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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022 Centrum RFP 2022 Proposal Checklist for Tourism Promotion Activities Organization Name Centrum Event Name, if different Proposed Contract Amount: $40,000 Proposals must completely address the questions, and all requested supplemental information must be provided. Incomplete or late proposals will not be considered by the Jefferson County LTAC. To be eligible for consideration, your application must be signed, dated, and include the following items in the listed order. Check each item submitted: X Signed and Dated Proposal Summary Sheet X Section 1 - Itemized list of proposed services and estimated costs. X Section 2 - Proposal Questions. X Section 3 - Proposed 2022 promotion, facility, event or activity budget. X Section 3 – 2021 budget and year-to-date income and expense statement(s). X Section 3 - List of names and addresses of the organization’s current Board of Directors. Name and contact information for event chairperson, if applicable. XSection 3 - Optional work samples such as season brochures, promotional materials, reviews, news/magazine articles, etc. (maximum of 5 separate pieces) To be considered, a fully completed and signed original application with supporting documents must be received and date stamped at the Jefferson County Administrator’s Office, 1820 Jefferson Street, P.O. Box 1220, Port Townsend, WA 98368 by October 29, 2021. Documents submitted to the County are public records, potentially eligible for release. 2022 Proposal Checklist for Tourism Promotion Activities Proposal Deadline: October 29, 2021 at 4:30 pm (received, not postmarked) Address To: Jefferson County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1220, Port Townsend WA 98368 Delivery Address: Jefferson County, County Administrator’s Office, 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Organization Name Centrum Organization Address PO Box 1158, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Contact Name Katya Kirsch Contact Address PO Box 1158, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Day Phone 360-385-3102 X 140 Evening or Cell Phone NA E-Mail Address kkirsch@centrum.org Facility/Event (if applicable) Total Lodging Tax Request: $: 40,000 Estimated 2022 org. operating budget (Incl. Lodging Tax funds) $:___3,717,306_______ If asking for funds for a specific event, list other cash funding sources and dollar amounts budgeted for this project. Note: This section is only due for specific event and festival funding requests. Dollar Amount $ $ $ $ $ $ Total Project Revenue Budget $ Did your organization receive Lodging Tax Funds from the County in 2021? _____yes _____ no I understand that if my organization’s proposal for tourism promotion activities is approved by the County that my organization will enter into a contract with the County to provide the contracted services up to the maximum contract amount. I understand that the proposal herein is a public record potentially eligible for public release. Sign Name: Date: 10/28/2021 Print Name and Title: Katya Kirsch, Development Officer Please type (10 point or larger) or legibly print in ink. To be considered: all questions must be answered; all requested documents provided; this form must be signed and dated. 1 Tourist promotion program funding request of $40,000 for 2022 to Jefferson County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee 1. Tell us about your promotion, event or activity and why you think it will increase tourists traveling to and staying in Jefferson County. Centrum respectfully requests continuing support from Jefferson County lodging tax funds for year-round marketing and promotions to visitors from outside of Jefferson County in 2022. Founded in 1974, Centrum provides creative multi-generational experiences that change lives. In 2019 (the last full non-pandemic year), Centrum served 28,187 people via 19 immersive residential workshops, 45 public events, and 150 artist residencies. Our visitors came from 17 countries, 45 U.S. states, and 77% of counties in Washington. 298 artists served as Centrum faculty teaching artists in 2019—a majority from the Pacific Northwest region. Of these totals, nearly 11,000 people attended Centrum in-person performances, from 38 U.S. states, and seven foreign countries. Centrum’s programs feature a wide diversity of artists and world cultures, fulfilling (in part) the organization’s vision to build a world of greater civility and inclusion through the arts. Jefferson County LTAC funds have been instrumental in helping Centrum reach audiences from outside of Jefferson County through strategic promotions in global trade journals, regional radio and television stations, and social media outlets which allow us to target our advertising to explicit regions or countries. Our week-long immersive workshops serve participants from ages 4 to 98, where aspiring artists live, learn, play, create, dance, sing, and write alongside ‘standard bearers’ of a wide array of cultural traditions. Programs include Jazz Port Townsend, Brazilian Choro, Chamber Music, Voice Works, Fiddle Tunes, Port Townsend Writers Conference, Acoustic Blues Festival, Ukulele, Red Hot Strings, and six “Young Artist Project” programs (with 500 Washington students, teachers, and chaperones mostly from outside Jefferson County), Artist Residencies, a Creative Aging Conference, and an arts and lectures series. Public performances and events allow audiences to participate in and celebrate our programs. We’ve learned a lot during the pandemic about effective means to translate what we do in- person to an online format. We don’t favor online learning, but being forced into this realm since March 2000, we have realized that incorporating distance learning into our campus-based programs offers Centrum the possibility to double or triple its impact in upcoming years. To this end, we invested $236,000 in new broadcast technologies this year to make online participation a permanent element in most of our programs beginning in 2022. 2 2. If this is a continuing promotion, facility or event, how is it different than in the past? We have a three-pronged strategy for our promotions in 2022, focused on sustaining, innovating, and growing our attendance. SUSTAINING INNOVATING GROWING Continue high-level print promotions that keep Centrum and its offerings top-of-mind A three-fold increase in digital advertising strategies from 2019, responding to changing consumer habits & heightened use of mobile technologies Growth marketing will focus on new advertising outlets to increase our identity and awareness with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). (Seattle Medium, Metro Homemaker, Tacoma True Citizen and Portland Medium, as examples) Global trade journals (Downbeat Magazine, Poets & Writers, Living Blues, etc.) Digital ads on Facebook, Google (AdWords), and interest-group websites and newsletters targeted to reach wider geographic audiences. Print promotions on Puget Sound and Port Angeles-Victoria ferries Oregon’s 1859 and Washington’s 1889 Statehood Media magazines Focus: to shift the majority of our outreach to digital platforms as we build a vast resource of video-rich content through broadcast technologies from Fort Worden State Park Digital ads via Asian Weekly, on Facebook, and directed to reach new and broader communities of people. Focus: rebuilding broad-based market share after two years of online-only activity Focus: to build new markets and reach into new communities to grow awareness of Centrum and opportunities to participate in our programs online and in- person. Centrum is planning a hybrid-model for workshops, performances, and events in 2022. All on- campus faculty and participants will be required to have current proof of vaccination. A portion of every program will be offered online for those who can’t or wish not to travel, or who elect not to receive a vaccine. We envision up to five hours of daily presentations to be available by livestream online during our larger workshops, which will sustain a premium on the 24/7 in- person experience while also serving to promote the value and richness of planning to participate in-person here in Jefferson County in future years. During the pandemic, Centrum launched four new podcast channels which, to date, have garnered over 90,000 downloads. 2022 video broadcasts will be available to those who register for our programs for an extended period (likely 90 days) following each program. This has the added advantage of allowing every participant, whether visiting Port Townsend or online, to benefit from every class we offer via our archived broadcasts. This was not possible in the past. Due to performance rights and other copyright issues, we are not planning to broadcast live performances—only our classroom offerings, which is the core of what we do. 3 3. Describe how you intend to market/promote your promotion, facility, event or activity to potential tourists who reside outside Jefferson County. Centrum is planning more than $70,000 in marketing campaign expenses for 2022 (including out-of-county and in-county marketing). Simply put, we are reversing our ratio of online and print promotions from 2019, shifting our emphasis to 70% digital marketing, and 30% print. Digital platforms allow us to track engagement and run “A/B” test campaigns as well, which helps us to hone our choices of images and messaging to be most effective. We began this shift in 2020 and 2021. We feel our digital advertising reaches far more predisposed audiences and—based on demographic shifts here in the Northwest and nationally—we believe the long- term reliance on high-end trade journals is likely to decrease in productivity as younger markets turn away from traditional forms of media and get nearly 100% of their news and advertising from online sources. Our 2022 campaigns will coincide with a complete redesign of our website for 2022 (costs for which are not included in this project proposal) which will build upon our strong search engine optimization and functionality and increase out-of-state web traffic from people seeking to travel to events and workshops in the Northwest. New digital ads will primarily be targeted through Facebook, Instagram, and Google ads, explicitly targeted outside Jefferson County, which (based on our 2020 and 2021 results) we expect to reach 65,000-100,000 people in targeted demographics for every $1,000 spent. Our approach includes: • Following a consumer shift towards staying at home, shopping from home, and benchmarking with established industry trends, Centrum will continue our shift towards digital ads to improve efficiency and performance, lower costs, and track and control ad performance. • Limited print magazine ads early in the year will be designed to drive workshops registrations, while also communicating potential programming format changes related to our hybrid offerings. • Public relations, e-newsletters, print brochure mailings, and traditional (i.e. regional newspaper/media) marketing will remain mostly similar as in prior years. • Marketing and promotions will be year-round, primarily from January through July 2022. Because Centrum programs are often for one week, overnight stays in Jefferson County are required by most visitors. 4 4. How will you measure the effectiveness of your promotion, facility, event or activity? Also, describe how you will document and report to the County the economic impact from your event/facility. Centrum maintains detailed records of registered workshop participants, artist faculty, and ticket buyers. We review weekly multi-year reports, all year, to track the trajectory and pace of demand for our programs. These are shared at weekly meetings to the entire staff. Our data allows us to “see” whether outreach efforts are successful and gives us opportunities to pivot— where necessary—to curtail unnecessary spending or bolster efforts based on consumer response. Our data includes numbers of participants and audiences, as well as (on an annual basis) responses to required survey questions for online ticket buyers that reveal the estimated number of nights of lodging in Jefferson County from out-of-town visitors. During 2019 (the most recent full non-pandemic year): • Online ticket survey respondents reported, while attending Centrum performances, visitors from 21 states and 3 foreign countries reported staying 1,474 nights at paid lodging - hotels, motels, and/or inns outside of Fort Worden State Park. • Ascribing this rate to our annual attendance conservatively, we forecast that Centrum fueled more than 3,000 nights of lodging in Jefferson County outside of Fort Worden State Park in 2019. • Given the global nature of our visitors, it has not been possible to distinguish nuances such as lodging in vs. out of unincorporated Jefferson County, though we know by anecdote that Centrum guests do stay, in some cases, well outside of eastern Jefferson County. • Additionally, and separate from the above data, Centrum estimates that our workshop participants account for approximately 10,000 bed nights at Fort Worden State Park. Centrum will measure the effectiveness of its promotions and events by: • Meeting or exceeding annual goals for online and/or in-person workshop participant enrollment. • Meeting or exceeding annual goals for ticket sales to regional and national audiences. • Reviewing participant evaluations following each workshop, including how participants heard about the workshops. (Centrum has a very high return survey rate, which helps shape future offerings). • Staff briefings to share participant feedback, production results, community input, whether needs were met, and changes to make in the future. 5 5. What economic impact can we expect in Jefferson County from your proposed promotion, facility, event or activity? We feel that Centrum is one of the most effective and far-reaching marketing arms for Jefferson County and Port Townsend. Relationships between Centrum, Jefferson County, the City of Port Townsend, and Fort Worden State Park are mutually beneficial. In non-pandemic years Centrum programs are one of the largest economic engines for Jefferson County, bringing thousands of tourists to Jefferson County, some of the greatest diversity of guests, and the largest quantity of repeat visitors and overnight guests at the park. Most Centrum visitors stay in Jefferson County for up to six nights per visit. Centrum has many visitors from the I-5 corridor and throughout the U.S. They learn about and come to Centrum via advertising, word-of-mouth, and our professional faculty artists who are emissaries for Centrum and Jefferson County. Stories abound about Centrum’s importance for the region’s artists, residents, students, and the tourism industry. Many people say Centrum is the reason they moved to Port Townsend. Centrum had a steady rate of growth for our workshops since 1990, generating more than $1.2 million of tuition, lodging and food services at Fort Worden State Park in a traditional year. Also, 79% of individual charitable donations to Centrum come from families living outside of Jefferson County. Centrum worked with William Beyers, Professor Emeritus/Department of Geography/University of Washington in 2012 to calculate annual economic impact by Centrum. It was estimated that Centrum’s participants and audiences generated $3.126 million in expenditures annually, with 1/3 remaining in Jefferson County ($1.042 million). Our annual economic impact equates to 86 FTEs. We project that Centrum will provide $1.157 million in paid wages/benefits for 32 people in 2022, including Centrum’s staff/faculty artists. Centrum Itemized List of Proposed Tourism Promotion Services in 2022 National, International, and Regional Publications and Promotions Jazz Times Magazine, Jan./Feb. and April 2022. Circulation 70,000 magazine readers. $1,950 Olympic Peninsula Getaway Guide, spring display ad edition. Circulation of 200,000 including Washington State Ferries. $800 KUOW-FM, 36 underwriting announcements, Spring/Summer 2022. 445,200 listeners in Washington each week. 57% of listener household’s annual income over $75,000. $9,000 Seattle Medium, Metro Homemaker, Tacoma True Citizen and Portland Medium promotion allowance to be negotiated employing print and digital advertising across each platform (one ownership) $5,000 Poets and Writers Magazine, quarter page display ads, Jan./Feb., March/April, and May/June 2022. Circulation 100,000 people throughout the US. $2,580 DownBeat Magazine, display ads March 2022 Jazz Camp Guide and May 2020 Summer Festival Guide. Circulation 68,000 people throughout the US who love jazz. $1,900 Writer’s Chronicle, quarter page display ad, spring 2022. Circulation 35,000 copies with an estimated readership of 54,000 people throughout the U.S. $700 Victoria Jazz Festival program guide, half page display ad, Audience: 43,000 people. $1,400 Acoustic Guitar Magazine, two display ads, April 2022, including website. 54,000 readers throughout the US who like blues and other guitars styles. $1,700 Living Blues Magazine, display ad, April 2022. Circulation of 16,000 throughout US. $1,200 JazzED Magazine, 1/3-page display ad, Mar. 2022. Circulation 13,000 jazz educators. $800 Printing of 8,000 season brochures promoting all Centrum programs for direct mail throughout Washington and U.S. Distribution starting April 2022 at Jefferson County Visitor Information Center, Port Townsend Visitor Information Center, B&Bs and hotels in Jefferson County, and more. $9,000 Earshot Jazz Magazine, two 2/3-page ads June/July 2022. Circulation 6,000 Seattle. $750 JEN Conference, (Jazz Education Network), 1/3-page ad in program guide, circulation 5,000, conference held January 5-8, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. $500 Old-time Herald Magazine, full page inside cover color ad (fiddle tunes) and half page color ad (Voice Works), May 2022. Readership: 4,000 people throughout the US. $1,300 Fiddler Magazine, Full page ad, spring 2020. Readership: 3,000 people in the US. $400 Wintergrass Music Festival program guide, full page ad, 3,000 people in Bellevue, Washington February 24-27, 2022. $450 Facebook targeted digital ads to areas beyond Jefferson County. Estimated annual reach: 100 million views $8,000 The Facts, weekly newspaper for Black communities in Seattle. Circulation 80,000. 3 column inch ad for three months. $810 Northwest Asian Weekly, weekly newspaper for Asian communities in Seattle. Circulation 9,500. $1,226 KNKX-FM, 42 underwriting announcements, April /May 2020. 330,000 listeners throughout western Washington each week. $9,000 Total expenses (out-of-county marketing) $58,466 Total requested from JCLTAC $40,000 This budget only includes promotions outside of Jefferson County 10:40 AM 09/02/21 Accrual Basis Centrum Profit & Loss Budget Overview January through December 2021 Page 1 of 1 2021 Budget Ordinary Income/Expense Income 4010 · Individual Contributions 1,570,000.00 4030 · Business Contributions 37,000.00 4230 · Private Foundation Grants 265,000.00 4520 · Government Grants 403,220.00 5120 · Ticket Income 33,750.00 5170 · Contracted Services 35,000.00 5180-05 · Residency Fees 22,000.00 5180 · Workshop Registration Fees 388,965.00 5190 · Workshop Participants - Other 12,600.00 5320 · Dividends & interest-securities 7,000.00 5400 · Concessions/Merchandise/Advert 3,350.00 5800 · Special Events 47,500.00 Total Income 2,825,385.00 Gross Profit 2,825,385.00 Expense 7000 · Grant & contract expense 800.00 7200 · Salaries & related expenses 1,176,823.00 7501 · Professional Services-Artistic 360,743.00 7502 · Professional Services-Other 107,350.00 8102 · Marketing and Promotion 118,749.00 8103 · Office Expenses 196,555.00 8114 · Program Fees - Participants 59,200.00 8115 · Program Expenses 57,669.00 8200 · Facility & equipment expenses 257,852.00 8300 · Travel & meetings expenses 14,944.00 8500 · Other expenses 98,386.00 Total Expense 2,449,071.00 Net Ordinary Income 376,314.00 Net Income 376,314.00 11:42 AM 10/26/21 Accrual Basis Centrum Profit & Loss January through September 2021 Jan - Sep 21 Ordinary Income/Expense Income 4010 ꞏ Individual Contributions $1,071,285 4030 ꞏ Business Contributions $33,505 4230 ꞏ Private Foundation Grants $277,650 4520 ꞏ Government Grants $921,132 * 5120 ꞏ Ticket Income $39,028 5170 ꞏ Contracted Services $18,334 5180-05 ꞏ Residency Fees $11,883 5180 ꞏ Workshop Registration Fees $221,740 5190 ꞏ Workshop Participants - Other $7,086 5320 ꞏ Dividends & interest-securities $8,094 5400 ꞏ Concessions/Merchandise/Advert $894 Total Income $2,610,630 Gross Profit $2,610,630 Expense 7000 ꞏ Grant & contract expense $8 7200 ꞏ Salaries & related expenses $859,353 7501 ꞏ Professional Services-Artistic $293,102 7502 ꞏ Professional Services-Other $68,414 8102 ꞏ Marketing and Promotion $55,832 8103 ꞏ Office Expenses $96,897 8114 ꞏ Program Fees - Participants $13,732 8115 ꞏ Program Expenses $23,370 8200 ꞏ Facility & equipment expenses $175,780 8300 ꞏ Travel & meetings expenses $3,006 8500 ꞏ Other expenses $75,464 Total Expense $1,664,959 Net Ordinary Income $945,671 Other Income/Expense Other Income 6800 ꞏ Gains (Losses)$45,891 Total Other Income $45,891 Net Other Income $45,891 Net Income $991,562 *Includes one-time PPP Covid relief and one-time Shuttered Venues Operating Grant to compensate for a 95% reduction in earned revenues during 2020 and 2021 Page 1 of 1 Centrum Board of Directors President • Leah Mitchell, Arts Patron / Marketing Consultant Port Townsend Vice-President • Scott Wilson, Former Port Townsend Leader Owner/Publisher Port Townsend Secretary • David Rinn, Retired CFO / Cure HHT Port Townsend/Seattle Treasurer • Mark Hamby, Retired CEO / KMS Financial Services Seattle, WA Robert Alexander, Insurance Executive Bainbridge Island Thomas Armitage, Attorney Seattle Terry Bergeson, Former Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tacoma Jeanie Cardon, Retired Insurance Professional Poulsbo James Costello, Retired Educator & Mayor / Arts Patron Port Townsend Kris Easterday, President / Easterday Promotions Port Townsend Loni Greninger, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Council Vice-Chair/Deputy Director Social & Community Services / Sequim Malcolm Harris, Attorney / Musician Seattle John Kennedy, Principal, SKL Architects Seattle Renee Klein, Owner, Madrona Mind/Body Port Townsend Edmund W. Littlefield, Jr., President, Sage Arts / Musician Arlington Walter Parsons, President BMR Associates / Media Consultant Port Townsend Catharine Robinson, Therapist /Jumping Mouse Port Townsend Ralph Sabin, Venture Capitalist / Health Care Seattle Sam Shoen, Private Investment Manager Port Townsend Sally Warren, Visual Artist / Consultant Port Townsend/Dallas