By JACQI LEYVA-HILL
Special to the PRESS
The South Padre Island Convention and Visitor Advisory Board voted Wednesday to advance two changes to Visit South Padre Island’s marketing operations, including negotiations with a new agency focused on Mexico and a renegotiated agreement with its current agency of record.
During the Sept. 9 special meeting, the board recommended allowing the city manager to enter contract negotiations with Black Koi, the highest-ranked firm responding to RFP AORMEX-2606 for professional marketing services targeting the Mexico market.
Chief Marketing Officer Cindy Trevino said the RFP was released Aug. 8 and drew three proposals. A committee reviewed the submissions Aug. 26 before ranking Black Koi first.
Trevino said Black Koi has offices in Mexico and San Antonio and has previously provided graphic design services for Visit South Padre Island. Under the proposal, up to $600,000 would be dedicated to media placement, with an agency fee of up to $120,000 and no additional commissions.
The firm would handle advertising in markets including Monterrey, San Pedro and Mexico City, along with digital and programmatic advertising, out-of-home placements, social media, influencers, Spanish-language web content and sales support.
Trevino said Visit South Padre Island has historically spent close to $400,000 marketing in Mexico. She said having an agency operating there would provide greater knowledge of effective advertising locations and allow campaigns to be tailored specifically to Mexican audiences rather than simply translating existing materials.
The proposed agreement would be for one year. If ultimately approved, work could begin with the new fiscal year Oct. 1. The motion to advance negotiations carried.
The board also recommended that City Council authorize the city manager to renegotiate the agreement with Greenhaus, Visit South Padre Island’s agency of record as it enters the third year of a three-year contract.
Trevino said the revised arrangement eliminates the 12.5% commissions previously charged on media placement. Greenhaus would receive an annual agency fee of $780,000, or $65,000 per month, and the city would retain the ability to terminate the agreement with 60 days’ written notice.
Trevino said the department is also moving more marketing responsibilities in-house. Denise is now serving as public relations and brand manager, and the department plans to hire someone specifically for social media while assuming responsibility for organic social media.
“My goal eventually is to take it all in-house,” Trevino said, while noting the department still needs outside agency support as its staff expands.
During discussion, South Padre Island business owner and community member Barry Patel encouraged the CVB to use the coming year to explore whether staff could eventually handle media placement internally. Patel said bringing more work in-house could reduce agency fees, although some savings would be offset by hiring additional employees.
The motion recommending the Greenhaus renegotiation also carried.