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Home My WebLink AboutM-88-0673t� ! CItY OF MIAMI. FL.ORIbA 4 I INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO. Mr. Cesar Odio City Manager Miller J. Dawkins FROM: City Commissioner DATE: May 17, 1988 SUBJECT: JUNE 9TH COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA REFERENCES: ENCLOSURES: Please schedule Aida Levitan, of Aida Levitan & Associates, Inc., for a personal appearance before the City Commission at the June 9th meeting to discuss sponsorship of the "Miami - New World Center" Tours for U.S. and International Journalists. cc: Honorable Mayor & Members of the City Commission Aurelio Perez-Lugones ahg I PROPOSAL TO THE CITY OF `"IAMI CCMMISSION FOR RENEWAL OF "MIAMI--NEW WORLD CENTER" TOURS OF U.S. AND INTERNATICNAL JOURNALISTS WHY RE THESE TCUOS NECESSAP.Y? e City of Yiami govern„�ent has invested millions of dollars in developing Miami as a world -class city, through projects such as Bayfront Park, t!-.e U. ?Q:J� f:1• 'a��J51. ct �•,n', a,nrIrCu for J�.i53: 'e JGUl 2,i Grd,-e r,.v�:a1 .'3 .1 ^.* .,O n_c-,.rtzrn Mis,-i ana the neigh6orhoods. '�:n5t an -'any other -portant e*=urts. Despite these exciting developments, mane business leaders, and potential investors in the J.S. and in major cities thrnuznrut the world still see Miami as an unstable city plagued by criTa and drug: --an -area OF. ethnic division, ieflulen * cultural opportur.itie, and inadequate qua'iity o` 1 i'e. There is still rJCH wort: to be done to eradicate 4s ",--1 iche" image of '+i!!ri, which has been, in many cases, the Ca' :se of negative articles and crcgra-s about our city in the nat=oral and -naernarional media. WHY "HE CITY OF MIAMI AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR 4S SPON"^RS OF THESE TOURS? As the major city in Dade Ccunty, Miami is a riajor beneficiary of downtown investment in red! estate, of new business vertJres and of business visitors. On the other hand, it is extremely damage;' in its er-onorr, when CEO's throughout the U.S. and the world vote against Miar^i a° in importait placF to open up offices or in wh;c- to do busir,ec.. A I O A L E V i T A N & ASSOCIATES, N 3� 5• 8 5 ti• ... 3 3= ` CD O A 3 3' 4 FJ 2 The Greater Miami Convention and Tourism Bureau promotes Greater Miami and the Beaches as a major tourism destination. It is important for the City of Miami government, working hand -in -hand with its private sector, to continue promoting this area as a major international business, sports and health center, through the journalist tours. If one considers that the cost of the tours to taxpayers is only $50,000 for 1988-89 and that as a result of the tours $4 million in positive publicity have been generated over the last eight years, one can conclude that this is the most cost-effective public relations campaign being undertaken by any city in the United States today. Both the City of Miami and the private sector have benefited fror these tours in the form of positive publicity, which most probably generated and will continue to generate business investment in Miami. HOW ARE THESE TOURS DIFFERENT FROM THOSE CONDUCTED BY ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION? Most of the journalists invited to the "Miami --New World Center" tours are news and business editors of important publications in the U.S. and major target markets in the world. They include newspapers as prestigious and influential as Frankfurter Alloemeine, Asahi Shimbum, 0 Globo (Brazil), La Libre Belgique, The Chicago Tribune and many others. Articles generated by the tour are often published on front pages, in supple- ments (sometimes in full -color) and in centerpiece sections of these publica- tions. The credibility these journalists have, as well as the placement a..d size of the articles, add to the value of the publicity generated by this program. 3 HAS MIAMI'S IMAGE IMPROVED? ARE THE TOURS STILL NEEDED? There is no doubt that "Miami --A New World Center" has done much to improve the image of Miami among many business leaders in the world. However, millions of people in the U.S. and the world continue to hold a negative image of our city, especially because of the crime problem. The value of advertising and public relations is well-known to the CEO's of the most important corporations in the world, such as Coca-Cola. Even when they have increased their market share and achieved an improved image, they continue to advertise and to conduct effective public relations campaigns. It is even more important to do so when the image of a product -- in this case, our city --is still negative to millions of people in our most significant business target markets. Only through this and other promotional efforts, will the city of Miami continue to grow as an important international business center. `f PROPOSED SCWEDULE FOR 1988.89 TOURS "MIAMI--A NEW WORLD CENTER" First Tour -- NOVEMBER 1988 -- to coincide with Miami Book Fair international Second Tour -i MARCH-APRIL 1989 -= to coincide with the Regattas International Competition of the Miami Rowing Club Third Tour -- MAY 1989 -- to coincide with another special event to be determined 9S- 6 73 i - i ILA I - . X P R O P O S A L F O R T H E "M I A M I -- NEW W 0 R L D C E N T E R" T 0 U R S 1988 -- 1989 GOAL: Generate approximately $500,000 in positive articles, radio and TV programs in major media throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia, about Miami as an international business, sports, cultural and health center. OBJECTIVES: ° Coordinate all aspects of three tours for approximately 60 - 80 major journalists from all over the world. ° Raise $400,000 in in -kind contributions from Miami's private sector to provide complimentary air fare, hotel accommodations, local transportation and meals for the journalists. ° Involve local organizations such as the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, the Latin Chamber, the Miami -Dade Chamber, Tacolcy Center, the Haitian Task Force, Coconut Grove economic development groups and Overtown organizations in the tours. ° Follow up to ensure that all articles published are received by the City of Miami and that Al D A LE VITAN & A S S O C I A T E S, I N C. 2 1 0 0 CORAL WAY • SUITE 1 0 1 M I A M I, FLORIDA 3 3 1 4 5 3 0 59 6 5 4• 3 3 3 2 "g-6 7.1 2 all sponsors are thanked for their contribution to the City of Miami tours. ° Provide guide services throughout the 21 days of the tours (3 tours of 5-7 days each), in the morning, afternoon and evening. BUDGET: Professional services for Aida Levitan & Associates, Inc. - coordination and implementation of the tours: 1,000 hrs. $27,500.00 Guide services provided by Aida Levitan & Associates - 300 hours of service 5,000.00 Secretarial, filing, Xeroxing services provided by Aida Levitan & Associates, Inc. at ALA office - 200 hrs. 2,500.00 Professional services provided by black -owned firm -.MEI Communications - Carmen Morris, President - 250 hrs. 10,000.00 Postage expenses - ALA 2,000.00 Long-distance calls & telegrams - ALA 2,000.00 Miscellaneous expenses - tips for bus drivers, waiters at restaurants, taxi transportation for some journalists, 1,000.00 parking at hotels, etc. - ALA Total cost of the tours - $50,000.00 i • CItY 01r MIAM1, FL61410A INTER-OPPICt MEMORANDUM *� Cesar H. odio GATE: May 19, 1988 FILE: City Manager sueJECT Discussion item FROM Xavier L. Suarez REFERENCES: Mayor 51988 ENCLOSURES Please place on the Agenda of June 9, 1988 a personal appearance by Aida Levitan, President of Aida Levitan and Associates, on the issue of the Tour of Journalists. XLS:jaa