The meeting was called to order at 9:10 a.m. by board chair Rep. Betsy Johnson. Board members and audience attendees introduced themselves. Board members in attendance were Betsy Johnson, Randy Miller, Cory Schreiber, Alana Audette, Mike Wilskey, Tal Johnson, Michelle Liberty, Nick Furman and Ralph Martinez. Staff included Debby Kennedy and Julie Curtis.

Welcome Remarks
Dalton Hobbs, marketing director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture welcomed everyone to the Food Innovation Center, an Oregon State University/Oregon Dept. of Ag facility. Dalton explained that 12 ODA staff are located in Portland, and they have an emphasis on agricultural marketing and business development/recruitment. John Henry Well, superintendent of the center, provided a broad overview of the facility, which is operated much like an OSU experiment station. The center's main focus is food research and the staff provides one-stop access to innovative services for food producers, processors, distributors and entrepreneurs.

Staff Reports
New York Press Trip: Debby Kennedy provided a brief report on the Governor's New York press trip which took place April 29 and 30. Representatives from business, economic development and the governor's office were included in the trip. Brand Oregon board member Scott Shull also participated on behalf of Oregon's wine industry. Debby's role was to provide detailed information about Oregon products and the state's unique marketing campaign in one-on-one briefings with key journalists, and to present highlights of the new campaign at a major food, wine and travel luncheon. The trip also included briefings and events with site selectors and business journalists, and a reception for Oregon alumni. The New York Times ran an article about Oregon's and Kentucky's branding efforts as a result of the trip, and other publications are planning Oregon stories. The trip was coordinated by Portland-based public relations firm LANE.

Seafood Campaign Update: Debby showed the KGW TV news coverage of the campaign launch in April, and thanked Greg Robeson for all of the extensive public relations efforts he and Kelli Amico provided for the press conference and launch. All the seafood media materials are on the Brand Oregon website. Dalton Hobbs gave an update on the increases in salmon prices to date, and explained that the fishermen are very happy with the results of the campaign so far. Randy Miller asked if the seafood marketing will reach out of state, and Dalton said at this time it is mainly focused in-state, but that the Seafood Oregon team does extensive trade-show marketing nationally and internationally. Cory Schreiber said it is important that we deliver on our quality promise so that when we are able to influence price increases, the product delivers.

The board discussed the "Oregon Wild" label, and a recent request from the Oregon Natural Resources Council to stop using it because of their use of Oregon Wild in fundraising and educational outreach. Gary Glisson, a trademark attorney from Stoel Rives who is contributing pro bono legal advice for Brand Oregon, provided a brief overview of the issues around trademarks, and our belief that the seafood campaign does not conflict with ONRC's usage. Tal Johnson urged the board to reiterate our commitment to the Oregon Wild label, and the board members present concurred. The next steps are to try to work with the ONRC on a compromise, and state attorneys are coordinating this effort. Alana Audette asked if the labels are being trademarked, and Gary and Julie Curtis responded that we are in the process of doing that, working also with the Tourism Commission, who owns the tagline "Oregon. We Love Dreamers."

There was also discussion around the point-of-sale distribution of the Oregon Wild label and the need to constantly keep on top of this. Dalton Hobbs said the labels are a huge success, and that many smaller stores have readily embraced using the labels, banners and other POS material. It was suggested we might want to add a large retailer to the Brand Oregon board at a later date. Nick Furman said there is a lot of support among the fishermen for the POS material and marketing program, and that the seafood promotion provided us with a good "learning experience" for moving this model out to other products.

Tourism Marketing: Julie Curtis showed the Tourism Commission ads and mock-ups of the fall/winter Travel Oregon magazine, which incorporates Brand Oregon graphic treatments from the style guide. She also discussed the leverage the Tourism Commission brings to Brand Oregon efforts—in excess of $650,000 in ad development and media buys. The commission also is a key partner with Brand Oregon in developing guidelines for use of the tagline. Greg Robeson commented on the recent Oregon Restaurant Foundation's publication, Main Ingredient, which featured several spreads on tourism and Brand Oregon (including the cover and a one-page write-up on the My Oregon Story completed by restaurant/lodging partners Patrick Nofield and Tom Drumheller). Board members received this magazine in their board packets. Greg said the buy-in from restaurateurs for the seafood promotion has been excellent.

Brand Oregon Budget: Julie Curtis briefly discussed the budget to date, and how the Brand Oregon office has leveraged $113,000 of state funds for Brand Oregon marketing into more than $1 million in reach. Key partners include the Oregon Tourism Commission, Seafood campaign partners, and Wieden+Kennedy. Randy Miller said it is important to list our key partners on our website, which Julie will pursue.

Business Recruitment Marketing
Chair Betsy Johnson invited Tim McCabe, current president of the Oregon Economic Development Association (OEDA), to provide an overview of the fundraising to date for business recruitment advertising. OEDA has coordinated marketing efforts on behalf of the Oregon Economic & Community Development Department (OECDD) for several years, and volunteered to help raise funds to match $150,000 from OECDD lottery funds for business recruitment advertising. Debby presented the media plan prepared by Wieden+Kennedy, which includes general business publications in California, as well as national site selector magazines. The board also discussed the need to better coordinate business recruitment marketing efforts, and Tim and Ron Fox explained that OECDD is working on streamlining the lead follow-up process (email, toll-free phone lines, etc.), as well as bringing various business-related websites in-house in order to coordinate their look and feel. Julie Curtis has been working with OECDD webmaster Carmen Spuhler on this work. OECDD is also seeking a new communications manager who will assist Brand Oregon with media relations work. The job should be filled in August. Randy Miller pointed out that it will be important that Brand Oregon's business recruitment marketing dovetail with Portland-area efforts, particularly those being led by businessman Jim Mark. Randy also said he thinks it is important for Portland and Clark County to reach out to the Salem-Marion County area. Chair Johnson said it's important to keep the discussion going, and asked Tim to attend the next meeting on August 5 for an update on the fundraising and other issues.

Brand Plan
Working with a subcommittee composed of board members Michelle Liberty, Tal Johnson and Scott Shull; Wieden+Kennedy account executive Ken Smith; and Brand Oregon staff, Mike Wilskey is leading the work to craft a brand plan that will guide Brand Oregon through its partnership development and marketing efforts. Mike presented an overview of the key elements of a solid brand plan, using examples from NIKE and the Converse brand. He emphasized that it's critical to articulate who we want to be (long-term vision), as well as developing a "core equity" of the brand that is Oregon. Mike explained that the subcommittee worked on a draft mission statement and on identifying brand principles and brand drivers. It is very important to get the brand architecture in place so that marketing programs and partnership development reinforces the brand and provides benefits to both Brand Oregon and the partners. Mike presented the preliminary work of the subcommittee, and said the next steps are to meet again to flesh out the elements of the plan and present the draft plan at the August 5 board meeting. Chair Betsy Johnson asked if we will ultimately have guidelines to determine how we establish partnerships, and with whom, and Tal said we will have guidelines, not a hard and fast checklist. Randy said this was an excellent direction, and praised the work of Mike and the subcommittee.

New Business
Randy Miller brought to the board's attention the December 6 Oregon Business Summit and the opportunity for Brand Oregon to present a workshop for the third time. Alana Audette moved and Tal Johnson seconded a motion to support this idea, with the suggestion that the focus of the workshop be the completed Brand Plan. Motion approved unanimously.

Approval of meeting minutes
Randy Miller moved and Betsy Johnson seconded a motion to approve the April 16, 2004, meeting minutes—motion approved unanimously.

Next Meeting Dates
Julie and Alana will work on the meeting date for the October meeting in Bend.

The meeting adjourned at 11:30. Nick Furman brought Oregon Dungeness crab for all to enjoy!

Respectfully submitted:
Julie Curtis, Deputy Director
Brand Oregon