In recent years, as Storm Lake United's staff turnover has increased and employment at City Hall has increased, the City of Storm Lake has put more effort into marketing the city.
For the second year in a row, the city has taken on SLU's marketing and tourism operations outside of city limits. Deputy City Manager Dave Deragon told the City Council Monday that the efforts are paying off. Since taking over SLU's external marketing responsibilities, the city has launched Breakfast with Santa, Kids Fest and increased its social media efforts.
Coach Deragon noted that Storm Lake United has been plagued by “staff changes.” Two years ago, the City Council approved a city official to promote the city internationally amid a change in leadership at the agency. The agency has had four top leaders since its longtime executive director, the late Gary LaRone, retired in 2020. One of the four former directors, Lee Dutfield, is the city's economic development director. Representatives from the Iowa Economic Development Authority told the City Council last month that the agency is “not what it used to be.”
According to anonymous tips provided to IEDA, members have expressed dissatisfaction with a decline in retail and promotional activities in recent years. Some have expressed concerns about the agency's event plans this year. On Monday, the City Council approved a series of permits submitted by the agency for the summer event series. Permits are usually approved in March. City officials and SLU representatives discussed the timing of the permit and the city's overall marketing efforts.
“We try to maintain that balance as best as we can because we are carefully trying to promote globally, not for the members of SLU, which is a private company,” Deragon told the council. Ta. “We use multiple platforms to promote tourism promotion in our community, both in print and digital media format options.”
SLU member and support specialist Tom Grau said he hopes SLU will be in a stronger position in 2024 and beyond. Grau noted the hiring of Jack Olson as the department's community events coordinator. He said membership has increased since he was appointed to the position by the City Council, which sought funding from the hotel and motel tax appropriation.
“We are doing our best to improve our relationship with the city,” Grau said Wednesday night. “It wasn't perfect, but I think we did a good job in terms of steadying the ship. We want to be a strong partner to the city. We welcome conversations about how we can do better.” .”
On behalf of Storm Lake United, Dutfield and communications coordinator Dana Larsen pointed to SLU's previous marketing efforts. Larsen told the City Council that she doesn't know of any city that has as extensive an effort as Storm Lake, from the resort to print promotions, travel research and a marketing office that does a lot of ongoing social media marketing. Ta.
Mayor Mike Porsche praised the efforts of city staff. Porsch said the public's perception of the city has improved significantly over the past decade. And City Hall is taking on much more than it was when he started as a city councilman. Councilwoman Maggie Martinez wondered if the city was tweaking its messaging.
Martinez asked about the amount of social media posting. He posts many posts per day on city-related pages. And she wondered about the “balancing act.” She pointed to posts promoting “good news,” while others outlined violent or notable crimes in lengthy social media posts.
“As a mother of young children, I was wondering if I wanted to come here,” Martinez said in a recent post on the city's social media pages.
Larsen said the city's promotional efforts are extensive. He said the city provides a variety of resources, including basic information, entertainment, marketing and crime advisories.
“We try to utilize all the tools we have,” Larsen said.
