Subject:
Title
Approval, re: Tourist Development Office (TDO) Proposed FY 2025-2026 Marketing & Media Plan, approval for the TDO Director to make Vendor Selections, Negotiate and Execute Agreements with Media and Advertising Vendors
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Fiscal Impact:
FY 2025-2026 Marketing & Media Plan $13,000,500.00 (Fund 1441)/Disaster Funds $1,419,250.00 (Fund 1444).
Dept/Office:
Tourism Development Office
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners:
1. Approve the attached proposed FY 2025-2026 Marketing & Media Plan for the Tourism Development Office (TDO) in the total amount of $13,000,500.00, including the selection of the media vendors listed in the 2025-2026 Marketing Plan presentation.
2. Approve the TDO Director to negotiate and execute contracts, contract amendments, and any necessary contracts for selected marketing, media and advertising firms within the Board approved FY 2025-2026 Marketing & Media Plan, upon review and approval by the County Attorney's Office, Risk Management, and Purchasing Services in accordance with Administrative Order AO-29, "Contract and Grant Administration," up to and exceeding $200,000, the total amount not to exceed $13,000,500.00 without additional Board approval.
3. Approve the ability for the TDO to receive and accept revenue from cooperative advertising partners and grants from organizations (such as the Florida Sports Foundation, as well as other various cooperative partners).
4. Authorize that the TDO Director be able to access Disaster Funds (Fund 1444) in the event of a state or local emergency declaration, natural or man-made disaster for the purposes of advertising/marketing/promotional costs of up to and exceeding $200,000, the total amount not to exceed $1,419,250.00.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
The Tourism Development Office (TDO) has prepared the attached proposed Marketing & Media Plan for FY 2025-26 in the total amount of $13,000,500.00. The TDO Marketing & Media plan will remain flexible, and strategically built through seasonal campaigns and marketing partnerships, as market demands may cause changes to the plan throughout the fiscal year. The focus in FY 2025-2026 will be on destination marketing of beaches and rocket launches, centering on Cocoa Beach commensurate with the tourism visitation levels that area generates. Additional focus includes, but is not limited to, nature, cruising, luxury experiences and additional municipalities will include Melbourne and the Beaches, Palm Bay, Titusville, as well as others as appropriate. The core focus of the campaigns will highlight the municipality name in a prominent way, as well as the proximity of the beaches to Orlando. All advertising and marketing messaging will fall under the umbrella logo of Florida's Space Coast. The TDC Marketing Committee met on August 19, 2025, and the Tourism Development Council (TDC) met on August 27, 2025, both unanimously recommended the plan.
The TDO, when possible, uses unique cooperative advertising partners throughout the county, which translates to larger ad buys and representation; reduced trade shows and sales mission expenses are also realized. This allows a cooperative advertising program to share expenses between the business or entity and the TDO. Sometimes the TDO buys ads or media up front to include the Visit Florida Vacation Guide, as well as other programs, and then seeks reimbursement from partners. To help offset production costs, Visit Florida offers co-op advertising placements in its annual visitor's guide. Through our ad buy, we are able to share this opportunity with many of our local partners including Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex, Port Canaveral, Melbourne International Airport, Cocoa Beach Hotel Motel Association, and Brevard Zoo, among others.
Some of the various types of advertising, marketing, and promotional initiatives in the FY 2025-2026 Marketing & Media Plan are: vinyl and digital billboard campaigns throughout Florida and other targeted states; various signage and videos at Orlando International Airport; television and streaming video broadcasts; visitor website enhancements; radio and streaming radio advertising; geo-targeted and traffic-focused digital advertising; search engine marketing; public relations; familiarization tours (FAMs), travel industry relations, sports marketing; international marketing through Brand USA, Visit Florida, and other vendors; and strategic marketing partnerships.
The goal of these Space Coast marketing initiatives is to draw state, national and international tourists and visitors so they can personally experience Brevard County. Target markets include, but are not limited to: Orlando, Tampa/St. Pete, Palm Beach County, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, and Jacksonville within the state of Florida; Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New York and Chicago outside the state of Florida; and the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, and Canada internationally (note, this list may not be inclusive as other opportunities come to the Tourism Development Office). Also, a list of other markets is included in the plan should additional funds become available (highlighted in red). It should be noted that these markets represent an opportunity to reach additional potential tourists that various competitor beach destinations may be targeting. Additionally, the plan also includes funding for research projects as defined in the attached PowerPoint of the marketing plan.
This agenda also requests that during a declared state of emergency (County and/or State) the TDO Director, or County Manager, be permitted to access Disaster Funds (Fund 1444) in the event of a natural or man-made disaster or other emergency for the purposes of advertising/marketing/ promotional costs of up to and exceeding $200,000. These funds have been designated for this purpose and should be used to help with recovery in the event of a state of emergency or natural or manmade disaster. The disaster fund balance is $1,419,250.00 for FY 2025-2026.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Please send the Board memo to Director, Tourism Development Office and the County Attorney's Office