City Council

City of Norwich Marketing Update (10.21.19) Overview For the 2018/2019 fiscal year, the City of Norwich defined a $25,000 line item for marketing. These funds were to be used effectively to help our community build awareness and get a foothold with target populations that could offer the greatest impact/return on investment. Ideally, these efforts will also increase positive brand awareness for the City of Norwich. What follows is a transparent and concise overview of the plans (underway and pending) regarding these inaugural marketing dollars. While aware of other marketing initiatives (Global City Norwich, F66, Norwich Events), those projects do not fall under this budget/scope of work, nor are they managed by Miranda Creative. Working SMART — As shared in May, every aspect of our five-pillar marketing plan has defined measurements that could be tracked, compiled, and shared with the City and the Council. In addition, every investment has secondary purposes — such as the trade show booth system for the Electric Boat event, that will be reusable in other venues. During this presentation, we are reviewing the first months of the approved plan, and what to expect in the months ahead. 5 Pillars — Maximize Maintain the Retain and Shift brand Using local momentum of grow impression resources, opportunities growing established and increase create presented at testimonial General food/brewery Norwich awareness videos to Dynamics culture enterprises among support efforts Electric Boat through through potential and begin to through partnerships education, homeowners develop an participation within outreach and as to the inventory of at GDEB restaurant development. unique reusable video industry. property products for sanctioned years to efforts. offerings in follow. Norwich. Maximize Maintain the Retain and Shift brand Using local momentum of grow impression resources, opportunities growing established and increase create presented at testimonial General food/brewery Norwich awareness videos to Dynamics culture enterprises among support efforts Electric Boat through through potential and begin to through partnerships education, homeowners develop an participation within outreach and as to the inventory of at GDEB restaurant development. unique reusable video industry. property products for sanctioned years to efforts. offerings in follow. Norwich. Budget: $3,000 Budget: $6,500 Budget: $2,000 Budget: $1,000 Budget: $7,500 Spend: $2,900 Spent: $400 Spent: $0 Spent: $1,000 Spent: $7,500 ($6,100 encumbered ($2,000 encumbered for CRA events) for collateral/dist.) Subtotal Five Pillars: $19,900. Brand Mgmt Services (Miranda Creative) $5,000. GRAND TOTAL $24,900 Using local resources, create testimonial videos to support efforts and begin to develop an inventory of reusable video products for years to follow. Budget: $7,500 Spent: $7,500 Why Video? - Flexible (edited/combined) - Adaptable (pantry of content) - Universal platform - Shareable (link/mp4) - Engaging (motion, sound, etc) - Storytelling/voices - Complements OTHER media Why Video? - Flexible (edited/combined) - Adaptable (pantry of content) - Universal platform - Shareable (link/mp4) - Engaging (motion, sound, etc) - Storytelling/voices - Complements OTHER media Where do we go from here? • Accessible and Promoted • All videos are accessible via NCDC’s website and YouTube Channel http://bit.ly/norwich-cityontherise askncdc.com • Will be shared via social media, email, and used as part of outreach kits to each of the four pillar marketing efforts (EB/GD; Food Service; Retention; Homeownership) • Proud to share all four videos throughout the course of this presentation. (Watch again at home, take popcorn!) • Copy of this presentation will be shared with minutes on City website. Pillar One: Maximize opportunities related to General Dynamics Electric Boat On Wednesday, May 29, the City of Norwich participated in a full-day matchmaking event at the Mystic Marriott sponsored and coordinated by federal, state, and regional economic organizations in coordination with General Dynamics Electric Boat. The City was the exclusive municipal sponsor among nearly 500 attendees and 128 respective businesses registered for an opportunity to meet with procurement personnel from seven divisions of General Dynamics. (leads captured: marine engine mechanics, logistics facility) RESULTS: Positive brand exposure among a highly qualified audience of potential GDEB suppliers & influentials Ad placement in event booklet and rotating event PPT (est. 18,000 impressions) Viable leads made from attendees Expanded database Professional/reusable outreach system Pillar Two: Continue to develop a growing reputation for Restaurants/Breweries As the only municipality member of Connecticut Restaurant Association (CRA), for a $400 annual fee, the City now has access to the membership database, content placement on outbound emails, shared social media content, and other marketing opportunities. Planning is underway for a Spring event, where Norwich will host a gathering of CRA members (and peers) to showcase our community, available sites, incentives, and other unique selling propositions. We are in conversation with a local and nationally-known supply chain provider to offer educational programs for additional draw. In the interim, we will be partnering with the CRA, commercial real estate partners and restaurant supply resellers to share information about Norwich, developing a list of qualified leads among established restaurateurs seeking new opportunities in the right locations. These leads will be fed to the team at NCDC for ongoing follow-up. Pillar Three: Promote Norwich Homeownership Through social media (Facebook) it’s possible to target the users of these apps by age, geographic location, and some aspects of their search history (i.e. spent time on Zillow). This pillar raised awareness of the unique properties available in Norwich (historic, mid-century modern, architecturally preserved, well-priced starter homes, etc.) by running “Get More House In Norwich” themed ads. Initially proposed as a featured property selected by the regional board of realtors, to avoid any compliance issues, the ads featured a rotating collage of sample homes and link to the realtor.com listings specific for Norwich. Results: From June 25 to August 31, the City ran social media marketing campaign raising awareness of the unique properties available in Norwich. The ads, from the City of Norwich, were served on Facebook and Instagram to two geographically targeted audiences: Groton/New London and Greater Hartford. ● Ads received 165,606 impressions ● 1,098 clicks through to Norwich property listings on realtor.com. ● Groton/NL ads out-performed Hartford, accounting for 631 of those clicks ● Bridge to stronger relationship with ECAR — only municipality supporting such efforts ● Secondary benefit — growth of City of Norwich followers Economic Development: Housing in Norwich ● $1.8 billion net grand list (value of all taxable property in Norwich) ● 80.7% residential grand list = $1.5 billion is housing ● Housing is about $60MM/75MM total city property tax revenue ● 18,563 housing units ● 42% SFR = 7,796 single family units ● 8,220 housing units are owner occupier = 52% ● 10,337 housing units are tenant occupied (apartments) = about $100MM in annual revenue/economic value without applying any multipliers Sources: Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) Pillar Four: Retain/Grow Existing Enterprises Currently in development, are a series of “Did you know?” fact sheets, to be delivered through direct distribution, email, chamber partnerships, and other educational programs. The goal will be to anticipate and address the needs of entrepreneurs and those aspiring to continue to re-invest in their Norwich-based enterprise. Projected topics will include: ● Opportunity Zones located in Norwich ● Maximizing Commercial Leasing ● Workforce Investment Opportunities ● Educational Programs/Workshops ● Resources of Norwich Public Utilities Questions? Marketing Update (10.21.19)