Tourist Development Council approves $915,000 media plan after questions on market targeting

The Tourist Development Council voted unanimously Sept. 10 to approve an integrated media plan for fiscal year 2026 produced by Miles Partnership, with a median media budget of about $915,000 and an October 1 start date. Motion to approve: Dr. Desai; second: Tom Gregg. "All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries unanimously," the chair said after the vote. The plan funds programmatic buys, paid social, digital out-of-home, a high-impact rich-media unit and long-form custom content partnerships aimed at moving potential visitors through an "awareness-to-booking" consumer funnel.

The vote concluded a 90-minute presentation and extended discussion in which board members asked for clearer targeting of in-state and nearby high-value visitors and suggested additional special projects aimed at nearby source markets such as Ocala/World Equestrian Center and Orlando.

Miles Partnership account manager Lillian Rexford and a media planner identified in the presentation as Katie walked the board through objectives, tactics and metrics. "We wanna increase visitor spending with trackable revenue attribution, cost per SIT, and ultimately increase the length of stay where we can," Katie said, explaining the firm's focus on awareness, consideration and response stages of the consumer journey. The presentation described using behavioral audience segments (for example, nature enthusiasts, family travelers and boating enthusiasts) in place of traditional demographic targeting and an always-on retargeting approach so that users who show interest can be reached nationally.

Board members voiced several concerns during discussion. One member said recent changes in traveler behavior make in-state and nearby visitors the "low-hanging fruit" and asked why the presentation emphasized northeastern U.S. cities and distant markets; another recommended more spending to reach visitors already in Orlando and Tampa to "add days" to their trips. Miles Partnership responded that the plan includes in-state targeting (seven Florida cities were noted on a map shown during the presentation) and that lower-funnel search and programmatic tactics can be tuned to reach users researching Orlando/Tampa. The firm also said it would evaluate markets again in the fall after analyzing summer data.

Board members suggested additional, non-media actions to support local businesses, including targeted activations near the World Equestrian Center and special-project activations in The Villages or other high-value venues; staff said such add-ons could be pursued as special projects outside the core media buy. The Miles team confirmed the agency is paid on a retainer fee, not a commission on media buys; the presentation said media placements are purchased at net rates and the agency executes buys on the council's behalf.

The council asked for more reporting detail and earlier delivery of packet materials for future meetings. Staff noted the media plan packet contains more detailed slides and vendor-level attachments than were shown verbally at the meeting. The plan as approved will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for their review, per the usual schedule.