HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 7.1 Farmer's Market 2011 Report~~~~ Off' nU~~~
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DATE:
TO
FROM:
STAFF REPORT
CITY CLERK
File #470-50
December 6, 2011
Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
Joni Pattillo, City Manager ° ~'" r
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SUBJECT: Farmers' Market 2011 Report
Prepared by Linda Smith-Maurer, Economic Development Director/Public
Information Officer
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City recently completed its first year of the Dublin Farmers' Market at Emerald Glen Park.
Staff will present a wrap up report of the first year and update the City Council on the findings
from the Market survey, as well as provide suggestions for improvements for next year's Market.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council accept the report and provide any direction regarding
next year's Dublin Farmers' Market.
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f Submitted By
Economic Development Director
DESCRIPTION:
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Reviewed By
Assistant City Manager
In January 2011, the City received approval from the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association
(PCFMA) to begin a seasonal market in Dublin. The City entered into an Operating Agreement
with PCFMA in March 2011, which allocated a fee of $10,000 to PCFMA for operations and
marketing. Additionally, the City provided staff support to provide additional programming and
activities in conjunction with the Market.
The Dublin Farmers' Market opened on May 12, 2011 with more than 3,000 people in
attendance to kick off the season. Attendance remained strong during the early season of the
Market and generally declined throughout the remainder of the season. This attendance trend
is typical of a new market but also is typical of more established markets as well. One of the
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key driving attendance factors at the onset of any market is the vast amount of fruits available,
particularly cherries and strawberries in late spring. From mid-May through September, the
Dublin Market averaged 1,500 attendees.
While these attendance numbers were strong for a first year market, Dublin Market shoppers did
not spend as anticipated. This resulted in some vendors dropping out during the season due to
low sales. These spending numbers were further validated in the customer survey that the
PCFMA conducted in June 2011, the results of which are summarized below:
Customer Survey Results
The PCFMA surveyed 352 Market attendees on June 30, 2011, the eighth week of the Market.
The following is a summary of the key findings:
• The City created this Market to be a community event which provided social opportunities
for residents. The City created additional programming to support the Market activities
and it apparently worked. Only 29% of shoppers were shopping alone; 69% were
shopping with one or more adult companions. Seventy-two percent of shoppers resided
in Dublin.
• 76% of the respondents indicated that the Farmers' Market was the only reason that they
were in the area and at Emerald Glen Park.
• Dublin customers spent, on average, $26.61 at the Market. This is comparable to the
well-established Berkeley Farmers' Market; however, household income in Dublin is
about double that of Berkeley. One reason why spending may not have been higher was
the large number of respondents cited that they "ran out of cash" as the reason for not
spending more at the Market.
• One-third of the market-goers take the "green" way to the Market (29% walk; 2% bike;
4% carpool)
• Market visibility ("passed by and saw it") is low relative to most other farmers' markets.
• In the comments portion of the survey, respondents were very positive about the Dublin
Market and hoped that it will continue on a yearly basis.
In September 2011, Staff met with the President and the Regional Manager of the PCFMA to
evaluate the success of the first year of the new Dublin Market, and to find out how to improve
the Farmers' Market in 2012. To summarize, the PCFMA was very pleased with the first year of
this market and would like to return in 2012, putting into practice some of the lessons learned of
what worked and areas for future improvement to make 2012 an even better market year.
City Supported Programming/Activities
1. Theme Weeks
In proposing the Dublin Market for 2011, Staff consulted with the PCFMA to determine ways to
highly program the weekly event to ensure the broadest support and participation possible. In
order to create this consistency of support and to draw the widest number of residents, "theme
weeks" were created.
Overall, Staff believes that the inclusion of these events helped to draw participation from
throughout the community with certain theme nights being more popular than others. The
following is a summary of what worked, as well as areas for future improvement:
What Worked:
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• "First Thursday" events, featuring wine tastings and a free staged concert, had much
higher attendance than other theme nights.
• "Family Nights" were also very popular, particularly with parents who have young
children. These activities included crafts, balloon animal making with Crackers the
Clown, face painting and other activities and/or shows and performers.
• "Community Night" was very successful, depending on the groups performing. When
students and children's groups performed, attendance ballooned, as the parents and
extended family members of the performers tagged along.
Area of Future Improvement:
• "Healthy Dublin Night" was not a big draw. It was determined that the guided walks, the
exercise demonstrations, and the health screenings were not reason enough to go to the
Market. Attendees, however, did enjoy the "Cooking at the Market" events, which were
held two of the six Healthy Dublin Nights.
2. Marketing Efforts
Staff used a variety of methods to publicize the new Dublin Farmers' Market and to increase
spending at the Market.
Publicity/Public Relations:
• Staff issued press releases and other media advisories to local newspapers and online
media sources (Dublin Patch) featured stories on the Market's Grand Opening, as well as
weekly updates and news flashes posted on the City's website, the Tri-Valley CVB
website, Dublin Patch, and KKIQ Radio.
• Flyers, posters and postcards were created and distributed to schools and businesses
throughout the City.
Paid Advertising:
• To assist with the declining attendance of the Market, the City ran athree-week radio ad
campaign on KKIQ, which included an onsite promotion to the September 1 "First
Thursday" event. The three-week promotion included an offer of $5.00 "carrot cash" to
the first 100 visitors to the Market's Information Booth each week. The advertising on
KKIQ cost $2,250.
• The City paid $400 for a'/4 page advertisement in the September and October editions of
the "Your Town Monthly" circular. The ad featured a coupon for $2.00 in "carrot cash,"
redeemable at the Information Booth.
In addition to the work of Staff relative to marketing, the PCFMA also initiated several methods
to attract visitors to Market.
Direct Mail:
• The PCFMA created a direct mailer which went out to over 9,000 households in Dublin,
reflecting five segments of the population. The mailer had a coupon attached for $3.00 in
Market "carrot cash."
Social Media:
• The PCFMA established a "Dublin Farmers' Market" Facebook page to publicize the
happenings at the Market.
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Email Newsletter:
• The Market Manager collected email addresses of Market-goers (those who stopped by
the Information Booth) and sent out a monthly newsletter, featuring the upcoming
attractions at the Farmers' Market.
Frequent Buyer Card:
• The PCFMA created a "Frequent Buyer Card," in which shoppers could have a card
punched each week when they spent $5 at the Market. After every four weeks of
punches, consumers received free goody bags filled with kitchen utensils.
Marketina Results
What Worked:
• From comments provided by the survey participants, the flyers and City's website
seemed to be the most effective means of publicizing the Market.
• The "Your Town Monthly" advertisements were a big success. For the two months that
the circular's ad appeared, the Information Booth was very busy with shoppers
redeeming their $2 in "carrot cash."
• The "Frequent Buyer" cards were very popular with attendees. There was always a
steady stream of shoppers asking to have their cards punched each week.
o This promotion also drove people to the Information Booth, where the Market
managers could probe shoppers on their likes and dislikes of the Market. Overall
comments were very positive.
Areas for Future Improvement:
• The direct mailer, sent by the PCFMA, was not effective. Only a small percentage of the
mailers were returned for the "carrot cash."
• The KKIQ Radio promotion did not seem to help increase Market attendance or
spending. Less than 20% of the 300 - $5 "carrot cash" vouchers were redeemed from
the radio promotion. Attendance also did not increase after the radio promotion.
• While Facebook can be a powerful marketing tool, Staff believes that it was not
effectively used this year to promote the Dublin Farmers' Market.
Recommendations for 2012:
Based on the assessment work completed by Staff and the PCFMA, Staff is recommending that
the following changes be made for next year's Dublin Farmers' Market:
• Expand the "Your Town Monthly" advertisements with redeemable "carrot cash."
• Better promote and utilize the PCFMA Facebook page to attract more residents to the
Market.
• Investigate bringing an ATM to the Market to provide easy access to cash for increased
spending at the Market.
• Increase the Market's visibility for "drive by" traffic by increasing signage in and around
the Tassajara Road/Central Parkway corridor.
• Create a marketing campaign that is directed at businesses located office complexes and
campuses, such as Gateway Medical Plaza, Dublin Corporate Center, Creekside
Business Park, Emerald Point, and Sybase, in an effort to catch the daytime workforce
population after work hours.
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• Retain all of the Theme Nights, with the exception of Healthy Dublin. Staff recommends
the creation of a replacement event.
• Consider shifting the season of the market slightly from May to October to late April to
September. This would require additional discussion with the PCFMA, particularly as it
relates to starting sooner, given that one of the key draws of the Market opening was the
abundance of cherries. Staff would want to ensure that cherries are ready when the
Market would open.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
A copy of the Staff Report was made available to the Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
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