Microsoft Word - RSCVA approved Special Events

To:

RSCVA Board of Directors

From:

Knud Svendsen, VP of Sales and Marketing

cc:

Ellen Oppenheim, President & CEO Brett Scolari, Legal Counsel Rick Odynski, Internal Auditor

Date:

February 8, 2007

Subject:

Special Events Program

Executive Summary The special events funding process has varied over the years and needs to be reexamined and solidified to give the organization a policy that will be followed for the next 3 – 5 years. Staff initiated a special event workshop in November 2006 to solicit feedback and ideas from special event producers. At the conclusion of that meeting staff was asked to develop a new and improved special event program and incorporate these recommendations into the overall RSCVA Strategic Plan. Staff met again with Special Event Organizers on February 1, 2007. Several changes were incorporated into this document following that meeting.

The RSCVA has a vested interest in special events and the organization wants to foster special events in a number of ways. Above and beyond the limited financial support that is available, the RSCVA would like to develop a variety of tools that special event organizers can utilize to be successful, ultimately contributing to the America’s Adventure Place branding and driving new hotel room nights.

Background The RSCVA vision for special events is to utilize new and existing special events to help brand the destination as America’s Adventure Place (AAP) via marketing opportunities, to increase overnight visitation and to help book RSCVA-owned and operated facilities.

Special events in Reno-Tahoe help create a distinctive perception of the region and attract visitors to the area. With the success of special events in Reno-Tahoe and the destination’s unique ability to host large events, it is a natural fit for the RSCVA to be involved in the growth and future of special events in our community. The role that the cities of Reno and Sparks and the RSCVA play with regards to special events is very unique to cities of like size and with similar budgets. The RSCVA’s mission is to market the destination with the ultimate goal to bring visitors to Reno-Tahoe, while the City of Reno’s special event program purpose is to showcase the renaissance in our destination, stimulate interest in downtown and enhance the quality of life for residents

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and visitors to the Truckee Meadows. The RSCVA will work with the Cities of Reno and Sparks to ensure we have complimentary special event programs.

Staff has conducted a series of meetings to review the special event processes as well as included special events in all RSCVA Strategic Planning Sessions. In each of these environments considerable feedback was received and contributed to the following analysis.

Finally, in each of the strategic planning sessions conducted by the RSCVA President & CEO, Ellen Oppenheim, the community emphasized the importance of special events to the destination and indicated that special events should be a part of the RSCVA’s overall mission and continue to be supported by the RSCVA. This support includes, but is not limited to, financial assistance. Other types of assistance such as inclusion in RSCVA collateral and web materials, education, in-kind marketing benefits, and overall community cooperation to leverage services and reduce event costs, leveraged marketing, and staff assistance are also important components that add additional value to our partnerships with each special event.

The RSCVA has a very limited budget and from it must support sales and marketing, facility operations, room tax collections, general administration and other functions. The total marketing budget is approximately $4.2 million per year. Each of the individual major hotel properties probably has a marketing budget larger than the RSCVA. Given these constraints the RSCVA has tried to find ways to support special events that go beyond the limited and potentially volatile dollars available for potential special event grants.

Analysis Why Does the RSCVA Sponsor Special Events?

1. To generate new, incremental room nights at desirable hotel rates for RenoTahoe.

2. To create positive awareness and compel travelers to visit Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place (RT – AAP) through out-of-market event marketing/advertising opportunities.

3. To increase repeat visitation – visitors who come to the destination for an event and have an enjoyable experience are more likely to return to Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place at another time.

4. To assist with destination branding as Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place.

What the RSCVA Special Event Program IS: 1. A grant funding opportunity for new special events that will generate out-ofmarket advertising and room nights.

2. A program to work in cooperation with special events to develop creative ways to offer assistance (other than just financial assistance) so that events can grow and be successful.

3. A limited grant funding program where funding changes each year based on overall RSCVA commitments and budget and tax collection.

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4. A program to assist special events with out-of-market marketing of their event to visitors.

5. Intended to complement the cities of Reno, Sparks and Washoe County special event programs. The cities typically sponsor city support services and our role at the RSCVA is to generate visitor room nights.

What the RSCVA Special Event Program is NOT: 1. It is not an entitlement program for funding.

2. It is not a funding program for operating costs for special events.

3. It is not intended to be the sole funding source for special events; each event should have multiple funding sources.

How does the RSCVA’s Special Event Program Compare to Other Cities?

At the November Marketing and Sales Committee meeting, Rick Odynski, RSCVA Internal Auditor, presented a comparative study of 18 cities evaluating how they conduct their grant process. The following recommendation was made by the Internal Auditor to the committee at that time: Other bureaus conduct their grant process differently than the RSCVA. Those that have annual programs restrict funding amounts and repetition for the most part or offer in-kind help or direct marketing assistance when money is tight. Those that don’t actively solicit special events but occasionally find a good one or want to hold on to an event with potential, keep funding decisions to management. To achieve similar results as other visitor bureaus, the RSCVA could: 1. Limit funding to seed money to start new events.

2. Require post-event follow up within 60 days or no repeat funding.

3. Limit funding to those events that can produce room tax revenue in excess of the grant after a pre-defined start up period.

4. Limit applicants to start up events and limit repeat funding.

5. Create a new category for events that have potential and need continuing support.

6. The Board limits spending for the continuing category by the budget process and management selects the candidates.

What is the RSVCA’s Role with Special Events? a) Education b) Networking opportunities c) Funding for out-of-market marketing and advertising d) Assistance to make event visible on a national level e) Encourage events to extend event days (room nights) f) In-kind marketing support g) Help lower operating costs thru cooperative special event buying power h) Housing bureau assistance, hotel assistance i) To hold events accountable for the event deliverables that are spelled out in the event contract.

The RSCVA generally deals with four (4) types of special event classifications.

1. New Event(s)

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A New Event is defined as any event that is in its first five years of existence.

New events are critical to our destination and we encourage new events to thrive in Reno-Tahoe.

2.

Established Event(s) Events that have been in existence for 6 – 9 years. Over time these events should become self sufficient and grow to Legacy Event status.

3. Legacy Event(s) A legacy event is a special event that has been in existence for a minimum of 10 years and generally has a total of at least 5,000 room nights.

4. RSCVA Produced Event(s) The RSCVA currently serves a production role for one special event: the Reno River Festival. As we move into 2008 it is our intention to pass this event on to a third party with reduced funding from the RSCVA and within 3 years make the event self sustaining and able to compete in the special event funding process.

What are the RSCVA Special Event Program Goals?

1. To find those new special events that will grow to be future legacy events for the destination.

2. To assist special events with out-of-market marketing to our visitors.

3. To assist special events to grow and realize their full potential in room nights and brand awareness.

4. To enhance the positioning of the cities of Reno, Sparks and Washoe County as a more attractive place to live, work, and play.

5. To extend the special event season and fill holes in the annual calendar of major regional events.

6. All special events that receive funding/support from the RSCVA must fall into this formal request process within three years (by 2010) for any funding.

Recommendations The following are ways that staff intends to accomplish these goals and improve the overall special event program. However, we wish to point out that not all these goals can be accomplished in this upcoming special event season; some are long term goals that need additional components to be built upon to final completion. To this end the implementation plan is listed after each goal.

The specific categories of assistance detailed in the following chart demonstrate the variety of support tools proposed to be available to the full range of events.

Tools Use of events in RSCVA Collateral/Marketing Summer Special Event Advertising Campaign E-Mail Blasts

New Events

Established Events

Legacy Events x

x

x

x

x

x

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RSCVA Equipment Rental **

x

x

x

RSCVA Facility Rental ** Education - Special Event Conference Networking – Regular Special Events Meetings Buying Power Out of Market Advertising/Marketing Dollars Staff Support

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x*

x

x

x

*Legacy Events must have new programming or additional days/room nights associated with the event **Subject to availability and limits

1. RSCVA In-Kind Contributions In-kind contributions for each event will continue to be available. This support typically consists of some or all of the following: listing in the special events calendar, listing in the visitor planner (depending on timing of event and printing schedules, of course), listing on the PR calendar, expanded Meeting & Convention Sales and Travel Industry Sales promotion of special events at trade shows throughout the year, RSCVA website presence for event, links to the event’s website through the calendar function on visitrenotahoe.com, distribution of event brochures at RSCVA visitor centers, inclusion in the spring/summer promotion (if applicable due to date of the event and promotion) and e-mail blast(s) to our data base.

The RSCVA also offers additional in-kind opportunities to events, such as discounts on space at the Reno Sparks Convention Center (RSCC), Reno Events Center (REC), and Reno Sparks Livestock Events Center (RSLEC) as well as equipment loans (chairs, tables, and audio visual services) where appropriate and available. For instance, we currently loan chairs to the Reno Rodeo and Reno National Championship Air Races and give discounts to Hot August Nights for rental at the RSCC. The RSCVA recognizes that the legacy events in Reno-Tahoe benefit the most from the in-kind contributions since they are more iconic to our destination. These legacy event images are used throughout all RSCVA collateral materials (visitor planner, television, b-roll, photos, booth images, invitations, presentations to clients, etc). We believe that this contribution is important to our joint marketing efforts in many ways and everyone benefits from the exposure.

Finally, each spring/summer we put together a special event marketing program for the special event season that will involve print, radio and possible San Francisco Bay area TV. This advertisement is typically a destination message that lists all the events that can be enjoyed over a specific timeframe. Typically the events that may be included in this Spring/Summer promotion are Legacy and established events such as: Reno Rodeo, Artown, Reno Tahoe Odyssey, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Reno Tahoe Open, Hot August Nights, Reno National Championship Air Races, Balloon Races, Street Vibrations, and Rib Cook Off.

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The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

2. Education/Community Partnerships We would like to assist new and if resources allow, some of the established special event producers with education and propose that we set aside $5,000 of the annual budget to send some of them to The Special Event Conference and Trade Show (the SECTS event typically takes place in January) or alternative educational activities to assist in their efforts to make their events maximally successful. We anticipate that we will be able to select three to five event producers each year to participate in this program based on need.

Additionally, we would like to start a community special event group that will meet at least every other month (probably after hours) for education. We would bring in experts to speak to the group on a variety of subjects such as: • What you need to know to hold your event in the City of Reno and/or Sparks • How to Market Your Special Event • Finding Partners for Your Event • Food and Beverage How To’s (permits to food safety) • Street Closures Symposium • Everything About Event Permits • Maximize Your Internet Marketing • Event Sponsorships • Event Security – What do you need to be safe?

• How to Include an Expo in Your Event • Working with Non-Profits • 1-2-3’s of Audio Visuals • How to Apply & Get That Grant • Working with Hotel Partners • Creating Room Blocks with Hotel Sponsors • How to Work with the RSCVA Housing Bureau • Entertainment at Your Special Event The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

3. Leverage Special Event Buying Power When a community of special event producers is created thru the networking process described above, the RSCVA can assist them to join together to garner discounts from service providers such as portable restrooms, barricades, security services, transportation, tent rentals, generator rentals, etc. We believe that when we group together our destination-wide needs for services, we can garner discounts/savings for everyone. We will work closely with the special event producers and the RSCVA purchasing agent to determine specific needs and create a Request For Proposal (RFP) for these services.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2008/09 special event season to produce 2 to 3 RFPs for necessary services. The goal for 2009/2010 is to send out

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another 2-3 RFPs and to continue this process in future years as necessary for special event services.

4. Leverage Special Event Marketing If any event would like to cooperatively partner with the RSCVA we would be happy to assist with their media buy.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

5. Establish Special Events Review Panel A panel of five to six experts/stakeholders in the special events field will be assembled by staff to evaluate special event applications prior to going to the Marketing and Sales Committee for funding. We anticipate that this panel will meet once annually to review event applications and there could possibly be one to two conference calls prior to and following the meeting.

The panel selected annually could consist of some of the following types of individuals: o Hotelier o Successful Event Producers – that do not request funds from the RSCVA o Special Event Colleague - from another city/state organization that works with special events in his/her community o Marketing and Sales Committee/Board of Directors Member o City of Reno and/or City of Sparks Special Events Manager o RSCVA Executive Director of Marketing o RSCVA Special Events Manager This panel will evaluate special event applications looking at each event’s submission package indicating their business plan, operations plan, budget, marketing and PR plan, etc. to make recommendations as to the event’s viability to generate room nights and awareness and propensity to visit the destination.

This panel will also have the ability to re-evaluate funding levels yearly for each special event making sure that the requirements were met for the previous season in the funding level in which they were evaluated. If the room nights or out-of-market advertising and marketing requirements were not met, then the special event could be subject to being moved to a different eligibility category for future years.

Finally, this panel and staff will make recommendations to the RSCVA President and CEO. With the adoption of the criteria, awards of up to $25,000 will be made by the CEO. Any funding recommendations over $25,000 amount will be taken to the RSCVA Marketing and Sales Committee for review and then to the Board for approval.

Should the amount not specifically fit into a pre-determined category, the Special Events Panel will make a recommendation as to the funding level.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

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6. Funding Cycle Our ultimate goal is to hold one funding meeting each year beginning in the fall of 2007.

However, prior to commencing that schedule we will need to hold one final funding meeting in the spring of 2007. The goal is that within three years all special events should fall in to this formal special event process. This timing will give the RSCVA the opportunity to work with the events that came to us for funding in April of 2007 (events such as: Balloon Races, Air Races, NV Chamber Music Festival, North Lake Tahoe Holiday Jazz Festival, Oktoberfest and Reno Tahoe Blues Festival and those that were deferred from the fall 2006 cycle). These events would need to come to the RSCVA in the spring for their 2007 event then again in October 2007 for their 2008 events. The events that were funded at the October 2006 meeting (for their 2007 events) would need to return to the committee meeting in October 2007 for funding for their event that would be taking place in 2008.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

7. Funding Pay-Out If/when financial aid is awarded; special event producers will receive 50% of the funding prior to the event and the final 50% after the post evaluation is completed. Prior to initial funding the following must be received from the special event producer: 1. Signed special event contract 2. Verification of all anticipated advertising/media buys 3. Verification of all anticipated hotel nights (via room blocks or housing bureau rate agreements) 4. If they are using a RSCVA facility, must have a signed agreement with the facility The final 50% funding will be issued after the following has taken place, preferably within 30 – 45 days after the completion of the event: 1. Room night verification 2. Advertising/marketing verification 3. All other benefits verification (benefits per the event contract) 4. If they are using a RSCVA facility, proof of completed payment The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

8. Evaluation of Room Nights It is the RSCVA’s ultimate goal to make all special event producers more aware and accountable for room nights. We recognize that this is a goal that can be reached after a couple of years of working more closely with special event producers’ needs and our hotel partners, therefore RSCVA will give new events without room night history two years to get the tracking of room nights in place. If room night pickups are not met, this will affect next year’s special event funding category eligibility. The Special Events Panel has the ability to make changes in funding levels if room night requirements for the previous year were not met.

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Event producers will be asked to do one of the following to quantify their events room nights: • Utilize the RSCVA’s housing bureau to track room nights.

• Have a verifiable group block (or rate codes) at hotel(s) in Washoe County. Each event producer must supply the RSCVA with proof of picked up rooms by way of a room night validation form from each property.

All room nights considered in the special events process must be generated in Washoe County and is the sole responsibility of the special events to work with hotels, motels, and Washoe County paying room tax condominiums, to verify and validate their room night pick-up.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

9. Evaluation of Marketing Event producers will be required to have all use of the RSCVA logo approved by the RSCVA prior to printing.

At the conclusion of the event the producer will be required to submit proof of execution of all advertising to the special events staff prior to payment of the final funding.

Event producers must obtain and directly pay for at least half of the marketing spent for the special event.

The RSCVA will allow public relations advertising equivalency and/or hotel and/or stakeholder out of marketing advertising to count at discounted rates for up to one half of the out of market requirement.

Up to one-half of out-of market advertising can come from public relations advertising equivalency from the previous year accounting for the value of positive third party editorial print, television, or radio coverage and/or hotel or stakeholder marketing done for the special event.

The public relations advertising equivalency can be determined by obtaining the equivalent advertising value of the article as determined by the open rate value provided by the news source or by a source such as Bacon’s, SRDS, Burrellesl Luce, or other industry standard service. Obtaining the clips, and/or purchasing the monitoring service, and determining the ad equivalency value is the sole responsibility of the special event. It is the RSCVA’s responsibility to verify the value presented. Due to the fact that editorial content is not within the control of the special event or the RSCVA, (as a paid advertisement would be) and because there is no guarantee that Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place brand and logo will be included, the RSCVA will only apply one-third of the total advertising equivalency value to the total evaluation of marketing.

It is up to the Special Events Panel to evaluate the public relations and advertising equivalency for its impact in the following year.

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The RSCVA will also give the special event marketing credit for any hotel and/or stakeholder out of market advertising done on the behalf of the special event. This out of market advertising must include Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and proper brand usage and have an appropriate special event package or rate code message. If the advertising is for multiple events or activities, the RSCVA will only apply one third of the hotel stakeholder ad value to the total evaluation of marketing.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

10. Eligibility of Funding for Legacy Events Legacy events will be assisted by the RSCVA through the inclusion of legacy events in summer RSCVA ad campaigns, collaterals, web promotion, email blasts, and (as appropriate and subject to availability) with equipment loans and/or limited facility rental assistance.

If an event is categorized as a legacy event, in order to be eligible for funding the event must have a new way to generate either new room nights (by extending the event by a day or two, adding another program, etc) or have considerable new national television/media exposure for the event and destination. See special exception in #15 below.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

11. Non-Profit and For-Profit Events The mission of the RSCVA is to generate room nights and create brand awareness; the RSCVA will work with non-profit and/or for-profit events that meet the goals of the mission.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

12. Events That Benefit Charity If an event donates a percentage of their profits to charity, this may affect eligibility for RSCVA funding. Supporting charity is a worthy goal, but due to limited RSCVA funds, if an event has the financial means to support a charity then it may not be in as great a need of RSCVA funding as other events.

Note: If the donation to charity is in lieu of labor costs the special event would have to pay for, then the donation to charity would be considered in lieu of an operating cost and would not affect eligibility for RSCVA funding. (An example of this would the National Championship Air Races that arrange to receive volunteer help with necessary services for their event from various local organizations and make a donation to that organization in exchange for their volunteers’ labor, in lieu of hiring additional temporary or permanent paid staff to perform that work).

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

13. Multi-Property Event

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To be eligible for special event funding, each special event must have partnerships/room nights with a minimum of two Washoe County hotel properties.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

14. Event Must Occur in Washoe County In order to be eligible for special event funding, the event must generally take place in Washoe County. Should the event occur out of Washoe County, but is able to demonstrate significant room nights in Washoe County hotels, the special events panel has the ability to review the event for possible sponsorship.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

15. Funding Term Limit New event funding will be limited to a maximum of five (5) years and established event funding will be limited to two (2) years. As an accommodation in the transition to this new special events process, existing legacy events put on by non-profits that are free to the public over one weekend a year will be eligible to compete one time only in the 2007 spring funding cycle. After the term limits have expired if and when an event has new programming to extend days and room nights or new national television they can continue to request funding from the RSCVA. The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

16. Funding Requested Amount The RSCVA will not fund event(s) where the requested funding exceeds 25% of overall event budget.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

17. Funding Submission Requirements In order to be considered for special event funding each special event producer must submit the following: 1. Event Business Plan 2. Previous Year’s Financial Statement (Event P&L) 3. Previous Year’s Budget vs. Actual 4. Current Year’s Event Budget 5. Current Year’s Marketing Plan 6. Current Year’s Out-of-Market Advertising Plan 7. Current Year’s PR Plan 8. Previous year’s PR clips & associated advertising equivalency value 9. Event Staff/Board of Directors Listing 10. Listing of event’s top five (5) sponsors (from previous year’s event) and what is anticipated for this year’s event along with the amounts that these sponsors will be giving the event.

11. Information on event charitable donations and on any sister charitable foundation.

12. Verification of Room Night Utilization

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For groups requesting $2,500 or less, they only need to submit items 1., 2., 4., 5., and 12. If these groups are also submitting PR/advertising equivalency, they will also need to submit item 8. in addition to the other required items.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

18. Contingency Fund/Research Fund A 10% special event contingency fund will be set aside from the annual special event budget. This contingency fund will be used exclusively for new, pop-up event(s) that have never been awarded RSCVA funding. These new, pop-up event(s) will have to present their event to the Marketing and Sales Committee for consideration of funding support. Any funds that are not awarded in the fiscal year will roll over to the next year’s special event funding budget.

In addition to the contingency fund, we propose to set aside from the annual special event budget the following: 5% for research at specific events 5% for attendance counts at specific events 2% for special events panel $5,000 for education $5,000 for special events network The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season, subject to availability of funds.

19. Master Special Events Calendar The RSCVA will keep a master special event calendar for the region. The RSCVA will hold a meeting once annually to meet with special event producers to ensure that there is no significant overlapping of special events in our community, and that new funded events fit appropriately into future dates.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2007/08 special event season.

20. New Events for the Destination Ultimately, the RSCVA will seek out and actively recruit events that could fit into available “holes” in the master special event calendar for the region and extend our special event season in the destination.

The above goal would begin implementation in the 2009/10 special event season.

21. Funding Levels Historically the RSCVA has had very limited funding for special events. FY 2006/07 the following was budgeted for special events: $ 70,000 Reno River Festival $250,000 Reno Tahoe Open $250,000 All other Reno-Tahoe special events $570,000 Total Funding

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Funding will be based solely on the benefits that the event can contribute to the overall mission of the RSCVA. (Out of market advertising and generation of room nights at good rates.)

Note: The minimum room nights are determined by dividing the funding amount by RSCVA received tax (.065) then dividing that amount by the average rate of $100 and rounding to the nearest 100.

• Request of $1,000 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 200 cash occupied room nights – or be a new event (in year 1 - 2). Room Night verification only required for one Washoe County hotel. o minimum marketing and PR budget of $10,000 o Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention), web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts) o Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe o tickets to the event (5) o minimum of 5 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RTAAP o minimum of 5 PA announcements at the event promoting RT - AAP •

Request of $2,500 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 400 cash occupied room nights – or be a new event (in year 1 - 2), room night verification must include at least two Washoe County Hotels. o minimum out-of-market marketing and PR budget of $12,500 o Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention) web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts) o Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe o tickets to the event (10) o minimum of 5 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RT – AAP o minimum of 5 PA announcements at the event promoting RT – AAP

Request of $5,000 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 800 cash occupied room nights, room night verification must include at least two Washoe County Hotels. o minimum out-of-market marketing and PR budget of $15,000 o Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention) web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts)

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o Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe o tickets to the event (15) o minimum of 7 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RT – AAP o minimum of 7 PA announcements at the event promoting RT – AAP •

Request of $10,000 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 1600 cash occupied room nights, room night verification must include at least two Washoe County Hotels o minimum out-of-market marketing/advertising with RT - AAP presence (with logo) – $30,000 o Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention) web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts) o Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe o ½ page program ad o tickets to the event (20) plus VIP status, where available o minimum of 10 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RT – AAP o minimum of 10 PA announcements at the event promoting RT - AAP

•

Request of $20,000 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 3100 cash occupied room nights, room night verification must include at least two Washoe County Hotels. o out-of-market advertising with RT – AAP presence (with logo) – minimum media buy of $35,000 o ½ page program ad o Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention) web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts) o Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe o tickets to the event (30) with VIP status o minimum of 12 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RT – AAP o minimum of 15 PA announcements at the event promoting RT - AAP o televised event taking place in RT – AAP (cable or national TV)

•

Request of $25,000 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 3900 cash occupied room nights), room night verification must include at least two Washoe County Hotels. o out-of-market advertising with RT – AAP presence (with logo) – minimum media buy of $50,000

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o o o o o

o

o o o

full page program ad advertorial in event program televised event taking place in RT – AAP (cable or national TV) minimum of 2 :30 ad spots during the events telecast Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention) web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts) Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe tickets to the event (30) with VIP status minimum of 15 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RT – AAP minimum of 20 PA announcements at the event promoting RT – AAP

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Request of $30,000 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 4700 cash occupied room nights), room night verification must include at least two Washoe County Hotels. o out-of-market advertising with RT – AAP presence (with logo) – minimum media buy of $75,000 o nationally televised event taking place in RT – AAP (major markets/prime time programming) o full page program ad o advertorial in event program o minimum of 4 :30 ad spots during the events telecast o minimum of 2 in and out bumpers within the telecast o Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention) web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts) o Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe o tickets to the event (40) with VIP status o minimum of 20 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RT - AAP o minimum of 30 PA announcements at the event promoting RT – AAP

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Request of $40,000 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 6200 room nights), room night verification must include at least two Washoe County Hotels. o out-of-market advertising with RT – AAP presence (with logo) – minimum media buy of $80,000 o nationally televised event taking place in RT – AAP (major markets/prime time programming) o full page program ad o advertorial in event program o minimum of 4 :30 ad spots during the events telecast

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o minimum of 8 in and out bumpers within telecast o Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention) web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts) o Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe o tickets to the event (50) with VIP Status o minimum of 25 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RT – AAP o minimum of 35 PA announcements at the event promoting RT – AAP •

Request of $50,000 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 7700 room nights), room night verification must include at least two Washoe County Hotels. o out-of-market advertising with RT – AAP presence (with logo) – minimum media buy of $100,000 o nationally televised event taking place in RT – AAP (major markets/prime time programming) o minimum of 6 :30 ad spots during the events telecast o minimum of 8 in and out bumpers within telecast o program ad (full page) o advertorial in event program o Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention) web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts) o Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe o tickets to the event (50) with VIP status o minimum of 30 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RT –AAP o minimum of 40 PA announcements at the event promoting RT – AAP

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Request of $75,000 must supply the RSCVA with the following: o minimum of 11,600 room nights), room night verification must include at least two Washoe County Hotels. o out-of-market advertising with RT – AAP presence (with logo) – minimum media buy of $150,000 o nationally televised event taking place in RT – AAP (major markets/prime time programming) o minimum of 6 :30 ad spots during the events telecast o minimum of 1 :60 advertorial o minimum of 8 in and out bumpers within telecast o complimentary program ad (full page) o Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place logo and consistency of promoting the brand (logo on all event posters, ads, press releases (mention) web site (link to RSCVA special events page), event t-shirts)

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o Include RSCVA special event collateral in all registration packets and distribute at information booths on-site – this collateral would highlight the entire special events season in Reno-Tahoe o advertorial in event program o tickets to the event (75) with VIP status o minimum of 40 banners/signage opportunities at the event to promote RT – AAP o minimum of 50 PA announcements at the event promoting RT – AAP Important Funding Level Note: Not every group will fit perfectly into these specific parameters. Staff will have the ability to evaluate events that have varying amounts/benefits accordingly. For example, should an event have major national television coverage but minimal room nights it will be evaluated by staff and brought to the Special Events Panel for consideration and recommendation of funding level.

Recommendation Approve the recommended special event program elements as listed below: 1. In-Kind Contributions 2. Education/Community Partnerships 3. Leverage Special Event Buying Power 4. Leverage Special Event Marketing 5. Establish Special Events Review Panel 6. Funding Cycle 7. Funding Pay-Out 8. Evaluation of Room Nights 9. Evaluation of Marketing 10. Eligibility of Funding for Legacy Events 11. Non-Profit and For-Profit Events 12. Events That Benefit Charity 13. Multi-Property Event 14. Event Must Occur in Washoe County 15. Funding Term Limit 16. Funding Requested Amount 17. Funding Submission Requirements 18. Contingency Fund/Research Fund 19. Master Special Events Calendar 20. New Events for the Destination 21. Funding Levels