Carefree launches campaign to market itself as own town

by Sonja Haller - Jul. 19, 2011 10:08 AM
The Arizona Republic

Carefree is spending $72,000 on revamping the town so that the hidden gem filled with sky-scraping cactuses and quaint shops is finally recognized - and no longer confused with its neighbor, Cave Creek.

The Carefree Town Council funded the year-old, merchant-driven Carefree Business Association for the 2011-12 fiscal year and dropped its $18,000 annual contribution with the Carefree Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce.

"Carefree's problem - well not really a problem - but it's that Carefree and Cave Creek go together in the same sentence," said Jo Gemmill, a Carefree Business Association founder and owner of the English Rose Tea Room. "And very often people go through Cave Creek and think they're in Carefree."

In a recent Carefree council presentation, Gemmill and another CBA founder, Holly Bergman, outlined a media campaign, which includes advertisements in Phoenix Magazine, local newspapers and Arizona Key Magazine and its accompanying website, which is used by state concierges and travel and planning professionals. There's also a mobile application where people can learn about Carefree and international press releases.

"This year's (print) ads will be a collage of stills showing the town center, the very interesting street signs and photographs of the new garden," said Bergman, who owns the Wild Holly Gallery.

In November, the town will debut a botanical garden - a gift from Desert Foothills Landscaping - with some cactuses costing as much as $20,000 a piece. Bergman said successful marketing can be difficult to measure, but one way to gauge it is with an uptick in town sales-tax revenue.

The council last week voted 5-1 to approve the funding. Vice Mayor Melissa Price recused herself because she is a town-center merchant and is connected with the Carefree Business Association.

New Councilman Jim Van Allen, the sole dissenter, praised Gemmill and Bergman for their previous "Herculean" efforts in marketing the town. But Van Allen said he campaigned on the promise to be conservative with "discretionary spending." With state and county revenue contributions to the town down 12 percent in 2011, or $820,000, and without specifics about what the ads would look like, he could not support the funding.

The Carefree Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce received $18,000 in town funding last year. This year, the organization was not included in the 2011-2012 town budget.

"Right now, our intent is to focus on the CBA and focus on marketing," Mayor David Schwan said.

Chamber Director Patty Villeneuve said the council's action has no bearing on the organization's mission or goals.

"We have no plans to change any of our structure. It's business as usual."

The chamber's previous contract with the city provided tourists, seasonal residents and new and existing businesses information about the town. It sought to recruit, retain and reach out to businesses with networking opportunities and attempted to market the town.

The Carefree Business Association formed last summer. From December to March, it marketed town businesses with $12,000 in town money and another $18,000 from merchants.

Councilman Glenn Miller said that based on the success of that campaign, he supported the funding.

Miller said during that period, sales-tax revenue increased 3.8 percent in December; 2.6 percent in January; 3.8 percent in February, 6.1 percent in March; and 1.87 percent in April.

"So I ask myself, if we didn't do this marketing, where would we be?" Miller said.

Robert Gabrick, owner of Carefree Station, said 2010 was a boon year for his restaurant.

"It's impossible to analyze where the benefit comes from," he said, adding that he supports the Carefree Business Association. He said the restaurant spends more than $72,000 a year in advertising.