Roger Brooks of Destination Development said Wednesday that the firm is taking a fresh look at the city's branding image and potentially redirecting the immediate plan for the “Festival City” branding concept to a more activities-centered concept.
DDI was hired by the city in the spring of 2008 to develop a branding assessment that would draw tourists to the area and strengthen the Sparks identity. Their draft assessment was unveiled to the public on Feb. 18, labeling Sparks as "Nevada's Festival City."
However, representatives from the city's public works and parks departments were not entirely convinced that they could handle the 200 festival days that the branding plan requested, Brooks said.
City spokesman Adam Mayberry agreed that current staffing was not up to the 200 festival days.
"They realize that we are not in a position this year to have more activities and events, but that will change," Mayberry said.
"Given the conditions, when the city is cutting back we can't saddle them with that," Brooks said.
But Mayberry also did not rule out the possibility that the city could handle the load in the future.
Amendments to the plan, taking into account the city's current inability to handle 200 festival days, will be presented to the city in about 60 days, Brooks said.
"There is still a lot more discussion, both internal and external, that needs to take place before this is final," Mayberry said.
Make no mistake, he's a master at how he does it. Here's Roger Brooks's tried-and-true formula for easily taking thousands of dollars from financially struggling small to medium-sized cities who are desperate for someone, anyone, to help bring tourists and investment to their area:
1). Travel to the client city, 2). Spend a few days in town, walk around and write down names of key attractions, shopping areas and recreational locations to be used in his final presentation, 3). Schedule and host one or more community assessment meetings over several months, 4). And then invite city leaders, local media and towns folk to a "boilerplate" final presentation at which he purposefully goes overboard glowing about all the great things for which they should be proud in their city (who could dislike a flatterer?).
After 30 years of dropping names and the numbers of his past clients (this is repeated numerous times during his presentations), his speech predictably includes the need for that city to have better signage and a logo while stressing the importance of being specific about the reason shoppers and visitors should spend their money there.
His "plans" are typically both ridiculously simplistic (taxpayers can always be expected to loudly voice their displeasure once they found out from local media how much money was spent on his "ideas") and so far-fetched and unrealistic to be laughable.
Finally, after telling them what they already know, Roger Brooks of Destination Development International will then take his huge check (anywhere from $7,000 to $165,000 depending on the city size and budget) and will fly back to Seattle, never to be heard from again....just like the "report" he leaves behind, full of blank pages to create a sense it's more substantial.
Here's a video showing one of his stereotypical phony dog-and-pony shows (look at his body language; the language of a con artist playing up to his audience before he asks them to open their wallets):
http://www.kalprod.com/webtest/
He just ripped off the City of Oxnard for $125,000 with his garbage! Here's a link to articles on that fiasco:
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/jul/22/oxnard-shores-put-forth-for-citys-brand/
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/jul/23/some-residents-reject-idea-of-renaming-oxnard/
Please, small city staffs, stop thinking there's a magic solution to getting commerce and visitors to your downtowns and regions. Throwing money at pie-in-the-sky "consultants" will just put you further behind, not ahead!
P.S. Want to see some hilarious "case studies" from Destination Devleopment International? Visit the "cast studies" section of their website at http://www.DestinationDevelopment.com.
Did the city look into the background of either DDI or Roger Brooks before it gave him over $100,000 of taxpayer money? Whose idea was it to hire DDI? Why were the citizens of the city not made aware of or included in any of this? Did someone get a kickback or campaign donation because of this under the board slight of hand?
The City of Sparks is now going to get rebranded because this snake oil salesman has been exposed as a crook in Pharumph? Why not just rebrand Sparks as the back room deal capital of the world, where citizens come last?