HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 7.3 Food Wine Art Event~~~~ Off' nU~~~
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DATE:
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT
STAFF REPORT
CITY COUNCIL
CITY CLERK
File #950-40
April 17, 2012
Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
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Joni Pattillo, City Manager ° ~'
Branding and Promotions Plan for the New Food, Wine and Art Event
Prepared by Ann Mottola, Heritage and Cultural Arts Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Council will consider the proposed branding and promotions plan for the new food,
wine and art event that will be held on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at Emerald Glen Park.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding has been proposed for the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 budget to implement the proposed
plan with a net cost of $70,000 in the first year. This does not include the costs for Police, Fire or
Public Works to provide support services for the event. This figures does not included the one-
time costs associated with the incorporation of the 30t" Anniversary Celebration fireworks show
and main-stage headliner.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council receive the report, select the preferred event logo, and adopt
the Budget Change in the amount of $35,779 for part-time seasonal staffing costs and deposits
for fireworks and entertainment that will be expended in the current fiscal year.
;~
Submitted B Reviewed By
Director of Park~and Assistant City Manager
Community Services
DESCRIPTION:
The City of Dublin is planning to launch a new food, wine and art festival to be held on
September 22, 2012 at Emerald Glen Park. This event is being planned as a one day event
attracting both a local and regional audience.
In November 2011, the City Council approved, in concept, an innovative spin on a food, wine
and art festival. In addition to showcasing outstanding Tri-Valley wines, the diverse cuisine of
Page 1 of 5 ITEM NO. 7.3
Dublin and the region, and art and music in the beautiful outdoor setting of Emerald Glen Park,
this event also proposed cutting edge activities related to food, wine and art.
This proposed new event will capture the excitement of the food entertainment industry with the
inclusion of culinary performance stages and mobile food trucks as featured attractions. The
event also captures the growing popularity and resurgence of Farmers' Markets and organic
foods, and regional food-centric sensibilities such as Alice Waters' "Slow Food" movement. Also
part of this event concept is art as entertainment, with the creation of large-scale artworks on-
site during the event.
This festival will take a novel approach to food, wine and art by presenting experiences where
the culinary and fine arts processes are the entertainment. The event will include more than a
culinary and arts marketplace and staged musical performance. The event will include, as its
focal point, staged culinary entertainment and artwork built on site for the audience to enjoy, and
in some cases, participate in. This is something that is not happening on any sort of a regular
basis in the Bay Area, and will be unique to Dublin.
This report provides an overview of the proposed promotions plan and provides two options for
the new event identity for consideration by the City Council.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The target demographic for this event is rather inclusive in terms of age range. But the event
experience and the financial model for the event take into consideration attendance by
customers who can participate in the fee-based food and wine sampling.
The current City of Dublin Demographic Snapshot Report indicates that nearly 63% of the city
population includes young adults through active seniors (24 to 64 years of age). Of this adult
group, nearly 59% are between 25 - 44 years of age. This is also the fastest growing population
demographic. What is also known about this population segment is that they pursue active
leisure and cultural activities and use Internet-based technology to research their choices.
As Dublin grows, festivals provide a uniquely positive opportunity for new residents to engage in
their community. Events also provide an opportunity to bridge the gap between existing and new
residents.
In order to retain the interest of the target audience, and from the standpoint of event longevity,
it is important that the event be relevant from year to year. The ability to retool and reinvent an
event and its logo from year to year is a tested method of keeping events fresh and exciting to
participants.
The intention of the overall marketing plan is to also attract more of the active adult community
to the event from the Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley regions.
EVENT BRANDING PLAN
The branding plan for this event is composed of three elements: the brand message; the logo or
graphic identity; and the marketing strategy.
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The Brand. The Message.
The brand doesn't tell you what a product is as much as prepare you for what you will
experience. Advertising mogul David Ogilvy defines a brand as "the intangible sum of a
product's attributes: its name, packaging, and price -its history, its reputation, and the way it is
advertised". The intangible sum is the perception people have of a product. It's a combination of
the visual, auditory and other sensory components that create recognition and memorability of a
product or service.
The brand is representative of who we are and what we can offer. The brand conveys this idea
in methods that make the customer choose Dublin's festival over the abundance of other
festivals that one can select to attend on any given weekend.
So what are Dublin's attributes as it relates to this particular festival product the City should sell?
• Dublin is a community ideally located in the Livermore Valley wine region.
• Dublin is also in an area that, from an arts standpoint, is exceptional. Dublin is known for its
world-class public art collection. The element of art is an authentic part of Dublin's
progressive cultural identity.
• Dublin is a community with a significant market segment that seeks active experiences as
evidenced by the 2008 Parks and Community Services Strategic Plan.
• We are a community that already has the reputation for producing one of the largest themed
festivals, the St. Patrick's Day Celebration, in a manner that sets the City apart from others in
terms of event production.
As Staff began to construct what this event will look like, it became clear that there are many
progressive elements that will set this festival apart from the many food, wine and art festivals
that take place regionally. The new event promises to be progressive, edgy and to have a "wow
factor" by activating aspects of the elements of food, art and wine rather than creating a passive
event experience. This is not a conventional event production. As Staff further developed the
concept for this event design, a guiding principal was to make a statement that this event is truly
unique to Dublin and cannot be found elsewhere.
In creating the Festival brand, Staff is intentional about conveying one consistent concept that
all elements will relate back to. "This is not your ordinary food, wine and art festival."
The Event Logo
The logo is a key component of the brand. In general, a successful brand is memorable and
aesthetically pleasing. It has a breakthrough quality, that is, it stands out in the midst of other
logos. It evokes positive emotions and is an impetus for inquiry, curiosity, and discovery.
As with most things creative, there is no "correct" answer. So the selection of a logo is
somewhat of a multiple choice where no one answer is better than the others. It's just different.
While both of the logos presented have in common a playfulness and unconventional graphic for
a food, wine and art event, they offer two different approaches to logo development. The
question is: which one best articulates that this is not your ordinary food, wine and art
festival?
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• splatter...not your ordinary food, wine and art festival.. The first option (Attachments 1
and 2) is the most dynamic and enduring option, and the recommendation of the Parks and
Community Services Commission and Staff for the preferred logo. Splatter is common to all
three elements of the event. Food splatters. Wine splatters. Art and paint splatters. Splatter
is connotative of fun. And yet the presentation has a stylized urban edge to it. It is evocative
of the environment the event-goer will encounter. Least conventional, it allows the consumer
to write the story. It sells the expressive nature of all elements as art. It also has a more
provocative first impression. It creates more immediate curiosity about the event. In non-
measured field testing of these two event logos, "splatter" was well received among the
target audience of 25 to 44 year olds. The comments were that it seemed "urban," "forward,"
and made the viewer curious about what they might find at the event.
• Dublin CRUSH...what's not to love? The second option (Attachment 3) is intended to
create an emotional connection with what one might encounter at the festival. Food, wine
and art are all indulgences that people crave and "love." Love is synonymous with crush.
There is also an added subtext of community pride. It's a Dublin crush... a crush on Dublin.
The logo is a direct appropriation of the City shamrock brand. The shamrock is broken into
three hearts, each one celebrating a focus area of the festival. So the "crush" can be a love
of place, my place, my town as well as love of the three indulgences celebrated at this
festival.
The Commission recommended approval of the `splatter...' logo by a vote of 5-1-0, with the
recommendation that the elements be revised so that it is not as busy.
The preferred logo alternative will become the unique identity of the celebration and will remain
a constant in promotional materials from year to year. This logo will be on all promotional
materials such as the website, cable television ads, newspaper and magazine ads, e-
newsletters, press releases, flyers and the poster. It will also be on event signs, decorations,
nametags, staff shirts, etc.
ADVERTISING. CALLING ATTENTION TO THE NEW BRAND
Since there is a generational distribution in trends of where the various population segments find
their entertainment and leisure information, the marketing and advertising plan includes a broad
variety of outlets.
Cross Promotions. This is an event that can gain momentum with pre-event promotions in
partnership with the local restaurant and hotel communities. Promotional opportunities will be
developed with the intent to include in the festival those restaurants who actually cannot
physically participate at the event. Also, we have already had preliminary discussions with the
Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau to create on-line competitions for destination
packages that include a stay in Dublin and promotional package for the festival.
Radio Advertising. Radio advertising will be primarily on KKIQ in the Tri-Valley. Staff is
exploring opportunities to expand radio advertising given the volume of commuter traffic in the
Tri-Valley and Bay Areas. On air PSA's will be crafted to play with the selected event name.
Electronic Promotions and Social Media. The target demographic uses the Internet to search
for event options. Therefore, in addition to creating an official event webpage and electronic
promotions in online event calendars, a Facebook page is proposed. Staff will also look for
synergies with online travel and leisure sites.
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Television Advertising. Staff has already secured NBC-11 as a major media sponsor. Staff will
also explore partnerships with Comcast.
Print Media. Press releases will be widely distributed to publish human interest stories and
calendar listings in newspapers, magazines and other specialized publications such as Via,
Diablo, Sunset and Bay Area Parent Magazines. Staff is exploring opportunities to place ads in
travel sections of regional print media, such as San Francisco Gate and Sacramento Bee.
Festival e-Newsletters. An event e-newsletter will be distributed featuring human interest
stories and event highlights. Distribution will target groups and organizations that will likely share
the newsletter with their members, such as business and tourism organizations, neighborhood
groups and homeowner associations, educational institutions and organizations, non-profit
organizations. The newsletters will also be emailed to over 12,000 households registered on
the DublinRecGuide.com website.
Other Promotional Resources. Staff will use all of the traditional promotional resources
available such as the website, electronic reader boards, displays and flyers at City facilities, and
mailings to businesses and residents. Promotional materials will also be distributed to the Dublin
Chamber of Commerce and the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
A copy of this Staff Report was sent to the Parks and Community Services Commission.
ATTACHMENTS: 1. splatter...not your ordinary food, wine & art festival (full logo graphic)
2. splatter...not your ordinary food, wine & art festival (logo variation for
marketing collateral, i.e. web banner ad, T-shirt design
3. Dublin CRUSH...what's not to love? (full logo graphic)
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