation and
placement of advertising and publicity materials promoting the
Santa Monica civic Auditorium for the periOd of July 1, 1991 to
June 30, 1992.
BACKGROUND
The Civic Auditorium operates as an enterprise for the city of
Santa Monica, and as such, seeks to reach new markets, generate
booking leads and increase revenue.
To accomplish this objective, in 1990 the civic Auditorium sought
an advertising company through a competitive proposal process to
initiate and develop a national and regional advertising and
publicity effort. The civic AUditorium is currently booked 73% of
potential use days and the goal is to increase this to 90%. A
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JUL ~ 1991
secondary goal is to book additional events of interest to the
local community of the Civic Auditorium, increasing the visibility
and promoting the value of the Auditorium to the local community.
DISCUSSION
The criteria used to evaluate the twelve firms included experience
in developing, producing, and placing successful advertising
campaigns, experience in direct mail campaigns, ability to work
within the proposed budget and experience in tracking results of
advertising campaigns.
Based on the application of the above criteria, the selection
committee recommended that The Gary Group be awarded the contract
and a contract was negotiated and executed through the Civic I s
Professional services Account by the city Manager in December 1990.
Factors pertinent to the selection of this firm were the following:
1. The Gary Group is a full service advertising and
pUblicity company that specializes in the entertainment
and leisure industry. The company has proven experience
in the Santa Monica civic Auditorium target markets,
consumer and trade show organizers, concert promotors,
and corporations who sponsor benefit concerts and special
events.
2. The design capability of the firm, as evidenced in the
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campaigns for Ringling Brothers, BMI (Broadcast Music,
Inc), and Peer Music, was of the highest quality,
original and arresting.
3. The Gary Group has had a successful experience in
repositioning and contemporizing the image of a client
(BMI) in the entertainment environment. A similar
challenge is presented by the Santa Monica Civic
Auditorium.
4. A check of references confirmed a high degree of
confidence in the creative outcome of their campaign as
well as the financial accountibility of the firm. All
clients interviewed highly recommended the firm.
The Gary Group proved to be very responsive, producing quality work
in a short period of time. The company has taken the time to
understand the Civic Auditorium and its goals for marketing the
facility to multiple markets.
Two national ads have been placed, one geared towards location
filming and one to the tradeshow market. Direct mail postcards
were designed and produced as well as a multiple target sales
brochure highlighting Santa Monica as a destination. The first ad
published in March elicited $17,000 in revenue from a film booking.
The tradeshow ad just published on June 10 has generated two
tradeshow leads to date. Hence, national advertising positively
impacts bookings.
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Scope of Services and Fee
within the defined 1991-92 budget, the production of at least two
(2) direct mail pieces and the placement of at least five (5) ads
is expected. In addition, an ongoing publicity campaign geared
towards both editorial placement in trade publications and raised
awareness of booked events in the local market will augment the
advertising effort.
The advertising budget is $75,000 which will cover the creative
development, design, copy, layout, art production, and placement
costs of producing and running the ads and brochures. A $1,500 per
month retainer fee included in the budget covers account
management, research and publicity. The Gary Group guarantees a
minimum 25 hours of the above listed services for the retainer
fee.
Financial/Budqetary Impact
Fiscal year 1991-92 appropriation authority for this contract is
in the Auditorium Professional Services Account Number 32-400-621-
00000-5506-00000.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager
to negotiate and execute an amended contract with The Gary Group
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for preparation and placement of advertising and publicity
materials promoting the civic Auditorium for 1991-92.
Prepared by: Barbara Franklin-Moran, Director
Cultural and Recreation Services
Carole A. Curtin
civic Auditorium Manager
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