Miami Lakes groups agree to pool marketing for Main Street Live; EDC already committed $500 per event

Representatives from Miami Lakes’ Economic Development Committee and partner groups met to coordinate promotion of Main Street Live and to pursue pooled marketing funds for four upcoming events. Participants said the EDC has already committed $500 per event for the remaining four events and proposed increasing paid promotion to $1,000 per event to reach audiences beyond town.

The meeting opened with Speaker 3 (meeting organizer) describing the objective: “we wanted to help market and push the Main Street Live,” and recapping the prior EDC vote to provide $500 per event. The EDC’s $500-per-event commitment equals $2,000 toward a $4,000 target if partner organizations supply the remaining funds, Speaker 3 said. The group discussed that current organic promotion has not consistently driven outside attendance and that paid social advertising could change that dynamic.

Felicia (identified at the meeting as the Culture Affairs Committee representative) and another presenter reviewed Main Street Live’s history and operational costs. A committee member noted that, based on prior events, programme and production expenses can be substantial: “it costs about $2,700 per event,” and a past summer concert series budget totaled roughly $10,500, underscoring that paid outreach matters if the town is to retain public funding in future years.

Discussion centered on three near‑term needs: (1) money for paid campaigns; (2) clearer merchant and vendor guidance (permission and liability) so businesses will participate; and (3) better coordination with town communications and a well‑packaged set of digital assets. Participants flagged that town accounts have mostly posted ephemeral Instagram Stories and that permanent posts, multiple ad sizes and short videos are needed to run effective paid campaigns.

As a practical step, organizations agreed to take ownership of individual event dates and commit outreach to their memberships. Speaker 4 proposed a model in which local groups each “own” one date and help marshal members and sponsors; BNI Miami Lakes volunteered to lead promotion for the March 20 event and the Chamber offered to take a later date. Denise agreed to produce graphics and meet with the town’s communications staff to align on creative and timelines; participants requested at least a 30‑day lead time for assets and logos for the March 20 date.

Meeting participants also discussed additions to programming intended to bring families and out‑of‑town visitors, including supervised youth activities, themed nights and small vehicle displays (car clubs or golf cart groups), while noting these ideas can increase complexity and cost if streets must be closed or extra insurance is required. On logistics, the group confirmed event contractors carry insurance and discussed adding hold‑harmless language for merchant vendors.

The meeting closed with concrete follow‑ups: organizations will return to their leadership with the $500‑per‑event ask, Denise will develop creative and connect with town communications, and committees will reconvene before the March 20 event to finalize assets and confirm promotion plans. No additional formal municipal approvals were taken at this meeting; participants emphasized the need to show measurable attendance uplift from paid marketing before larger, ongoing budgets are sought.

The EDC‑led marketing increase is intended as a short test to demonstrate whether paid campaigns and coordinated merchant participation can move attendance and merchant buy‑in; follow‑up meetings were scheduled to set deadlines for logos and finalize creative.