Tonight the Burlingame City Council will consider a $20K expenditure that will allow a production company to produce a video touting why Burlingame is terriffic.
The idea of a video highlighting Burlingame is not such a bad idea, in my opinion.But....
...It seems to me that there are plenty of talented marketing, production and media folks who live and work in Burlingame that are not only talented but know the city and its highlights a heck of lot better then Terry Bradshaw and the production company who has floated this idea by the city manager and now the council. And I a willing to bet that they might do it for a lot less $$ than is being proposed.
On top of that, some of the pertinent questions shopuld be asked, and I hope council asks them...like, who is the audience for this video? Where will it be shown, Can the ROI be measured? And obviously why Bradshaw?
Here is a link to the staff report, a link to Terry Bradshaws "Business Day with Terry Bradshaw" website and a link to the SM Journal story:
http://burlingameca.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=36&meta_id=11822
http://businessdaywithterrybradshaw.net/
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=1753221
Terry Bradshaw lost me when he (along with Jimmy Johnson and the rest of those guys) started putting thier feet up on the desk during NFL broadcasts. Too rude.
Posted by: JF | August 20, 2012 at 02:57 PM
Perhaps they should ask the good chaps at Crescent Creative, I know they've done work for the city in the past. But, at $20,000 it's still half the price of a charette and look how much that's done to help Howard Avenue. Oh, that SOBA design, so endearing.
http://www.burlingame.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=1639
Posted by: fred | August 20, 2012 at 03:09 PM
Ths kids at BHS could produce a charming look at Burlingame that will target the 40 year-old woman demographic which Russ noted is the shopper on our streets.
Mr. Bradshaw? No.
Save some money and use the native talent at hand.
Posted by: Boogeyman | August 20, 2012 at 07:11 PM
Great point, Boogeyman (yours, too, Fred!). I recall that a couple of BHS students already did such a video back either two or three years ago. There's a full editing studio there and they did it as a class project. I'm sure with 5% of $20K others could do quite a job!
Posted by: Joe | August 21, 2012 at 01:12 PM
As Bradshaw might say, "aw, shucks":
Burlingame benches Bradshaw infomercial venture
August 22, 2012, 05:00 AM By Heather Murtagh Daily Journal Staff
Burlingame officials agreed a marketing video could be good for the city but $20,000 to have one starring former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw wasn’t in its best interest.
On Monday, the City Council discussed a proposal from “Today in America,” a program that describes itself as a cable show hosted by Bradshaw. Scheduling a shoot for the five-minute video comes with a $19,800 fee. While it’s been questioned by others if the approach was a scam, Mayor Jerry Deal brought the idea forward to discuss it as a marketing tool. Ultimately, the council passed on using Bradshaw but was open to creating something with a local production company.
“I’m in favor of marketing but I think we should decline Bradshaw’s offer,” Councilman Michael Brownrigg said.
Those on the council were happy to discuss the possibility of a marketing video but had lots of questions: What would it feature? How would it be used? Who would be the target?
Councilwoman Cathy Baylock was interested in addressing visitors with a video that could be used in hotels. Such a video could showcase local businesses.
Councilwoman Terry Nagel added the city could consider two videos. A second could be used to focus on bringing conventions to the area.
All agreed the video should be short and focus more on the facilities than on featuring public officials. In exploring what should be done, the council decided to have the Economic Development Subcommittee examine the issues, talk to the Chamber of Commerce and consider a bid process to find local companies who can help. That route could create a more cost-effective option. Deal suggested working with a focus group as well.
Putting a marketing video together became a topic of conversation after “Today in America” contacted the city last month, City Manager Jim Nantell wrote in the staff report. Since then, both he and Deal have had conversations with the show’s staff. Previously, Burlingame has worked with the Chamber of Commerce and a local Realtor to produce promotional videos. Finishing that project could require an estimated $2,500 to $5,000 contribution from the city, Nantell wrote. Staff has been hesitant to move forward without clarity on how and where such videos would be used.
In the staff report, Nantell warned some have called the program a scam but it does produce what could be described as an infomercial. Both Deal and Nantell were interested in postponing any such video until downtown renovations were complete. “Today in America” producers warned waiting more than a year could be a problem since the show’s focus can sometimes change.
Posted by: Joe | August 22, 2012 at 11:37 PM