Visit South Padre Island board approves parade marketing buy, festival support and agency recommendation

Visit South Padre Island’s CVB board voted to approve a series of marketing and event funding requests and to recommend an agency-of-record to City Council, while hearing updates on spring-break marketing and a proposal to expand accessible fishing services.

The board approved a $74,900 marketing buy tied to the McAllen Holiday Parade Sponsorship Agreement and requested the City Council approve a three-year marketing contract with McAllen parade partners. Board members also approved funding requests for the South Padre Island Triathlon, Crawfish Festival, and Tacos & Tequila Festival and recommended Greenhouse as the next agency of record. The board elected Sean to remain chair and nominated Tom Goodman as vice chair for 2025.

Why it matters: the actions direct local tourism marketing and allocate CVB marketing support for events that drive visitor nights and off-season visitation. The recommendation of an agency of record will shape creative strategy, media buying and PR for the destination for the contract term.

Board action and votes at a glance

- McAllen Holiday Parade marketing buy — Approved. Motion by Mr. Crinion; motion carried by voice vote. The request was described to include a $74,900 marketing buy and a recommendation that City Council approve a three-year marketing contract.

- South Padre Island Triathlon (March 29, 2025) — Approved. Board approved $4,000 for marketing only (staff recommendation). Motion carried by voice vote.

- South Padre Island Crawfish Festival (April 2025) — Approved. Board approved $25,000 for marketing and $5,000 for operational costs (police/security). Motion carried by voice vote.

- Tacos & Tequila Festival (September 2025) — Approved. Board approved $30,000 (final request). Motion carried by voice vote.

- Ron Hoover Fishing Tournament and South Padre Island Half Marathon Weekend — Tabled for review by the Special Events Committee before returning to the board.

- Election of officers — Approved. Sean elected chair for 2025; Tom Goodman nominated and approved as vice chair.

- Agency-of-record recommendation — Approved. The scoring subcommittee recommended Greenhouse as the top-ranked firm; the board voted to recommend Greenhouse to City Council for final approval and contract negotiations.

Presentations and non-action items

- Fishing’s Future (presenter Shane Wilson) described the “I Can” initiative, a specially equipped boat that accommodates wheelchairs and medical beds for adaptive fishing and bay access. Wilson asked the board to consider marketing partnership and placement of Visit South Padre Island branding on the boat. Mr. Henry told the board he had authority to work with Wilson internally; no formal action or funding was requested or taken.

- Predictive Data Lab / Zimmerman (marketing agency presenters) reviewed December 2024 results and the spring-break media plan. Presenter Carlos said the campaign had “just served north of 27,000,000 impressions” and described plans to concentrate spend in January and February ahead of spring break. The deck presented metrics for occupancy, ADR and RevPAR, impressions and campaign pacing; staff agreed to circulate the final slide deck to board members for review.

What the board directed staff to do

- Staff will coordinate with Shane Wilson on promoting the accessible fishing program and may bring a formal request back to the board if external funding or a contract is needed.

- Predictive Data Lab / Zimmerman will email the updated campaign deck and corrected data slides to the CVB liaison (April) after the meeting.

Key financial and program details mentioned in the meeting

- McAllen Holiday Parade Sponsorship marketing buy: $74,900 (three-year marketing contract request to City Council).

- PDL media budget referenced: $200,000 annual program budget, with $76,000 spent October–December and planned heavier spend in January (PDL noted an anticipated 31% of the college campaign budget and 34% of the family campaign budget to be spent in January).

- Triathlon: staff recommended $4,000 for marketing (approved).

- Crawfish Festival: $25,000 marketing + $5,000 for operations/PD/security (approved).

- Tacos & Tequila Festival: $30,000 (approved).

- Agency-of-record RFP: the city issued an RFP for agency-of-record; a subcommittee interviewed finalists and recommended Greenhouse; the board voted to forward that recommendation to City Council for approval and contracting.

Meeting context and next steps

The board discussed pacing for spring break bookings and creative/media mix for the college and family segments; several board members asked staff and agencies to monitor CPC and channel performance (noting Meta/Instagram vs. TikTok allocation) and to ensure final campaign metrics are circulated. The board also asked that the Special Events Committee review the tabled event requests and return recommendations at a future meeting.

The board’s approvals are recommendations or allocations from the CVB budget; some items (notably the McAllen marketing contract or the agency-of-record contract) will require City Council approval or subsequent contract negotiations before funds are committed.

The board adjourned after approving the motions on the agenda.