Download Delivery and funding of the Battle, Bexhill and Rye town marketing

Agenda Item: 8.4
Rother District Council
Report to
-
Cabinet
Date
-
21 February 2011
Report of the
-
Director of Services
Subject
-
Delivery and funding of the Battle, Bexhill and Rye town
marketing campaigns
Recommendation: It be RESOLVED that:
1)
the Council’s support to the Rye marketing campaign be reduced from
£24,000 per annum to £9,000 per annum as a saving from the base budget;
and
2)
Option 2 be adopted for the delivery of the local marketing activity in Battle,
Bexhill and Rye from April 2011 onwards.
Head of Service: Graham Burgess
Lead Cabinet Member: Councillor Mrs Williams
Introduction
1.
As part of the resetting agenda Officers have been tasked with achieving a
saving of £15,000 per annum from the annual grant given to the Rye
marketing campaign, currently set at £24,000 per annum. The reduction in
grant will bring Rye in line with the grant funding provided by the Council to
the Battle and Bexhill marketing campaigns; both of which receive £9,000 per
annum.
2.
The Rye marketing campaign received an enhanced grant due to the
reallocation of a proportion of the Rye Town Managers budget when the
position became vacant a number of years ago.
3.
Whilst considering the reduction of the grant to the Rye marketing campaign it
is timely to also review the future arrangements for the Council’s support to all
three marketing campaigns in Battle, Bexhill and Rye.
Issues and challenges
4.
To date both the Battle and Rye marketing campaigns have received a
significant level of support from the Council’s Regeneration & Tourism Officer;
both administrative but also in providing advice and in the delivery of activity
on behalf of the local marketing groups. Due to the planned reduction in
capacity within the Regeneration department as part of the Council’s resetting
programme it will not be possible to sustain this level of officer support in the
future.
5.
It is also likely that the Rye Partnership will also be unable to administer and
manage the Rye Marketing Group from April 2011 onwards due to pressure
on its budgets and staff capacity.
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6.
In Bexhill, the sole activity supported by the Council’s funding contribution is
the production and distribution of the Bexhill Guide by the Chamber of
Commerce. Unlike Battle or Rye, the Chamber of Commerce does not
undertake any further marketing or promotional activity.
7.
The recommendation of the Tourism Working Group, approved by Cabinet in
April 2010 was that the local marketing campaigns should be regularly retendered in order to ensure value for money (Minute CB09/136).
Summary of the current marketing campaigns
8.
All three local marketing campaigns are delivered slightly differently,
according to local circumstances and priorities. However, it is the Council’s
policy that the local marketing campaigns should be complementary to the
1066 Country campaign, which is also supported by the Council and delivered
through a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Hastings Borough Council,
with support from Rother officers.
Battle
9.
Battle’s marketing campaign is directed by the Battle Marketing Group. The
marketing group consists of representatives from Rother District Council,
1066 Country, English Heritage, Attractions, Chamber of Commerce, Beautiful
Battle, Battle Partnership, Battle Town Council, restauranters, galleries,
Tourist Information Centre and Events Organisers, and is administered by
Rother officers. The campaign is supported with £9,000 from Rother District
Council and £1,000 from 1066 Country, with additional revenue being
generated through advertising.
10.
Current campaigns include
- Production and distribution of the annual Battle guide
- SMS campaign to monitor the marketing campaigns
- Dedicated PR campaign for Battle and surrounds
- Production of an events postcard for Battle residents and visitors to Battle
- Ad Hoc advertising in magazines such as Heritage magazine.
11.
1066 Country have been appointed by the marketing group for the last three
years to manage the majority of Battle’s marketing and advertising activity,
including the visitor guide, PR campaign, events postcard and ad hoc
advertising.
Bexhill
12.
The Bexhill marketing campaign is administered by the Bexhill Chamber of
Commerce and Tourism. The campaign consists solely of the production and
distribution of the Bexhill town guide. The campaign is supported with £9,000
from Rother District Council and £1,000 from 1066 Country, with additional
revenue being generated through advertising.
Rye
13.
The Rye marketing campaign is administered by the Rye Marketing Group,
which consists of representatives from Rother District Council, 1066 Country,
Rye Partnership, Rye Town Council, Rye Hotels & Caterers’ Association, Rye
& District Chamber of Commerce, local events organisers, attractions, the
Environment Agency and the Tourist Information Centre. The current
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marketing campaign is supported by £24,000 grant from RDC, £1,000 from
1066 Country, £5,000 from Rye Town Council and other income received
from the Visit Rye website and advertising revenue. The Rye Marketing
Group is currently administered by the Rye Partnership.
14.
Current campaigns include:
- Production and distribution of the annual Rye Guide
- Dedicated PR campaign for Rye and surrounds
- Contribution to the Chamber of Commerce for an events co-ordinator for
Rye
- Ad Hoc advertising in magazines, leaflets etc
- Visit Rye website
- Refurbishment and renewal of visitor information panels in Rye
15.
1066 Country have been appointed by the marketing group for the last three
years to produce the visitor guide and also to undertake the PR campaign for
Rye.
Options for Future Delivery
16.
There are two suggested options for the future delivery of the marketing
groups from April 2011 onwards; outlined below.
Option 1
17.
Enter into a SLA with 1066 Country to manage and administer the marketing
campaigns for Battle, Bexhill and Rye. 1066 Country would be responsible for
consulting with the local tourism industry and ensuring that the campaign
delivers value for money.
18.
1066 Country are well known to the tourism and hospitality businesses within
Rother, have been active members of the marketing groups in each town
since they were established and more recently were appointed by Battle and
Rye Marketing Groups to manage the production of their visitor guides and
dedicated PR campaigns.
Advantages




Campaign would be complementary and work with the existing activity of
1066 Country
Business representatives from Bexhill, Battle and Rye sit on the 1066
Executive Board to represent local interests
1066 Country has an established working relationship with the tourism
industry in all three towns, and experience of producing and distributing the
town guides and delivering dedicated PR campaigns in Battle and Rye for 3
years
Use of in-house graphic designers
Disadvantages
 Reliance on a single organisation to deliver all of Rother’s marketing activity
 Local businesses in Bexhill and Rye likely to prefer option 2 so may meet with
resistance
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Option 2
19.
Enter into a SLA with the Chambers of Commerce in each town, or an
alternative interested organisation such as the Town Council, for the
management and administration of the town’s marketing campaign.
20.
The Chamber of Commerce and/or alternative organisation would be
responsible for consulting with the local tourism industry and ensuring the
campaign delivers value for money.
Advantages


Empowers local organisations to deliver in accordance with locally identified
priorities
Likely to be favoured by local business interests, particularly in Bexhill and
Rye
Disadvantages


Risk of Council-funded local marketing activity acting in competition with 1066
Country, with whom the Council is also a key financial partner.
Greater monitoring required through three SLA’s rather than one.
21.
In either case it is proposed to enter into a 4 year SLA with a break option
after 2 years and a performance review at the end of each calendar year.
The SLA would detail the minimum requirements of each town’s campaign,
which would include the production and distribution of a town visitor guide. In
addition to this the Council would encourage other activities that will add value
to the campaign such as a PR campaign, complementary marketing activity,
advertising for the town or support for events or similar; although this should
be driven by local priorities.
22.
Both options are intended to secure the delivery of a local marketing
campaign which maintains a distinct brand identity for the town and its
surrounding area, but which refers also to the ‘umbrella brand’ of 1066
Country.
23.
Each SLA will be evaluated against the production of the guide and the added
value of each campaign at the end of each calendar year. The Council will
reserve the right to withhold its funding where the basic requirements are not
met.
Recommendation
24.
Whilst a single Service Level Agreement with 1066 Country for the
management and administration of the marketing campaigns would
undoubtedly provide the best value for money, the marketing groups in each
town welcome being able to set local priorities for the marketing and
promotion of their area and the removal of this level of control would be seen
by the local business community as a retrograde step. Approval is therefore
sought for Option 2 for the delivery of the marketing campaigns for Battle,
Bexhill and Rye from April 2011.
Anthony Leonard
Director of Services
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Risk Assessment Statement
The reduction of grant funding to the Rye Marketing Group will have an impact on
the level of activity the group can undertake.
Research shows that 1066 Country and the individual towns attract the same target
audience. Adopting Option 2 may lead to the marketing campaigns for each town
and 1066 Country competing against each other for business and opportunities for
collaborative working being lost. Service Level Agreements will only offer the scope
to review this retrospectively, as the Council will be taking a step back from day-today operational decisions.
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