MONROE - Monroe may soon become a television celebrity.
The City of Monroe Visitors & Promotion Board met Thursday with Jim Bruce of Charter Media to discuss a proposal to do a 30-second spot video advertisement campaign.
Coverage targets southeastern Wisconsin from Sheboygan to almost Chicago. The advertisement will reach about 245,000 people in eastern Wisconsin.
The campaign extends an invitation to bicyclists to enjoy Green County's trails, highlights the 2008 Balloon Rally and Cheese Days and features Monroe's historic Downtown Square. The video supports a script with shots of shopping, dining, lodging and events, as well as the trails and art work, Bruce said. Charter will add a $1,000 credit toward the commercial production.
Two proposals were submitted. The first costs $12,600 for 5,640 commercial showings running from April through September. The second costs $14,700 for 6,580 spots running April through October.
Members discussed whether October's fall colors would make Monroe a travel destination and whether October commercial runs were necessary.
Mayor Ron Marsh said he liked the script and thought the proposals were good. The campaign reaches beyond Dane, Rock and Lafayette counties, areas for which this type of advertising is not "apropos," he said.
Marsh and board member Richard Thoman said they wanted more time to review the proposals and compare the costs with last year's campaign. Thoman also indicated he would like two absent board members, Matt Urban and Randy Gobeli, to view the proposals before approving one.
The video campaign proposals were tabled until 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 6, during a special Visitor and Promotion meeting, already set to discuss possible funding for a convention complex trailhead for Badger State Trail.
Sesquicentennial advertising approved
The Board also pre-approved $3,731 to the Monroe Cultural Arts Coalition to fund printing costs for 27,000 brochures advertising the city's upcoming sesquicentennial celebration events. The board did not approve payment for postage costs.
Barb Nelson, representing and speaking for the coalition, said the Sesquicentennial was a "once in a life-time event" and members of the coalition believed direct mailing of the brochure to residents in the Monroe zip codes was "deemed to be worth it (the cost) to get this information into the hands of the residents.
"Our best advertising is our community," Nelson told the board.
Marsh said funding for postage and local advertising has not been approved for other organizations and the board could not make an exception. However, he said "the door could still be open" for the board to help with additional funding for other qualifying sesquicentennial activities.
The Board also:
• Pre-authorized $2,000 to Monroe Main Street for Sesquicentennial promotional advertising costs with a calendar of events in the Hidden Valleys publication. Eighty-thousand copies of the publication are printed. The calendar is part of a cooperative two-page spread advertisement, surrounded with ads paid by downtown merchants. Board funding pays only for the calendar portion.
• Authorized payment of $1,829 to Green County Tourism for promotional publishing in visitors' guides. The Board had pre-approved the amount April 30, 2007.
• Approved a corrected amount, $1,097.41, payable to Green County Model Railroaders.
The City of Monroe Visitors & Promotion Board met Thursday with Jim Bruce of Charter Media to discuss a proposal to do a 30-second spot video advertisement campaign.
Coverage targets southeastern Wisconsin from Sheboygan to almost Chicago. The advertisement will reach about 245,000 people in eastern Wisconsin.
The campaign extends an invitation to bicyclists to enjoy Green County's trails, highlights the 2008 Balloon Rally and Cheese Days and features Monroe's historic Downtown Square. The video supports a script with shots of shopping, dining, lodging and events, as well as the trails and art work, Bruce said. Charter will add a $1,000 credit toward the commercial production.
Two proposals were submitted. The first costs $12,600 for 5,640 commercial showings running from April through September. The second costs $14,700 for 6,580 spots running April through October.
Members discussed whether October's fall colors would make Monroe a travel destination and whether October commercial runs were necessary.
Mayor Ron Marsh said he liked the script and thought the proposals were good. The campaign reaches beyond Dane, Rock and Lafayette counties, areas for which this type of advertising is not "apropos," he said.
Marsh and board member Richard Thoman said they wanted more time to review the proposals and compare the costs with last year's campaign. Thoman also indicated he would like two absent board members, Matt Urban and Randy Gobeli, to view the proposals before approving one.
The video campaign proposals were tabled until 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 6, during a special Visitor and Promotion meeting, already set to discuss possible funding for a convention complex trailhead for Badger State Trail.
Sesquicentennial advertising approved
The Board also pre-approved $3,731 to the Monroe Cultural Arts Coalition to fund printing costs for 27,000 brochures advertising the city's upcoming sesquicentennial celebration events. The board did not approve payment for postage costs.
Barb Nelson, representing and speaking for the coalition, said the Sesquicentennial was a "once in a life-time event" and members of the coalition believed direct mailing of the brochure to residents in the Monroe zip codes was "deemed to be worth it (the cost) to get this information into the hands of the residents.
"Our best advertising is our community," Nelson told the board.
Marsh said funding for postage and local advertising has not been approved for other organizations and the board could not make an exception. However, he said "the door could still be open" for the board to help with additional funding for other qualifying sesquicentennial activities.
The Board also:
• Pre-authorized $2,000 to Monroe Main Street for Sesquicentennial promotional advertising costs with a calendar of events in the Hidden Valleys publication. Eighty-thousand copies of the publication are printed. The calendar is part of a cooperative two-page spread advertisement, surrounded with ads paid by downtown merchants. Board funding pays only for the calendar portion.
• Authorized payment of $1,829 to Green County Tourism for promotional publishing in visitors' guides. The Board had pre-approved the amount April 30, 2007.
• Approved a corrected amount, $1,097.41, payable to Green County Model Railroaders.