Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Events Marketing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Miami Lakes EDC shifts focus from single Main Street Live events to paid marketing; approves $500 ad spend
Summary
The Miami Lakes Economic Development Committee discussed whether to continue funding Main Street Live or redirect limited committee funds to paid marketing to attract visitors from neighboring cities, and approved $500 for advertising tied to an upcoming event.
The Miami Lakes Economic Development Committee discussed whether to continue funding Main Street Live directly or reallocate limited committee funds into paid external marketing to draw visitors from neighboring cities, and approved $500 for an upcoming event's advertising.
Committee members and staff heard that an existing contract often referred to as the “Intel” service was already accounted for this fiscal year and that the roughly $10,000 assigned to that contract cannot be repurposed for other committee line items until next budget cycle. Staff said the town may absorb the service under another department, but any decision to shift continued funding off the committee would leave the EDC to request replacement dollars in next year’s budget.
The committee’s immediate budgeting choices hinge on several numbers discussed at the meeting: Main Street Live events typically cost about $3,000 each (stage, lighting, band), the committee reported holding roughly $8,000 in its event/marketing allocation, and roughly $4,000–$4,200 remained available after prior commitments. Faced with that constraint, members debated two paths: spend the remaining funds on a single Main Street Live event this fiscal year or spread them across paid advertising campaigns aimed at bringing visitors from nearby cities (Miramar, Doral and others).
EDC members favored investing in paid external marketing to increase out-of-area visitation rather than spending the remaining funds on one more event this summer. The group discussed recruiting merchant sponsorships and potential match-funding from the chamber and said that a coordinated advertising plan would be more likely to move economic activity to Main Street and other Miami Lakes commercial districts than another stand-alone event without broader promotion.
As an immediate, limited action, the committee voted to allocate $500 from the committee’s marketing line for advertising tied to the May event. Members also directed staff to pull data on past paid campaigns and ad performance for Main Street Live so the committee can review evidence of reach, targeting and outcomes at the next meeting. Staff representatives offered to arrange a meeting between a designated committee point person and the town marketing staff to draft a campaign proposal and creative assets for committee review.
Committee members discussed logistics and roles for a marketing push, including: asking merchants to offer a small discount or match-fund ads; using existing video assets and merchant interviews in paid placements; and the town communications team producing campaign creative if staffing capacity allows. Several members recommended getting a competitive quote from an outside marketing agency if the town’s in-house capacity proved limited.
Next steps: staff will supply past ad performance metrics and a draft marketing plan; an EDC member will serve as the point person to work with marketing staff; merchant and chamber contributions will be solicited; and the committee will revisit the proposal at its next meeting before committing additional funds beyond the $500 approved for the upcoming event.
