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[1. CALL TO ORDER, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, ROLL CALL]
TO ORDER.PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
THE, THE FLAG IN THE UNITED STATES, AMERICA, AND TO REPUBLIC.
FOR WHICH STANDS? NATION LIBERTY.
SO OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE SOME NEW FACES WITH US, SO WELCOME TO OUR NEW TAB
[2. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF]
MEMBERS.UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE BOARD BEFORE WE DO INTRODUCTIONS? OKAY, AWESOME.
SO LAST WEEK, CITY COUNCIL INTERVIEWED, UH, FIVE CANDIDATES TO, UH, FILL THE FOUR VACANCIES THAT WE HAD ON THE TAB FROM THE END OF LAST CALENDAR YEAR.
AND WE'VE GOT FOUR NEW MEMBERS.
THREE OF THEM ARE HERE WITH US TODAY.
UM, TWO FOLKS HAVE FOUR YEAR TERMS. THAT'S BRETT AND JULIE.
AND THEN LARS AND GREGORY HAVE TWO YEAR TERMS. BUT I'D LOVE TO JUST GIVE LARS, BRETT AND THEN GREGORY EACH A CHANCE JUST TO INTRODUCE YOURSELVES QUICKLY, MAYBE SHARE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BRIEFLY WHY YOU WANTED TO BE ON THE TAB.
AND THEN AFTERWARDS IF EACH TAB MEMBER COULD JUST QUICKLY SAY WHO YOU ARE AND, AND THEN WHO YOU REPRESENT.
I'M A VERDE VALLEY NATIVE, ORIGINALLY FROM JEROME.
UH, USED TO WORK IN THE RESORT INDUSTRY HERE FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS BETWEEN LEBERTS AND CHAMAN.
UM, AND SO HEAVILY, HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN THAT.
AND I NOW WORK FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR THE LAST 18 YEARS.
UM, AND DURING THAT ALL TIME I'VE BEEN HEAVILY INVOLVED IN TRAIL ADVOCACY AND CONSTRUCTION, WORKING WITH THE FOREST SERVICE, UM, BOTH PRESCOTT NATIONAL FOREST AND CO NATIONAL FOREST HERE ON THE RED ROCK DISTRICT.
SO MY WANT TO BE INVOLVED WITH THIS IS I SEE THE EFFECTS OF ALL THE TOURISM THAT WE HAVE AND HOW IT BENEFITS US AND HOW IT LIKE, ALSO IMPACTS US.
AND SO I JUST FEEL LIKE I HAVE A GOOD, EDUCATED EYE ON HOW THE, WHAT WE DO AFFECTS HOW WE LIVE.
AND IT WAS FUNNY WHEN I SENT THE EMAIL TO YOU ALL, I PUT A PLUS NEXT TO LARS'S NAME 'CAUSE IT WOULD'VE TAKEN UP A WHOLE EMAIL TO TELL ALL THE DIFFERENT AFFILIATIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
AND THEN I ALSO WAS ON THE GO COMMITTEE BACK IN THE DAY.
AND I STILL WORK EVERY, WE USED TO MEET EVERY MONTH WITH THE FOREST SERVICE TO TALK ABOUT TRAILS THEMSELVES AND ACCORDING TO ALL THAT, SO A LOT.
UH, HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH ALL OF YOU.
BRETT LAB AND I OWN ART GALLERIES IN TOWN.
UH, TWO IN ALAK AND ONE IN WEST SEDONA.
AND I'VE BEEN HERE IN THE AREA ABOUT 10 YEARS.
UH, COME FROM A COACHING CONSULTING BACKGROUND.
I'VE BUILT LARGE COMMUNITIES OF MEMBERSHIP, UH, KIND OF MY SUPERPOWER.
AND SO, UH, BASICALLY I WANTED TO JOIN THE TAB BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA SIT ON THE SIDELINES AND LET ALL OF YOU DO ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING.
SO I'M HERE TO HELP IN ANY WAY I CAN AND LEARN AND OBSERVE AND CONTRIBUTE WHERE I MIGHT HAVE SOME STRENGTH.
I'M GREGORY STEIN CALLED GREG.
UM, I'M A RETIRED MEDICAL RESEARCHER.
I MOVED HERE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO.
UH, IN THE LAST NINE YEARS I'VE BEEN A PARKS AND RANGER, A PARKS AND RECREATION RANGER.
SO I'M CURRENTLY THE LEAD RANGER.
UH, THE REASON I JOINED, BASICALLY IS JUST TO PROVIDE, UH, A CONTACT PERSON TO SOMEBODY THAT'S IN THE FIELD.
AND THEN BOB, YOU WANNA GO AND THEN WE'LL LET OH, YEP.
BOB PIKE, UH, BEEN A RESIDENT OF SONSONA FOR ABOUT EIGHT YEARS NOW.
UM, I WAS ACTIVE IN THE TOURISM AREA PRIOR TO, UH, THE TAB BEING FORMED.
UM, WAS WORKING WITH THE PREVIOUS CITY COUNCIL ON TRYING TO WORK THROUGH THE, UH, ISSUES THAT WERE WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WHICH WAS AT THE TIME RUNNING TOURISM FOR THE CITY.
AND, UM, I'M, I'M JUST A RESIDENT NOW, RETIRED GUY, MARKETING GUY.
UH, AND, UM, I, UH, HOPE YOU AGREE WITH ME THAT THERE'S BEEN A MAJOR IMPROVEMENT OVER THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS IN TERMS OF TOURISM MANAGEMENT.
I LIVED HERE FOR 10 YEARS THIS YEAR.
UM, MY HUSBAND GREW UP HERE AND HIS FAMILY
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OWNS THE SEDONA VILLAGE LODGE IN THE VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK, WHICH I MANAGED WITH HIM FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.I DO ALSO MANAGE, UM, SEVERAL AIRBNBS THAT ARE OWNER OCCUPIED.
I'M ALSO A MOM TO A 5-YEAR-OLD.
I AM A PHYSICAL THERAPIST, UM, AS WELL AS A, A REAL ESTATE AGENT.
MY HUSBAND AND I OWN A, UM, A, UM, REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE.
AND SO, UM, MY FOCUS ARE REALLY ON HEALTHCARE AND, UM, HOUSING.
AND THEN I'M ALSO, UM, A MOM OF FOUR YOUNG KIDS.
JUST VOLUNTEERED AT THE SCHOOL TODAY.
SO JUST HOLDING THAT SCHOOL IN MY HEART AND, UM, JUST KNOW HOW MUCH, AGAIN, THERE'S THE BALANCE BETWEEN, UM, BEING A RESIDENT AND HONORING TOURISM AS WELL.
I AM A PROFESSOR AT NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY.
I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 11 YEARS AND THEN BEFORE THAT, A COUPLE YEAR, COUPLE YEARS WITH TIME IN FLAGSTAFF, IN BETWEEN, UM, I AM AN ANTHROPOLOGIST OF TOURISM AND I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE WAYS THAT, UM, WE THINK ABOUT STEWARDSHIP.
I AM ALSO A FOUNDING MEMBER OF NORTHERN ARIZONA CLIMATE CHANGE ALLIANCE, AND SO I'M VERY INTERESTED IN HOW WE THINK ABOUT STEWARDSHIP AND, AND CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTALISM.
AND THEN, UM, WHEN ALTHEA AND I WERE CHATTING, WE JUST WANTED TO MAYBE JUST SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE MILESTONES FOR THE NEW MEMBERS OF KIND OF WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON, UM, SINCE THE TAB STARTED IN DECEMBER OF 2023.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT YOU KNOW HAPPENED IN AUGUST OF 24 WAS THAT WE GOT THE SEDONA TOURISM PLAN, UM, ADOPTED BY THE TAB AND THEN ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL.
SO THAT REALLY BECAME THE WORK PLAN FOR THE TOURISM PROGRAM THROUGH ESSENTIALLY THIS FISCAL YEAR.
I MEAN, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN LAST DECEMBER'S MEETING, UM, WE'LL HAVE A NEW PLAN THAT WE'LL SHARE WITH YOU FOR KIND OF FEEDBACK AND REVIEW BEFORE JULY ONE.
SO THAT'LL PROBABLY BE DURING THE MAY MEETING.
AND THEN, UH, WE ALSO HAVE THE SEDONA STAY INSPIRED BRAND THAT WE ALL WORKED WITH YOU ON AT THE TAB TO GET THE NEW TOURISM LOGO, UM, KIND OF FINALIZED SO THAT WE COULD REALLY SHOW OURSELVES TO THE WORLD IN A MORE PROFESSIONAL AND SOPHISTICATED WAY.
UM, WE HAD ALREADY DONE CAMPAIGNS, BUT WE DID LAUNCH OUR FIRST RECURRING DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGN, THE REDEFINED DESERT CAMPAIGN, UM, THAT'S CURRENTLY LIVE.
WE'LL GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE WINNER EXECUTION OR THE WINNER 25, 26 EXECUTION OF THAT.
UM, AND THEN, UH, AS WE ALL KNOW, WE SPENT I THINK PROBABLY SIX TO SEVEN MEETINGS TALKING ABOUT VISITOR SERVICES IN SEDONA, SPECIFICALLY REVIEWING THE VISITOR CENTER AND THEN PROPOSING A VISITOR CENTER, A VISITOR SERVICES RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL THAT OBVIOUSLY WAS CONTINUING TO FUND THE VISITOR CENTER, BUT ALSO EXPLORE THE DIGITAL KIOSK STRATEGY.
SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME QUICK MILESTONES THAT KIND OF I SHARED.
I DUNNO IF ANYBODY ELSE ON THE TAB HAS ONES THAT THEY THINK I MISSED.
UM, BUT JUST KNOW NEW MEMBERS.
I'D LOVE TO SCHEDULE SOME TIME WITH YOU.
UM, I'M GONNA BE ON THE ROAD UNTIL PROBABLY LATE FEBRUARY, AND I KNOW YOU JUST GOT APPOINTED ON WEDNESDAY OF LAST WEEK.
SO LET'S DEFINITELY GET SOME TIME, UM, TO SIT DOWN AND JUST KIND OF TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE HISTORY JUST SO YOU HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED.
IF NO ONE HAS ANYTHING ELSE, WE'LL MOVE ON.
I HAVE, I HAVE MORE IF YOU GOT, IF YOU, DO YOU WANT STAFF UPDATES? YES.
SO JUST AS A REMINDER, KIND OF, UM, SAID THIS A FEW TIMES, BUT, UH, WE DID AGREE TO MOVE THE APRIL MEETING TO MARCH.
SO THERE'S NOT AN APRIL TAB MEETING.
IT WILL BE A MARCH 4TH TAB MEETING.
UM, THE MAJOR PURPOSE OF THAT WILL BE TO PRESENT THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN STRATEGY, WHICH PUTS US IN A POSITION TO SHARE THAT IN FRONT OF CITY COUNCIL IN APRIL, WHICH THEN PUTS US IN A POSITION TO GET THE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED IN EARLY MAY, WHICH WOULD BE THE GOAL.
SO THAT'S SORT OF WHY WE LOOKED AT THE TIMELINE AND MOVED THAT UP.
UM, SO JUST KNOW THAT THAT'S A BIG FOCUS OF THE MARCH MEETING IN ONE MONTH.
ARE THEY ALWAYS THREE O'CLOCK? YES.
IT'S THE, IF WE HAVE A MEETING, IT'S THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH THAT THE MEETING'S IN FROM THREE TO FIVE HERE.
THERE WERE A COUPLE OF TIMES WHEN THERE WERE BIG TOPICS WHERE WE ASKED AHEAD, YOU KNOW, CAN WE SCHEDULE THE EXTRA TIME? YEAH.
BUT THAT WAS ALWAYS ASKED AHEAD.
AND THEN I THINK ONE TIME I WAS ON THE ROAD AND WE MOVED IT TO LATER IN THE MONTH.
SO THERE'S ALWAYS, BUT WE, WE COMMUNICATE THAT WITH EACH OTHER BEFORE IT HAPPENS.
BRETT, WE DON'T JUST, WE DON'T JUST TELL YOU LAST MINUTE.
UM, JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY UPDATE YOU ON SOME OF THE WORK THAT I'VE ALLUDED TO, BUT JUST KIND OF SHARE IT MORE FORMALLY.
SO, UM, I'VE ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE'S BEEN A GAP ON
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SCENIC SEDONA WHEN IT COMES TO DEEPER PLANNING CONTENT.I THINK WE'VE GOT OUR CAMPAIGNS UP AND RUNNING AND LIVE.
WE'VE GOTTEN LANDING PAGES RELATED TO THOSE CAMPAIGNS.
WE HAVE BUSINESS LISTINGS, BUT WE AREN'T REALLY PRESENTING THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE AS WELL AS WE COULD.
WE DID EXPEDITE THE HIKING PAGE AND THE GETTING AROUND PAGE THAT WE SHARED BEFORE LAST SPRING BREAK.
SO WE HAD MORE OF THOSE MANAGEMENT FOCUSED STYLE PAGES UP.
JUST KNOW THAT THERE IS A CONTENT PLAN IN PLACE TO GET ADDITIONAL PAGES LIVE, SUCH AS SPIRITUALITY AND WELLNESS, ARTS CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT.
A A MOUNTAIN BIKING PAGE OR BIKING PAGE, VERDE VALLEY WINE TRAIL AND STARGAZING.
UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY, AND FOR THE NEW FOLKS, I'M GONNA SAY A OT CO-OP A LOT.
THAT MEANS ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM RURAL MARKETING CO-OP.
UM, AND THAT IS ESSENTIALLY THE STATE TOURISM OFFICE IS GRANT PROGRAM WHERE THEY ALLOCATE $50,000 TO DESTINATIONS LIKE SEDONA, ESSENTIALLY OUTSIDE OF MARICOPA COUNTY AND TUCSON.
AND THEN WE GET A SELECT UP TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN STRATEGIES THAT WE PAY 50,000 FOR, AND THEY PAY 50,000 FOR.
SO YOU'LL SEE REFERENCES TO THE CLUB QUITE A BIT.
UM, WE GET ACCESS TO AN AGENCY CALLED MADDEN MEDIA VIA THE CO-OP, I'M GONNA MENTION THEM A FEW TIMES TODAY.
UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON A NEW WEBSITE TEMPLATE THAT WILL BE KIND OF AI FORWARD.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SCHEMA BEHIND IT.
WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW THE CRAWLERS WOULD PULL THAT INFORMATION INTO THE SEARCH LANGUAGE MODELS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT KIND OF NEW CARDS AND WEBSITE STYLE DESIGNS.
SO WE ARE NEAR FINAL ON THE SPIRITUALITY AND WELLNESS, THE CONTENT'S BUILT.
UM, AND WE'RE JUST DOING SOME FINAL EDITS ON THE TEMPLATE.
AND THEN ONCE THAT TEMPLATE'S LIVE, WE'RE GONNA BACKFILL THE VERDE VALLEY WINE TRAIL AND STARGAZING PAGE.
WE'VE ALREADY WRITTEN, WE JUST HAVEN'T PUBLISHED IT 'CAUSE WE, WE'VE WAITED FOR THE TEMPLATE AND THEN WE ARE STARTING THE ARTS CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT PAGE ON MONDAY.
AND WE DO INTERVIEWS WITH THE, UH, WITH KIND OF LOCAL LEADERS AND WE START TO BUILD THAT CONTENT OUT.
SO MY GOAL WAS TO GET THOSE PAGES UP BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, AND I THINK WE'RE ON TRACK FOR THAT.
CAN, CAN I ASK, I MEAN, SPIRITUALITY AND WELLNESS, SO WHAT, WHAT CONTENT GOES INTO THAT? IS THAT A, SORRY, IS THAT A CONTENT OF UM, WHAT THE, LIKE THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO 'EM OR THINGS TO ACCESS? OR IS IT MORE OF AN EDUCATIONAL THING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT SPIRITUALITY, UM, IS KIND OF PREDOMINANT HERE IN, IN SEDONA IS THAT I WOULD SAY EVERY, EVERYTHING WE DO IN TOURISM PROMOTION HAS AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE TO GET PEOPLE TO GET REFERRED TO A BUSINESS, RIGHT? I MEAN, THAT'S A LOT OF IT.
COME TO SEDONA, STAY, EAT, RESPECT THIS PLACE, YOU KNOW, HERE'S HOW YOU ENGAGE IN IT RESPONSIBLY.
WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE SPIRITUALITY AND WELLNESS SECTION, RIGHT? I MEAN THAT'S A BIG PART OF THE EXPERIENCE HERE.
THERE IS THE SEDONA METAPHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL ASSOCIATION, ALSO KNOWN AS SIMSA, WHERE YOU'VE GOT A COLLECTION OF WELLNESS PRACTITIONERS THAT OFFERS OFFER A VARIETY OF MODALITIES.
YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT YOGA, MEDITATION, MASSAGE, BREATH WORK, CHAKRA RE HEALING, YOU KNOW, THE LIST GOES ON.
SO WE'RE ESSENTIALLY PRESENTING THE HISTORY OF WHAT MAKES SEDONA A SPIRITUAL MECCA.
UH, WE DO OUR OWN DEFINITION OF THE VORTEX EFFECT,
AND THAT'S WHAT'S BEEN FUN ABOUT THIS PROJECT, IS TAKING EACH OF THESE BULLETS AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S OUR POINT OF VIEW AS THE TOURISM PROGRAM ON THEM.
'CAUSE IT HELPS ME WHEN I TALK TO MEDIA AND ALL OTHER FACETS.
UM, AND THERE'S SORT OF LIKE ENTRY LEVEL WELLNESS, INTERMEDIATE WELLNESS, AND THEN THERE'S LIKE DEEP DIVE ENTHUSIASTIC WELLNESS, RIGHT? SO THAT'S GENERALLY WHAT IT IS, BUT IT'S HELPING TO SET THE TONE FOR WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE EXPERIENCE AND THEN DIRECT FOLKS TO WHERE THEY CAN ACTUALLY FIND PRACTITIONERS TO ENGAGE IN THOSE EXPERIENCES.
AND THAT'S PREDOMINANT THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT PAGES, THE BIKING, THE ARTS AND CULTURE AND SO FORTH.
IT'S ITS OWN PAGE, ISN'T IT? YEAH.
SO LIKE A BIKING PAGE FOR INSTANCE WOULD BE MORE, UM, THESE ARE YOUR, UH, ASSETS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN BIKING AS OPPOSED TO SAYING THIS TRAIL AND THAT TRAIL AND THAT TRAIL AND THAT TYPE OF THING.
WE WOULD DIRECT PEOPLE TO AREAS WHERE THEY COULD DEFINITELY GO BIKING.
UM, BUT IT'S MORE, I MEAN, WHEN YOU LOOK, IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT OUR HIKING PAGE, IT'S A LOT OF EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING.
AND THEN WE'VE DONE WORK WITH THE FOREST SERVICE AND ALL TRAILS TO SORT OF PRESENT TRAIL MAPS THAT ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE WAY THAT WE WANT THINGS TO BE DONE.
AKA ONLY ON TRAIL EXPERIENCES AND NOT OFF TRAIL EXPERIENCES.
AND THEN, UM, SO A BIG FOCUS OF US IN THE TOURISM PROGRAM IS WORKING WITH THE INDUSTRY.
THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, TRAVEL MEDIA, TRAVEL ADVISORS, TRAVEL AGENTS, MEETING PLANNERS, UM, AND REALLY HELPING BUILD THEIR AWARENESS OF SEDONA, BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM.
AND THEN REALLY, YOU KNOW, THE OUTPUT WOULD BE THAT THEY BRING BUSINESS TO THE COMMUNITY IN A WAY THAT ALIGNS WITH OUR VALUES OR WE GARNER COVERAGE OF SEDONA IN A WAY THAT ALIGNS WITH OUR VALUES.
UM, I WILL BE TRAVELING QUITE A BIT.
I DID NOT DO A LOT THE FIRST HALF OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
I'M DOING A LOT THE SECOND HALF OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
UM, CAITLYN, I WERE DOWN IN PHOENIX AT AAA CONFERENCE BACK IN DECEMBER.
UM, SORT OF A LIGHT TOUCH INVESTMENT, BUT, UH, JUST A GREAT WAY TO GET IN FRONT OF THE DOMESTIC TRAVEL ADVISOR MARKET FOR AAA.
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AT THE END OF JANUARY, I WAS IN NEW YORK CITY AT THE IMM TRAVEL MEDIA SHOW, UH, THAT WAS WITH THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM.I'LL GIVE A QUICK RE RECAP ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, I WILL BE LEAVING DIRECTLY AFTER THIS MEETING TO GO TO PHOENIX TO A MEETING PLANNER EVENT, UM, CALLED IPEC DOWN AT THE GILA CASINO.
UM, THAT'S GONNA BE A GREAT CHANCE TO HAVE, I THINK IT'S ABOUT 25 APPOINTMENTS WITH MEETING PLANNERS ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.
UM, I WILL BE LEAVING FOR EUROPE WITH A OT AND A COHORT OF DESTINATIONS TO FRANCE AND BELGIUM IN A COUPLE WEEKS.
THIS IS SIMILAR TO WHAT I DID LAST MARCH WITH THEM.
A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH THE TRAVEL ADVISORS IN WESTERN EUROPE THAT ARE SELLING THE TOUR PACKAGES THAT ARE THOSE NATIONAL PARK 15 DAY, 24 DAY TOURS TO MAKE SURE THAT SEDONA IS INCLUDED IN THEM OR GARNERING THAT INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE ABOUT SEDONA THAT INSPIRES FOLK, INSPIRES FOLKS INTERNATIONAL TO COME HERE.
THEN IN APRIL I WILL BE IN VEGAS FOR GO WEST AGAIN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A OT THAT IS THROUGH THE CO-OP AS WELL AND MANY OTHER ARIZONA DESTINATIONS.
THAT'S ANOTHER WAY TO MEET WITH THE TRAVEL ADVISORS.
I'LL BE AT A MEETING PLANNING SHOW IN LA CALLED THE HELMS BRISCOE ANNUAL CONFERENCE.
THAT'S SORT OF A THIRD PARTY NETWORK OF MEETING PLANNERS.
AND THEN I'LL BE AT IPW, WHICH IS THE LARGEST DOMESTIC TRAVEL TRADE SHOW THAT'LL BE IN FORT LAUDERDALE IN IN MAY.
UM, ONE THING I WANNA SHARE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE NEW FOLKS TOO, IS THAT WHAT'S NICE ABOUT THIS SORT OF SCHEDULE AND THE WAY THAT WE DO OUR FAMILIARIZATION OR FAM TOURS, WHICH IS WHEN WE, WE KIND OF SHOWCASE THE DESTINATION TO TRAVEL AGENTS.
I'VE GOTTEN MULTIPLE TOUCHPOINT WITH THEM THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
A LOT OF THE FOLKS I'M SEEING FOR THE SECOND OR THIRD TIME ARE NOW MAYBE FOURTH TIME AT SOME OF THESE.
AND THAT JUST HELPS CONTINUE TO MAKE SEDONA SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT INTRODUCING, BUT HELPING TO REALLY HELP THEM UNDERSTAND HOW BEST TO INCLUDE THEM INTO THEIR PACKAGES AND ALSO GARNER THAT COVERAGE.
ARE THERE ANY KINDA METRICS THAT CAN BE GENERATED FROM ALL YOUR, ALL YOUR VISITS? YEAH, I'M ABOUT TO SHOW YOU.
SO, UM, JUST WENT TO, UH, I-M-M-N-Y-C.
THAT WAS AGAIN THE, UM, MEDIA SHOW.
I HAD, UH, I THINK IT WAS 25 APPOINTMENTS, BUT THEN I HAD SOME EXTRA ONES ON THE SIDE JUST MEETING WITH PEOPLE.
UM, REGISTRATION COSTS WERE SPLIT 50 50 WITH THE A OT CO-OP ON THAT ONE.
UM, KAITLYN AND I JUST HAD A CONVERSATION WITH PETER GREENBERG FROM CBS THIS MORNING, UM, TALKING ABOUT POTENTIAL COVERAGE FOR US FROM THAT OUTLET AS AN IMMEDIATE OUTPUT FROM THAT, FROM THAT ACTIVITY.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE'LL BE FOLLOWING UP WITH, WITH A OT TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT OTHER COVERAGE MIGHT EMERGE FROM THIS.
BUT A LOT OF REALLY GOOD LEADS CAME FROM THAT.
UM, ONE THAT I'M VERY HAPPY WITH.
AND LAUREN, IF YOU COULD HAND THIS TO BOB, UM, ON OUR MEDIA REQUEST PAGE BACK IN OCTOBER, I HEARD FROM ONE OF THE, UM, SENIOR EDITORS AT SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE THAT WANTED TO DO A FOUR PAGE SPREAD OF SEDONA FOR THEIR FEBRUARY ISSUE.
UM, WE THEN PARTNERED WITH AMBIENTE AND THE DOLL RESTAURANT GROUPS PR FIRM, UM, IN ORDER TO ORGANIZE A PRESS TRIP THAT ALSO INCLUDED WELLNESS.
AND NOT ONLY DID WE GET THE FOUR PAGE SPREAD, BUT BUT WE GOT THE FRONT COVER OF THE MAGAZINE.
UM, SO, UH, THAT WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WE HAVE A WEBSITE THAT PEOPLE ARE ENGAGING WITH AND SAYING THEY WANNA, YOU KNOW, WORK PARTNER WITH US ON PRESS TRIPS AND THEN COLLABORATE WITH THE LOCAL BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO THEN GET SOME, YOU KNOW, PRETTY HIGH PROFILE COVERAGE.
I THINK FOR WHAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT WITH THIS IS THAT WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, HIGHER END AUDIENCE PRINT MAGAZINE IN A TARGET FLIGHT, IN A TARGET DRIVE MARKET FOR US DURING A TARGET TIME OF YEAR WHEN OUR CAMPAIGN IS RUNNING WITH A STAR CHEER YEAR ANEW BY, BY ENGAGING IN WELLNESS EXPERIENCES IN SEDONA.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT SORT OF WHAT WE'RE, WHAT OUR GOAL IS, IT'S ABOUT COVERAGE THAT ALIGNS WITH OUR COMMUNITY VALUES AT STRATEGIC TIMES.
AND THAT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY TO DO WITH MEDIA, BUT, UM, THIS OPPORTUNITY SHOWED UP AND WE WERE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT, BUT ALSO DO IT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR LOCAL BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
AND WHAT'S NICE, YOU MIGHT, YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE THAT PHOTO ON THE RIGHT IS ONE OF OUR CAMPAIGN IMAGES.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE ALLOWING OUR IMAGERY THAT WE'RE CAPTURING INFLUENCE THE PRESENTATION OF THE ARTICLES ABOUT SEDONA.
IT'S MORE THAN THE PRESS TRIPS THAT KAITLYN AND I ARE ORGANIZING FOR THESE FOLKS, WHICH LITERALLY IS THE OUTLINE OF THAT STORY.
ALTHOUGH SHE SAID SHE MET PETE SANDERS AT THE END.
WE KNOW SHE MET, MET, MET PETE SANDERS AT THE FRONT, SO SHE REORGANIZED THE, THE DAY A LITTLE BIT, BUT THAT'S, I'M NOT GONNA CALL HER OUT ON THAT HARD LINE TRAIL.
UM, ANOTHER ONE, UH, THIS WAS ONE, I MET THESE TWO JOURNALISTS WHEN I WAS IN PARIS LAST YEAR WITH A OT.
AND THEN WE ALSO ORGANIZED A PRESS TRIP WITH THEM WITH A OT SHORTLY AFTERWARDS.
THIS IS A HIGH-END, UM, FRENCH PRINT PUBLICATION THAT TALKED ABOUT KIND OF MAJOR ARCHITECTURE IN THE WEST, AND SEDONA GOT NICELY INCLUDED INTO THAT.
UM, AND YEAH, SO WE ACTUALLY, UM, CAITLIN AND I HAVE A PR PLATFORM AND WE RECORD ALL THE COVERAGE THAT WE'VE GARNERED DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR OWN ACTIVITIES AND THERE'S KIND OF MEDIA VALUES ASSOCIATED TO THAT.
AND THEN WE ALSO JUST SORT OF LOOK AND SCAN AT ALL THE COVERAGE THAT CONE ISS GETTING THAT WE'RE NOT EXACTLY INVOLVED IN.
[00:20:04]
ALL RIGHT, SO THIS ONE HERE, UM, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU THE, UH, FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET UPDATE.UM, SO THERE WERE A COUPLE THINGS.
WE HAD TALKED ABOUT A KIOSK, UM, AN ADDITIONAL PURCHASE FOR A KIOSK IN FISCAL YEAR 27.
AND IF YOU RECALL OF HOW WE DID THINGS LAST YEAR, WE FOUND MONEY FROM, UM, OTHER SAVINGS FROM OTHER BUDGETS.
UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND DO THAT AGAIN THIS YEAR, UM, BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR TO FUND A THIRD KIOSK AT THE GARAGE, WHICH WAS THE OTHER LOCATION THAT YOU ALL HAD DISCUSSED.
AND, UM, THOUGHT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO, TO HAVE THE GARAGE WILL BE COMPLETE IN MAY OR JUNE.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHY WE'VE KIND OF ACCELERATED THINGS INTO, UM, THIS FISCAL YEAR RATHER THAN NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
BUT JUST KNOW THAT THAT'S GOING ON.
UM, AND THEN, UH, ANDREW HAS SUBMITTED A DECISION PACKAGE.
WHAT A DECISION PACKAGE IS, IS ANYTHING, UM, OVER $25,000 THAT WE'RE ADDING TO OUR BUDGET.
UM, WE ARE ASKED TO PUT WHAT'S CALLED A DECISION PACKAGE FORWARD.
UM, WHEN WE DO THAT, WE JUSTIFY, UM, WHY WE'RE DOING IT, THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS, UM, THE OPPORTUNITY LOSS IF WE DON'T DO IT.
UH, AND THEN THE BUDGET WORK GROUP, THE CITY MANAGER, AND ULTIMATELY THE CITY COUNCIL GET TO DECIDE, UM, HOW THAT MOVES FORWARD AND IF IT MOVES FORWARD.
UM, SO IF YOU RECALL FROM OUR LAST MEETING, UM, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT $300,000 WORTH OF, UM, MONEY IN EXTRA ADVERTISING THAT WAS A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN YEAR ROUND ADVERTISING TO THE VERY HIGHEST END MARKET.
AND A HUN UH, SORRY, I SHOULD BACK UP EVENTS MEANING, UM, IF THERE IS AN, UM, AN NBA PLAYOFF OR SOMETHING THAT'S IN PHOENIX, WE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THAT WHEN WE STARTED PLANNING OUR BUDGET IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, BUT IT'S HAPPENING.
UM, WE'RE ABLE TO, UH, HAVE SOME FUNDS IN THERE TO LEVERAGE COMING TO SEDONA, UM, WHILE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE COMING INTO THE PHOENIX MARKET, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AND THEN $150,000 FOR BOOSTING OUR CAMPAIGNS, RIGHT? UM, $150,000 FOR THE CAMPAIGN BOOST IF, UM, A NUMBER OF THRESHOLDS ARE MET.
SO IF BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IS EITHER FLAT OR LOWER, THEN UM, WHEREAS IN THE PAST WE'VE DIPPED INTO A GENERAL CONTINGENCY FUND THAT EVERYBODY IN THIS, EVERY, ALL THE STAFF, UM, COMPETE FOR IN TERMS OF HOW THAT'S ALLOCATED OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
WE'VE ASKED FOR A SPECIFIC CONTINGENCY FOR THE TOURISM PROGRAM SO THAT IF WE'RE SEEING THAT BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IS NOT DOING WELL, WE CAN GO TO CITY COUNCIL AND DO A QUICK BOOST TO A CAMPAIGN JUST LIKE WE DID FOR, UM, WE DID IT PROACTIVELY FOR THIS FOR THE WINTER.
WE DID IT REACTIVELY IN THE SUMMER NEXT YEAR.
WE'VE ASKED FOR A DEDICATED FUND FOR THAT SO THAT IT IS CARVED OUT FOR US.
UM, THE TAB DID ASK FOR A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THAT.
UM, THAT WAS THE MARKETING TO THE HIGH INCOME EARNERS.
THEY HAD ASKED THAT THAT BE DIRECTLY PART OF NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
UM, I THOUGHT THAT THAT WASN'T AS CONSERVATIVE APPROACH AS WE COULD TAKE.
SO WHAT I DID IS WE WROTE THE DECISION PACKAGE.
I ASKED FOR 300,000, WHICH WAS THE TOTAL OF THAT 50 PLUS ONE 50 PLUS 100.
UM, AND SO WE ASKED FOR THAT IN CONTINGENCY AND IN THE DECISION PACKAGE, I SAY THAT THE TAB ACTUALLY WANTED TO HAVE THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE ADVERTISING TO THE HIGH INCOME INDIVIDUALS YEAR ROUND.
THEY WANTED THAT TO ACTUALLY BE PART OF OUR BASE BUDGET.
UM, SO THAT COUNCIL KNOWS, UM, THEY CAN DO THAT IF THEY WANT.
UM, BUT THE WAY THAT I'M PRESENTING IT IS IN, UH, IS IN THE CONTINGENCY FUND CATEGORY.
SO LIKE A WAIT, SO, SO WE DON'T HAVE A TEST GOING ON RIGHT NOW? NO, WE DO.
IF YOU REMEMBER THAT, THAT THE LAST MEETING WE TALKED ABOUT THE FY 27 BUDGET, AND I PROPOSED, WE ESSENTIALLY SUBMITTED A BUDGET SIMILAR TO FY 26, EXCEPT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT A DECISION PACKAGE FOR A KIOSK.
AS LAUREN MENTIONED, WE FOUND SAVINGS IN THIS FISCAL YEAR TO PAY FOR THAT.
AND THEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE $300,000 IN PAID ADVERTISING FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
SO WHEN WILL WE HAVE, UH, A READ ON HOW THAT HIGH END? WE'RE GONNA SHARE SOME RESULTS TODAY AS PART OF THE WINTER CAMPAIGN.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYTHING SPECIFIC ABOUT THE HIGHER END IN THE REPORT TODAY.
'CAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT THAT BEING SORT OF A LONGER REPORTING DURATION, RIGHT? YEAH.
UM, WE'VE SEEN SOME PRELIMINARY, BUT NOT SOMETHING I'M READY TO, READY TO SHARE, BUT WE WE ARE TRACKING THAT UP.
SO I, I'M SORRY, I'M STILL CONFUSED.
I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION IN THE DECEMBER MEETING
[00:25:01]
ABOUT THE CONTINGENCY PART, PORTION OF IT.UM, SO HOW, HOW DID THAT SHAKE OUT? I THOUGHT THAT THE TAB HAD ASKED THAT THERE WOULDN'T BE A CONTINGENCY TO BE PART OF THE PROJECT, BUT YOU FELT IT WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO PRESENT IT THAT WAY, OR, UM, LET ME SEE IF I CAN REPHRASE IT.
SO, UM, WHAT, WHAT WE TOOK TO THE TAB IN DECEMBER WAS $300,000 SPECIFIC CONTINGENCY FUND FOR THE TOURISM PROGRAM.
AND THEY SAID OF THOSE THREE ITEMS, WE ACTUALLY THINK THAT THE FIRST ONE THERE, THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR YEAR ROUND MARKETING AND FISCAL YEAR 27, THAT THAT SHOULD ACTUALLY BE PART OF YOUR BASE BUDGET.
SO JUST PUT THAT IN THE BASE BUDGET RATHER THAN TAKING IT OUTTA CONTINGENCY.
FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT, THE WAY THAT WE WILL ACCESS THOSE FUNDS IS THE EXACT SAME, WHETHER IT IS IN OUR BASE BUDGET OR THE CONTINGENCY BUDGET IN THAT WE HAVE TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL TO ASK FOR PERMISSION APPROVAL TO USE THOSE FUNDS.
SO RATHER THAN HAVE OUR BASE BUDGET GO UP BY A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, I THOUGHT IT WAS PRUDENT OF US TO ACTUALLY PUT IT AS A $300,000 CONTINGENCY RATHER THAN TAKING THAT A HUNDRED OUT AND PUTTING IT IN THERE.
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, WHAT WAS GOING ON IS THE, THE CITY IS TRYING TO SHOW THAT IT'S HOLDING SPEND ACROSS THE BOARD MM-HMM
AND SO, UM, IT'S A POLITICALLY APPROPRIATE WAY OF ADDRESSING THE PER THE ISSUE.
AND THERE'S A THRESHOLD THAT YOU, FOR THE CONTINGENCY, LIKE IT HAS TO BE ABOVE A $50,000 OR WHATEVER TO IT.
JUST, YOU HAVE TO GO IN EVERY TIME YOU WANNA PUT, WANNA TAP IT.
WE HAVE TO GO IN ANYTIME WE WANNA DO A MARKETING, ANYTIME WE WANNA DO ANY TYPE OF MARKETING.
SO I WENT TO COUNCIL, UM, LAST FALL TO TRY AND ASK FOR UNDER VERY SPECIFIC CONDITIONS IF BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IS EITHER FLAT OR NEGATIVE, YOU KNOW, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, CAN I HAVE PERMISSION FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OR FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO HAVE A HIGHER THRESHOLD TO SIGN IT HERSELF, SIGN THE CONTRACT HERSELF TO BOOST A CAMPAIGN RATHER THAN BRINGING IT ONTO A CITY COUNCIL AGENDA BECAUSE, UM, IT ADDS WEEKS ONTO THINGS IF I WANNA BRING IT, UM, INTO CITY COUNCIL.
CITY COUNCILS DECIDED THAT THEY DID NOT WANT TO DO THAT.
THEY WANTED TO CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE PROCESS.
THE LAST TIME THAT THIS HAPPENED IN THE SUMMER, I ACTUALLY HELD A, UM, AN EMERGENCY MEETING WITH CITY COUNCIL DURING A BREAK.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY ON A BREAK FROM THE END OF, UM, LIKE FROM MID JULY TO THE SECOND MEETING IN AUGUST, THEY TAKE A COUNCIL BREAK AND I SAID, HEY, BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IS NOT DOING WELL, AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE ECONOMY.
UM, I'D LIKE TO BOOST THE CAMPAIGN.
UM, AND I THINK WE GOT, I MEAN, WE HAD A QUORUM.
WE HAD FIVE OF THEM, SIX OF THEM, UM, WHO WERE ABLE TO ATTEND AND DID APPROVE THE SPEND, WHICH WAS GREAT.
BUT WHEN I TRIED TO SAY, OKAY, FOR THE NEXT TIME, YEAH, DO YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THAT PROCESS OR DO YOU WANT ME TO HAVE THE CITY MANAGER HAVE A HIGHER THRESHOLD FOR SIGNING A CONTRACT WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE IT TO COUNCIL? AND THEY DECIDED, NO, WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE.
UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, VERY TRANSPARENT PUBLIC PROCESS.
OH, DO I HAVE MORE? NO, THAT'S IT.
UM, THE DECISION PACKAGES ARE BEING REVIEWED BY THE CITIZEN BUDGET WORK GROUP THIS MONTH.
CITY COUNCIL WILL GET EYES ON IT IN APRIL, UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER SHAKES OUT WITH THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE APPROVED IN JUNE.
THAT'S THE END OF STAFF UPDATES.
[3.a. Minutes from Wednesday, December 3, 2025 meeting]
RIGHT.UH, SO CONSENT ITEMS IS TO LOOK AT THE MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING AND APPROVE THOSE.
IT DOES SAY UNDER CALL TO ORDER VICE CHAIR JOHN ALTHEA JOHNSON.
BUT THAT WAS THE ONLY THING I NOTICED.
SO IF YOU CHANGE THAT, CAN WE GET A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? MOTION TO APPROVE.
[5.a. Winter 2025/2026 destination marketing campaign update]
OKAY.SO SPEAKING OF CAMPAIGNS, UM, WE DO HAVE OUR WINNER 25 26 CAMPAIGN LIVE RIGHT NOW.
UM, AS A REMINDER, THE CAMPAIGN FLIGHT WAS OCTOBER 17TH AND GOES THROUGH FEBRUARY 15TH.
UM, AS A REMINDER, WE DO THESE FOR SEASONAL DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGNS TO DATE WITH THE GOAL OF DRIVING DEMAND DURING OUR HISTORICALLY SLOWER TIMES OF SUMMER AND WINTER.
AND THEN WE SORT OF TURN THE CAMPAIGNS OFF AS WE MOVE INTO BUSY SEASONS LIKE SPRING AND FALL.
UM, WE HAVE GOTTEN BETTER AT STARTING OUR CAMPAIGNS SOONER SO WE CAN REALLY INSPIRE THAT TRAVEL DURING THOSE NEED TIMES.
WE'RE LIVE ABOUT 70% OF THE YEAR RIGHT NOW WITH CAMPAIGNS AND THEN SORT OF NOT ACTIVE 30%, BUT THAT $100,000 BOB, THAT'S IN THE DECISION PACKAGE WOULD BE A WAY TO GET SOME YEAR ROUND MARKETING IF
[00:30:01]
THAT DOES, DOES GET APPROVED BY COUNCIL.SO THAT WOULD BE A WAY TO SORT OF CHANGE THE CURRENT PARADIGM.
TO LAUREN'S POINT, UM, THE ORIGINAL CAMPAIGN SPEND WAS IN OUR, IN OUR BUDGET WAS A HUNDRED AND FIFTY SIX TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY.
UM, WE DID AS PART OF OUR PRESENTATION OF THE CAMPAIGN STRATEGY TO COUNCIL IN OCTOBER, REQUEST THE BOOSTING OF THE CAMPAIGN DUE TO WHAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN OVERNIGHT HOTEL DEMAND THAT WE WERE SEEING IN THE RESEARCH.
AND THAT'S WHAT BROUGHT THE TOTAL CAMPAIGN SPEND FOR THE WINTER UP TO $250,000.
UM, ADVERTISING STRATEGIES THAT ARE UTILIZED WITHIN THAT MIX.
YOU'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE, BUT IT'S PAGE SEARCH, IT'S META ADS OUT OF MARKET AND IN MARKET, AND THEN IT'S ATTRIBUTION ADS THAT ARE WEB ADS AND ALSO CTV.
UM, JUST WANNA ALSO JUST FOR THE NEW FOLKS, LET YOU KNOW WHO OUR DRIVE AND FLIGHT MARKETS ARE.
WE HAVE A CONSISTENT SET OF DRIVE MARKETS, PHOENIX, TUCSON, LOS ANGELES, SAN DIEGO, LAS VEGAS.
THOSE ARE IN ALL OF OUR CAMPAIGNS.
OUR, OUR WINTER CAMPAIGNS AND SUMMER CAMPAIGNS SOMETIMES SWAP SOME OF THE FLIGHT MARKETS, LIKE YOU'LL SEE DALLAS IN THE SUMMER.
YOU DON'T SEE THEM HERE IN THE WINTER, YOU DON'T SEE NEW YORK IN THE SUMMER, YOU SEE THEM HERE IN THE WINTER.
BUT WE HAVE CHICAGO, SEATTLE, DENVER, MINNEAPOLIS, NEW YORK, AND SAN FRANCISCO.
CAN YOU JUST IN ONE SENTENCE, GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE ATTRIBUTION SIDE OF THINGS, WHAT THAT MEANS? I DO TARGET AUDIENCES,
UM, SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED AUDIENCES WITHIN THE DRIVE AND FLIGHT MARKETS THAT ARE SERVED, THE ATTRIBUTION ADS, UM, IN ADDITION TO THEIR GEOGRAPHY, OTHER VARIABLES THAT ARE UTILIZED TO IDENTIFY THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE BASED ON THEIR HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND THEIR ONLINE BEHAVIOR.
UM, WE PUT A BASELINE, BASICALLY HOW IT WORKS IS THAT WE LOOK AT FOLKS THAT HAVE VISITED SEDONA BEFORE FROM THOSE GEOGRAPHIES, AND THEN THEY, WE START CREATING LOOKALIKE AUDIENCES BASED ON WHO THEY ARE IN THOSE ZIP CODES AND IN THOSE GEOGRAPHIES THAT THEY'RE IN ON, ON HOUSEHOLD INCOME LEVEL AS WELL AS ONLINE BEHAVIOR.
WE'VE GOT DIFFERENT PERSONAS THAT ARE SORT OF LIKE AN OUTDOOR ADVENTURE SORT OF OUTDOOR RECREATION PERSONA.
WE'VE GOT A KIND OF CULTURE ARTS AND CULTURE PERSONA.
WE HAVE A SUSTAINABILITY PERSONA.
UM, AND THAT'S SORT OF HOW WE'VE STRUCTURED THE ONLINE, THE ONLINE BEHAVIOR.
AND THEN AFTER THOSE FOLKS ARE SERVED, ONE OF OUR PROGRAMMATIC ATTRIBUTION ADS, WHETHER IT BE FROM CTV, KIND OF CROSSES TO THEIR PHONE OR IT GETS DIRECTLY TO THEIR PHONE OR DESKTOP, ESSENTIALLY THEIR PHONE GETS A PIXEL ON IT SO THAT WE CAN RECORD IF WE'RE ABLE TO CAPTURE THEIR DEVICE, UM, THAT THEY'VE COME INTO THE CITY LIMITS.
AND THEN WE'VE ALSO GEOFENCED ALL THE HOTELS AND ALL THE SHORT TERM RENTALS BASED ON THE ADDRESSES THAT WE GET FROM THE CITY'S LICENSE PROGRAM TO REPORT ON IF THEY'RE STAYING OVERNIGHT AND SORT OF WHERE, UM, AND THEN, UM, YOU'LL SEE IN LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, THAT'S HOW WE GET OUR ECONOMIC IMPACT.
WE'VE GOT $190 PER DAY SANDS LODGING FOR FOLKS THAT COME IN HERE.
AND THEN DURING THE CAMPAIGN TIME SEQUENCE, WE LOOK AT THE AVERAGE DAILY RATE OF EITHER THE SHORT TERM RENTALS OR THE HOTELS, AND THEN WE MULTIPLY THAT UP BY THE NIGHT, STAYED THERE AS WELL.
SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE CREATING OUR ECONOMIC IMPACT NUMBERS THAT YOU'LL SEE.
AND THAT GETS US BACK DOWN TO OUR RETURN ON AD SPEND THAT YOU'LL SEE LATER AS WELL.
BUT IT IS BASED ON US PIXELING ADS AND THEN REPORTING ON IF THEY'RE IN MARKET, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE SUMMERTIME, UM, THERE'S BEEN A CHANGE IN SORT OF, UM, PRIVACY, PRIVACY REGULATIONS, IF YOU WILL, AND ALSO PERSONAL BEHAVIOR.
SO DEVICE CAPTURE ITSELF HAS JUST GONE DOWN.
UM, WE ONLY REPORT ON DEVICES THAT WE'VE SEEN.
THERE'S NO EXTRAPOLATION THAT'S INVOLVED IN THIS.
UM, WE'RE JUST, EVERYBODY'S CAPTURING LESS DEVICES NOWADAYS, BUT IT'S STILL THE BEST WE GOT.
JUST KNOW THAT FOR THE NEW FOLKS, WE DID HAVE OUR AGENCY DVA DO, UH, REVIEW OF OTHER OPTIONS THAN THE CURRENT PROVIDER THAT WE'RE USING BEFORE WE LAUNCHED OUR WINTER CAMPAIGN.
AND THEY CAME BACK AND SAID, THEY'VE ALL BEEN IMPACTED.
WE STILL RECOMMEND STICKING WITH DATA FI, WHO'S THE, WHO'S THE AGENCY THAT WE USE FOR, FOR THIS.
UM, AND THEN THIS WINTER WHEN WE DID MAKE THE REQUEST FOR THE ADDITIONAL $93,000 FROM CITY COUNCIL, UM, AS PART OF THAT SPEND, WE DID OPEN UP A NEW CHANNEL, WHICH IS WHAT WE SORT OF CALL OUR HIGH NET WORTH INDIVIDUALS.
COLLOQUIALLY, IT'S BEEN CALLED THE TWO 50 K PLUS, UM, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, UM, CHANNEL.
IT'S JUST ME,
BUT YOU KNOW, THE WAY THAT IT WORKS IS REALLY INTERESTING.
SO IT'S SORT OF LIKE A REVERSE RETARGETING EXERCISE WHERE, UM, OUR MARKETING AGENCY GEOFENCED THE TOP 1% OF HOTELS NATIONALLY AND LOOKED AT WHO WAS GOING TO THOSE VERY HIGH END HOTEL PROPERTIES AND THEN LOOKED BACK AT THE GEOGRAPHIES THAT OF WHERE THEY WERE FROM WITHIN OUR TARGET MARKETS.
AND THAT'S WHO'S BEEN GETTING SERVED THOSE ADS.
AND THAT'S SORT OF THAT LONGER TERM KIND OF LUXURY HIGH-END, UM, AUDIENCE THAT WE ARE TRYING A NEW STRATEGY WITH.
AND I BELIEVE, YEAH, I I GUESS THAT'S IT.
[00:35:02]
WHICH IS WHAT IF COUNCIL APPROVED, WE WILL PUT THE A HUNDRED K TOWARDS NEXT YEAR, UM, TO MARKET THEM YEAR ROUND RATHER THAN JUST DURING THESE CAMPAIGNS.SO HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? HOW, SO YOU GO TO A, I PRESUME IT'S A HIGH END HOTEL IN CHICAGO, AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT THEIR POPULATION TO SEE WHO'S STAYING THERE.
HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? JUST, JUST OFF THEIR CELL PHONE PINGS? YEAH, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ALL BASED ON THE APPS THAT THEY USE.
I ALWAYS SAY, 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THESE FOLKS FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS NOW.
UM, I'M ORIGINALLY FROM NEW JERSEY.
IT'S NOT BASED ON YOUR AREA CODE.
IT'S ABOUT WHERE THE PHONE IS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT KNOWS THAT I SPEND MY TIME AT MY HOUSE IN SEDONA AND THEN AT NIGHT AND I COME HERE DURING THE DAY.
SO IF I, THEY'VE IDENTIFIED A HOME AND A WORK LOCATION, AND THEN IF I GO TO TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES NEW MEXICO, LIKE I DID FOR VETERAN'S DAY, THEY WOULD SEE MY PHONE AND TRUE THE CONSEQUENCES NEW MEXICO.
UM, BUT IT'S ALL BASED ON WHETHER OR NOT PEOPLE ARE PARTICIPATING IN APPS.
SO BY NO MEANS ARE YOU CAPTURING EVERY SINGLE CELL PHONE IN THAT.
AND THEN CABLE TELEVISION ADS WORK SIMILARLY.
IF YOU'RE WATCHING A TV PROGRAM AND YOU'RE ON A CABLE NETWORK, IF YOUR PHONE IS PRESENT, YOU'LL GET ONE AD UH, SOMEBODY IN ANOTHER ROOM, ON A DIFFERENT TV WITH A DIFFERENT PHONE WILL GET A DIFFERENT AD.
JIM SURE'S A LOT OF OUT THERE THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT.
SO
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT I SENT THE CAMPAIGN VIDEO TO THE NEW TAB MEMBERS, BUT JUST HERE'S SOME OF THE CREATIVE THAT'S BEING USED AS PART OF THE REDEFINE CONCEPT.
HOW LONG DO WE STICK WITH THE SAME? YEP.
SO WE ALWAYS CALLED IT A TWO YEAR CAMPAIGN INTERNALLY, UH, WE'RE ON EXECUTION NUMBER THREE.
UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY INTENDING TO DO EXECUTION NUMBER FOUR THIS SUMMER, SO I HATE TO BURY LEADS.
SO NEXT IN MARCH WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT EXTENDING THE REDEFINE YOUR SUMMER CAMPAIGN.
UM, THE CURRENT, DON'T CHANGE IT TILL IT DOESN'T WORK.
NO, I, I, I LIKE THIS CAMPAIGN VERY MUCH.
I'M JUST WONDERING AT WHAT POINT, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THIS WORLD DOES IT BECOME REPETITIVE AND NEED TO BE CHANGED? JUST 'CAUSE I DON'T HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE? WE ARE PREPARED TO, OR PLANNING TO HAVE A NEW CONCEPT FOR NEXT WINTER.
UM, WHICH WILL COME TO THE TAB.
IF TAB SAYS REDEFINE LIKE, IT SOUNDS LIKE BOB'S READY TO SAY, THEN WE'RE, THEN WE'RE, I HAVEN'T SEEN THE OPTION YEAH.
AND, AND TYPICALLY WHAT WE'LL DO IS KIND OF KEEP THE CURRENT CAMPAIGN AS AN OPTION AND THEN SHOW YOU OTHER OPTIONS.
AND THAT'LL BE WHAT WE GET INTO PROBABLY IN AUGUST.
SO DO ANY OF THESE WEBSITES OR ANY, ANY, I GUESS THE TILES AND SO FORTH, DO THEY HAVE SUNSET, UH, DATES ON THEM? ANY OF THEM AT ALL? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? LIKE THEY AUTOMATICALLY DETER, UH, I GUESS DID THEY GET REMOVED AT A CERTAIN DAY? YEAH.
WHEN, WHEN, WHEN THE CAMPAIGN FLIGHT ENDS, THEY'RE NO LONGER BEING SERVED UP, WHICH IS FEBRUARY 15TH.
BUT IS IT BUILT INTO THE WEBSITE OR IS IT JUST SOMETHING WE DECIDE TO DO IT? THERE'S ESSENTIALLY IT'S MEDIA BUYS.
THERE'S EMPTY SPACES ON WEBSITES, AND OUR AGENCY PROVIDERS PURCHASE THOSE SPACES ESSENTIALLY REAL TIME.
BUT AS SOON AS WE END A CAMPAIGN, WE'RE NO LONGER BUYING DIGITAL ADS.
SO THEY ARE NO LONGER PRESENT AFTER FEBRUARY 15TH.
SO AI CAN'T FIND ONE THAT WAS CREATED THREE YEARS AGO.
MAYBE IF YOU WENT INTO THE WAY BACK MACHINE FROM SAN DIEGO AND YOU WERE IN HIGH HOUSEHOLD INCOME.
AND THEN JUST WANTED TO KIND OF SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE RESULTS.
UH, THIS IS THROUGH OCTOBER 17TH THROUGH JANUARY 11TH.
JUST NOTE THAT WHEN I GET TO THE ATTRIBUTION, I THINK THAT'S JUST THROUGH ALMOST THE END OF DECEMBER DUE TO THE LAGS IN THE ATTRIBUTION THAT HAPPENS.
UM, BUT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, VERY PLEASED WITH, UM, THE, THE CAMPAIGN RESULTS SO FAR.
15 MILLION IMPRESSIONS ACROSS, YOU KNOW, ALL CHANNELS.
UM, I'M REALLY MOST EXCITED WHEN I LOOK AT THESE TRADITIONAL METRICS ABOUT OUR, OUR, OUR WEBSITE TRAFFIC GENERATED 115,000 USERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, A BIG GOAL FOR US HAS BEEN TO DRIVE THAT WEBSITE TRAFFIC AND MAKE SCENIC SEDONA MORE OF A DIGITAL PRESENCE.
I KNOW THAT WE ARE PAYING FOR A LOT OF OUR CLICKS, BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, HONESTLY BETTER THAN LOSING IT DUE TO THE LACK OF ORGANIC CLICKS THAT ARE HAPPENING DUE TO SEARCH LANGUAGE MODELS.
UM, BUT WE'RE, WE NETTED OUT AT JUST SHY OF 500,000 USERS LAST CALENDAR YEAR.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A MAJOR WAY THAT WE ARE DRIVING TRAFFIC TO THE WEBSITE.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, VERY, VERY GOOD COST PER CLICK, UM, OVER BENCHMARK ACROSS THE BOARD.
ANDREW, ON THE WEBSITE USERS, DO YOU HAVE A BUYER PERSONA OR DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN ON THOSE? WE HAVE LIKE ORIGIN FOR SURE.
SO, UM, GO GOOGLE ANALYTICS AT THAT POINT.
SO ARE YOU, ARE YOU MEASURING HOW MUCH CAPTURE YOU'RE GETTING? YOU GET THEM TO CLICK THROUGH, HOW
[00:40:01]
MUCH TIME ARE THEY SPENDING? YEAH.UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WEBSITE TRAFFIC, HUGE INCREASE.
TOP CITIES, AGAIN ALIGNS WITH OUR CAMPAIGN MARKETS.
PHOENIX, LOS ANGELES, DENVER, CHICAGO, SEDONA, SEDONA GETS IT BECAUSE IT'S AN, WE HAVE IN-MARKET ADS THAT ARE MORE OF OUR EDUCATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY ADS.
THAT'S WHY SEDONAS SHOWING UP THERE, ENGAGEMENT TIME, UM, YOU KNOW, ON INSIDE A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN A MINUTE THERE.
BUT YOU KNOW, AGAIN, UM, IT'S PRETTY GOOD FOR COMING OFF OF DIGITAL ADS.
AND THEN WE HAVE A LANDING PAGE PEOPLE ARE STAYING ON.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT ROB AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IS REALLY, WE HAVE ONE OF OUR KIND OF STRATEGY CONSULTANTS.
YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MAKE THAT PAGE MORE ENGAGING? UM, BUT WE'VE SEEN THAT GO UP.
UM, TOP WEBSITE PAGES, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE.
OBVIOUSLY OUR CAMPAIGN PAGE IS AT THE TOP.
THAT'S KIND THE PRIMARY, PRIMARY LOCATION.
BUT THEN OUR HIKE PAGE GETS A LOT OF VIEWS.
OUR VISITOR GUIDE'S GETTING A LOT OF VIEWS.
OUR APPRECIATE SEDONA PAGE IS GETTING A LOT OF VIEWS.
AND THEN ALSO OUR STAY PAGE IS GETTING A LOT OF VIEWS.
HOW, HOW DOES THAT ENGAGEMENT TIME COMPARE TO PEERS? UM, I CAN GET, I CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
UM, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE ATTRIBUTION, CREATIVE PERFORMANCE, UM, HUGE AMOUNT OF IMPRESSIONS, UH, CLICK, CLICK THROUGH RATE, YOU KNOW, WELL OVER, WELL OVER BENCHMARK THERE.
UM, AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, STRONG CLICK, STRONG CLICK PERFORMANCE.
UM, IT'S JUST NICE TO SEE THE WAY THESE ADS GO.
I THINK THAT THE, UM, VIDEO COMPLETION RATE, AND I'LL COME BACK TO THIS IN A SECOND.
UM, WE SAW THROUGH THE PROGRAMMATIC PRESENTATION OF THE VIDEO THROUGH, THROUGH THE CTV, UM, YOU KNOW, 98% VIDEO COMPLETION RATE.
UM, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER VIDEO STRATEGY THAT WE TESTED THAT I'LL SHARE AT THE END THAT ALSO HAS A VERY SIMILAR COMPLETION RATE.
SO IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT OUR CAMPAIGN VIDEO IS ENGAGING AND, AND THAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING IT.
UM, META PERFORMANCE HERE, UM, BECAUSE TOP FIVE ADS BY CLICK THROUGH RATE, YOU KNOW, OUR VIDEOS AGAIN, ARE PERFORMING WELL.
WE SAW THAT CTV WHEN WE TESTED IT LAST SUMMER WAS A GOOD STRATEGY FOR US.
THAT'S WHY YOU SAW MORE SPEND IN THAT STRATEGY THIS TIME AROUND.
UM, AND THEN YOU'VE GOT OUR, YOU KNOW, SANCTUARY RETAIL HOSPITALITY.
UM, COST PER CLICK IS 49% BELOW THE BENCHMARK, WHICH AGAIN IS JUST AN EFFICIENT USE OF SPEND.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, IT JUST KINDA SAYS AGAIN THAT OUR, OUR VIDEOS CONTINUE TO DO WELL.
I'M EXCITED TO CONTINUE TO HAVE A STRONGER VIDEO LIBRARY AND TO KEEP THAT BEING A GOOD FOCUS FOR US.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, ADS ARE ONE WAY TO SHOW SEDONA, BUT VIDEOS ARE CERTAINLY ANOTHER WAY TO SHOW SEDONA.
AND THEN PAID SEARCH, THAT'S BEEN SORT OF SOMETHING WE'VE CONTINUED TO JUST GET BETTER AND BETTER AT.
UM, AGAIN, I THINK IT WAS SOMEBODY I WAS TALKING TO AT THE START OF THIS WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY'RE SEARCHING FOR KEYWORDS AND OUR WEBSITE'S GETTING TURNING UP.
IT'S 'CAUSE WE ARE, WE ARE PAYING FOR THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, TOP FIVE PERFORMING KEYWORDS OR YOU KNOW, SO DON'T A HIKING TRAILS.
THAT'S KIND OF DRIVING FOLKS TO OUR HIKING WEBSITE.
VISIT SEDONA, WHERE TO HIKE TRAIL MAPS, PLACES TO VISIT IN ARIZONA ARE THE ONES THAT ARE PERFORMING THE MOST.
AND IT'S NICE TO SEE THAT WE ARE AGAIN, GROWING OUR PRESENCE THROUGH THAT FORMAT.
AGAIN, I THINK I SHARED IT TO FOLKS KIND OF BEFORE WE STARTED THE MEETING, BUT I LOOK AT US LESS AS A MARKETING AGENCY, BUT MORE OF A REPUTATION MANAGEMENT AGENCY.
UM, AND THIS IS ONE WAY THAT WE CAN DO THAT IS SORT OF KNOWING HOW PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING AND THEN TRYING TO SERVE UP THAT INFORMATION.
AND IT COMES BACK TO HOW WE'RE DESIGNING OUR NEW WEBSITE PAGES SO THAT WE'RE REALLY DESIGNING THEM AI FORWARD SO THAT WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AND YOU COULDN'T SEE IN THAT TEMPLATE, BUT THERE'S A WHOLE FAQ SECTION THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE STRATEGIES IS JUST PUT A BUNCH OF FAQS AT THE BOTTOM OF A PAGE THAT ARE WHAT PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR.
AND THEN THE CRAWLERS WILL PULL THAT AND THAT BECOMES THE RESPONSE THAT COMES UP AT THE TOP, BASICALLY.
SO OVER TO ATTRIBUTION, UM, JUST WENT THROUGH THE TRADITIONAL METRICS.
UM, WE HAVE FOUND THROUGH DECEMBER 27TH.
UM, SO AGAIN, WE STARTED OCTOBER 17TH, DECEMBER 27TH.
AND THEN WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER, JUST, JUST OVER 45 DAYS IN THE CAMPAIGN.
UM, WE GENERATED JUST SHY OF 4,000 VISITOR DAYS AT $190 A DAY, WHICH IS WHAT WE FOUND AS SORT OF THE AVERAGE DAILY SPEND SANDS LODGING, UM, $734,000, UM, TOTAL IMPACT.
AND YOU LOOK AT THE SORT OF RETURN ON AD SPEND THERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, 12 TO ONE RIGHT NOW IS IS WHERE WE ARE, WHICH IS SORT OF WHERE WE, UM, ENDED UP AT THE END OF THE LAST SUMMER CAMPAIGN.
SO IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT WE'RE ALREADY THERE, UM, WITH A LOT OF THE CAMPAIGN LEFT TO GO.
I KNOW FOLKS HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT THE SPEND IS THAT FIRST COLUMN VISITS, IS THAT SECOND? WELL, THE FIRST COLUMN'S THE MARKET, THEN IT'S SPEND, THEN IT'S VISITS, THEN IT'S HOTEL NIGHTS, SHORT TERM, RENTAL NIGHTS, AVERAGE LENGTH OF STAY, RETURN BY MARKET.
AND THEN ROI, UM, NO BIG SURPRISE.
YOU KNOW, PHOENIX AND TUCSON REMAIN OUR KIND OF HIGHEST PERFORMING MARKETS IN TURN OF, IN TERMS OF RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
UM, CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCE IN SPEND IN TUCSON AND PHOENIX IS RATHER, RATHER LARGE.
THEY'RE MUCH DIFFERENT MARKETS.
[00:45:01]
YOU KNOW, IT'S NICE TO SEE THAT THOSE TWO MARKETS CONTINUE TO BE OUR HIGHEST, HIGHEST RETURNS ON INVESTMENT.UM, LOS ANGELES, LAS VEGAS, AGAIN, TWO OF OUR OTHER DRIVE MARKETS ARE PERFORMING WELL IN, IN TERMS OF RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
UM, THE OTHER THINGS I'LL SHARE IS THAT NOTHING WAS, NOTHING'S NEGATIVE RIGHT NOW ON RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
AND WE'VE DEFINITELY SEEN THAT KIND OF HALFWAY THROUGH OUR CAMPAIGN.
SO AS MUD SAYS, YOU KNOW, CHICAGO IS SLIGHTLY ABOVE, UM, ONE THING THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE WAS THAT NOTHING RIGHT NOW IS NOT RETURNING ON INVESTMENT FOR US.
UM, WE DID TALK ABOUT PUTTING SOME SPENDING CAPS ON CHICAGO AND PHOENIX SO THAT, UM, WE CAN CONTINUE TO LET SOME OF THESE OTHER MARKETS THRIVE.
UM, AND THAT'S WHAT OUR AGENCY IS DOING.
BUT THESE ARE PRELIMINARY RESULTS I WANNA SHARE AS WELL.
UM, LAUREN AND I KIND OF GO BACK AND FORTH, DO WE SHARE ATTRIBUTION BEFORE THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN IN CASE SOMETHING CHANGES AT THE END? BUT, UM, WE FELT LIKE THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, ENOUGH HERE TO REALLY SHARE UNLESS YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT A MIDWAY REPORT AND MAKING ADJUSTMENTS WITH OUR AGENCY AS A RESULT.
CAN I, CAN I ASK YOU, UM, DECEMBER MEETING, I, YOU MENTIONED THE TRANSPARENCY HUB.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT TO ME? WHAT THAT, WHAT'S THAT TELLING US? WHAT IS THAT? UM, THAT'S SHOWING YOU THE TOURISM RESEARCH INFORMATION.
SO THAT TOURISM REPORT THAT I SENT YOU IN A PDF THAT'S SHOWING YOU, UM, LODGING PERFORMANCE, ORIGIN MARKETS, LENGTH OF STAYS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
HOW IS TOURISM PERFORMING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY? AND THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF THE TRANSPARENCY.
SO THEY, THEY, I MEAN THEY PICKED WEIRD CITIES AND I'VE JUST WONDERED YOU LIKE DALLAS, TEXAS AND, AND THE, THE CITIES THAT WE'RE TARGETING FOR OUR CAMPAIGNS APPARENTLY ARE I GUESS REPORTED.
IS THAT WHAT THE IT'S A REPORT, UM, THAT'S HAPPENING OR IS IT OUR TARGETING THE TRANSPARENCY HUB OR WHO WE'RE TARGETING TRANSPARENCY HUB.
THE TRANSPARENCY HUB COMES FROM OUR RESEARCH PROVIDER.
I'LL SHOW YOU OUR RESEARCH REPORT AT THE END OF THIS MEETING.
UM, IT'S A COMPANY CALLED TOURISM ECONOMICS AND WE USE THEIR SYMPHONY PLATFORM.
UM, WE PURCHASE A VARIETY OF RESEARCH FROM DIFFERENT VENDORS.
UM, AND IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WHEN WE MEET ONE-ON-ONE, I CAN KIND OF SIT DOWN AND WALK YOU THROUGH KIND OF MORE IN DEPTH.
BUT THAT'S ESSENTIALLY LOOKING AT NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING AT THE CITY.
MORE WHAT ARE WE SEEING IN TERMS OF HOTEL OCCUPANCY, SHORT-TERM RENTAL OCCUPANCY, SHORT-TERM RENTAL PERFORMANCE AT LARGE THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN SEE.
HAVE WE BEEN BUSY OR HAVE WE NOT BEEN BUSY? OKAY.
ON THE MARKET ANALYSIS PIECE THERE, YOU GUYS HAVE A LOT OF LARGE CITIES AROUND THERE AND I KNOW ORGANICALLY WE HAVE A PRETTY BIG MIGRATION FROM COLORADO MM-HMM
UM, UNLIKE CITIES THAT ARE VERY SIMILAR TO US, IS THERE, DO WE NOT TOUCH THAT BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF HAPPENING ORGANICALLY OR DO WE THINK THAT THERE'S VALUE THAT POTENTIALLY INCREASE THAT? 'CAUSE IT'S LIKE WHEN THEY HAVE BAD SNOW YEARS, IT, WE SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE COME DOWN.
I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU MY RESPONSE.
I KNOW LAUREN WAS HERE, UM, BEFORE I WAS, WHEN WE SORT OF MADE SOME OF THESE DECISIONS, IF I HAVE ANYTHING I DIDN'T SHARE.
BUT, UM, PART OF IT, THOSE MARKETS ARE JUST TOO SMALL FOR THE STRATEGY THAT WE'RE USING WITH THE DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE BIGGER MARKETS.
SO WE, WE KNOW THAT FOLKS ARE COMING FROM OTHER AREAS, BUT WITH THE LIMITED PAID ADVERTISING DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE, THE STRATEGY THAT WE'VE SET UP WITH THE ATTRIBUTION, UM, LIKE WE LOOKED AT SANTA FE FOR EXAMPLE.
WE SAID, HEY, CAN SANTA FE BE ONE OF THE MARKETS? WE KNOW THAT THAT'S REALLY COMPARABLE FOR US.
UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE KIND OF THE POPULATION BASE IN THAT COMMUNITY COMPARED TO THESE OTHER DMAS THAT WE'RE TARGETING.
SO YOU, THERE'S NOT A WAY TO LIKE CAPTURE MULTIPLES TO HAVE A SIMILAR LEVEL OF IMPACT WITHOUT SPENDING TOO MUCH.
BUT, AND I I'LL JUST SAY TOO THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS THAT WE'RE REACHING THOSE AUDIENCES, RIGHT? CAMPAIGNS ARE NOT THE ONLY WAY THAT WE'RE ADVERTISING.
UM, I SHARED IT AT THE LAST MEETING.
UM, WE GOT A REALLY FANTASTIC PLACEMENT IN DISHING JACKSON HOLE AND DISHING PARK CITY MAGAZINE.
SO I LIKE TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR EARNED MEDIA IS A WAY THAT WE'RE GETTING IN FRONT OF THOSE, THOSE COMMUNITIES.
SO JUST KNOW THAT WHEN WE SHARE CAMPAIGNS, WE'RE DOING A LOT OF OTHER THINGS IN TERMS OF MARKETING.
UM, THIS IS JUST OUR DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGN STRATEGY, BUT TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU.
UM, BUT JUST THE WAY WE'VE SET THIS UP WITH THE DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE, IT'S LOOKING AT THESE LARGER DMAS.
BUT AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THAT WE GET IN FRONT OF PEOPLE COOL.
AND THE MARKETS THAT, THAT WE ARE MARKETING, UM, TO, WERE DETERMINED, UH, NOT ONLY BASED ON PAST VISITATION WHO'S COMING HERE, BUT WHO'S SPENDING MONEY.
AND SO WE WANTED TO MARRY THOSE TWO THINGS, UM, IN ORDER TO MARKET TO THEM.
BUT, UM, I'M VERY AWARE OF PLACES LIKE DURANGO PARK CITY, UM, EVEN DENVER, TELLURIDE, ALL OF THOSE PLACES THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS SOON AS IT SNOWS A LOT IN THOSE LOCATIONS, THEY'RE LOOKING AT SEDONA TO COME KIND OF DRY OUT.
UM, AND I HAVE TAKEN THAT TO DVA, UM, AND THEY HAVE JUST NOT SUGGESTED THAT FROM A, UM, UH, AUDIENCE PERSPECTIVE.
IT DOESN'T HIT THE LEVEL OF, UM, THE, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT THEY LOOK FOR IN ORDER TO PLACE THIS TYPE OF MARKETING IN FRONT OF.
BUT I WILL CONTINUE TO ASK THE QUESTION.
[00:50:01]
UH, 'CAUSE I THINK IT'S VALID.I, I WOULD ASK LIKE I 70 CORRIDOR THROUGH LIKE BRECK AND VEIL AND THAT WHOLE PIECE RIGHT THERE WHERE YOU HAVE REALLY HIGH SPENDERS AND IT'S NOT QUITE THE VOLUME OF POPULATION, BUT IT'S ONE OF THE HIGHER POPULATION VOLUMES IN THAT ZONE.
AND AGAIN, THESE ARE DMAS TOO.
SO THEY'RE WIDER THAN JUST KIND OF A CITY AREA.
AND THEN TO LAUREN'S POINT, UH, WE STARTED PURCHASING VISA CREDIT CARD INFORMATION THIS PAST FALL AND I HAD AN INDEPENDENT PARTY SAY, HEY, LET'S LOOK AT THIS.
WHO ARE OUR TOP SPENDING MARKETS? AND AT ONES TO ONE IT, ONE-TO-ONES WITH OUR CAMPAIGN MARKETS.
SO THAT JUST AGAIN, SORT OF REINFORCES WHY WE HAVE THE CAMPAIGN MARKETS THAT WE HAVE.
SO AGAIN, THERE'S OTHER PLACES WE COULD MARKET, BUT WITH THE DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE AND THE STRATEGY THAT WE'RE EXECUTING, THESE ARE THE ONES THAT WE DECIDED ON WITH THE, UH, HIGH INCOME CAMPAIGN THAT WE'RE TESTING AND ASKING MONEY FOR THAT WILL HIT A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE.
UM, AND THEN JUST AS A REMINDER, WE LOOK AT DESTINATIONS, HOTELS, AND SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO KEEP MOVING 'CAUSE WE ONLY HAVE 55 MINUTES LEFT, SO I'LL TRY TO DO THIS SLIDE QUICKLY AND I'M KIND OF REPEATING THINGS.
BUT, UM, THE THING I'LL SHARE THAT REALLY STICKS OUT TO ME IS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT HOTEL TRIPS AT 8 65 AND SHORT TERM RENTAL TRIPS AT 180 4.
SO, UM, WE ARE INSPIRING OVERNIGHT VISITATION TO SEDONA, BUT I'M EXCITED OR SORT OF PROUD THAT OUR CAMPAIGNS ARE DRIVING SUBSTANTIALLY MORE HOTEL VISITATION THAN SHORT-TERM RENTAL VISITATION.
AND THAT'S SORT OF, I THINK IS OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE LARGER GOALS FOR US TO KEEP THEM, YOU KNOW, CLOSER TO OUR BUSINESSES, CLOSER TO WHERE THEY'RE SPENDING MORE MONEY.
AND THEN I DID ALLUDE TO OUR GOOGLE VIDEO PILOT, UM, AS PART OF THE A OT CO-OP.
AGAIN, THERE'S A THING I KEEP SAYING
UM, WE DID WORK WITH MADDEN MEDIA ON A, IT WAS A $3,000, UH, VIDEO ADVERTISING ON YOUTUBE.
A STRATEGY WE HAVE NOT LEVERAGED YET.
WE TALKED TO DVA ABOUT IT, BUT FIGURED WE'D PILOT IT THROUGH THE A O OT CO-OP, WHICH IS TYPICALLY HOW WE DO THINGS IN THE A O OT CO-OP.
CAN WE, CAN WE GET PARTIAL FUNDING FROM THE STATE OFFICE? TRY A NEW STRATEGY IF IT SEEMED SUCCESSFUL, THEN WE COULD DO IT ON OUR OWN.
UM, SO WE SPENT, WE SPENT 1500, AOT SPENT 1500, IT WENT LIVE IN DECEMBER.
UM, AND WE HAVE 175,000 VIEWS WITH A, AGAIN, ABOUT 98% VIDEO COMPLETION RATE, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE SEE IN OUR CTV.
UM, AND WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA GET A HALF A, A QUARTER MILLION VIEWS IN THREE MONTHS, JUST FROM $3,000 TO SPEND.
SO, UM, NICE TO KNOW THAT THAT STRATEGY IS AVAILABLE.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK TO EXPLORE IN THE MIX WITH DVA NOW THAT WE'VE VALIDATED.
AND ONE THING I REFLECTED ON IS IF YOU GO TO THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
THIS IS ON, IT'S A LOT MORE VIEWS THAN MOST OF THE OTHER VIDEOS THAT WE HAVE ON THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
UH, I HAVE AN ADJACENT QUESTION.
WHAT OTHER, WHAT OTHER LOCATIONS ARE IN THE A OT CO-OP? UM, AS FAR AS WHO, WHO'S RECIPIENTS OF THE FUNDS? YEAH, YEAH.
WHAT OTHER PLACES? THE BEST WAY I CAN DESCRIBE IT, AND I DON'T HAVE A VERY, I DON'T HAVE LIKE A PERFECTLY A HUNDRED PERCENT ACCURATE ANSWER, BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S THE RURAL MARKETING CO-OP, RIGHT? SO IT'S RURAL DESTINATIONS, WHICH I AM FAIRLY CERTAIN IS NOT MARICOPA COUNTY AND NOT TUCSON.
SO LIKE, SAFFORD, LIKE, I'M JUST CURIOUS, LIKE WHAT OTHER ARIZONA DESTINATIONS ARE? WINSLOW.
COTTONWOOD, JEROME, ANY OF THOSE PLACES THAT HAVE A DMO, THEY'RE GONNA BE TRYING TO GET DOLLARS FROM THAT.
ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE I MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM? RIGHT.
[5.b. Planning for a Spring educational messaging campaign]
IN THE STAFF REPORT.UM, AND THIS IS KIND OF, I THINK THE, THE MAIN COURSE AND THEN WE'VE GOT A DESSERT AT THE END.
UM, BUT THIS IS GONNA BE PLANNING A SPRING EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING CAMPAIGN.
SO, UM, I KNOW YOU'VE ALL SEEN THE SEDONA TOURISM PLAN.
A KEY INITIATIVE FOR US IS TO ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL USE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, DVA HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL AT KIND OF PROPPING UP WHAT WE CALL THE ALWAYS ON EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN THAT LEVERAGES PAID SEARCH AND META THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO EDUCATE ON, YOU KNOW, SEARCH TERMS THAT DRIVE TO RESPONSIBLE MESSAGING, SEARCH TERMS THAT DRIVE TO KIND OF HIKING STYLE MESSAGING, UH, SHUTTLE MESSAGING, AND THEN ALSO, UM, META ADS THAT ARE ENGAGED IN KIND OF RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL.
UM, THIS SPRING THOUGH, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND ON OUR EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING DURING OUR BUSY TIME OF YEAR BY IMPLEMENTING A PROGRAMMATIC EDUCATIONAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN SIMILAR TO THE WAY THAT WE DO OUR INSPIRATIONAL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, BUT A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
UM, AND IN FACT, WE PILOTED, LIKE I SAID, WE LIKE TO PILOT THINGS FIRST BEFORE WE KIND OF GO, GO FULL IN.
UM, WE PILOTED THIS CONCEPT WITH AZERA, WHICH IS SORT OF A, A COMPANY SIMILAR TO DATA FI THAT, THAT A DVA WORKS WITH, UM, THROUGH THE A OT CO-OP AND GOT THAT KIND OF PARTIALLY FUNDED FOR, OR 50% FUNDED.
BUT INSTEAD OF BEING FOCUSED ON INSPIRATION AND CREATING AN AUDIENCE IN THE WAY THAT I JUST TALKED ABOUT US CREATING, WE FLIPPED THE SCRIPT WHERE WE ACTUALLY CREATED AN AUDIENCE BASED ON FOLKS WITH FOLKS THAT LIVE IN THE PHOENIX METRO THAT WE SAW CONSISTENTLY COMING TO SEDONA IN THE SPRING.
SO WE SORT OF WERE HIGHLY CONFIDENT THAT THEY WOULD BE HERE DURING SPRING BREAK, AND WE WERE ABLE
[00:55:01]
TO SERVE THEM UP ADS SPECIFIC TO THE SEDONA SHUTTLE AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE AWARE THAT THE SHUTTLE WAS IN EXISTENCE AND HOW TO USE IT, AND THAT IT WAS AN OFFERING TO THEM BEFORE THEY GOT INTO MARKET.SO TRYING TO GET THEM BEFORE THEY ARRIVE WHEN THEY'RE STILL PLANNING AND THEY ALREADY HAVE THEIR WHOLE IDEA ABOUT THEIR TRIP TO TRY TO SERVE THAT UP.
UM, SO IT WAS JUST A, IT WAS A $12,000 BUY.
A OT PAID SIX, UM, AND THEN A ZERO REPORTED JUST SHY OF 5,000 AD INFLUENCED VISITORS.
AND I WOULD SAY IN THIS CONTEXT, I LIKE TO CALL IT SMARTER VISITORS.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY A GOAL WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT IS VISITOR BEHAVIOR MESSAGING.
IT'S TRYING TO CREATE A SMARTER VISITOR, RIGHT? ONE THAT UNDERSTANDS OUR EXPECTATIONS OF THEM.
ONE THAT UNDERSTANDS HOW TO MOVE THROUGH THE DESTINATION WITH LESS FRICTION.
ONE THAT KNOWS TO GET THEIR DINNER RESERVATION BEFORE THE DAY OF AND IN MARCH.
RIGHT? UM, AND THEN WE ALSO IDENTIFIED SPECIFIC ADS THAT PERFORM BETTER THAN OTHERS.
THAT'S WHAT'S KIND OF UP HERE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS, AND I KNOW I TALKED ABOUT THIS WHEN WE BRIEFLY REPORTED ON THIS, UH, LAST SPRING, WAS THAT PART OF THE GOAL THAT I WAS LOOKING AT WITH THIS PILOT WAS TO SAY, COULD WE SERVE UP SHUTTLE ADS? AND THEN THE SAME WAY THAT WE REPORT ON HOTEL VISITATION AND SHORT-TERM RENTAL VISITATION, COULD I REPORT ON PARK AND RIDE VISITATION? RIGHT.
UM, NOW UNFORTUNATELY, DEVICE CAPTURE THE PARK AND RIDES IS VERY LIMITED.
UM, WE DEFINITELY SAW FOLKS COME INTO CITY LIMITS, BUT WE DIDN'T REALLY CAPTURE THEM AT THE PARK AND RIDES.
UM, I'VE INDEPENDENTLY LOOKED AT WITH OUR DATA FI, CAN WE CAPTURE DEVICES AT PARK AND RIDES? AND NOBODY'S ABLE TO DO THAT FOR ME FOR SOME REASON, THAT'S JUST NOT REALLY PLAYING ITSELF OUT.
UM, IS THAT CELL COVERAGE, CELL COVERAGE? I MEAN, BOB, THE THEORY WAS THAT THEY'RE THE CAPTIVE AUDIENCE.
THEY, EVERYBODY IN AMERICA'S ON THEIR PHONES IF THEY'RE WAITING FOR SOMETHING.
BUT TRULY, IT JUST, IT DIDN'T PLAY ITSELF OUT.
UM, AND I'M GLAD WE DID IT DURING THE PILOT, BUT I'M NOT RECOMMENDING THAT AS PART OF THE WAY THAT WE MEASURE SUCCESS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF VALUE IN EDUCATING PEOPLE THROUGH ADVERTISING BEFORE THEY ARRIVED ABOUT OUR SHUTTLE SERVICE.
UM, AND THEN BEING ABLE TO REPORT ON IF THOSE SMARTER VISITORS ARRIVED INTO MARKET.
IS THERE NOT A WAY WHEN, IF THEY'RE AT THIS SHUTTLE LOT, IF THERE WAS I'M QR CODE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE'S SOME WAY THAT WE COULD FORCE THEM INTO UTILIZING THEIR PHONE, WHY COULDN'T THAT BE AN ALTERNATIVE? UM, TO BE HONEST, THEY USE THE PHONES.
I I DON'T KNOW WHY WHY IT DOESN'T CAPTURE 'EM.
I MEAN EVERYBODY USES THEIR PHONE AT, AT THOSE SITES.
I WOULD ALSO ASSUME THIS THOUGH TOO, IS THAT IF YOU'RE TRYING TO GET PEOPLE THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN HERE BEFORE, THEY'VE PROBABLY ALREADY DONE CATHEDRAL, THEY'VE PROBABLY ALREADY DONE DEVILS.
AND SO THE CHANCES THAT THEY'RE GONNA UTILIZE THOSE SERVICES FOR STUFF THEY'VE ALREADY DONE MIGHT BE LOW.
I MEAN, I THINK AGAIN, BUT MAYBE NOT SIT ON A SHUTTLE CONNECT.
BUT HOW WOULD YOU PICK UP THAT THEY GO? 'CAUSE THEY COULD BE SHUTTLE CONNECT WILL PICK YOU UP WHEREVER IN THE FOOTPRINT.
THERE'S NO WAY FOR US TO GEOFENCE THAT AGAIN, I THINK, AND THAT'S WHY RATHER THAN I THINK WE GOT TOO GRANULAR WOULD BE, I THINK THE FINDING THERE.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, DID WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE GOT SERVED UP EDUCATIONAL ADS ABOUT OUR SHUTTLE? DID WE KNOW THAT THEY CAME INTO MARKET? UM, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO REPORT ON MORE SPECIFICS THAN THAT.
AND THAT WAS SORT OF MY, MY TAKEAWAY IS AS FAR AS MEASURING IT'S WHETHER OR NOT DO DID SMARTER VISITORS ARRIVE INTO SEDONA WOULD BE THE WAY THAT I WOULD APPROACH THIS FOR MEASUREMENT.
AND THEN YOU, YOU CAN'T CAPTURE THE ONES THAT CHECK INTO A HOTEL AND THE HOTEL CLERK TELLS 'EM, USE THE SHUTTLE, OR, UM, THAT WOULD BE A DIFFERENT STRATEGY ENTIRELY.
IT'D BE HARD TO, TO REALLY CAPTURE THAT, THAT POPULATION.
I MEAN, THE HOTELS ARE DOING IT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE A HUGE OPPORTUNITY.
AND ALSO IT'S WHEN THEY ARRIVE, RIGHT? I MEAN A LOT OF, A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS GET THEM BEFORE THEY ARRIVE WITH MESSAGING, BEFORE CERTAIN DECISIONS ARE MADE.
SO I GUESS I'M, WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT IT'D BE HARD TO CORRELATE USERS OF THIS SHUTTLE BECAUSE SOME OF 'EM DO GET THE EDUCATION WHEN THEY GET HERE.
AND SO THERE'S REALLY NO WAY YOU CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE.
IT'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SAME THING.
WELL, AND I THINK YOUR PROBABLY OTHER END GOAL IS TO INCREASE USAGE ON CONNECT AND THEN INCREASE USAGE ON UNDERUTILIZED, LIKE ROUTE 11 AND DRY CREEK.
SO YOU'RE THE TWO THAT THEY ARE MOST POPULAR, YOU'RE NOT, PROBABLY NOT GONNA CAPTURE THEM ON IF THEY'VE ALREADY DONE IT.
AND THEN THE OTHER ONE HAS GOT POOR SERVICE IN THE DRY CREEK AREA.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE MOST EFFICIENT USE.
UM, AND THEN JUST AS A SIDE UPDATE FOR US, UM, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT PILOT.
UM, WE ARE, WE DID SOFT LAUNCH THE APPRECIATE SEDONA CAMPAIGN, WHICH IS OUR SORT OF EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING CAMPAIGN THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SEVERAL TIMES.
UM, THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM IS PARTNERED WITH LEAVE NO TRACE ON WHAT THEY CALL APPRECIATE ARIZONA, ESSENTIALLY A WHITE LABEL LEAVE NO TRACE PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN WE, THE CITY ARE THE FIRST ONES TO ADOPT IT AND BRING IT DOWN TO THE DESTINATION LEVEL WITH LOCAL CUSTOMIZED MESSAGING.
[01:00:01]
THIS LANDING PAGE, I'LL SHOW YOU IN A SECOND, UH, THIS MONTH.AND WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH A OT TO GET THEIR LOGOS ON IT.
UM, AND THEN FIGURE OUT SOME CONNECTIVE TEXT.
UM, BUT THIS IS A LIVING, LIVING AND BREATHING SET OF MESSAGING.
UM, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF HEAT SAFETY MESSAGING ON IT RIGHT NOW 'CAUSE IT'S FEBRUARY.
BUT THE PLAN IS KIND OF ADDING IN TIMELY MESSAGING DURING TIMELY SEASONS THAT WE SORT OF JUST HAVE COPIED AND CAN AND THEN CAN KIND OF PASTE IN.
AND IF YOU ALL REMEMBER, I THINK IT WAS THE OC SEPTEMBER 24 MEETING IS WHEN I INITIALLY STARTED GATHERING TAB IMPACT ON VISITOR PRIORITY VISITOR BEHAVIORS TO ADDRESS THROUGH STRATEGIC MESSAGING.
UM, THAT WAS SORT OF THE FIRST FORAY THAT WE HAD INTO COMPILING A MESSAGING MATRIX.
UM, OUR TEAMS THEN HAD, YOU KNOW, MEETINGS WITH THE FOREST SERVICE.
WE CONDUCTED A BIG LISTENING SESSION WITH ABOUT 20 OTHER FOLKS FROM NON-PROFITS, STATE, STATE PARKS, USER GROUPS TO GATHER THEIR INPUT.
UM, WE'VE GOT A MASSIVE MESSAGING MATRIX THAT I HAVE SORT OF IN OUR RECORDS WITH ALL THE BEHAVIORS, ALL THE ACTIVE MESSAGES.
AND THEN WE'VE GONE AHEAD AND PUBLISHED, UM, THE PAGE, WHICH I'LL PULL UP, UH, TO SHOW YOU.
UH, IF YOU REMEMBER, WE KIND OF HAD THE LOVE IT LIKE A LOCAL PAGE.
UM, THIS IS NOW APPRECIATE SEDONA USED TO JUST KIND OF SAY STEWARDSHIP.
UM, WITHIN THAT, THIS'LL BE TEXT THAT I'M WORKING ON WITH A OT TO KIND OF START THIS SO WE CAN CONNECT IT WITH THE STATE PROGRAM.
WE HAVE THINGS LIKE PRACTICE TRAIL SAFETY AND ETIQUETTE, AVOID TRAFFIC CONGESTION, PROTECT PUBLIC LANDS, AND THEN RESPECT THE COMMUNITY ARE SORT OF THE FOUR BIG PILLARS THAT WE LANDED ON.
UM, AND THEN AT THE BOTTOM IS WHERE WE'RE WORKING ON ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE WITH A OT THERE, UH, PULL THIS BACK UP.
SO THE PROPOSAL FOR TODAY TO TALK ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN BACK IN TOUCH WITH AZERA.
UM, WE CAN REDO THIS STYLE OF PROGRAMMATIC EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING CAMPAIGN, ESSENTIALLY LOOKING AT FOLKS THAT WE FEEL CONFIDENT WITHIN ARIZONA ARE COMING TO VISIT DURING THE SPRING.
UM, AGAIN, JUST SLOWLY BUILDING OUT THIS STRATEGY IF IT MAKES SENSE.
UM, AND RUNNING THE CAMPAIGN FROM, YOU KNOW, MARCH ONE TO MAY 15TH.
SO RATHER THAN BEING THE MONTH OF APRIL, EXTENDING IT OUT FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, AND THEN THE QUESTION WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, IT'S 15,000 AGAIN LAST YEAR IT WAS 12.
WE'RE ADDING IN A LOT MORE DAYS AND WE'RE GETTING FOR FOR 15 IF YOU SAID JUST DO IT FOR A MONTH, THAT'S ALSO AN OPTION FOR US.
BUT WE WERE ABLE TO KIND OF NEGOTIATE THAT.
UM, AND THEN CAMPAIGN MESSAGING COULD BE FOCUSED ON RIDE THE SHUTTLE LIKE WE DID LAST YEAR AND REALLY FOCUS IT ON BUILDING AWARENESS OF CONNECT AND MAYBE TO LARS'S POINT, FOCUSING IT ON SOME OF THE UNDERUTILIZED TRAILHEAD ROUTES.
UM, OR WE COULD TAKE THIS KIND OF BROADER EDUCATIONAL APPROACH, SORT OF REALLY PLAN AHEAD AND DRIVE THEM TO THE APPRECIATE SEDONA PAGE WHERE WE COULD ALSO ADD IN THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS INTERNAL, IS LIKE, HOW DO YOU REALLY PREPARE FOR SPRING VISITATION? AND THAT WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF LIKE A TIMELY SEASONAL MESSAGE WE WOULD PUT ON THERE.
BE, HEY, I KNOW YOU HAVE YOUR HOTEL, BUT DID YOU GET YOUR TOUR? DID YOU GET YOUR DINNER RESERVATION? RIGHT.
REALLY LOOKING AT THOSE PINCH POINTS THAT OCCUR AND TRYING TO ELEVATE THAT.
WE COULD CREATE A LITTLE TOP SECTION CALLED, YOU KNOW, HOW TO, HOW TO, YOU KNOW, ENGAGE IN SEDONA IN THE SPRING OR WHATEVER.
I'M NOT MARKETING SPEAK RIGHT NOW, BUT ESSENTIALLY BE AT THE TOP THERE.
AND THEN THAT COULD BE ONE OF THE AD GROUPS.
SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S DO WE RINSE AND REPEAT A LITTLE BIT OF LAST YEAR WITH SOME CHANGES OR DO WE CREATE, UM, DIFFERENT AD GROUPS THAT WOULD BE BEYOND JUST THE SHUTTLE? SO MY QUESTION FOR THE TAB IS, YOU KNOW, DO YOU SUPPORT US IMPLEMENTING THIS $15,000 EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN? I WILL SAY WE DO HAVE THIS BUDGETED, THERE IS A VISITOR BEHAVIOR MESSAGING BUDGET, UM, IN OUR PAID ADVERTISING OUTSIDE OF OUR CAMPAIGN STUFF THAT WE HAD.
AND THEN IF SO, DO WE SORT OF STICK WITH SHUTTLE ADVERTISING OR DO WE BROADEN IT TO KIND OF FULLY LAUNCH THE APPRECIATE SATO CONCEPT? WELL, SOUNDS LIKE ONE OF THE GOALS IS TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE SHUTTLE USE AND LIKE SHUTTLE CONNECT SPECIFICALLY.
YOU, YOU KNOW, I TALKED THE EXPERIENCES THAT WOULD WORK FOR THAT.
LIKE FOR THEM TO DO WHICH PORTIONS OF THEIR VISIT OR DO YOU WANNA SEE THEM UTILIZE THAT MORE FOR DINNER? AND THEN DOES THE SHUTTLE CONNECT HOURS SUPPORT THAT FOR USE? 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW IT DOESN'T GO QUITE LATE ENOUGH.
SO SEDONA SHUTTLE CONNECT STARTING FEBRUARY 27TH, WE'LL BE RUNNING SEVEN DAYS A WEEK MM-HMM
UM, AND IT WILL RUN TILL 8:30 PM MM-HMM
AGAIN, HIS POINT IS TAKEN, I, IF YOU GO OUT TO DINNER, YOU'RE NOT GONNA GO BACK AT EIGHT 30.
UM, YOU GO OUT TO DINNER AND IT'S GONNA BE 9, 9 30.
YOU DON'T HAVE A SHUTTLE CONNECT TO TAKE YOU BACK.
I MEAN, SO I, I MEAN, I DON'T, MY PERSONAL OPINION IS THAT I, I WOULD RATHER SEE YOU SPEND THE MONEY ON EDUCATION OF,
[01:05:01]
UM, ALTERNATE ACTIVITIES HERE THAN TO SAY SPEND THE MONEY ON PROMOTING THE SHUTTLES.I THINK THE SHUTTLES KIND OF PROMOTE THEMSELVES AND PLUS THEY'RE THE, I THINK THE, THE, THE, UM, THE ENVIRONMENT PROMOTES THE SHUTTLES.
I'M NOT SURE THAT ADVERTISING THE SHUTTLE CONNECT IS GOING TO DO THAT MUCH, UM, THAT YOU SHOULD SPEND THE MONEY ON.
HONESTLY, I MEAN THE SHUTTLE CONNECT'S NOT UTILIZED ENOUGH.
AND I THINK THAT IF PEOPLE KNOW THE SERVICE AND THE ABILITY TO USE IT FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES, AND I THINK DEMONSTRATING THE EXPERIENCES YOU CAN CREATE WITH IT IS IMPORTANT.
SO I THINK THAT LIKE SHOWING GOING TO DINNER AND SOME STUFF LIKE THAT AND THOSE STORIES IN THAT, IN THAT AD CAMPAIGN WOULD BE IMPORTANT WAY TO GET THAT GOING.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT, THAT THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL WITH THE SHUTTLE CONNECT.
AND I DO THINK, TO YOUR POINT, IT, IT SHOULD GO A LITTLE LATER.
IT WAS MY OPINION WHEN ON THE STACK, UH, THAT WOULD HELP THAT, THAT WOULD BENEFIT THAT STRUCTURE.
SO ONE, WE'RE MARKETING WHAT IT IS, BUT THEN THE PRODUCT OF WHAT IT IS ALSO REFLECTS WHAT WE'RE MARKETING.
AND I THINK THAT THAT WOULD HELP THAT.
I WANNA OFFER ANOTHER EXAMPLE.
BOTH OF THEM HAVE VISUAL DEFICITS AND THEY WANTED TO GO TO A FILM AT MARY FISHER AND IT WAS LIKE A 7:00 PM FILM AND THEY COULD TAKE THE SHUTTLE, WHICH THEY WERE THRILLED TO GET THERE, BUT THEN THEY COULDN'T GET IT BACK HOME.
SO JUST FROM EVEN LIKE AN ARTS SPACE.
THAT TIMEFRAME IS A LITTLE TOUGH.
WE ATTEMPTED IT, UM, AND I WAS GRATEFUL FOR THE OPTION, BUT WE COULDN'T USE IT ON THE WAY HOME, WHICH WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT WAS SO DARK.
AND WHAT YOU DO IS YOU, YOU, UM, IMPACT THE UBER AND OTHER SERVICES TO, TO A GREAT EXTENT.
UM, 'CAUSE YOU'VE GOT NOW A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME GETTING OUTTA THE SAME LOCATION AND, AND THERE'S JUST NOT ANY UBER SERVICE TO DO.
WE HAVE LITTLE, NO UBER, WE DON'T HAVE ANY UBER NOW.
THERE MIGHT BE ONE DURING COVID ON THE SAME GUY THAT DROVE THE ONE TAXI, I THINK.
SO I, I, AGAIN, I THINK THAT I I YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT WHERE DO YOU WANNA PUT YOUR MONEY, UM, I THINK IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT YES, HIKING IS YOUR KEY THING TO COME HERE, BUT WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN? YOU KNOW, DO YOU, DO YOU GO OUT TO DINNER? DO YOU GO TO OTHER PLACES? ARE THERE SHOWS IN TOWN? UM, THINGS LIKE THAT.
I, THERE'S A LOT OF ACTIVITIES THAT GO ON HERE IN THE EVENING THAT ARE NOT, I THINK WELL ADVERTISED, UM, FROM OUR ASPECT OF IT.
UM, PEOPLE ON, ON THE SHUTTLES, WHEN YOU RIDE IN THE SHUTTLES AND THEY'LL SAY, WELL, WHAT CAN WE DO TONIGHT? I GOT, YOU KNOW, I GOT THREE KIDS HERE.
WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO TONIGHT? THAT TYPE OF THING.
UM, IT'S, I THINK IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAT YOU GET THAT OUT TO THE PEOPLE COMING THAT, UM, THIS, WE HAVE THESE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AREA AND NOTHING ELSE, OR WE HAVE THESE OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.
UM, SO I I YOU, I MEAN, I FEEL THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DECIDE WHERE TO PUT THE MONEY.
I'M NOT SURE THE SHUTTLE SHUTTLE SYSTEM IS THE PLACE TO PUT THE MONEY.
DO WE EVEN HAVE ASSETS FOR THAT? FOR WHAT? FOR WHAT HE'S ASKING? UM, WELL, YEAH, I WAS GONNA WAIT TO HEAR WHAT OTHER TAB MEMBERS HAD TO SAY.
I THINK, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M NOT PROPOSING A MARKETING CAMPAIGN THAT'S GETTING PEOPLE LIKE TO START TO PLAN THEIR TRIP TO SEDONA.
THE IDEA IS THAT WE'RE SAYING, WE KNOW YOU'RE COMING, HERE'S OUR EXPECTATIONS OF YOU.
AND TRY TO GET THAT UP, UP THE STREAM A LITTLE MORE.
AND THAT WOULD BE, HEY, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
WHEN THEY'RE HERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A NEED TO GIVE THEM MORE EDUCATION ABOUT WHAT THERE IS TO DO.
UM, THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN US SERVING UP PROGRAMMATIC ADS BEFORE THEY ARRIVE THAT GIVE THEM ACCESS TO THINGS LIKE EXPECTATION SETTING.
AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S OUR PROPOSAL.
UM, I'M NOT PROPOSING DOING AN INSPIRATIONAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN IN THE SPRING.
I THINK IT'S, YOU'RE YOU'RE SAYING MORE LIKE GET THE LOGISTICS FIGURED OUT.
AND, AND ALSO HOW TO LIKE, HOW TO BE A RESPONSIBLE HIKER.
HOW TO BE A RESPONSIBLE BIKER, HOW TO BE A RESPONSIBLE GUEST, RIGHT? MM-HMM
WELL, SO IT CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE LEANING MORE TOWARDS PUTTING THE APPRECIATE SEDONA, THAT'S SORT OF WHAT I'M HEARING MULTIPLE FROM, AND THEN KIND ADDING IN THAT SPRING SPRING MESSAGING.
AND CERTAINLY AVOID TRAFFIC INGESTION BEING ONE OF THOSE, ONE OF THOSE SECTIONS IS GOING TO LEND ITSELF TOWARDS CONTINUING THE SHUTTLE, UM, PROMOTION.
BUT IT CERTAINLY DOES MAKE SENSE ABOUT IT NOT RUNNING AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY, BUT ALSO WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO AVOID TRAFFIC CONGESTION IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, THERE REALLY ISN'T AN ISSUE WITH TRAFFIC AT NIGHT.
SO IT, ALTHOUGH YES, IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR IT TO RUN INTO THOSE LATER TIMES IF WE'RE FOCUSED ON TRYING TO REDUCE CONGESTION, THEN IT NEEDS TO BE, YOU KNOW, THEN IT, DURING THE DAY IS WHEN IT
[01:10:01]
NEEDS TO BE.FOR EXAMPLE, I I, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE GAVE INFORMATION THAT BETWEEN 10 IN THE MORNING AND THREE IN THE AFTERNOON, YOU'RE NOT GONNA FIND A PARKING SPOT YEAH.
AND, UM, OH, BY THE WAY, IN THE EVENING, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A RESERVATION DURING THIS PERIOD, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A PLACE TO EAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT YOU WANT TO EAT AT.
I MEAN, PRAGMATIC THINGS, UM, TRYING TO GET THEM TO SHIFT THEIR, THEIR, THEIR HIKING EARLIER IN THE DAY OR LATER AND MAKE RESERV, YOU KNOW, MORE PRAGMATIC THINGS TO MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME HERE.
UH, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? MM-HMM
AND IT WOULD ALSO BENEFIT RESIDENTS IF WE SPREAD THE TRAFFIC OUT A LITTLE BIT.
AND I, I GUESS TO THE EFFECT OF THAT AS WELL, IS THAT THE BACK TO THE SHUTTLE A LITTLE BIT, THE MORE THAT SHUTTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT, THE MORE PEOPLE WILL NATURALLY START TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO USE IT AS THEIR LOGISTICS FOR EVERYTHING.
WHETHER IT'S LIKE NIGHTTIME OR MIDDAY OR, AND THAT THE SHUTTLE ITSELF REALLY DOES HAVE HUGE POTENTIAL TO BE AN ADDITIONAL MARKETING TOOL.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE STRUGGLED WITH GETTING THE RIGHT VIDEOS AT THE RIGHT TIME AND YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT MESSAGING DO WORK ON THE SHUTTLES, BUT THAT IS CERTAINLY ANOTHER AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT AND A CONTINUATION AND MORE DISSEMINATION OF THESE THOUGHT OF THESE, UM, CONCEPTS.
THE REGULAR SHUTTLE VERSUS THE CLOSER, WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S ON THE SHUTTLE CONNECT, DO THEY HAVE SCREENS AS WELL? AND THEY DO, YOU KNOW, SO, UM, I HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE CONNECT, I HAVE THE REGULAR ONE, BUT YEAH, JUST, YOU KNOW, CONTINUED OPPORTUNITIES TO KEEP THIS MESSAGING GOING.
SO ARE WE IN SUPPORT OF EXPLORING A $15,000 KIND OF REDO WITH AZERA THIS SPRING? AND IT SOUNDS LIKE MOVING MORE TOWARDS THAT PRAGMATIC EXPECTATION SETTING, YOU KNOW, HERE'S HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME IN SEDONA THIS SPRING.
I, I, I, I WOULD, I WOULD BE, I THINK THAT OF THAT GIVING PEOPLE THE TOOLS TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO BE REALLY EFFICIENT WITH THEIR VISIT AND SUCCESSFUL AND IF I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY, WITHOUT ABANDONING WHAT YOU'RE ALREADY DOING, SO A HYBRID OF BOTH.
I MEAN, NOT THROWING THE SHUTTLE OUT, BUT MAYBE NOT DOING THE TRAILHEAD ROUTES IS KIND OF WHAT I'M HEARING AND MAYBE FOCUSING MORE ON THE CONNECT.
UM, I THINK, I MEAN, WE COULD STILL, I MEAN, AGAIN, I'M NOT, LET'S GO BACK TO THE TEAM AND SIT DOWN AND CAN I GET THIS FEEDBACK AND REALLY INTERNALIZE IT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PROBABLY ONLY GONNA HAVE TWO AD GROUPS.
SO, YOU KNOW, ONE WOULD BE PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, A HOW TO AVOID CONGESTION AD GROUP.
ANOTHER ONE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, HOW TO PLAN AHEAD IS JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, UH, I WOULD SAY CONNECT FOR SURE.
I MEAN, SOLDIERS PASS AND CATHEDRAL ARE AT CAPACITY THAT TIME OF YEAR ALREADY.
THEY'RE ALREADY GETTING THE MAXIMUM EFFECT ON THAT.
AND THEN THE DRY CREEK ZONE IS REALLY DEPENDENT ON INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE.
AND I THINK PEOPLE ARE GONNA, BECAUSE THE PARKING'S NOT CONTROLLED IN THAT ZONE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA NECESSARILY USE IT.
WELL, THERE, THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE TO, I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT TO WITH LARS, IS THAT THESE TRAILHEADS ARE GONNA BE CLOSED FOR TWO MONTHS.
PEOPLE MIGHT NOT KNOW THAT AHEAD OF TIME TOO.
AND THAT'S WHY THERE IS AN ADVANTAGE OF EDUCATING ABOUT THE TRAILHEAD SHUTTLE.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, BECAUSE THAT'S, I MEAN, YOU LOOK AT LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT IS, IT'S NOT TYPICAL THAT SEVEN DAYS A WEEK WE HAVE A SHUTTLE RUNNING.
IT IS NOW FOR SPRING BREAK, BUT YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THERE IS A NEED TO EDUCATE PEOPLE THAT THESE SIGNATURE TRAILHEADS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR TWO MONTHS.
THERE'S ONLY TWO OF 'EM THAT ARE CLOSED.
AND YOU KNOW, THE TROUBLE WITH THE CONNECT IS IF YOU WANT TAKE A, IF YOU WANT TO USE THE BUS SYSTEM, THE TRANSIT SYSTEM, GET TO A TRAILHEAD, THEY WON'T TAKE YOU TO A TRAILHEAD.
THEY ONLY TAKE YOU TO THE SHUTTLE STOPS.
AND SO IF YOU, IF YOU SAY, OH, I, I DON'T WANNA GO OUT AND PARK BY CATHEDRAL ROCKS, I'LL TAKE THE TRANSIT, TRANSIT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE SHUTTLE, STOP AT THE CATHEDRAL ROCKS, WAIT FOR ANOTHER SHUTTLE, AND THEN YOU GET OUT AGAIN.
YOU KNOW, I I I, I KNOW THAT PART OF THE PROBLEMS WITH HERE IS THAT MOST OF OUR VISITORS HAVE CARS AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS THAT TENDENCY TO SAY, UM, WE'LL JUST DRIVE, WE'LL, WE'LL GET THERE THAT WAY.
I MEAN, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF ANECDOTAL STUFF THAT GOES AROUND.
UM, I DO MY OWN HIKE TO CATHEDRAL ROCK FROM MY HOUSE ON A REGULAR BASIS AND I TAKE THE SHUTTLE BACK, UM, AND I, YOU KNOW, TAKE IT TO THE PARK AND RIDE.
AND THEN I, YOU KNOW, WALK DOWN A HILLSIDE.
I KNOW A LOT OF VISITORS THAT TAKE IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M ONE OF THE, PROBABLY ONE OF THE FEW RESIDENTS THAT I SEE THERE, WHICH IS FINE AND NORMAL.
BUT I KNOW PEOPLE ARE TAKING IT.
I HEAR A LOT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES WHEN I'M ON IT, WHICH IS ALSO REALLY COOL.
I THINK IF THE QUESTION IS DO WE, DO WE WANT TO CAMPAIGN AN EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN? I THINK I WOULD SAY YES STRONGLY.
I THINK THAT THE COUNCIL NEEDS IT.
I THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE VERY ATTUNED TO COMMUNITY CONCERNS AND THIS ADDRESSES COMMUNITY CONCERNS AROUND TOURISM.
UM, AND I THINK ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN TERMS OF CONTENT MAKE A LOT OF SENSE, RIGHT? HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT TRAIL HEADS ARE OPEN AND CLOSED, WHERE THEY'RE, 'CAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU HAVE A
[01:15:01]
CAR OR NOT, IF YOU CAN'T GET, DO ANYTHING WITH THAT CAR WHEN YOU GET THERE.SO, I MEAN, THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW.
AND THAT IN TURN WILL DECREASE THE TRAFFIC AND INCREASE THE SHUTTLE RIDERSHIP.
AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, UM, CONNECT DOES GO TO TRAILHEAD.
IT DOESN'T GO TO THE MOST POPULAR, BUT IT GOES TO SUGARLOAF, IT GOES TO THE CULTURAL PARK, IT GOES TO THE ONE BY THE HIGH SCHOOL, IT GOES TO THE ONE BY THE RECYCLING CENTER.
SO THERE ARE SOME TRAILHEADS THAT, UM, THAT YOU CAN TAKE.
AND, AND THAT WOULD JUST BE, I THINK THAT KIND OF STUFF CAN BE WHAT'S CREATED IN THERE.
YOU HERE'S A WAY TO EXPERIENCE THIS MM-HMM
SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO ATTACH THAT TO THE CAMPAIGN, YOU WOULD SAY, UM, TAKE THE, THE CONNECT TO THESE TRAILHEAD, NOT TO THE POPULAR.
I MEAN THAT'S THE IDEAL THING IS I KNOW THERE'S A SECRET SEVEN OR WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY ALWAYS TALK ABOUT AND SO FORTH.
BUT IF, IF YOU'RE GOING TO ATTACH OUR EXPENSES TO PROMOTING THE CONNECT TO TRAILHEADS, WE SHOULD SAY THAT WE PROMOTE THEM TO THE NON-USE, NON-POPULAR TRAILHEADS.
YOU'RE SORT OF ALWAYS CHASING THE MONGOOSE WHEN IT COMES TO PLAY-BASED ADVERTISING LIKE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT AS A QUICK ASIDE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS AT TRAVEL OREGON, WE HAD THE SEVEN WONDERS CAMPAIGN, ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGNS THAT WE'VE SEEN ESTATE HAVE.
AND IT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES ALL OF US HAD OF WOW, WE'VE DROVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC TO THOSE SEVEN AREAS, RIGHT? SO THAT'S VERY PRESSING IN MY MIND, IS HOW YOU BALANCE PLACE-BASED ADVERTISING, LIKE SPECIFIC TRAIL HEADS AND HOW WE, WITH OUR BULLY PULPIT MIGHT CREATE OUR OWN PROBLEMS ON THE, ON THE NEXT ONE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION AS WELL.
SO THAT'S A EFFECTIVE CONVERSATION.
UM, DO YOU NEED A MOTION OR SOMETHING? DO YOU WANT AN OFFICIAL VOTE? LET'S DO IT.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO, UM, SUPPORT IMPLEMENTING THE $15,000 EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN AND TO MAKE IT A MORE ROBUST INCLUSION OF ALL FOUR OF THE TACTICS, NOT JUST AVOIDING THE TRAFFIC CONGESTION OR NOT JUST THE SHUTTLE? SO MOVED.
UM, YEAH, SO I'VE GOT MY PROPOSAL FROM AZERA.
I LIKE TO STACK THINGS UP, SO, UM, WE'LL HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO GET THIS MOVING RATHER QUICKLY.
AND THEN AGAIN, WITH YOUR FEEDBACK, UM, WAS ALREADY SITTING DOWN WITH ROB, UM, AND TALKING ABOUT WHAT KIND OF A NEW TOP LEVEL SECTION ON APPRECIATE SEDONA WOULD LOOK LIKE.
THAT WOULD BE FOR THIS CAMPAIGN, WHICH AGAIN, WHEN WE GET INTO SUMMERTIME, WE WOULD FLIP THAT AND THEN MAKE THAT THE HEAT AWARENESS AND MAYBE TAKE OFF THIS, YOU KNOW, GET YOUR RESERVATION NOW 'CAUSE THAT'S NOT AS NEEDED IN THE SUMMERTIME, YOU KNOW? RIGHT.
WE HAVE SORT OF THIS EVERGREEN EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING AND THEN MORE OF THE, MORE OF THE TIMELY STUFF.
I'LL SAY ONE LITTLE INSIGHT ON MY OWN ON THAT, ON IN RELATION TO HEAT AND SOME OF THE EDUCATIONAL STUFF IS WE DON'T PROMOTE FOOTWEAR WELL ENOUGH AND LIKE IN DETAIL ENOUGH FROM A RESCUE STANDPOINT, I CAN TELL YOU IT'S A HUGE CAUSE OF RESCUE.
I SAY WE ALWAYS SAY CLOSED TOED SHOES.
AND THEN TIMES I'VE SAID THAT LARS HAS BEEN, I'VE SAID THAT AT ON, I CAN TELL YOU WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE ON CLOUD SHOES THAT DON'T HAVE RUBBER ON THE BOTTOM HAVE CAUSED NUMEROUS BET RESCUES.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT JUST TO THINK ABOUT IN MARKETING PICTURES.
YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST MAYBE WHEN YOU'RE, HAVE THE PICTURES OF PEOPLE TAKING THEIR STEPS AND STUFF REALLY FOCUSING IN ON THE SHELF.
I MEAN THIS WAS, THIS WAS, I ACTUALLY PICKED THIS PICTURE ON PURPOSE, OURS, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE THAT HAS A WATER BOTTLE IN THEIR HAND HAS A BACKPACK, SUNGLASSES, A HAT, COMFORTABLE CLOTHING, A SUN SHIRT, AND REALLY NICE BOOTS ON.
WHAT'S THE DUROMETER OF THE RUBBER
BY THE WAY, I LIKE THE GALLERY PICTURE ON THIS A COUPLE SLIDES AGO.
YEAH, I THINK YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH THAT ONE.
[5.c. Group discussion: Tourism Town Halls]
UM, AWESOME.SO LET'S MOVE INTO, UH, TOURISM TOWN HALLS.
AGAIN, THIS IS MORE OF THE, MORE OF THE DESSERT FOR TODAY.
UM, REALLY MORE OF A CONVERSATION WITH YOU ALL.
UM, SO I KNOW THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST MEETING, THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T MAKE A STAFF REPORT FOR IT.
BUT TODAY WE'RE SORT OF PILOTING THE TOWN HALL WOULD BE MY SORT OF PREFACE TO THIS SECTION.
UM, I REALLY SEE THIS AS THE FIRST LISTENING SESSION BEFORE THE TWO THAT WE'LL HAVE WITH THE PUBLIC, UM, WITH THE GOAL OF TRYING TO PUT SOME BUMPERS ON THE BOWLING ALLEY SO THAT, THAT WHEN WE HAVE THESE TOWN HALLS, WE'VE ALREADY GOT SOME INITIAL FEEDBACK FROM A REPRESENTATIVE BODY LIKE YOURSELF.
UM, BUT JUST AS A REMINDER, UM, THE CITY COUNCIL AND, UH, VICE CHAIR AND CHAIR AND I MET WITH THEM IN OCTOBER, HAD SAID, YOU KNOW, WE THINK IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA IF YOU HOSTED PUBLIC MEETINGS WITH RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES TO ESSENTIALLY ASK THEM ABOUT THE FUTURE OF TOURISM, SPECIFICALLY IN RELATION TO THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE.
UM, WE HAD TOWN HALLS IN OUR SEDONA TOURISM PLAN.
SO I WAS LIKE, WHAT A GREAT IDEA,
BUT NOW I ACTUALLY HAVE A REALLY GOOD AGENDA FOR IT.
UM, WHERE BEFORE I KNEW THAT IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, GETTING IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC, REALLY PRESENTING WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE TOURISM PROGRAM.
BUT NOW THERE'S SORT OF A HEIGHTENED PURPOSE, WHICH
[01:20:01]
I THINK IS A NET POSITIVE FOR SURE.UM, AND THE OTHER KIND OF NUANCE THAT'S THAT SECOND BULLET BEYOND JUST THE QUALITY OF THE EXPERIENCE OR THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE IS REALLY LOOKING AT, AND I LOVE THIS DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL, I THINK IT'S A REALLY GOOD SORT OF CENTERPIECE FOR US IN THE SPACE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN MAKE A COMMUNITY THAT'S REALLY GOOD FOR RESIDENTS TO LIVE IN, IT'S A GOOD COMMUNITY FOR VISITORS TO VISIT.
AND SORT OF REALLY KIND OF TAKING THAT LENS.
UM, AND I ALWAYS THINK THIS TOO, THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN, AND I WAS PROBABLY PART OF THIS GROUP BACK IN LIKE THE EARLY S WHEN I STARTED DOING TOURISM STUFF, WHERE HE KEPT SAYING VISITOR AND RESIDENT, BUT LIKE, IT'S ALL THE SAME.
IT'S LIKE SOMETHING THAT'S GOOD FOR A VISITOR'S, GOOD FOR RESIDENT, SOMETHING THAT'S GOOD FOR RESIDENT'S, GOOD FOR A VISITOR.
WE NEED TO BREAK DOWN THIS SORT OF LIKE, DICHOTOMY BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS.
BUT I LOVE THAT THAT'S JUST PART OF THE DIRECTION OF REALLY, YOU KNOW, LET'S THINK ABOUT RESIDENTS FIRST.
'CAUSE THAT'LL THEN CASCADE DOWN TO THE TYPES OF VISITORS THAT WE WANNA SEE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND THEN THE OUTCOME WILL BE PUBLIC INPUT THAT CAN BE SHARED WITH CITY COUNCIL TO HELP INFORM FUTURE TOURISM RELATED DECISIONS AT THE CITY.
UH, THE STRUCTURE THAT WE'VE PROPOSED AND TALKED ABOUT IS ONE OR TWO TOWN HALLS.
UM, I'VE GOT SOME PROPOSED TIMING THAT WE'LL GET TO, BUT THINKING OF ONE IN APRIL AND ONE IN MAY, YOU SAW MY CONFERENCE SCHEDULE.
I'M NOT HUGELY AVAILABLE, BUT I DID FIND SOME CHUNKS OF TIME THAT WE COULD MAKE WORK, UM, AT LEAST TO START THE CONVERSATION TODAY.
AND THEN EACH SESSION WOULD BE A TWO HOUR BLOCK OF TIME WITH A 90 MINUTE AGENDA THAT GIVES US SOME NETWORKING AND KINDA THE FRONT OR BACK OF IT BASICALLY.
ACTUALLY, BRETT, THE FLOCK OF POCKE BUSINESS SESSION WAS SORT OF THE FIRST FORAY INTO TOWN HALLS AS WELL.
I ACTUALLY, YEAH, THAT WAS GREAT.
I ACTUALLY COUNT THAT AS THE FIRST ONE.
I KNOW THAT OUT THE, YOU WERE THERE TOO.
UM, AND THEN EXAMPLE, AGENDA, WELCOME GROUP INTRODUCTIONS.
UH, WE'D GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE TOURISM PROGRAM, KEY MILESTONES, LONG-TERM GOALS.
WE'VE GOT SOME VISITOR RESEARCH THAT WE'RE GETTING READY TO PUBLISH RELATED TO AN UPDATED VISITATION REPORT.
UPDATED ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT FROM 24.
UM, IN FACT, I WAS IN A MEETING THIS WEEK AND I SHARED THE 22 NUMBERS AND THEY SAID, THAT'S OLD.
I SAID, I KNOW, JUST GIMME A MONTH.
BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING HOW A YEAR PEOPLE JUST DON'T LISTEN TO IT IF IT'S NOT THERE.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE 24 NUMBERS SOON.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE SEDONA COMMUNITY PLAN, WHICH A LOT OF PUBLIC INPUT'S ALREADY BEEN INTO, RIGHT? THE IDEA IS WE'RE NOT CREATING A NEW COMMUNITY PLAN.
UM, I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR WITH THAT.
WE REALLY ARE FOCUSED ON GATHERING INPUT AROUND THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE AND THEN HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THAT.
UM, AND THEN OUR EXPECTATIONS WAIT, UM, JUST A SLIGHT THING.
UM, THE SECOND AND THE THIRD BULLET, YOU ALMOST SHOULD MAYBE FLIP THOSE.
UM, AND THEN OUR EXPECTATIONS FOR YOU ARE THAT YOU CAN ATTEND AT LEAST ONE OF THE SESSIONS, HOPEFULLY BOTH, BUT IF WE HAVE TWO, I'D LOVE TO HAVE AT LEAST EACH OF YOU THERE AT, AT, AT ONE OF THEM.
UM, THERE'D BE A CHANCE FOR YOU TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF AS A MEMBER OF TAB AT THE BEGINNING.
UM, THERE WILL BE KIND OF FACILITATED TABLE GROUPS.
I'D LOVE YOUR HELP FACILITATING THOSE TABLES.
UM, SO I'M NOT RUNNING AROUND TRYING TO, TO DO THAT.
UM, AND THEN THERE HAS BEEN A DISCUSSION AROUND KIND OF A JOINT SESSION WITH CITY COUNCIL AT THE END, WHICH WOULD, YOU KNOW, BE DURING A COUNCIL MEETING WHERE THE TAB WOULD SHOW UP AND WE'D ALL BE ABLE TO KIND OF REPORT ON WHAT WE HEARD AND KIND OF SOME OF WHAT, WHAT THE KEY FINDINGS WERE.
WE'LL GET TO THIS AFTER THE EXERCISE, BUT JUST PLANTING THE SEED, YOU KNOW, IT LOOKS LIKE THE WEEK OF APRIL 20 AND THE WEEK OF MAY 11TH SELFISHLY WORKED REALLY WELL FOR ME.
BUT WE'LL KIND OF GET THERE AND KIND OF TALK THROUGH TIMING AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN WE'RE STILL DEFINING THE VENUE, ATTENDEES AND OUTREACH PROCESS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALL STUFF THAT OUR TEAM CAN KIND OF MOVE FORWARD WITH.
UM, BUT WITH THE TIME THAT WE HAVE WITH YOU ALL, WE'D LOVE TO DO A FIRST KIND OF PILOTING OF WHAT A TOWN HALL COULD LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF GROUP DISCUSSION.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THE PROMPT ON THIS IS, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE ENHANCING EXPERIENCE IN SEDONA? UM, SO MY QUESTION TO EACH OF YOU, AND I'D LOVE FOR EACH OF YOU TO KIND OF GO ONE AT A TIME, AND I'M GONNA KEEP TALKING TO BUY YOU TIME TO THINK ABOUT THIS
BUT I WANNA START BY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE MEANS TO YOU.
[01:25:01]
SO LET ME BUY YOU MORE TIME,AND I'M GONNA DO THE THING WHERE I TYPE WHILE YOU ALL TALK, I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT THE JEOPARDY MUSIC, LEARN
I MEAN, FOR ME, THE, THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE IS PERSONALLY MY ABILITY TO GO OUT AND KIND OF ENJOY MY DAY-TO-DAY, EVERYTHING.
WHETHER IT'S GOING OUT ON A HIKE OR GOING ON A BIKE RIDE AND GOING TO THE STORE AND GETTING GROCERIES AND JUST KIND OF FLOWING THROUGH MY DAY WITH EASE AND ENJOYMENT ON THAT.
AND THAT RELATES TO ME AS A RESIDENT.
AND THEN AS A VISITOR, IT'S THE SAME THING.
LIKE HOW THEY CAN COME AND COME AND HAVE LIKE A SMOOTH EXPERIENCE THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH SO THAT WHEN ME AS A RESIDENT OR A VISITOR GOES TO SOMEBODY AND SAYS LIKE, HEY, I REALLY LOVE LIVING HERE, OR I REALLY LOVE BEING HERE.
THIS IS WHY AND HOW WE PRESERVE THAT.
AND THAT COMES DOWN TO ALL KINDS OF STUFF OR WHETHER THAT'S LIKE THE CONDITIONS WE ENCOUNTER IN EACH LITTLE PIECE OF THAT, LIKE GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE ON OUR HIKE, ON OUR RIDE.
LIKE, IS IT CONGESTED? IS IT CLEAN? IS IT LIKE ALL THESE LITTLE THINGS.
AND THAT TO ME IS THE EXPERIENCE AND THE, THE COMMUNITY ITSELF, LIKE THE PEOPLE FRIENDLY AND ALL THAT.
AND FOR US, I GUESS IS THE TAB, LIKE HOW DO WE INFLUENCE THAT? WE INFLUENCE THAT BY LIKE, WHAT WE SEE FROM OUR PEERS AND WHAT WE HEAR FROM OUR VISITORS AND HOW WE CAN LIKE INFLUENCE THE DIFFERENT PLAYERS IN OUR COMMUNITY TO AFFECT THOSE.
AND THIS TO ME IS LIKE A, A REALLY HARD TASK BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY PLAYERS.
WE HAVE, THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE IS NOT JUST CITY LIMITS EITHER.
LIKE EVERY DAY I GO IN AND OUTTA CITY LIMITS.
SO YOU SEE HIKES THAT ARE PART OF YOUR DAY FOR PART OF OUR VISITORS, OUR VISITORS DON'T SEE CITY LIMITS EITHER.
SO WORKING WITH THE FOREST SERVICE, BOTH
YOU FILLED UP THE WHOLE CELL MAR
SO I THINK, I GUESS I SEE THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE AS A, I MEAN, AS A, SOMEONE WHO LIVES HERE, UH, BUT ALSO THINKS ABOUT TOURISM BEING ON THE BOARD AND ALSO DOING THIS PROFESSIONALLY.
I THINK THAT SEDONA IS A, A LIKE A REALLY GREAT PLACE TO LIVE.
IT IT, BUT IT OFFERS A TREMENDOUS SET OF EXPERIENCES.
I MEAN, WE HAVE FABULOUS RESTAURANTS, THE GROSS, I MEAN, EVERYTHING'S JUST, IT SEEMS TO ME IT'S JUST A LOVELY PLACE.
WHAT YOU CAN'T GET HERE, YOU DON'T REALLY NEED.
AND, UH, EXCEPT FOR HEALTHCARE.
EXCEPT FOR HEALTHCARE, RIGHT? YEAH.
UH, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, GREAT RESTAURANTS, GREAT FACILITIES, GREAT.
UM, REALLY WONDERFUL COMMUNITY.
I MEAN, JUST, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE GENERALLY THOUGHTFUL AND HAVE CHOSEN TO LIVE HERE, UM, IN A TOURIST, IN A BEAUTIFUL SETTING THAT SUPPORTS A TOURIST ECONOMY.
AND THOSE, I MEAN, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE FIRST PART, THIS LIKE LOVELY COMMUNITY IS THE ODDITY HERE.
THAT THE BEING IN A BEAUTIFUL SETTING AND SUPPORTING AND, AND HAVING A TOURISM ECONOMY THAT SUPPORT INDUSTRY THAT SUPPORTS THE ECONOMY.
I SEE THAT IN LOTS OF PLACES, BUT I DON'T SEE THE KIND OF COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE AND THE RESOURCES THAT THE TOURISM MINISTRY PROVIDES WOVEN INTO COMMU RESIDENCE PRACTICES.
SO MANY OTHER PLACES, AND I LOOK, I LOOK FOR LIKE, WHERE ARE OTHER TOURIST PLACES THAT HAVE A WONDERFUL COMMUNITY SETTING? AND IT'S HARD TO FIND MM-HMM
BUT YES, NO HEALTHCARE, WHICH IS ACTUALLY NOT ATYPICAL BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT RURAL HEALTHCARE IS A PROBLEM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, RIGHT.
NH WILL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR SOME OF THAT STUFF COMING UP.
I THINK THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND EVERYTHING ELSE, IT'S THE POPULATION THAT YOU GET EXPOSED TO HERE.
I MEAN, IT'S, SORRY, THE RESIDENTIAL POPULATION OR ALL JUST THE POPULATION OF EVERYBODY.
I MEAN, IF, IF, IF YOU'RE OPEN TO IT, YOU, YOU GET EXPOSED TO A, A LOT OF, A VARIETY OF PEOPLE HERE.
THEY'RE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE ALL THEIR LIVES.
AND SO I THINK THE POPULATION IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE PILLARS HERE.
UM, I THINK THE OTHER ASPECT OF IT IS, UM, IT PRESENTS ITSELF AS A VACATION SPOT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT, THERE'S, IF YOU SAY, WELL, I LIKE TO GO HERE AND I LIKE TO HIKE, I LIKE, THERE'S ALL THOSE THINGS I LIKE TO DO OR THINGS THAT I LIKE TO DO AT VACATION SPOTS.
AND SO MY EXPERIENCE WITH SEDONA IS THAT IT CONTINUES TO BE A
[01:30:01]
VACATION SPOT FOR ME.AND THAT'S THE, THE FEELING I GET WHEN I'M HERE IS THAT IT'S A VACATION.
IT'S SO ALMOST LIKE WE'RE LIVING A VACATION BY LIVING HERE.
IT'S SO FUNNY YOU MENTION THAT EVERY TIME I LIKE TAKE THE GROOM BACK OR, YOU KNOW, I DRIVE BACK FROM PHOENIX, I'M JUST LIKE, I'M COMING BACK FROM VACATION ON A VACATION.
I'VE DEFINITELY HAD THAT THOUGHT BEFORE FOR SURE.
LIKE DRIVING INTO TOWN, YOU'RE LIKE, YEAH.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, SEDONA IS CERTAINLY INSPIRATIONAL.
UM, I WAS JUST LIKE PEEKING BACK INTO MY NOTES FROM WHEN WE FIRST WERE TALKING ABOUT THE IDENTITY OF SEDONA AND THE PERSONALITY OF SEDONA, AND SOME OF THE THINGS WERE WELCOMING, QUIRKY, UH, UNIQUE, COMFORTING, GIVING, CREATIVE, UM, BUT THEN ALSO RESERVED.
UM, WHICH I THOUGHT, I DON'T KNOW WHO SAID THAT? I DIDN'T WRITE KNOW WHO SAID THAT, BUT, UH, BLENDED AND, AND, AND ALLURING.
YOU KNOW, WE ARE ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
BUT EVERY, ALL OF THAT COMES UNDER THIS IDEA OF JUST BEING TRULY INSPIRATIONAL.
WHETHER IT'S THE VIEWS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT OR THE HISTORY OR SOME OF THE AMAZING ARTS AND CULTURE.
UM, AND THIS IDEA THAT WE DO HAVE A REALLY WONDERFUL COMMUNITY HERE.
UM, AND THAT COMMUNITY IS A BLEND OF, OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE AND PEOPLE WHO COME HERE AND NEEDING TO FOCUS ON BALANCE.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN USING, THROWING THAT TERM AROUND A LOT, UM, BALANCING THE RESIDENTS AND THE VISITORS EXPERIENCE, BALANCING THE, UH, QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE RESIDENTS WITH THE, YOU KNOW, DRAW OF THE VACATIONER OR, OR THE VISITOR.
BUT YEAH, I THINK FOR ME, UM, SEDONA IS JUST REALLY A, A, AN INSPIRATIONAL PLACE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S HARD TO THINK OF SPECIFIC PILLARS.
LIKE YOU SAID, YOU'RE HOPING THEY JUST EMERGE ON THEIR OWN.
YOU KNOW, I THINK OF, UM, ALL THE VISITORS WE'VE HAD COME TO SEDONA AND STAY WITH US.
SOME UNABLE TO HIKE OR WALK VERY FAR, SOME NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE VERY WELL OTHERS VERY ROBUST, YOUNG, YOU KNOW, WANT IT.
AND, UH, WE'VE GOT PRETTY MUCH SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE YOU CAN JUST DRIVE AROUND AND, UM, YOU KNOW, GO UP OAK CREEK CANYON OR, YOU KNOW, GO OUT TO DRY CREEK OR JUST DRIVE AROUND.
THERE'S, THERE'S SOMETHING FOR PRETTY MUCH ANYBODY WHO LOVES THE OUTDOORS, WHO LOVES BEAUTIFUL SCENERY AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, PERSONALLY, MY WIFE AND I, WE'VE PROBABLY MADE MORE FRIENDS HERE THAN WE HAD OUR PREVIOUS TWO CITIES THAT WE LIVED IN.
UM, JUST BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY TRANSPLANTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, UH, AND IT'S GENERALLY A VERY WELL EDUCATED COMMUNITY AND A LOT OF VOLUNTEERISM.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST AMAZED, UM, JUST ON MY BLOCK, UM, EVERYBODY EXCEPT FOR ONE WHO'S KIND OF A SHUT IN AND UNABLE TO WALK VOLUNTEERS MM-HMM
THEY, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE IN SOME KIND OF A GROUP IN THE CITY.
UM, THE, THE ANGELS, THE VERDE VALLEY SANCTUARY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING, UM, WHICH IS NICE.
THE VARIETY OF PEOPLE YOU MEET, NOT JUST RESIDENTS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, HELPING WITH THE TRAIL FUND, YOU KNOW, BLOCKING OFF CATHEDRAL ROCK WHEN THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, WORKING ON IT.
UH, WE HAD PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
I MEAN, IT WAS, IT WAS REALLY KIND OF FUN.
UM, THEN THE OTHER THING IS, UM, LET'S SEE, DINING, UH, WE WAY OUT PULL OUR, OUR WEIGHT ON DINING.
WE'VE GOT SOME GREAT RESTAURANTS AND A VARIETY OF PRICING ON RESTAURANTS, ALTHOUGH WE ARE PRETTY HIGH PRICE COMPARED TO A LOT OF PLACES.
I GO TO COTTONWOOD MORE OFTEN THAN I USED TO.
UM, OTHER THINGS, UH, IT'S WALKABLE, BIKEABLE DRIVABLE MOST OF THE TIME.
UM, BUT YOU CAN ALSO GET AN A TV, YOU CAN DO THE JEEPS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPLORE THE AREA, UM, THAT IS UNUSUAL.
AND THE BIKING IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT.
I MEAN, THE ELEVATION GAINS ARE NOT HUGE
UH, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SHOPPING, UM, TILAK IS, IS JUST A, A WONDERFUL, UNIQUE SHOPPING CENTER.
UM, I WISH UPTOWN WAS A LITTLE BIT CLASSIER
[01:35:01]
UM, BETWEEN THE TWO, WE'VE PRETTY MUCH GOT IT ALL.WE'VE EVEN GOT WHOLE FOODS, SO, YOU KNOW.
UH, I THINK THOSE ARE THE KEY THINGS THAT I WAS JU OH, AND WE'VE GOT, UM, GOLF, WE'VE GOT FILM FESTIVAL GOING ON ALL THE TIME.
UH, THERE IS A BOWLING ALLEY AT, UH, THE, UH, CASINO
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT UNTIL ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
AND SO WE'VE EVEN GOT GAMBLING IF YOU WANNA DRIVE A BIT.
I THINK THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE FOR ME IS THIS SMALL TOWN FEEL WITH A DIVERSE, UM, GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ARE FROM ALL OVER.
ALL OF MY FRIENDS ARE FROM, FROM ALL OVER THE US AND ALL OVER THE WORLD.
UM, AND THAT ALLOWS FOR A LOT OF GROWTH AND A LOT OF LEARNING.
UM, THE WORD THAT CAME UP FOR ME WAS ALTERNATIVE.
SO I, I CAME HERE, I WAS BROUGHT HERE FOR A JOB, A HEALTH CHAIR, A HEALTHCARE POSITION.
AND SO I WOULD SAY, WHAT IS HEALTHCARE? UM, IS IT CLEAN AIR? IS IT SUNLIGHT? IS IT CLEAN WATER? IS IT COMMUNITY? SO REALLY LOOKING AT, UM, THOSE PIECES OF SEDONA THAT REALLY ARE, UM, SO PROMOTING OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS.
IT'S A VERY PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE.
UM, THE, THE NATIVE CULTURES WOULD COME HERE TO HEAL.
SO GOING BACK TO SEDONAS ROOTS, UM, I WAS MET WITH OVER 13 YEARS AGO THAT IF YOU LIVE HERE, YOU ARE A VOLUNTEER.
CREATE WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU WANT IN SEDONA.
SO I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT VOLUNTEER SPACE.
UM, AND I ALSO HAVE BEEN REFLECTING ON THE IMMIGRATION STORY OF WHEN PEOPLE, EVEN PEOPLE THAT SAY, I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN SEDONA.
THERE ARE SO FEW PEOPLE THAT WERE BORN IN SEDONA BECAUSE WE HAVE NO HOSPITALS.
SO YOU WERE PROBABLY BORN IN COTTONWOOD, OR YOU WERE BORN IN FLAGSTAFF.
SO THIS INTERESTING IDEA OF REFLECTING ON HOW WE ALL CAME TO SEDONA AND UM, WHAT UNIQUE GIFTS WE BRING IN THAT GIFT OF STEWARDSHIP IS THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE FOR ME.
THAT WAS SOMETHING WE TALKED ABOUT WAY BACK WHEN.
SO WAS IT GIFT OF PLACE? I THINK FRANCIS SAID THAT DIDN'T YOU? SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING.
I WROTE DOWN THAT YOU SAID IT.
NO, ANOTHER THING IS WE'RE A VERY SAFE PLACE.
IT'S LIKE A SAFETY'S A FEATURE, NOT A BUG.
ONE THING I DIDN'T HEAR OF, LISTEN TO US TALK FOR A LITTLE BIT IS THAT IT'S THE SAVINGS OF TIME HERE IS HUGE.
LIKE, THERE'S TIMES IN WHEN I WAS YOUNGER THAT I WANTED TO MOVE AWAY.
AND WHAT KEPT ME HERE WAS THAT ANYWHERE ELSE I WANTED TO MOVE, I WAS GONNA HAVE TO SPEND SO MUCH TIME.
AND SO BESIDES THE NUISANCE OF TRAFFIC WE HAVE HERE AND THERE, LIKE I CAN SPEND MY DAY AND HAVE VERY LITTLE WASTED TIME.
WELL, I, I THINK I WOULD SECOND PRETTY MUCH WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SAID.
WHEN YOU ASK ABOUT PILLARS, I THINK ONE OF THE PILLARS IS OBVIOUSLY NATURAL BEAUTY.
I MEAN, I WAKE UP EVERY DAY, HAVE MY COFFEE EARLY AND JUST CAN'T STOP STARING AT 10 YEARS LATER.
CAN'T STOP STARING AT THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE.
SO NATURAL BEAUTY BEING ONE OF THEM.
UH, ONE COMMON THREAD THAT CAME UP, AND I WAS GOING TO MENTION IF IT DIDN'T, BUT I'LL MENTION AGAIN ANYWAY, I HAVE MET THE MOST FASCINATING PEOPLE HERE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
AND AS A STRATEGY, THERE IS TREMENDOUS VALUE IN THAT.
DOING PROJECTS, INVESTMENT IN INVESTING.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE, I'VE MET PEOPLE ON THE FORBES 30 LIST.
I'VE MET PEOPLE THAT ARE ON WALKABOUT AND EQUALLY INTERESTING.
SO INSPIRATION, REJUVENATION, CREATION.
I THINK THIS IS A PLACE FOR EXECUTIVES TO COME AND BE CREATIVE OR ARTIST OR, UH, AUTHORS, ANY, ANY TYPE OF CREATIVE.
OUR CONTRIBUTION ON TAB I THINK REALLY NEEDS TO BE A VERY, UH, ENCOMPASSING APPROACH.
UM, WE HAVE A SEPARATION SOMETIMES, AS YOU MENTIONED, BETWEEN BUSINESS AND WORKFORCE.
[01:40:01]
AND I'M PART OF THE WORKFORCE.I, MY COMPANIES PAY ME A SALARY.
SO, UM, I FEEL THE SAME ISSUES THAT THEY PROBABLY FEEL MAYBE A LITTLE DIFFERENT WAY.
UM, I'M ALSO A RESIDENT AND THE TAX REVENUES MATTER TO ME.
THEY, THEY MATTER BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY IN NEED OF MONEY TO DO THE RIGHT THING OR MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE.
SO, UM, IT'S ALL TIED TOGETHER.
TAX, TAX, REVENUE, RESIDENT, PEACEFUL ENJOYMENT, BUSINESS PROSPERITY, WORKFORCE VISITOR EXPERIENCE, AND PRESERVING THE LAND, IT'S ALL ONE EFFORT ACTUALLY IN, IN MY VIEW.
AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY ON TOURISM.
I HEARD SOME THEMES, BUT I'M WONDERING IF ANY OF YOU HEARD SOME THEMES.
NO, I THINK, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO, YOU KNOW, NATURAL BEAUTY KIND OF CAME UP, RIGHT? AND I THINK THERE SEEMS TO BE AT LEAST A PILLAR THERE WE COULD SPEND SOME TIME TALKING ABOUT OF JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT THING THAT GIVES US THE INSPIRATION TO SOME EXTENT, RIGHT? MM-HMM
SORRY ANDREW, ONE THING I FORGOT TO ADD HERE.
ONE GAP I THINK WE HAVE IS NIGHTLIFE.
AND THAT COMES UP A LOT IN YEP.
HAVE YOU SEEN OUR CAMPAIGN OF REDEFINE NIGHTLIFE?
IT'S A MILKY WAY OVER CATHEDRAL ROCK, BUT HEY, YOU KNOW.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE, IF IT'S OKAY FOR YOU WOULD JUST SORT OF BE, AND AGAIN, WE DON'T NEED TO WORDSMITH THIS, BUT THIS IS JUST LIKE PRESERVING THE NATURAL BEAUTY.
UM, WOULD TO ME BE THERE SLASH YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF PUBLIC LANDS.
UM, I THINK THAT YOUR USE OF THE WORD ACCESS THOUGH IS REALLY PART OF THAT YEAH.
CERTAINLY WE WANT TO PRESERVE THEM.
I THINK ANOTHER ONE IS KIND OF LIKE MOBILITY, ACCESS TO THINGS GETTING AROUND, RIGHT? WALKABILITY, MOBILITY, TRANSPORTATION.
I THINK SOMETIMES THAT'S SEEN AS A NET POSITIVE.
I THINK, I THINK IT WAS BOB, YOU SAID SOMETIMES, SOMETIMES YOU CAN DRIVE AROUND, RIGHT? YEAH.
BUT I THINK THAT THAT TO ME IS PART OF THEONE EXPERIENCE, RIGHT? I THINK TO YOUR POINT, LARS, YOU SAID IT REALLY WELL, YOU KNOW, MOVING ANYWHERE ELSE, IT WOULD TAKE YOU SO MUCH TIME TO GET TO THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE, RIGHT? SO IT'S THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S THAT, BUT THE PART OF THISONE EXPERIENCE IS MOVING AROUND THIS COMMUNITY, RIGHT? THE FLOW OF MOVEMENT.
I'M GONNA CALL THIS, YOU KNOW, MOBILITY SLASH YOU KNOW, WALKABILITY IS A KEY FEATURE OF BIKEABILITY, UH, JEEPS.
I HAVE LIKE YOUR USE OF THE TERM FLOW FLOW.
I DON'T THINK LAUREN'S EVER SAID THAT TO ME WHEN I SAY FLOW.
AND I, I WOULD SAY TOO, LIKE JUST KNOWING THAT THERE, THERE IS A THEME FROM A LOT OF MY FRIENDS THAT COME VISIT THAT DON'T VISIT ANYMORE.
WHERE THAT HAS BEEN IMPACTED AND THERE'S OBVIOUSLY LIKE HURDLES WITH THAT.
UM, ANOTHER THEME THAT I HEARD WAS SORT OF, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF JUST ALLUDED TO IT WITH NIGHTLIFE IS ACCESS TO BUSINESS SERVICES.
WE HAVE EVERYBODY SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT RESTAURANTS, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, UM, NOT MY LIFE, BUT WE HAVE RESTAURANTS, WE HAVE GALLERIES, WE'VE GOT SHOPS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
EXCEPT FOR I THINK HEALTHCARE WAS MAYBE, WAS MAYBE THE QUOTE TO TAKE AWAY FROM THAT.
SO I WOULD JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS SERVICES WOULD BE ANOTHER THING.
AND ALSO I THINK ALONG WITH THAT SORT OF CULTURAL, YEAH, PART OF I WAS MAYBE GONNA BUSINESS SORT OF, I WAS MAYBE GONNA PUT ARTS AND CULTURE AS ITS OWN, AS ITS OWN CATEGORY.
UNLESS FOLKS WANTED TO COMBINE THOSE.
'CAUSE I MEAN ARTS AND CULTURES BEYOND BUSINESS SERVICES TO SOME EXTENT.
I THINK I LOOK AT LIKE THE NEW BRONZE STATUES AND THE ROUNDABOUTS, RIGHT? I MEAN THAT TO ME IS, YOU KNOW, THIS SORT OF EMBODIMENT OF THE INSPIRATION THAT WE WANT TO PRESERVE ACCESS TO.
HOW HAS THAT MANIFEST ITSELF THROUGHOUT BEING A RESIDENT OR A VISITOR? HOW DO YOU ACCESS THAT AS A RESIDENT OR A VISITOR? YEAH, I THINK I WAS THINKING OF LIKE THE SYMPHONY YEAH.
WHICH SEEMS TO FALL SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO THINGS.
BUT THEN I'D SAY, YOU KNOW, ARTS AND CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT AND I KNOW I HAVE AN EXTRA END IN THERE, SO I MEAN, THOSE FEEL LIKE A GOOD PLACE TO START.
I MEAN, I GUESS JUST GOING BACK HERE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO PUBLIC LAND.
OH, YOU KNOW, I ONLY MADE TWO SLIDES.
I COULD ALWAYS ADD MORE, BUT I THINK I HEARD THE ONE THING ABOUT JUST THE, THE THE COMMUNITY AND THE PEOPLE.
I MEAN THAT I THINK EVERYBODY SAID SOMETHING ABOUT YEAH.
PEOPLE, WHETHER IT'S UH, YOUR NEIGHBOR OR IT'S THE PERSON WHO'S HERE FOR TWO NIGHTS THAT ALL OF THOSE PLAY INTO THAT EXPERIENCE.
IT'S EASY TO DUPLICATE SLIDES AND YOU KNOW, I
[01:45:01]
MIGHT BE WRONG, BUT IT SEEMS HERE IN SEDONA.I KNOW THAT SOME COMMUNITY PEOPLE DON'T GO TO UPTOWN TO SHOP.
UH, BUT IN GENERAL, PEOPLE GO TO RESTAURANTS, LIKE PEOPLE GO TO THE FILM FESTIVAL, PEOPLE UTILIZE THE BUSINESSES AND ARTS, EXCEPT FOR MAYBE UPTOWN ARTS AND CULTURE, THAT THOSE ARE BOTH RESIDENT DRIVEN AND TOURIST DRIVEN.
WHICH SEEMS LIKE AN INTERESTING MIX IN OTHER, MANY OTHER PLACES.
PEOPLE, LOCALS DON'T GO TO THE RESTAURANTS.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S, UNLESS I JUST HAPPENED TO GO TO THOSE PLACES, BUT I DON'T SEE THAT MUCH OF A DI DICHOTOMY.
I THINK YOU'RE, I MEAN, THE WAY THAT I'VE INTERPRETED THAT WHEN I GOT HERE WAS I LOOKED AT A VERY SEASONAL TOURISM ECONOMY AND I DON'T SEE VERY MANY SEASONAL BUSINESS CLOSURES AND MANY TOURISM INDEPENDENT COMMUNITIES, LIKE ARGUABLY OURS IS EXPERIENCE HEAVY SWINGS AND WHEN BUSINESSES ARE OPEN OR NOT.
AND IT TOLD ME THAT OUR RESIDENTIAL POPULATION IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BUSINESSES.
AND THAT'S JUST, TO ME THAT IS A DIFFERENTIATOR.
JUST 30,000 FOOT LOOKING AT TOURISM DESTINATIONS.
UM, I DO, I'VE BEEN RUMINATING ON THIS.
THERE'S ALWAYS LIKE A BIG FLUX OF BUSINESS CLOSE CLOSINGS.
AND JUST AS A SIDE NOTE, LIKE WE HAVE, THERE ARE AT LEAST FIVE, IF NOT SIX BUSINESSES THAT ARE GOING TO ARE CLOSED, HAVE ALREADY CLOSED, OR ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CLOSING.
SO JUST AS TO THAT END, THERE ARE, WHETHER IT'S CLOTHING STORES, SHOE STORES, UM, DESIGN AND FURNISHING.
SO JUST THIS KIND OF IDEA OF, I THINK AGAIN, AND THEN THINKING OF OUR COMMUNITY, SO MANY OF OUR COMMUNITIES, UM, MEMBERS ARE BUSINESS OWNERS.
SO THAT JUST KIND OF, THERE IS THIS, I'M SEEING IT AGAIN, THIS WAVE OF LIKE, WE'RE JUST GONNA LOSE A BUNCH.
SO I THINK THIS IS JUST A TIMELY, IT'S A GREAT CONVERSATION AND A WAY TO, AGAIN, THERE ARE POCKETS, YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING IN WEST SEDONA AND WEST SEDONA, WE'RE LOSING A BUNCH.
SO JUST HOW CAN WE BRING YEAH.
THESE TOURISTS INTO THE WEST SEDONA, AND THINK OF THESE SMALLER SHOPS, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT NEED OUR HELP.
I COULD JUST SAY THAT I'VE LOOKED AT FINANCIALS ON MANY OF THEM, UM, BECAUSE I GET PRIVY TO THEM FOR ACQUISITION OR WHATEVER, AND YEAH.
UH, IT'S DEFINITELY, UH, A REAL STRUGGLE.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S WHY I'M REALLY HERE.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO HELP CURB THAT A LITTLE BIT.
WE HAD TALKED, UH, SEVERAL BEATINGS AGO ABOUT RESTAURANTS NOT SUFFERING AS MUCH AS RETAIL SUFFERS.
I THINK THAT'S PARTLY WHY THAT MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE THE RESIDENTS ARE GOING, BUT THEY'RE NOT AS LIKELY TO GO AND MAKE THE CLOTHING PURCHASES.
BUT WE'LL STILL GO OUT TO EAT.
I WANT TO GET BEYOND THE PILLARS IF WE CAN, AND MAYBE PICK ONE.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU ALL THE HARD ONE.
THE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WE ENGAGE WITH HERE.
THOSE RESIDENTS, THOSE VISITORS THAT, YOU KNOW, MOST OF US CHOSE TO BE HERE AS RESIDENTS.
UM, WE'VE MET FOLKS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, FROM AROUND THE US.
WHAT ARE THINGS THAT THE CITY CAN DO TO KIND OF BOLSTER OR ENHANCE THIS PART OF THE SEDONA EXPERIENCE? WELL, I THINK THAT TOURISM TOWN HALLS IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY CAN DO TO HELP HOLD SPACE FOR ONGOING CONVERSATIONS, UH, WITH THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
I THINK COLLABORATION WITH THE DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS AND SOME OF THE PROCESSES THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE TO HELP WITH TRANSPORTATION AND TRAIL EXPERIENCES, AND FIXING SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE WITH THOSE DAY-TO-DAY EXPERIENCES THAT WE ALL ENJOY SO MUCH, WHAT THEY ARE IMPACTED AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO AS THE CITY.
I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR, YOU KNOW, DISSEMINATING INFORMATION TO RESIDENTS WHO THINK THAT WE HAVE MORE OF AN ABILITY THAN WE MIGHT BASED ON RESTRICTIONS THAT ARE IN PLACE.
AND THE FACT THAT IT'S JUST THE CITY AND NOT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.
I MEAN, YEAH, I THINK THE WHOLE SIM UH, PROJECTS, UH, TO HELP WITH TRANSPORTATION, HELP WITH CONGESTION, TRAFFIC AND SO FORTH.
UM, THERE'VE BEEN SOME MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS AS, AS THOSE GET IMPLEMENTED.
AND I THINK ALONG WITH THAT BEING AS NOT ONLY TRANSPARENT, NOT ONLY LIKE VIS HYPER VISIBLE ABOUT THE WAYS THAT THE TOURISM ECONOMY IMPROVES THE LIVES OF RESIDENTS HERE MM-HMM
AND I THINK LOOKING AT, UH, TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THOSE.
I THINK THE POINT THAT WE MISS IS THAT WE NEED TO GET
[01:50:01]
AN INTERFACE BETWEEN THE RESIDENTS AND THE VISITORS.AND, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE, MOST OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT COME UP ARE DESIGNED TO ONE OR THE OTHER.
UM, WE PROBABLY NEED TO LOOK AT SOME OPTIONS WHERE WE'RE BRINGING IN VISITORS AND THE COMMUNITY IN THE SAME VENUE.
I, I DUNNO FOR SURE WHAT THAT WOULD BE NECESSARILY, BUT YOU KNOW, IT SOME, YEAH.
SOME OF THE FAIRS AND THINGS, YEAH, THOSE ARE PRETTY GOOD.
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA, YOU KNOW, YOU GET A GOOD GROUP OF PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES.
BUT, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT SOME KIND OF, UM, COMMUNITY EVENT THAT WILL BRING BOTH SIDES TOGETHER DURING THE, THE EVENT.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY IF YOU'RE DOING THE MOVIES AT, AT THE HUB OR WHATEVER, YOU GOT BOTH SIDES THERE, BUT THEY DON'T REALLY INTERACT.
AND SO I THINK PROBABLY WHAT WE NEED TO FIND IS SOME WAY TO MERGE 'EM.
WE NEED MORE PARKS AND REC RANGERS.
HE REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING I WANTED TO SAY ON THIS.
THIS IS THAT WITH ALL THESE AMAZING COMMUNITIES THAT WE HAVE IN SEDONA, THERE'S SOME REALLY AMAZING PEOPLE WITHIN EACH OF THEM.
AND CONNECTING THOSE PEOPLE TO THE CAMPAIGNS THAT WE HAVE WITH ADVERTISING PEOPLE TO COME HERE, THAT KIND OF CONNECTS THE COMMUNITY WITH THE VISITORS.
AND WHEN THEY, WHEN YOU VISIT A AREA AND YOU GET TO KIND OF CONNECT WITH SOMEBODY THAT'S REALLY INVOLVED, IT REALLY MAKES IT SPECIAL.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT COULD REALLY BE DONE IN SOME OF THESE CAMPAIGNS.
IS THIS, I MEAN, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST WEEK WHERE IT'S LIKE THE MAKER'S CONCEPT WHERE IT'D BE LIKE, IT'S LESS, IT'S LIKE, MEET THE ARTIST AND LET THEM TELL THE STORY ABOUT WHY SEDONAS SPECIAL AND SORT OF GIVING MORE PERSONALITY TO THE PRESENTATION OF PLACE.
IS THAT YEAH, BECAUSE IT'S THAT CONCEPT GIVING A VOICE TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE, WHO ARE THE FACES, BUT GIVING MORE OF A VOICE TO THEM IN THE MARKETING.
WHEN I FIRST MOVED HERE, THE FIRST FRIDAYS WERE A BIG OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT, WHERE EVERYONE KIND OF HEARD ABOUT THEM AND THERE WAS THIS FLOW THAT WAS KIND OF THE THING TO DO WAS THE FIRST FRIDAYS.
UM, BUT I HAVE TO GET A SHOUT OUT TO THE PICKLEBALL EXPERIENCE AND WHAT THE CITY HAS DONE THERE AND HAVING RACKETS AND BALLS AVAILABLE AND JUST MAKING IT SUCH A HABIT.
UM, SO MANY AGES WERE THERE PRETTY OFTEN.
AND THE LAST TIME I WAS THERE, UM, I THOUGHT THIS COUPLE WAS COMING BACK, LIKE ONTO OUR COURT, SO IT WAS, IT WAS KIND OF WAITING AND THEY WERE WAITING TO TELL THE OTHER GROUP OF FOUR, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR WELCOMING US INTO THE PLAY.
AND SO I THINK THERE IS THIS, IT'S JUST THE, LIKE, PICKLEBALL CULTURE SEEMS TO BE ONE OF KIND OF LIKE WAITING IN LINE, BEING WELCOMED IN AND THEN LIKE TAKING YOUR TURN.
BUT IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE, I THINK OF LIKE A VERY EASY WAY TO HOP IN QUICKLY TO LIKE RESIDENTS AND YOU'RE SEEING PEOPLE FROM, FROM ALL OVER KIND OF COME TOGETHER.
SO, UM, MAYBE SOMETHING TO LEARN FROM THAT EXPERIENCE.
I KNOW THEY'RE DOING TOURNAMENTS AND WHATNOT, UM, AND THE PARKS SYSTEM IS JUST ROCKING IT WITH, UM, THEIR, UH, THEIR EVENTS AND THEIR OFFERINGS.
SO JUST KUDOS TO WHAT YOU'RE ALL CREATING.
WE HAVE FOUR MINUTES LEFT, SO I THINK I'M GONNA MOVE ON, BUT I KNOW I TOLD YOU WE'D START WITH ONE CATEGORY, AND OF COURSE WE GOT AT LEAST SOME INPUT FOR A FEW, WHICH IS TYPICALLY HOW THESE CONVERSATIONS GO.
BUT I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR INPUT.
UM, I LOVE DOING THESE EXERCISES WHEN I CAN JUST TYPE YOUR THOUGHTS IN REAL TIME AND THEN HAVE A PUBLIC RECORD OF IT.
UM, ANY REFLECTION FROM YOU QUICKLY.
DOES THIS FEEL LIKE A GOOD STRATEGY TO HAVE FOR THE TOWN HALLS? TO SOME EXTENT, AGAIN, FROM A PILOT STANDPOINT, ABSOLUTELY.
AND I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVING SMALLER BREAKOUTS, THE TABLES WILL REALLY BE HELPFUL TO GET MORE VOICES.
UH, AND I THINK THE RECORDED THE CAUTION HERE IS THAT YOU HAVE TO GET MORE INFORMATION TO THE, TO THE, UM, COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THESE ARE.
YOU KNOW, TOO OFTEN I THINK YOU SAY WE'RE HAVING A TOWN HALL AND TOURISM TIME IS HAVING A TOWN HALL, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYBODY'S EXPECTATIONS.
IT'S, WE'RE GONNA GO TALK ABOUT THE TRAFFIC, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT MM-HMM
AND SO I THINK MAYBE AT LEAST A COUPLE WEEKS BEFORE I, I KNOW YOU'VE HAD A NOTE, UH, SIDE UP THERE ABOUT THE PROCESS MM-HMM
AT LEAST A COUPLE WEEKS BEFORE, WE NEED TO REALLY HELP DEFINE WHAT WE'RE WILLING TO TALK ABOUT MM-HMM
UH, AND NOT WHAT WE'RE NOT REALLY, REALLY TALKING ABOUT.
AND ALSO TOO, LIKE AS WE START THE MEETINGS HAVING A VERY CLEAR, YOU KNOW, OUTLINE AND GUIDANCE TO SAY, YOU MAY HAVE ALL OF THESE CONCERNS AND WE DON'T WANNA IGNORE THEM.
HERE'S A, HERE'S A EMAIL TO SAY, YOU KNOW, HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN VOICE THAT OR SHARE THAT.
UM, AND, AND INSPIRE THEM TO GET EXCITED ABOUT THE CONVERSATION.
LIKE WE JUST HAD, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING.
I, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US LEAD WITH SOME LANGUAGE
[01:55:01]
THAT ACTUALLY DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE RESIDENTS ARE SHOWING UP IN A GANG FIGHT WITH THE BUSINESSES.YOU KNOW, WE'RE ACTUALLY THE SAME PEOPLE.
WELL, AND I THINK IN PART OF THAT WOULD BE IN THE GROUP INTRODUCTIONS.
I MEAN, BEING ABLE TO BRING IT LIKE, I AM A RESIDENT THAT'S CHOSEN TO, YOU KNOW, START A BUSINESS OR ESTABLISH MY BUSINESS HERE.
I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S POWER IN THAT.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE THING YOU KNOW, I'VE REALLY TAKEN AWAY IS I THINK LIKE WE NEED TO BE COMMUNICATING THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M A CITY EMPLOYEE, BUT I'M A RESIDENT.
YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, A GALLERY OWNER, BUT YOU'RE A RESIDENT.
AND I THINK, AND I THINK THAT LANGUAGE IN AND OF ITSELF CAN HELP SORT OF BREAK DOWN SOME OF THIS ABSOLUTELY.
UNINTENTIONAL DICHOTOMY THAT SORT OF APPEARED.
LET'S REVISITING, UH, QUICKLY THE, THE RULES OF THE DISCUSSION.
UM, I'VE WORKED IN SITUATIONS WHERE THERE WAS A LOT OF ANIMOSITY IN THE GROUP, AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID, WE, WE SET, UH, RULES OF ENGAGEMENT.
UH, AND I'LL, I'LL SEND YOU, UH, SET THAT I HAD USED IN THE PAST, BUT IT'S LIKE, YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T JUST CRITICIZE, YOU DON'T ATTACK THE PERSON, BUT YOU'RE ALLOWED TO ATTACK THE IDEA.
YOU, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT.
I THINK IF THERE, WE NEED TO HAVE SOME STRUCTURE LIKE THAT.
NO, I, UH, BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE'RE, IT'S TOO EASY TO HIJACK, UH, A, A CONVERSATION AND START TALKING ABOUT HOUSING PRICES OR CULTURAL PARK OR THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER.
I, I'VE GOT MY OWN FROM MY WORKSHOPS IN COLORADO YEAH.
BUT I, I WOULD, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HERE IS AGAIN, I THINK THAT PART OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS HERE WAS RIGHT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, I STILL THINK I WANT TO HEAR THE ATTENDEE GETTING PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT WHY THEY LOVE THIS PLACE TO START, RIGHT? MM-HMM
I MEAN, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A FORWARD THINKING IDEA.
NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
THEY PROBABLY SHOWED UP TO HAVE AN AGENDA, RIGHT? BUT TO BE ABLE TO SAY, I, THIS IS THE EXPERIENCE WHY I CAME HERE, AND EV EACH OF YOU HAD LITTLE CRITIQUES ALONG THE WAY, WHICH IS HEALTHY AND NORMAL, I THINK.
BUT THAT, THAT GETS US ALL LOOKING AT THE SAME COMMON GOAL, WHICH IS WE LOVE THIS PLACE AND WE'VE CHOSEN IT FOR A REASON, AND THEN WE'VE ALREADY GOT AT LEAST FIVE PILLARS THAT I CAN START THE CONVERSATION FROM AND GIVE SOME EXAMPLE IDEAS THAT WE'VE ALREADY HEARD FROM YOU ALL.
AND THAT'S KIND OF WHY I WANTED TO DO THIS PILOT WITH YOU ALL TODAY.
SO AGAIN, I LIKE, I LIKE BUMPERS ON THE BOWLING ALLEY.
UM, I KNOW WE'RE OUTTA TIME, BUT AGAIN, JUST KNOW THAT I'LL BE FOLLOWING UP WITH MY FOLLOW UP EMAIL.
PLEASE LOOK@YOURSEDONAAZ.GOV EMAIL ACCOUNTS, NEW MEMBERS.
WE ARE WORKING ON GETTING YOU THOSE.
I THINK THIS WEEK YOU'LL HAVE TO COME IN AND MEET WITH OUR IT TEAM TO GET THE WHOLE, I GET A GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT.
BUT JUST KNOW THAT THAT IS COMING.
I DO HAVE YOUR PERSON EMAILS IN, IN, IN THE MEANTIME.
UM, WE'LL GET THE DATES KIND OF FIGURED OUT.
TUESDAY, THURSDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY.
UM, AND WE CAN KIND OF THINK ABOUT TIMING THERE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THIS WILL ALSO BE AN AGENDA ITEM FOR MARCH 4TH.
JUST JUST KNOW THAT IT'S GONNA BE PRIMARILY THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN, BUT WE'LL TALK ABOUT MARCH 4TH.
UM, DO YOU ANTICIPATE SETTING THE DATES PRIOR TO THAT MEETING OR AFTER THAT MEETING? UH, HOPEFULLY PRIOR.
[5.d. State of Sedona Tourism Research]
TO GET IT ON PEOPLE'S CALENDAR.AND THEN YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY SEEN THE RESEARCH.
UM, I THINK THE THING THAT THING THAT I WILL SHARE IS THAT, UM, IT LOOKS LIKE DECEMBER WAS PRETTY STRONG IN TERMS OF TOURISM AND LODGING PERFORMANCE.
UM, NOVEMBER ENDED RATHER WELL.
UM, AND THEN MOSTLY WHAT I SAW UP UNTIL THE LAST WEEK REPORT, BUT EARLY JANUARY HAS BEEN STRONG IN TERMS OF OVERNIGHT DEMAND.
SO, UM, TYPICALLY I WOULD GO LONGER WITH THIS, BUT I WANNA BE RESPECTFUL OF TIME.
I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO TALK WITH FOLKS ABOUT RESEARCH AND DATA.
[6. FUTURE MEETING DATE]
AND THEN, UM, OUR NEXT MEETING IS MARCH 4TH.DOES ANYBODY ELSE ON THE BOARD HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? NOPE.