The Marketing Committee of the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District (BID) Board of Directors assists the BID staff in overseeing the district’s overall strategic direction in the areas of marketing, branding and communications. Specifically, the Committee shall provide support and feedback for overall comprehensive marketing and communications strategy for the business improvement district; partner with staff to offer feedback on a consistent and active communication/marketing strategy to all stakeholders for the purposes of program messaging, advertising, awareness and branding.
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February 2023 Marketing Committee Recap
Hello Marketing Committee,
I hope you are all doing well and staying warm today! Thank you to those who were able to join our extended meeting yesterday. Your input and participation is greatly appreciated.
I want to send a HUGE thank you to Emi for the outstanding notes that she took!
Please find her meeting recap here.
You can view the slidedeck here.
I also want to acknowledge Sarah, Hannah and Mindy for their awesome recap on our 2022 ad plan and all the work they do to make our downtown district shine bright!
Once you review the notes / deck, if you have any additional comments (or questions), please feel free to reach out. I welcome your emails and/or phone calls!
Based on our discussion, we will present a revised Brand Book at the March meeting in addition to reviewing creative.
Thanks again to all of you for your support.
May 2023 Marketing Committee Recap
Hello Marketing Committee,
Thank you to all those who were able to join us for the May meeting yesterday! Emi's recap notes can be found here. If you have any questions or follow up on anything, please don't hesitate to reach out!
As a reminder, we will not have a meeting in June. I've deleted that calendar reminder. If anything comes up, I'll send an email. Otherwise, we hope to see you out and about as summer kicks off! Thanks again for all of your support.
January 2023 Marketing Committee Recap
Hello Marketing Committee -
I hope you all are cozy and warm today! Thank you everyone who made it out to the first committee meeting of the year yesterday!
Emi did a fantastic job capturing meeting minutes. You can view the minutes and slide deck here.
If you have any questions / thoughts / suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Enjoy the rest of your week!
Thanks!
September 2022 Marketing Committee Recap
Hello Marketing Committee,
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend last week's meeting. We got a lot accomplished and your feedback is greatly appreciated! Input about the guide book ad sales was right on target - we only have four spots to sell!
Please review the meeting notes here.
The slide deck can be accessed here.
If you have any questions/ideas/suggestions, please let me know. (If you haven't been able to attend a meeting and you might be thinking about stepping down, please don't hesitate to reach out.)
As a reminder, we will not be having a meeting in October. I'll send out an agenda / meeting reminder for November a week prior.
Have a great week!
July 2022 Marketing Committee Recap
Hello Marketing Committee,
Thank you to all those who were able to join us on Tuesday for the meeting! It was extremely helpful and productive.
Also, thank you to those who followed up with phone calls / emails for additional feedback. I really appreciate it!
Marketing Recap
Slide Deck
If anyone has questions / follow up comments / suggestions / recommendations, please let me know.
Otherwise, I hope you all have a great week. Stay cool out there!
June 2022 Marketing Committee Recap
Hello Marketing Committee,
Thank you to everyone who was able to join the meeting in person and also to those who emailed me separately! All feedback is welcome and appreciated!
Please find a recap of the meeting notes, here. (If you need clarification on anything or have questions/ideas, please feel free to reach out.)
You can access the slide deck, here.
For those who offered specific suggestions/recommendations, Emi and I are reviewing them and considering options. If you'd like to follow up on any specifics, feel free to call or email me directly!
As a reminder, the July 19th meeting will primarily focus on holiday promotions / activation so we'd love to see as many of you there as possible to brainstorm / run ideas by. I'll send a meeting reminder / agenda email out the week prior.
Until then, we hope to see you at Bands on the Bricks AND the Pearl Street Arts Fest!
Thanks for your support.
April 2022 Marketing Committee Recap
Hello Marketing Committee,
Thank you to those who were able to join us in person. Also, thank you to those who let me know that you had a change of plans this morning! :)
Please remember to check out the hyperlinks within the deck for additional details! We will not have a May meeting, so our next in person will happen on June 21st. If anything happens between now and then, I'll reach out and if you have any questions/concerns/comments, please feel free to email (or call) me.
Don't forget that we'd love to hear about your 'happy place' downtown. Send an email to Emi (emi@downtownboulder.org) to participate! If you take a selfie in front of our new mural (14th and Pearl - old Lazy Dog space), don't forget to tag us #BoulderHappyPlace.
Have a great week!
March 2022 Marketing Committee Recap
Hello Marketing Committee,
Soooo, a funny thing happened shortly after the meeting this morning...Kim asked me to jump on a quick Zoom. Remember how the CVB is launching their national campaign shortly? Their creative is really cool...it's called: Find Your Happy Place! Somehow in a parallel universe, both organizations had the same creative thought in mind.
We are excited to be joining forces to reinforce the 'Happy Place' message. The CVB's campaign will encourage people to find their happy place and then we will welcome people to their happy place and reinforce the message that this is your happy place once they are here (and to the local audience)!
While 100% coincidence, we know that there is going to be great value in coming together. We will continue to execute these campaigns separately but find ways to partner and support one another as it makes sense! We will share the hashtag: #BoulderHappyPlace in all social messaging and look for other ways to bring synergy to our efforts. (The other similarity is we've agreed to use the same font so that there is consistency and similarity tying things together.)
I don't know how Kim made it through the entire presentation without saying a word! :) Nice poker face, Kim! :)
To all of you in attendance, thanks for sitting through our long meeting / presentation. We are excited about the creative and ad plan and hope you are too.
Below is a recap of everything discussed. If you have additional feedback, please do not hesitate to reach out. Thank you!
Zoom Recording / Passcode: ?Qzw9By!
Slide Deck: https://tinyurl.com/DBMarkMarch
Links within the deck:
CDC Community Level Tracker:
https://tinyurl.com/DBPBrandBook
https://tinyurl.com/2022FebSMAC
Thanks again. See you all IN PERSON next month!
February 2022 Marketing Committee Recap
Hello Marketing Committee,
Thank you to everyone who was able to join yesterday's meeting. Your thoughts/comments/suggestions were particularly helpful with the brand platform and advertising review discussions. We really appreciate your input!
If anyone has additional comments/suggestions or questions, please feel free to reach out to Terri via email or phone!
You can listen/view the Zoom recording here. Passcode: 4xet@o39
Read over Emi's bulleted recap here.
Review the slide deck here.
Download a copy of the monthly website/newsletter/social media analytics here.
Details about the Annual Luncheon can be found at: BoulderDowntown.com/annual
Thanks again for your time and support.
January 2022 Marketing Committee Recap
Thank you to those able to join the meeting! A recap of the meeting can be accessed via Zoom. Passcode: ^g9$rNKv
Access the Slide Deck here.
Links included in the deck:
Marketing Committee Recommendations to CAB Committee
December Website, Social Media, Newsletter Stats
Register for the February 8th Town Hall Meeting
Here is an UPDATED draft of the Marketing Committee Charter. Please review the highlighted sections. If you have a suggested edit, please email me back by Friday, January 21st. If you are OK with the wording as is, there is no need to respond.
In order to confirm this year's active committee members, if you did not attend this meeting (and were not able to notify me ahead of time) but would like to stay active on this committee, please respond back to me by this Friday, January 21st.
As always, please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions/comments/suggestions.
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Take care and stay well.
November Marketing Committee recap
Thank you to those who joined the Zoom live!
Access the Slide Deck here. On the second slide there are directions to access both portions of the video recording: Holiday Marketing Recap and Mobility Data Presentation.
The first 30 minutes of the meeting was dedicated to an overview of holiday and brand marketing - Video 1.
The next 45 minutes was an RRC presentation on Downtown Boulder's new mobility dashboard - Video 2.
Both of the recordings can be accessed using this single link:
The password is: y%XF0hk!
To view either meeting, when the video box opens, go to the lower left corner and click the >| symbol to go back and forth between the videos. I dropped a picture in the slide deck with an arrow to help explain!
Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or additional comments/concerns.
The only item that I did not get clear consensus on was whether or not to have a December 21st meeting or to cancel it and we'll plan to regroup on January 18th. I know a few of you said either way is fine but if you could please send me a quick email back with a vote for December or January, that will help me decide! Thanks in advance!
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving week / Small Business Weekend.
Take care and stay well.
November 2021 Marketing Report:
In production for winter/holiday branding campaign. Working on:
CTV (streaming TV) and 9News spots
Podcast radio spots
Print (5280 Magazine, Boulder Magazine, Travel Boulder)
Paid social media
Programmatic ads
Gearing up for holiday event marketing - including separate campaigns for events, Small Business Saturday and Downtown Boulder Gift Card. Working on:
Daily Camera and Boulder weekly print ads
Digital direct mail pieces
Online display ads
Utility Bill Insert (in partnership with the City of Boulder)
Revamping Business Spotlights. Re-interviewing business owners for featurettes that will be spotlighted on our social media daily from Black Friday through the end of the year.
Finishing up content and graphic design elements for 2022 Visitor Guide.
October 2021, Marketing update (BID)
October 2021, Marketing update (BID)
Julie Phillips will be leaving DBP on October 8th for a digital marketing position with Eldora. Her replacement, Emi Smith, will join the team on October 11th.
Fall / Winter / Holiday photo shoot planned for September 29th & 30th. Images will be used for November - December brand campaign for print, CTV, 9News, digital ads and 2022 Visitor Guide.
2022 Visitor Guide is in development: ad space sold out; content plan in place. Goal is to be in production by December with 30,000 printed copies ready for distribution in early January. Electronic version of the guide will be slightly more in depth with business listings.
Event marketing gearing up for Munchkin and Light Up the Holidays.
Tear off maps and mall directories updated with current businesses. Plan in place with the city and CVB to replace the 11th and Pearl Touch Screen Kiosk with West End business directory and ‘Welcome to Boulder’ image.
COVID signage (Face Masks Required Indoors) including window posters and yard signs for the Mall was produced and distributed.
September 2021 Marketing Update
September 2021 Marketing Update
Advertising and Creative Plan:
The summer advertising schedule is winding down. Paid advertising will continue in the Daily Camera and Boulder Weekly mainly to support event marketing (Fall Fest, Buffalos of Boulder and the Pearl Street Stampedes). A full page branding ad in Boulder Magazine is also on stands now. A half page branding ad in the newest edition of the CU Visitors Guide hits stands in the next week or two.
The winter advertising schedule will pick back up in November and will include connected/streaming TV, 9News, podcast spots, 5280 Magazine December ad, online display (programmatic) ads and paid social media. Also included will be a robust schedule in the Daily Camera, digital direct mail and dailycamera.com (banner ads).
Marketing team is working on refreshed creative which will include a professional photo shoot in the coming weeks; new scripts for podcast advertising and a newly designed TV spot.
2022 Planning:
In anticipation of the BID Work Plan due to the city council, a report was compiled that included 2021 accomplishments and 2022 marketing / communication goals. Overview:
The marketing / communications team will update goals and direction as needed pending current situations with the pandemic. Plan will be flexible and allow for immediate pivots as needed. The continued overarching plan will focus on driving awareness about all that downtown has to offer through a robust marketing and PR plan with continued emphasis on business owners and the importance of supporting local businesses. The other main focus will continue to provide the business community with resources and tools to overcome challenges and embrace opportunities that are available to them in the months ahead.
The Downtown Boulder Visitor’s Guide will once again include a print version. The newly designed format will focus on itineraries and information but will not include the directory listing of businesses. An electronic version will also be produced that will include the directory. Budget and planning is in the works now. Limited opportunities for business advertising in the printed guide has been sent out to retail/restaurant and entertainment venues.
Social Media / Newsletter / Website Update:
Marketing team will begin implementing a new social media strategy that will highlight downtown employees who are working so hard to keep businesses up and running right now. The messaging will include a reminder to the public to please be kind and patient when shopping and dining as employers are dealing with workforce challenges and the ongoing threat of the delta variant.
In response to social media requests, a locally owned and operated business page was created for locals and visitors to quickly identify small businesses.
Updated website images throughout site to new photography.
Website page views up 96% over July 2020.
Instagram (+144) and Facebook (+35) are continuing to see steady growth each month.
Google Ads Recap (reporting month prior):
July and August has seen the highest ever click-through rate (CTR) for Paid Search traffic from the Google Ads Grant account at around 20%. While overall clicks/traffic from Paid Search remains down year-over-year due to higher costs-per-click (CPCs), the increase in CTR is very encouraging since it indicates that ads are reaching an audience that's really interested/engaged. Throughout Q2 2021, there has been a continuation of a trend that began in March – a dramatic increase in year-over-year website traffic and engagement, which is directly tied to improving news related to COVID and vaccination rates. This trend continued in July and resulted in a 59% increase in month-over-month users.
Similar to previous months, Organic Search and Direct traffic, which account for over 85% of all traffic, rose significantly along with Referral traffic. These increases are due to more people actively looking for information about Downtown Boulder and related businesses.
In addition to traffic, "site stickiness" metrics like Pages/Session, Avg. Session Duration, and Bounce Rate all improved, which indicates users are engaged with site content.
Event Marketing:
Fall Fest print ads, digital direct mail, online display ads are up and running. Print ads can be found in the Daily Camera and Boulder Weekly.
Pearl Street Stampede window posters will be distributed at the end of the week and Daily Camera ads will start running next week. Ads will run sporadically throughout the next few months to coincide with Stampede dates.
Continued promotion and marketing of the Buffaloes of Boulder auction that is live through Fall Fest weekend.
Labor Day Sale ads are set to run starting next week. Ads can be found in the Daily Camera and Boulder Weekly.
Business Outreach / Resources:
Business Newsletter is back on a once a month schedule. This will be revamped if/as needed to communicate pertinent information related to the pandemic and health recommendations / requirements.
Teamed up with the Boulder Chamber to produce a revised version of face masks signage for businesses.
Miscellaneous:
Working on an onboarding presentation for new staff / ambassadors to get them fully integrated / up to speed on who we are and what we do. Draft can be found here.
August 2021 Marketing Update
Team continues to pay close attention to travel trends across the state and around the country.
Marketing Committee
● The Marketing Committee Meeting took place on July 20th, 2021
● The recorded Zoom can be found here
● Link to the presentation deck
● Other links:
○ Downtown Boulder Guide Book
○ June Website / Social Stats
○ Xcel Energy Natural Gas Line Replacement Project
○ New Ambassador Program
○ Future of Outdoor Dining Business Questionnaire Results
○ Sidewalk Sale
○ Bands on the Bricks
Advertising and Creative Plan
● Refreshed copy and images for paid social launched the week of June 28th. Between then and July 20th, the refreshed campaign has an impressive overall CTR of 1.61%. The campaign is optimizing to the top performing ad groups. With that, the Travel Intenders and General Population groups have the most impressions, strongest CTRs
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and engagement. They are also showing above average quality and engagement scores. The Travel Intender group has the strongest performance with a 1.86% CTR. ● The advertising strategy for the summer is running strong through August with bus transit (3 bus backs running throughout Boulder County), online display ads and pre-roll video, geofenced mobile and paid social.)
● Team is working on a September 5280 Magazine ad, in addition to a mixture of brand ads and events ads running locally in the Daily Camera, Boulder Weekly, Boulder Magazine, Travel Boulder and dailycamera.com.
Social Media / Newsletter / Website Update:
● COVID-related pages on BoulderDowntown.com have been archived. Home page features signatures and other upcoming events.
● Specialized newsletters continue to perform well with targeted (opt-in audiences). Prior month stats:
○ Foodie Friday: 2500+ / 25% open rate / 11% click rate
○ Shopping Newsletter: 1790+ / 24% open rate / 8% click rate
○ Parking Newsletter: 760+ / 29% open rate / 8% click rate
○ Hospitality Newsletter: 930+ / 20% open rate / 15% click rate
○ Real Estate Newsletter: 725+ / 22% open rate / 14%
○ Job Opportunities Newsletter: 1240+ / 25% open rate / 19% click rate ○ Event Newsletter (produced by the events team): 3740+ / 27% open rate / 18% click rate
● Happy Hour listings were all updated and the page was made public on the website after a 12 month hiatus.
Google Ads Recap (reporting month prior):
● Overall, the website continues to see dramatic improvements in traffic (i.e. - in June were up +36.6% vs. last year. Organic Search and Direct traffic continue to provide around 85% of all site traffic.
● Paid Search campaigns via the Google Ads Grant continue to perform well, but we continue to see some notable year-over-year differences in performance due to changes in bidding strategy and keywords: Cost-per-click (CPC) has increased 36% year-over-year, which would normally be a negative indicator/metric, however, other metrics like click-through rate (CTR), Session Duration, and Pages per Session have all improved. This shows that while it may be a bit more expensive to reach our target audience this year, the people we're reaching are much more relevant and engaged than last year.
Event Marketing:
● Launched Bands on the Bricks marketing which includes Daily Camera print ads, dailycamera.com banner ads, Boulder Weekly ads and a digital direct mail campaign. ● Also launched Buffalos of Boulder awareness campaign that includes Daily Camera ads and a digital direct mail e-blast to Boulder County residents.
● Designed collateral for three Sidewalk Sale events spread out in July (Summer Sidewalk Sale), August (Back to School Sale) and September (Labor Day Sale). Ads running in the Daily Camera, Boulder Weekly and dailycamera.com.
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● In addition to paid campaigns for the above initiatives, social posts and newsletter mentions and/or e-blasts are also planned.
Business Outreach / Resources:
● Permits still waiting to be secured - work date still TBD: Working with Xcel Energy for B2B communication outreach plan for natural gas line replacement project on 11th Street.
● Continue to work with the Ambassador team on a pilot program to help remind visitors that dogs (animals) are not permitted on the bricks. Designed messaging that was placed on labels affixed to plastic bags with dog treats as a friendly outreach campaign. Ambassadors distributing the treats now, with the plan to give to businesses who express concern about the number of dogs around their establishments.
● In partnership with Community Vitality: Restroom wayfinding signs to point people in the direction of the public restrooms have been created for the round mall kiosks. ● Final report from a business survey related to thoughts/feelings/concerns around the temporary outdoor dining expansion and what the future holds was created and disseminated in early July. Report can be found here.
● Revised tear off maps and mall directories were produced in mid-July.
Miscellaneous:
● Partnership with RRC Associates finalized to secure mobility data for the downtown district (in partnership with the Boulder CVB). More details coming soon.
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