Economic Development staff introduced Spiro & Associates’ draft marketing plan for a downtown culinary district and left copies with council for review.

Chris from Spiro summarized the draft strategy as a flexible marketing and PR program aimed at a range of audiences — local residents, seasonal residents and visitors — and described a mix of social media, earned media, influencer engagement and timed campaigns. He said the downtown area offers multiple daily audiences and that the plan’s programming would reflect different dayparts and experiences.

The presentation included a SWOT review, a proposal for a tiered media plan, a proposed cadence of launch campaigns and three logo options. Councilmember Ball thanked staff and consultants for providing hard copies and time to digest the materials. Councilperson Geraldo asked whether wayfinding was included; the consultant confirmed wayfinding is inside the plan.

No formal action was taken; staff asked council to review the draft and return comments so the consultant can finalize the plan.