From the category archives:

TDC Meetings

Oil Spill Barely Hurts June Bed Tax Collections

by Jason Koertge on August 30, 2010 · 4 comments

Despite a very dismal looking outlook at the beginning of the summer, the actual numbers for June are showing nearly even bed tax collections this year, compared to last year. In June, a total of $1,88,269.21 was collected. This compares to $1,946,037.92 in tax revenue that was collected in June of 2009. The actual variance is just over $61,000, or -3.17%.

This was an interesting summer, we had tons of things lined up to all but guarantee the best summer tourist season we’ve had in years. Ironically, right before the season began, there was what some may call a monstrous accident just a few short hundred miles away. After a summer of weekly and even daily threats, the damaged perception left our local industry practically starving for business and pleading with their customers to keep their reservations. The rental climate changed from one of knowing how the numbers were going to be all summer before Memorial Day, to guessing what the next week would hold for rental revenue. Shops and restaurants had no idea what to expect, but were bracing for the worst. Talking to retailers and resorts, numbers were way off this year. Obviously some fared better than others, but overall most suffered to some degree.

But lets get back to the bed tax numbers. The numbers were only down 3.17% this year. That doesn’t seem all bad, right? Well, you have to consider that a deficit of any amount is going to spread hurt across the board. You have to consider that with any new additions to the rental or retail inventory, plus some businesses ability to reach their customers over other businesses, that 3.17% can mean quite a different story for different people.

All in all, I think we are blessed to have done as well as we did, in Panama City Beach, despite the looming threat that impaled the perception of our beach this summer. Hopefully next year no outside forces will impede all the work that has been put into increasing our local tourism business.

July’s numbers should be out within the week, which will be the real test to see how the summer really fared. Stay tuned!

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Seafood Fest May Get Another $150k from CVB

by Jason Koertge on August 26, 2010 · 12 comments

The oil spill threat this summer took it’s toll on the opportunity for us to have a slammin’, jammin’ summer, but it wasn’t all bad. Our image was certainly tarnished, our tourism numbers were down a bit, but on the plus side, the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau received $2 million from BP to be used for marketing the beaches of Panama City Beach. This influx of marketing money has saved our CVB $750,000 from their regular marketing budget this year so far and has freed up some cash to use in other arenas.

Southwest Airlines Marketing Working

by Jason Koertge on August 25, 2010 · 0 comments

One of the cool things about bringing in Southwest Airlines to the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport was that we get to take advantage of SWA’s amazing marketing success. This proven track record of creating an immense brand awareness so far has proven invaluable so far in marketing Panama City Beach, and it couldn’t come at a better time.

PCB Tourism Board Fights Back on Potential Oil Spill

by Jason Koertge on June 11, 2010 · 61 comments

With the looming threat of oil hitting our pristine beaches in one form or another, the Bay County Tourism Development Council (TDC) met this week to discuss how they can fight the negativity and display why Panama City Beach is still an ideal summer vacation spot for guests, new and old alike. The solution was to come up with a whole summer full of fun with festivals, live concerts and events that will show our visitors that in Panama City Beach, it’s not just the beach anymore.

Jack Bishop asks TDC; “We Need More Help with the Seafood, Wine & Music Fest

by Ellie Cominos on March 9, 2010 · 5 comments

Tuesday’s combined TDC/CVB meeting at City Hall covered topics such as the impact of extra sporting events and sports marketing on Panama City Beach, (numbers are up and new events keep coming!) approval and discussion of various financial items, an update on the Panama City Beach vegetation project (very well executed so far, almost 60% complete with lots of new sea oats and vegetation planted), and, most importantly, the Seafood Wine & Music Festival for 2010.

Jack Bishop, local restaurant owner and former member of the Bay County Tourist Development Council is one of the festival organizers, and took to the microphone at the meeting to put his thoughts and ideas to the board. Mr Bishop talked about how far the festival has come since it’s roots and how he sees further growth and improvement in the future. “The Seafood, Wine & Music Festival has gone a long way towards restoring the image of Panama City Beach.” Bishop stated. “We need something like this, something for people to do in addition to 4th July, especially now we are appealing to an upper level demographic with the arrival of the new airport.”
Mr Bishop continued to say; “We need to make some short term decisions, and some long term decisions. In the short term, let’s think about 2010. We need to address the issues of security, garbage and sanitation, and production, all of which we need to step up, and will need extra resources for. We need extra promotion and sponsorship, extra marketing, and extra financing.” Mr Bishop then asked for an additional $50,000 on top of the current $60,000 the board has already committed in order to execute these changes. “We know exactly where we are now with the Seafood, Wine & Music Festival, and I have learned many lessons along the way. If I am to take on this extra responsibility, then I am going to need more help.”

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TDC: Spring Break Recommendations – No More MTV

by Cebo Campbell on September 25, 2009 · 33 comments

TDC/CVB had a combined meeting this week to pass Spring Break recommendations presented by Dan Rowe, CEO of the Tourist Development Council. After long weeks of deliberations, meetings and one vigorous community forum, a recommendation on Spring Break was reached that will decidedly cut Spring Break advertising ergo, cutting ties with MTV.

Bullet point recommendations at the meeting were as follows:

TDC Actions:
- Limit Paid Advertising to “Spring Break Responsibly” campaigns
- Engage in Proactive Spring Break Public Relations activities
- Develop a Spring Break Section of VisitPanamaCityBeach.com with Spring Break Responsibly messages, “Rules of the Road,” Spring Break Friendly Lodging.
Requested City of Panama City Beach Actions
- Conduct workshops for businesses engaged in Spring Break to discuss ways of better managing Spring Break business owners’ roles in the enforcement of state and local laws and other avenues to control potential problems related to Spring Break.
- Conduct workshops with the public and lodging establishments not directly engaged in Spring Break on strategies to control and limit impacts from Spring Break, as well as define various roles, responsibilities, and what action public safety officials can legally and practically take.
- Hire auxiliary police during peak weeks to augment PCB PD to increase police presence along Front Beach Road.
- Provide additional foot, canine and ATV patrols in areas of high Spring Break activity, including on the sandy beach to enforce littering, glass and other laws.
- Fully implement the Special Events Ordinance to insure gatherings of college students at outdoor concerts and other assemblies have appropriate management and public safety plans in place.
- Encourage FRLA to take and active role in getting the association’s members to proactively manage Spring Break activities at their locations.

This breaks down to better overall management of the 2 month-long event coupled with a more strategic advertising aimed at positive Spring Break messaging. No additional monies will be allocated to marketing or advertising Spring Break (only towards advertising “Spring Break Responsibly” which should fall somewhere between $12-$15,000 in total). Basically, no MTV, no bucketloads of money to the event and much stronger police presence throughout the beach. The question remains as to whether or not this will satisfy everyone, but it is, incontestably, a very good start.

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Huge Changes Ahead in the Marketing of Panama City Beach

by Jason Koertge on September 19, 2009 · 0 comments

Friday two contracts were presented and accepted by the tourist development council that will help transform the image of panama city beach in the coming years. Fahlgren and Lou Hammond were chosen for creative and PR respectively; contracts were already negotiated with the agencies prior to presentation to be board.

The Fahlgren contract is for $22,500 per month and includes all creative and promotions. The YPartnership contract was $12,500 per month but did not include creative. Last year alone they spent over $150k in creative and that number could have gone higher. Also, travel expenses for the agencies is built into the contracts as well.

Lou Hammond’s contract for public relations is for $17,500 per month and actually includes a New York media reception at their main office, 2 publicity stunts in New York and 2 group media trips to be hosted in destination (Panama City Beach).

Each contract is for 2 years with the option to renew and each will play a huge role in our area’s future growth.

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Panama City Beach’s New Era Starts With Fahlgren & Lou Hammond

by Cebo Campbell on September 10, 2009 · 0 comments

The era of Y-Partnership is over. Y-Partnership’s replacement as the ad agency to represent Panama City Beach is Fahlgren, a sharp group based out of Ohio with ties to VisitFlorida and Southwest Airlines. The agency chosen by the board to handle Public Relations for PCB will be the Lou Hammond agency out of New York, strong in crisis management with international ties.

Both agencies presented to the board alongside 3 other agencies, LKM, Beber Silverstein, Hayworth Creative, all talented and thorough in their respective disciplines, competing to carry Panama City Beach into its very bright future.

Fahlgren, represented by Neil Mortine, impressed the board with ties to Southwest as well as a strong belief in the need to develop co-operatives locally and regionally. Fahlgren proved to have a broad enough knowledge of the area’s diversity, great social media marketing understanding and were balanced with creativity and the range of contacts capable of pulling off what Y-Partnership could not; make Panama City Beach a top destination. Representing 45 companies like McDonald’s, Cooper Tires and others, Panama City Beach will be one of Fahlgren’s top 10 clients and should receive a great deal of attention from an award winning agency.

The Lou Hammond Agency, an award winning agency in its own right, with offices in New York, Charleston and Miami, wowed the board to a hands-down decision. Lou Hammond herself, the agency’s president and owner, conducted the presentation and the board loved every second of her outgoing attitude and creative ideas. LH, won the board over with an impressive resume, long line of contacts and previous work in crisis management and airport related Public Relations.

The benefit of having separate agencies in both disciplines, unlike previous years where a single group handled both creative advertising and public relations, can be summed up in one word: synergy. What Panama City Beach can expect are totally fresh ideas, new and far-reaching campaigns cooked up by a talented group of individuals. Lou Hammond will bring big-time contacts and a great understanding of fly markets while Fahlgren will invigorate Panama City Beach with ultra-creative ideas and new ways of implementation.

The timing couldn’t possibly be better and both agencies acknowledged how the new airport makes Panama City Beach a prime expansion city in America as the economy picks up. These two agencies will be presented contracts in the future and if negotiations can not be reached, the board will move to the companies that landed second in the rankings which were LKM and Hayworth.

In related news, we here, at PCBDaily are giddy just thinking about Panama City Beach’s future sans Y-Partnership.

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Panama City Beach TDC: Y Partnership is O-U-T

by Cebo Campbell on August 27, 2009 · 1 comment

On Thursday morning the TDC Marketing Committee met to decide on three potential agencies to run Panama City Beach future campaigns. While there were nearly two dozen requests for qualifications, only the top three would be chosen. Among those top chosen, there was one glaring omission: Y Partnership. The agency that has handled all of Panama City Beach’s Creative/Media Campaigns as well as Public Relations is, unofficially, out.

The top three agencies, broken into two disciplines, were chosen by the committee to give a presentation to the board for a final decision. The agencies broke down as follows:

Creative/Media

1. Fahlgren

2. Beber Silverstein

3. LKM

Public Relations

1. Hayworth

2. Lou Hammond

3. Fahlgren

Although the committee initially thought to have separate agencies for each discipline, Fahlgren proved itself to be capable of doing both after being the chosen Agency at VisitFlorida for 10 years. No contracts talks have started but the length of contracts could be 2-3 years with an extension clause. The chosen agencies will give presentations to the board the week of September 7th, where the board will rank the three and try to ink a deal with the top agency.

Panama City Beach TDC will continue to use Y Partnership through September 30th.

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10 Solutions for Panama City Beach’s Spring Break Problem

by Cebo Campbell on August 20, 2009 · 3 comments

Before reading any further:

First, these are not my solutions, but solutions brought forth by attendees at the Spring Break community forum held by the Tourist Development Council this past Wednesday. Second, no single one of these is a final solution rather together, or in any combination, can help handle the raucous season order to benefit businesses and residents alike.

Management

The idea is quite simple; Spring Break’s biggest problem isn’t the college breakers but the city’s and local businesses’ inability to manage them. If Panama City Beach is willing to accept its identity as a Spring Break destination, businesses can provide a clean, safe and respectful atmosphere for Spring Break guests. Without a doubt the college kids will act up, but if they are in a situation where they understand clearly the consequences of what they do and those consequences are enforced in a respectful way, that 10% or so of the rowdy ones will be weeded out. But, in order for this to work, Businesses have to take the initiative to be responsible for how things are managed and expect more from the city on their part.

Handle Public Relations

When you think of Spring Break on Panama City Beach, what do you see? Kids, rowdy and drunk, cruising the strip? Now, imagine what is being reported in other cities. In fact, go on youtube.com and type in Panama City Beach Spring Break and see what comes up. More drunken half-naked students going bonkers. For a city trying to change it’s image it is a PR nightmare. Now, while some of the outgoing public relations cannot be contained, some can. The idea is to corral what you can and then flood the markets with positive video and information about Spring Break on Panama City beach. It’s not difficult. One suggestion was that Panama City beach sponsor a scholarship program and go out and encourage eco-spring break. Panama City Beach shows the side of Spring Break it wants to show rather than allow youtube.com, MTV and the Travel Channel do it for us.

Enhance/Increase Law Enforcement

This one is big. Law enforcement must be not only visible during Spring Break but assertively enforcing the law with regularity. I am one to tell you I think our current Law Enforcement does a GREAT job during Spring Break but the fact of the matter is, they are woefully undermanned. It is physically impossible for them to cover the entire beach, while still taking the time to enforce laws even on a small scale. We need more officers during this time.

Year-round Marketing/Targeted Messaging

To handle the PR and flood news outlets is one thing, but truly focusing your marketing efforts is another, infinitely more successful, way of changing Spring Break. An example of this was talked about in the community forum. A gentleman said that we used MTV as a sort of gunshot trying to hit everyone with our message. But if we know that the problems mainly come from kids who, if evicted from hotels for bad behavior, can very easily go the two hours back home, we should be targeting kids in Ohio, Michigan and Chicago. With the new airport coming online this will be easier in the future, but the reality is, Spring Break fills the beaches but there are only so many rooms. If you fill the rooms with the kids that got your message rather than just anyone it will decrease the chance of problems occurring.

Signage Ordinances

This is a two-fold ordinance. On one hand you would have an ordinance requiring the posting of specific laws visibly in specific places, say, in hotel lobbies. Perhaps even having a large blinking sign at the entrances over Hathaway Bridge and 79 showing the frequently broken laws and establishing, before even the partying begins, that certain things will not be tolerated. The other is an ordinance restricting certain messages on signs throughout the beach. This is not something that will come easy, but signs that read “XXX or Xcstacy Sold Here” will only underscore the belief that Panama City Beach is a place that has no inhibitions.

Security Ratio Ordinances

This was an interesting idea brought up by Mr. Julian Bennet. He suggested we have a capacity/unit to security guard ratio. The idea is that for every, say, 100 people based on capacity or for every 25 units the establishment has at least 1 officer. This could do a number of things like provide jobs during the season and help out the limited law enforcement maintaining the beach. But most of all, it should keep the properties of businesses safer. The key is to hire quality security guards.

Lighting

For those 3-6 weeks of Spring Break, the turtle lighting ordinance adopted by Bay County could be rescinded allowing businesses to fully light their properties. Businesses can have their beach and parking lots fully lit during Spring Break, dropping the risk of incidents and liability.

Drinking Ordinances/Kangaroo Court

Currently, Spring Breaker’s are allowed to drink outside of establishments. What does this mean? Higher chances of drinking and driving incidents and mindless behavior. There should be in ordinance in place that does not allow drinking outside of an establishment. If these laws are broken kids should be subject to the old “Kangaroo Court.” Make them pick up trash and bottles down Front Beach Road. Not only would you have cleaner streets but fewer drunken kids walking them.

Hospitality Training

Hospitality Training in its simplest form is really just knowing how to manage and host a group. As of right now, Panama City Beach severely lacks in standardized hospitality training and is in need of the service. Too often Spring Breakers are met with authority that is too laxed or too eager to punish. As Mr. Hilton, extensively experienced in hospitality, said; “we have to learn to hold the reins just enough to let them know they can have fun but there is someone else in control.” Panama City Beach is essentially trying to handle Spring Break based on past experience. It is time that we have training to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Provide More Activities

When Spring Breaker’s come to Panama City Beach, they come with a semester’s worth of bridled energy ready to explode. Frankly, there aren’t many things for them to explode onto except hotels and the few attractions Panama City Beach offers. In PCB’s golden years there was Miracle Strip and various small attractions that provided breakers something to do other than hit the clubs, hit the strip and hit each other.

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