HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.6a Visitor's Guide Memo
TO: Board of Directors, Cottage Grove Convention and Visitors Bureau
FROM: Julie Prior-Miller, Marketing and Communications Specialist
DATE: November 19, 2021
RE: Visitor’s Guide
Background
Since the inception of the Cottage Grove Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Board Meetings,
there has been a plan to design and produce a Visitor’s Guide for distribution to promote the City
of Cottage Grove as a tourist destination. Through various months of brainstorming, design, and
approval between the CVB Committee and Board of Directors, the Visitor’s Guide is on track to
be ready for approval in January of 2022.
Discussion
Ad Sales
As of November 19, 2021 we have received orders for eight ads to be placed in the 2022 CVB
Visitor’s Guide. This equates to approximately $3,500 in revenue received from ad placement.
The ads will be placed throughout the Visitor’s Guide and should account for between 3 ½ to 4
full pages in the Guide. A few businesses reached out for analytical information as far as digital
reach and quantity of distributed guides. Being that this is the inaugural year of the CVB Visitor’s
Guide, distribution information is unavailable and the lack of statistics was a deterrent for a few
businesses.
Printing Quotes
Quotes were submitted from three companies based on our printing specifications. The Guide is
set to be 32 pages plus four pages for the cover. The Guide will be smaller than a magazine size
and measure 9.5” x 11” with an aqueous coating on the cover pages to give it a softer, velvety
feel. The quotes submitted are based on a quantity of 2,500 and 5,000 copies printed of the
Visitor’s Guide. There is also an additional quote attached (quantities of 15,500 and 18,000) based
on comments from the July 27, 2021 meeting about the possibility of sending guides to Cottage
Grove households.
Due to supply chain issues, printers currently only receive a limited amount of stock from paper
companies. Bid quotes from printers are subject to change due to availability, allocation, and price
prevailing at the time of order placement.
Should the Special Meeting in January be approved, two quotes will be submitted for approval to
secure materials will be secured with a firm Purchase Order to lock in the final price.
Board of Directors, Cottage Grove Convention and Visitors Bureau
Nov. 20, 2021
Page 2 of 2
Working Draft
The working draft of the Visitor’s Guide is underway. As writing and content is completed, layout
has begun to take shape. Fonts, colors, additional details, page numbers and a cover photo are
all finishing touches and still being worked on. There is heavy use of high-quality photos, including
action and people focused shots. Once the Visitor’s Guide is complete for print, a second visitors
guide will be duplicated and edited slightly to include videos for our online publication.
Special Meeting
In July 2021 we amended the schedule to allow for quarterly meetings of the CVB with the ability
to call for a Special Meeting if needed. In January 2022 the Visitor’s Guide will be nearing
completion. At that time, approval from the Board of Directors will be needed both for final
feedback on the Visitor’s Guide along with approval for printing costs associated with production
of the Guide.
Recommendation
1. Approve securing a bid under contract and spending authorization up to $7,000 and for the
printing of 2,500 Visitor Guides due to fluctuations in the market and supply chain issues
of paper prices.
2. Approve calling a Special Meeting on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 7:30am to review and
provide final feedback for revisions of the 2022 Visitor’s Guide.
Attachments:
GDI Visitor’s Guide Quote for amount 2,500 & 5,000
LaCrosse Graphics Visitor’s Guide Quote for amount 2,500 & 5,000
Ideal Printers Visitor’s Guide Quote for amount 2,500 & 5,000
GDI Visitor’s Guide Quote for amount 15,500 & 18,000
Visitor’s Guide Sample Pages