The board of directors of Downtown Vision Inc. voted Wednesday to join JAX Chamber’s Downtown Marketing Collaborative and to lead an effort to raise $165,000 for the effort.
Board member Bill Prescott, the chief financial officer for the Jacksonville Jaguars, said the chamber established a Downtown Revitalization Committee in 2009 with the goal to better market the importance of the urban core.
“Downtown is important because it’s the first impression when people come to town,” Prescott said.
In 2011, the chamber approved a marketing plan and set a goal to raise $75,000 to fund the campaign.
Prescott said $135,000 was raised from contributors, including Visit Jacksonville, the chamber’s JAXUSA Partnership, the Jacksonville Civic Council, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, the Jaguars, SMG, Downtown Vision, the NAIOP commercial real estate trade group and the Urban Land Institute.
Based on similar marketing campaigns in Kansas City and Indianapolis, Prescott said an additional $165,000 needs to be contributed to fund a $300,000 marketing campaign for its first year.
He called on the board to form a subcommittee to identify potential corporate candidates and solicit contributions.
Prescott said the marketing campaign will be aimed at educating people who are not familiar with what Downtown has to offer, including local and regional residents.
“We need to create an army of supporters,” he said.
DVI Executive Director Terry Lorince chairs the chamber’s marketing collaborative. She said based on DVI’s polling and research, the primary prospects for Downtown engagement are young people, people who live within a 5-mile radius of the core and people who have lived in other cities with active downtown areas.
She said the marketing campaign also could reach “people who don’t think about Downtown” and suggested chamber members as a possible target group.
“The question is always ‘how do we judge success?’ Getting a company to have an office party or happy hour or a luncheon meeting Downtown is success,” Lorince said.
In other business, Lorince said despite the Main Library and the Museum of Contemporary Art being closed July 4, First Wednesday Art Walk will remain on its monthly schedule. Art Walk will be 5-9 p.m., followed by the City’s fireworks show scheduled for 9:45 p.m. near the Main Street Bridge.
“With so many communities discontinuing their fireworks this year, we thought it would be a great opportunity to bring people Downtown, said Lorince. “They can come for Art Walk or go to dinner, then see the fireworks.”
Lorince also announced that Amy Harrell, DVI director of district services, has resigned and will be leaving the organization in August.
Harrell was the first person Lorince hired when DVI was formed in 2001 and has been promoted within the organization from office manager to director of district services.
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