Uncertainty has filled the air ever since the Sun Valley Resort Area Marketing Committee presented a slideshow of data proving that Ketchum and Sun Valley's economies are in a steep decline.
Sales-tax collections, a key economic indicator, show Ketchum business falling by 35 percent over the past decade and Sun Valley's by 23 percent. No economic growth. But this wasn't the surprise putting the northern Wood River Valley on edge.
The committee made the controversial suggestion, on May 18, to funnel cities' money away from the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau to a new volunteer marketing board. The committee suggested this board hire a chief marketing officer to launch a re-branding marketing effort and take control of all external marketing of the resort area in hopes of spurring tourism.
In the meantime, the mayors of Ketchum and Sun Valley suggested the board take the visitors bureau beneath its arm, keep it intact but reduce its functions to visitor services and event planning. The board would control the money flowing to the visitors bureau.
For this reason, reductions loom for the visitors bureau, at the least. The exact changes remain to be seen.
Sun Valley approved a tentative budget—still needing public input before final approval—that would give $400,000 to the marketing board and none separately to the visitors bureau. The Ketchum City Council is also talking about giving $400,000 to only the board.
The board, called the Sun Valley Resort Area Marketing Inc., now has three of its five members. Sun Valley appointed Jim Knight, former chairman of the marketing committee, as its representative. Ketchum appointed former banking executive Jake Peters, and General Manager Tim Silva will represent Sun Valley Resort. The remaining two board members are planned to be from the community at-large, with the fourth member representing the business community.
The three members of the board participated this week in a Q&A with the Express.
1. What qualifications are important in picking the fourth board member from the Ketchum business community, and how will the list of nominees be generated?
The business community has provided us with a list of potential candidates, and we are working through the selection. The board member chosen will have the ability to represent the business community's perspective while remaining independent and supportive of healthy change. We appreciate the thoughtful cooperation and support of businesses and look forward to a strong collaboration.
2. How will the fifth and final board member be chosen, and what is the deadline for this position?
We intend to choose the final board member as soon as possible. We are currently seeking strong potential candidates with brand-building experience. This final selection will take some time.
3. What is the board's timeline for hiring a chief marketing officer, how will the search process commence and what will the salary be for this position (assuming Sun Valley and Ketchum would each contribute $400,000)?
We will search the best possible candidates. We intend to appoint an interim executive to allow us the time to go through a rigorous search process.
4. What will the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau's new function be, specifically? How will it fit into the organizational structure of the new board?
We support the Sun Valley-Ketchum chamber's desire to focus its energy and resources. Its board is working through the specifics of its charter, and they are the most appropriate people to address the future of their organization. We thank them for the thoughtful and constructive manner in which they have approached the transition period and look forward to a successful handoff as well as a constructive collaboration with the business community.
5. How often will the CMO report to the board and cities, and what specific metrics would be put in place to measure the CMO's success?
The chief marketing officer will report to the marketing board of directors, and the board is responsible for reporting to the cities of Sun Valley and Ketchum. The specifics of how often will be determined once the CMO is hired. Oversight and accountability are obviously priorities for the board.
6. What happens if Ketchum and Sun Valley don't give the total $800,000 proposed? What is the minimum funding needed to launch this marketing effort?
We have a responsibility to make the most of the resources provided and at the same time create plans that recognize the budgetary reality required to meet our objectives. The cities have asked us to bring more visitors to Sun Valley, have them spend more while they are here and return often. There is no single magic figure or strategy that will accomplish those objectives. However, we can look at other resorts to see what lessons can be learned. On a size-adjusted basis, the number is far greater than the $1.5 million that has been proposed. Our well-being as a community is directly linked to these metrics. We need to invest the necessary money to complete these important tasks in the same way that we invest in our infrastructure.
7. Several people have expressed concern that the cities of Ketchum and Sun Valley would be funding Sun Valley Resort's marketing activities. Is this true?
None of the marketing board's money is going to Sun Valley Co. The resort, like all businesses, benefits when more money is spent in our community. In fact, of the money spent by visitors, more than 80 percent goes to businesses other than Sun Valley Co.
8. How long will it take to see results?
Success will not be instant. We have to make up for some lost ground. One of the fastest and easiest ways to speed the results is if the community joins together to become ambassadors for the Sun Valley brand and help us market Sun Valley. Although we may not agree on all individual elements, we can agree on some shared objectives.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
