Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Band of 3 has focus on marketing

3-member committee will recommend consultant


By TREVON MILLIARD
Express Staff Writer

A three-person committee has been assembled in the wake of Sun Valley City Councilman Bob Youngman's presentation about the north valley's faltering resort economy. Its purpose will be to put together a comprehensive look at the economy's workings and a potential marketing strategy everyone can depend on.

But the committee itself won't delve into the economies of Ketchum and Sun Valley, trying to find a solution for faltering business. Instead, it will seek a professional marketing firm that the two cities would then hire.

Youngman said the committee has been assembled for 10 days and has had five meetings. But he is no longer involved. Youngman chose the three members from a list of about 20 applications who demonstrated marketing and business experience.

Sun Valley resident Jim Knight has been named chair, with the other members being part-time Ketchum resident Jane Fairley and Sun Valley resident Bill Wright.

Knight, 55, was a management consultant for several companies, including Apple, and said the committee plans to present a dollar estimate for hiring a firm to Ketchum and Sun Valley city leaders in early April.

But to do that, the committee first needs to decide the scope of the research it wants and hear from firms on the price range that work would cost.

"We're trying to figure out what we know, what we don't know and what we need to know," said 75-year-old Wright, a former management consultant in the sporting goods industry.

Five people with varied business interests have been tapped to provide guidance on the area's economy and business interests: Sun Valley Resort General Manager Tim Silva; Sheri Howell, president of a marketing company that specializes in the under-35 demographic; Cam Hopkins of advertising company 47 Pictures; marketing and magazine expert Bill White; and Stan Castleton, developer of Warm Springs Ranch Resort.

Wright said any resident or business owner's opinion would be taken into consideration. The committee has set up an e-mail address—svkrmc@gmail.com.

"We want to keep the line of communication open all over town," he said.

People's interest has been piqued due to Youngman's presentations revealing the fact that Ketchum's sales taxes decreased by about 35 percent over the past decade and Sun Valley's decreased by 23 percent. Youngman's findings have been heard by many ears, from city leaders to the Idaho Department of Commerce.

The marketing firm will continue where Youngman left off, delving even deeper.

Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.