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APPLICATION QUESTIONS <br />Please answer each question completely, in the order listed, on a separate sheet attached to <br />this application. Please include any supporting data within the response narrative. <br />1. Please provide a description of your project/event and identify the specific tourism <br />audience/market that your organization will target with these funds. You must include <br />an itemized list of exactly how any grant funds awarded will be utilized. <br />The entire idea behind branding is to import more cash into the community that you export when locally earned money is spent elsewhere. <br />Additionally the art of branding is setting yourself apart from others The City of Kittitas is looking to refresh their community brand and <br />continue creating a community for investment, business opportunities, and as a place to live and visit. With the private -sector slowly coming <br />out of the recession, it is a perfect time to implement a campaign and refresh the community with consistency of message and impression; <br />finding ways to import fresh cash into the community - into the tax base. The Internet has changed everything. 90% of the population is now <br />accessing the web to determine where they will live, work or play. This project in front of you would allow the City of Kittitas to narrow their <br />focus and create a niche and promote it like crazy. It will allow us to lure visitors and locals to our complementary activities such as shopping, <br />dining, entertainment, historical attractions, etc but also include city amenities like local parks, parking, lodging, shopping, and events. A <br />bonus will be to bring attentions to our downtown, some beautification, landscaping, street lights, benches, etc. The past year we have had a <br />wine -tasting business, an inn, hairstylist and fitness center open. FACT: the number 1 complementary activity of visitors, in the world, is <br />shopping, dining and entertainment in a pedestrian -friendly intimate setting -our downtown. We are wanting to build a brand primarily for the <br />public relations. We need to reposition to deliver a perception and commit to the experience of our community and to the visitors. The <br />following advertising will maintain our ownership of the brand that we create. Please see the items in which we are asking for the committees <br />to review and fund: Task One: Information Gathering and Background Review which includes facilitation of town hall meetings, consulting fee <br />from Arnett Muldrow & Associates. Task Two: Branding Resource which includes items like creative marketing concepts and brand extension <br />components that could extend to other districts, partners, attractions, and events. These pieces would include event logos, imagery, digital <br />media, web page concepts, allied agency logos , and a host of other creative uses as determined during town hall meetings. Task Three: <br />Implementation which includes website creation, Online Marketing, Social Media Page creation, and Print Advertising. We feel that doing this <br />process will only make the Centra lWashingtonColor. com umbrella brand stronger. It will provide additional experience to bring a full <br />county -wide experience. <br />2. Please provide the following estimates of how any money received will result in <br />increases in the number of people traveling for business or pleasure on a trip: <br />I. Away from their place of residence or business and staying overnight in <br />paid accommodations; <br />II. To a place fifty miles or more away from their place of residence or <br />business for the day or staying overnight; or <br />III. From another country or state outside of their place of residence or <br />business. <br />You must provide the evidence utilized in determining your projections. <br />Fhe biggest, most powerful effect of branding is getting everyone on the same page pulling <br />in the same direction. Once again, it takes a village to win. With items that were listed in <br />he previous question, we would say that it will bring a focus on our city and it will increase <br />)eople to stop in our community which would include day trip spending and overnight stays. <br />Dur city is unique to have a independent business owners that will be part of the process <br />hat will help increase our out of state and out of country visitors. <br />Example: the inn has only been open since July 2016, they have two rooms available daily. <br />3o if we were able to keep them at the county occupancy of 56% (STR report as of Aug <br />?016) that would increase overnights from project for 2016,79 room nights to 409 rooms <br />nto the year 2017. Projecting the lodging income to be $114.79 ADR x 409 = $46,949.11. <br />Fhat showswe have the opportunity to increase visitors just in that tax base by 5 times. <br />County -wide Lodging Tax Application P a g e 1 10 <br />