Action Team meets to discuss 'Alamogordo – Adventures for Life' branding initiative

ALAMOGORDO – Members of the “Adventures Action Team” (AAT) met at 1st National Bank for their monthly meeting to discuss the projects being undertaken as part of the “Alamogordo – Adventures for Life” branding initiative Tuesday, Oct. 16.

"It's incredibly important to retain the military presence in Alamogordo, which includes, its image and promoting business growth and expanding its economic base," co-chair of AAT's Branding Task Force Corrine Bachman said.

Some of the initiatives discussed at Tuesday’s meeting include the development of the website Alamogordo.org and a “Day of the Dead” themed event downtown, as well as filming of scenes of daily life in Alamogordo going on this week for use in TV and web advertising.

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More generally, the AAT is making sure Adventures for Life-themed merchandise is available in the community and expanding its social media presence, City Communication and Marketing Director Michelle Brideaux said.

The group that would become AAT began in early 2017 as part of the Otero County Economic Development Council with $100,000 in private donations. In May 2018, Alamogordo City Commissioners approved an expenditure of $450,000 from the city’s general fund to fund the branding campaign led by Once a Day Marketing and a marketing campaign undertaken by a separate entity, HK Advertising. Both groups are based in Santa Fe.

The money is budgeted to last 18 months, Bachman said, with some of that money not factored into expenses to allow for any contingencies. The firms hired to help with the campaign are hired on a six-month basis to make sure AAT has the option to hire someone else if performance goals are not being met.

"We are also following the social media campaigns with analytics to make sure it's having the impact it should," Bachman said.

The campaign is gaining steam, Brideaux said.

“I think it is a little too early to tell [what the impact of the campaign is],” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of new people, new faces coming together. It’s free to attend these meetings and implement this into your business. I’ve seen businesses get involved who aren’t involved in other business organizations in our community, so that’s a good thing.”

The $450,000 budgeted for the branding initiative was not paid out in a lump sum to the marketing firm but rather is the amount budgeted for this year’s projects, Brideaux said. The group is not beholden to a specific project if it is not working out, she said.

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“We’re trying to stretch the funds but have the best impact we can right out of the gate,” she said. “It’s not just sitting in the Adventures Action Team bank account. There’s a lot of back and forth conversation about what they suggest and what has worked in other communities, but it’s very flexible and meant to be specific to our needs and what we feel is working. And if we feel something isn’t working, it’s like a speedboat – we can turn and make changes quickly.”

The work done by HK Advertising is partly funded by a lodger’s tax, the revenues from which must be used for advertising purposes, Brideaux said. In addition to the funds allocated by the City, approximately $160,000 of the estimated $250,000 lodger’s tax revenue for FY2019 is earmarked for advertising, she said.

Part of this money was also used for the recent makeover at the Alamogordo Visitors Center, Brideaux said.

The AAT is a consortium of area businesses, nonprofits, civic groups, and residents interested in getting more people to “live, work, play, and stay” in Alamogordo by branding the city as a mecca for outdoors adventure and nice people, said co-founder of Once a Day Marketing Jim Glover.

“We are building the brand,” he said. “The goal here is to get everybody on the same page as to what the brand is, understand the brand, and live the brand. When we are all on the same page message-wise, then we market the heck out of it.”

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The fact that various organizations, business, and schools are utilizing the brand speaks for the interest in working together to promote the community, Glover said.

Glover cited his recent work with the management team of the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center, who is working with the hospital’s HR recruiting firm to bring more nurses to the area by highlighting the Alamogordo brand.

"It's the biggest thing Alamogordo has ever done to promote it's image," Bachman said. "It's an exciting time."