Agenda item

To consider the actions being implemented to address the audit recommendations relating to Advertising.  

Following a previous update to the Committee in September 2020 on the internal audit review of advertising, Mr Philip Welsh, Head of Tourism and Communications had been invited to provide a further progress update to the Committee. Mr Welsh advised that whilst the pandemic had proven to be a challenging period for securing advertising due to the closure of many leisure assets, the downtime had been utilised to undertake a detailed asset audit, as well as staff training and improvements to the website.

In relation to the advertising business plan, Mr Welsh reported that this continued to be a work in progress and was currently under review as a result of developments within the digital marketing field. Committee Members questioned whether they had been in receipt of the latest advertising policy and business plan, with Mr Welsh advising that the advertising policy could be accessed via the Council’s website, the link for which he offered to circulate to Committee Members. With regard to the business plan, he advised that the updated version would be completed and available within the next few weeks.

The Committee sought an update in relation to recommendation R6 ‘The responsibility for securing sponsorship should be clearly assigned and be part of the overall strategy,’ specifically enquiring as to what progress had been made in this area. Mr Welsh reported that the Business Development Manager had assumed responsibility for sponsorship and this included the Illuminations, events and publications, as well as looking at cross-selling opportunities to benefit both the advertiser and Council assets income. He advised that the initial focus had been on the Illuminations, with the sponsorship target having been successfully exceeded. Following this, the approach had been widened to include a number of other events and as a result sponsorship had been secured for last year’s Christmas village event.

With regard to R9 ‘A central asset register should be established by the Advertising team,’ the Committee asked whether the register included all assets or if any had been excluded. Mr Welsh confirmed that it covered all Council-controlled assets and advised that the register provided an accurate audit of such assets.

The Committee questioned whether the service was on target to achieve recommendations R10 ‘A comprehensive and supported rate card for the advertising assets should be maintained,’ and R11 ‘Charge rates should be benchmarked periodically with similar and/or nearby local authorities to ensure that a fair market rate is being achieved.’ Mr Welsh informed the Committee that whilst progress was on target, a full review of the pricing policy was underway in response to changes in market conditions as a result of the pandemic and advertisers’ reduced marketing budgets. He further reported that whilst the provision of advertising for local services was popular, the challenge remained to attract national advertisers, with work still needed to improve the ratio of local to national contracts.

In response to a Committee question asking which recommendation had been the most beneficial, Mr Welsh reported that gaining an overall view of all assets and the development of a comprehensive business plan had both provided the most valuable impact.

The Committee noted the improvements which had been made to the VisitBlackpool website, as well as the positive relationship which had been formed with Blackpool Football Club. Thanks was given to Mr Welsh for the update and also to the advertising team for the progress made during an especially difficult time.