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Attendees
Board members Alana Audette, Barry Bushue, Oricilia Forbes, Nick Furman, Rick Gustafson, Chip Jenkins, Betsy Johnson, Tal Johnson, Michelle Liberty, Ralph Martinez, Randy Miller, Cory Schreiber, Scott Shull, Betty Tamm and Carol York; staff Debby Kennedy and Julie Curtis; guests Eddie Martinez and Scott Ballo; and reporters from The Oregonian and Capitol Press. Governor Kulongoski participated at the beginning of the meeting.
Board Chair Rep. Betsy Johnson called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. and welcomed everyone to the first Brand Oregon Advisory Board meeting. All board members introduced themselves.
Brand Oregon Budget
Rep. Johnson asked Julie Curtis to provide a brief overview of the budget:
- $200,000 is from the Governor's Office
- $200,000 from the Industry Sector Outreach Fund administered by the Oregon Economic & Community Development Department
- $50,000 from the Strategic Reserve Fund (SRF)
The line-item budget includes approximately $300,000 for marketing and promotion (including an Opportunity Fund for cooperative marketing projects); and $150,000 for administrative expenses (including the deputy director's salary for 18 months, travel and office expenses). Questions about the budget included 1) What percentage of the total SRF funding is Brand Oregon's $50,000? 2) How will the Opportunity Fund be used? 3) What other state dollars might be available for Brand Oregon marketing?
Remarks by Gov. Kulongoski
At 9:15 the Governor joined the board and thanked everyone for participating in the effort, stressing that Brand Oregon is a high priority of his administration. He expressed his delight at the make-up of the board; thanked both Betsy for agreeing to serve as chair and Debby for her vision for the program; and noted advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy's considerable contributions and pro-bono work for the campaign. He emphasized that private-sector involvement is critical to the success of Brand Oregon, and stressed the importance of potential economic benefits from Brand Oregon marketing. The Governor talked about the upcoming Seafood Oregon and Tourism Commission campaigns, and discussed his commitment to streamlining state government, part of which includes the state website redesign project for which Brand Oregon provided design input (the Governor's website was one of the first to move to the new design).
Campaign Overview
Debby Kennedy presented the Brand Oregon campaign, designed by Wieden + Kennedy and unveiled at the December 1, 2003, Oregon Business Summit. She discussed the broad strategy, campaign art direction and proposed creative. She also discussed partnerships currently in the works, including Seafood Oregon and business recruitment efforts, specifically a partnership being explored with Pixelworks that would include ads and product labeling. Julie Curtis also provided a brief overview of other projects, including the state website redesign and Brand Oregon style guide. Discussion about the campaign included:
- Partnership Development
- Betsy Johnson asked if there are guidelines established for partnership development—how will potential projects be evaluated and against what standards? Debby responded that this is an area that needs more work, and that staff and board members need to prepare these standards. Tal Johnson added that having a good architectural framework for the brand is critically important as we develop partnerships, and that control over message and execution from the very start is key.
- Scott Shull commented that we need guiding principles so that we can yes to appropriate partnerships and no to ones that do not fit our goals. Brand Oregon needs to ensure that partners' interested match ours, and a statewide focus to partnership marketing is critical. He suggested a Memorandum of Understanding format for partnerships that all parties would sign.
- Chip Jenkins said it is extremely important to do a few targeted projects well, and not try to do too much at once, given the limited staff and budget. Focus on quality, not quantity.
- Betsy Johnson commented on the need for internal industry support (building a support base for marketing efforts among private businesses). Barry Bushue said this is critical; Randy Miller said that both internal and external marketing should be primary goals, and that both can be effectively accomplished.
- Seafood Campaign
- The Seafood Oregon campaign drew a lot of interest and comments. Debby discussed the campaign elements: billboards; radio ads and public service announcements; point-of-sale labeling; and public relations. Scott Ballo, communications manager for the Oregon Economic & Community Development Department, is handling the media relations, which will include
outreach to media and a kick-off event with the Governor the last week in April. Other campaign elements are being coordinated by the seafood commodity commissions and the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
- Business Recruitment
- There was discussion among several board members around the issue of good follow up to any marketing the Brand Oregon office undertakes. Randy Miller pointed out that high quality websites are critical; Betsy Johnson asked how we will insure thorough, professional follow up to business recruitment marketing. Ralph Martinez asked what is currently underway for business recruitment marketing, and stressed that whatever Brand Oregon undertakes must be backed up by high quality, professional follow-up procedures.
- Tourism Campaign
- Debby told the board that consumer advertising is being led by the Oregon Tourism Commission (featuring three ads this spring), and that other ads being considered by the commission for upcoming campaigns include a wine ad, Shakespeare Festival or other cultural ad, tribal/Lewis & Clark ad possibly featuring the Umatilla Confederated Tribes, and an author-oriented ad. Tourism´s marketing reach is much broader this spring than it has ever been, and the importance of this partnership with the Tourism Commission cannot be overstated.
- Alana Audette pointed out that the idea of telling Oregon stories by featuring well-known Oregon dreamers (such as Greg Higgins and the developer of Bandon Dunes) does not diminish other attractions, but enhances tourism products across the state. Bandon Dunes brings attention to all the state's excellent golf courses.
- Michelle Liberty stressed the importance of including Oregon´s multi-faceted heritage in ads and communications.
- General Comments
- Barry Bushue commented that the "Oregon Born" label might be confusing, and that we need to emphasize that agricultural products are produced in Oregon (including processing and packaging).
- Randy Miller suggested that having subcommittees work on various Brand Oregon projects might be a good use of the board's broad base of expertise.
Rep. Johnson wrapped up the meeting by thanking all board members for their excellent ideas and provided a summary of staff work before the next meeting:
- Prepare a calendar of Debby's and Julie's speaking engagements.
- Prepare a list of state agencies and partners we are working with.
- Develop a tentative meeting schedule with proposed dates and locations.
- Email the Governor's remarks to the board members.
- Email the draft style guide to all board members.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted:
Julie Curtis, Deputy Director
Brand Oregon
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