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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-14-012 - Municipal Advertising & Website Policy Staff Report I r Community Services Department wvwuukitchenerra REPORT TO: Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee DATE OF MEETING: February 24, 2014 SUBMITTED BY: Michael May, Deputy CAO, Community Services Department (519-741-2200 ext. 7079) Jeremy Dueck, Supervisor, Sales & Business Development, PREPARED BY: The Aud (519-741-2200 ext. 5264) Dylan Matthews, Business Analyst (519-741-2200 ext. 7078) WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: February 12, 2014 REPORT NO.: CSD-14-012 SUBJECT: Municipal Advertising & Website Policy RECOMMENDATION: 1. That the Municipal Advertising Policy, as attached to CSD-14-012, be approved. 2. That the Municipal Website Policy, as attached to CSD-14-012, be approved. BACKGROUND: As Council considers the attached Municipal Advertising Policy and Municipal Website Policy, it is important to ensure a clear understanding between the terms "advertising" and "sponsorship". The term "advertising" refers to commercial advertising opportunities (e.g. Leisure Guide, arena rink board ads) where there is no implied relationship between the City and the advertiser. "Sponsorship" on the other hand is a mutually beneficial contractual agreement between the City and a third party where the City leverages a municipally owned asset to receive financial support in exchange for recognition, exposure, activation opportunities, and/or other marketing benefits for the third party. This report and the attached policies only apply to "advertising". Later in 2014, staff will present a "Municipal Sponsorship Policy" for Council's consideration which will apply to "sponsorships." REPORT: The advertising policy framework staff is recommending through the two attached policies is intended to accomplish two goals: 1. Clearly define the parameters for future advertising on municipal assets that are acceptable to the City, safeguard City assets, and protect the City's reputation. 2. Create an environment that encourages advertising on municipal assets, is open to ideas from potential advertisers regarding additional revenue opportunities, and is able to respond quickly to new opportunities as they arise. 1 - 1 Municipal Advertising Policy: (Appendix A) On December 10, 2013, City Council approved the following recommendation: "That staff be directed to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to engage the services of an outside vendor to support increased advertising sales through municipal assets such as: corporate publications (e.g. Your Kitchener, Leisure, Best of Times); municipally owned and operated websites, and; facility/vehicle advertising (e.g. parking garages, aquatics facilities, fleet vehicles)." While work has begun to develop that RFP, staff believe it is important to have the proposed Municipal Advertising Policy (Appendix A) approved by City Council before the RFP is released. By having this policy in place prior to issuing the RFP, potential bidders will have a clear understanding of the parameters under which they should develop their proposals, and the standards by which the City will determine whether or not an advertisement is acceptable. The proposed Municipal Advertising Policy provides clear parameters regarding the purpose and scope of the policy, the conditions that must be met for future advertising agreements, and the advertising criteria which the City will apply when determining what is and is not acceptable advertisements on municipal assets. In general, when determining whether or not an advertisement will be deemed acceptable to be placed on a municipal asset, the City will be guided by the principles outlined in the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. The City's Municipal Sponsorship Strategy considers 4 general types of advertising opportunities the City may be able to capitalize on in the future: (1) publication advertising, (2) online advertising, (3) interior/exterior signage advertising, and (4) other advertising opportunities. The proposed advertising policy would apply to all of these categories. In developing the proposed advertising policy, staff reviewed similar policies from a variety of other municipalities, including Ottawa, Brampton and Mississauga. Municipal Website Policy: (Appendix B) The City of Kitchener currently owns and operates a variety of websites, including: www.kitchener.ca, www.theaud.ca, www.kitchenergolf.ca, www.kitchenermarket.ca, www.kitchenercemeteries.ca, www.downtown kitchener.ca, www.kitchenerevents.ca and www.kitche ne ruti I iti es.ca. As noted in the City's Municipal Sponsorship Strategy (pg. 57, 58), "The growth of online advertising demonstrates that there is a significant demand for this medium; especially in areas where messages can be targeted to specific audiences."The strategy goes on to note, `7f the City can adapt to this new environment, it has the potential to generate significant revenue by helping to establish communities with which companies want to be engaged." On December 3, 2013, the Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee considered CSD-13- 015 which dealt with the City's Municipal Sponsorship Strategy. As part of that report staff identified the potential to generate non-tax based revenues through the sale of advertising on all municipally owned and operated websites. After considering CSD-13-015, Council directed staff to issue an RFP to engage the services of an outside vendor to support increased advertising sales through a variety of municipal assets, 1 - 2 including municipally owned and operated websites. Following up on that recommendation, as part of the 2014 budget process, Council approved an alternative revenue generation issue paper which also identified advertising on municipal websites as a potential source of future non-tax based revenue. The City's current Municipal Website Policy was put in place when the redesigned www.kitchener.ca was launched. The policy establishes the parameters under which the City will post content from a third-party on one of its municipally owned and operated websites. This is primarily done in three ways: (1) posting an external link on the city's website, (2) adding an event to the City's online community calendar, or (3) advertising. The city's current website policy lays out criteria for external links and submissions to the online community calendar which must be met in order to post the information on the City's website. Those sections of the policy have been generally working well and have not been changed substantially in this new version. However, the current website policy specifically prohibits the posting of any external links to an individual business, as well as the publishing of advertisements from external organizations, businesses or individuals. The revised Municipal Website Policy (Appendix B) has been changed to allow for the potential sale of advertisements on municipal websites. In addition to the websites listed above, the proposed policy would apply to any new websites created by the City. This new website policy would facilitate Council's previous direction to increase advertising sales as a method of generating additional revenue for the municipality. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: Generating non-tax based funds for the municipality through increased advertising contributes to the City's strategic objective of reducing its reliance on taxes by exploring new sources of sustainable revenue. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: As part of the 2014 budget, City Council approved the inclusion of $45,000 in new revenues to be generated through increased advertising on municipal assets such as corporate publications (e.g. Leisure), municipal websites, fleet vehicles and facility signage (e.g. parking garages, aquatics facilities). Any revenue generated through the sale of advertisements on an asset owned and operated by one of the City's Enterprises (not including The Aud and Cemeteries) will be returned to that Enterprise. All other revenue generated through advertising on municipal assets will be allocated to the tax supported operating budget of the municipality. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: As part of the community survey recently completed by Environics, Kitchener residents were asked about their level of support for corporate sponsorships. According to that survey, 84% of residents either strongly supported, or somewhat supported, generating revenue through corporate sponsorships. When residents were told these sponsorships "could mean more promotional activities — such as advertising, product placement and naming", 58% said that fact had no impact on their level of support and 28% said it made them more supportive of corporate sponsorships in the future. According to Environics, "these reactions are generally consistent across regional and demographic groups." 1 - 3 ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, Deputy CAO ATTACHMENTS: APPENDIX: A— Municipal Advertising Policy APPENDIX: B — Municipal Website Policy 1 - 4 Appendix : A COUNCIL POLICY RESOLUTION POLICY NUMBER: TBD DATE: MARCH 3, 2014 POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL ADVERTISING POLICY POLICY STATEMENT The City of Kitchener encourages external advertising on a variety of municipal assets as a method of generating non-tax based revenue for the municipality. All advertising on municipal assets will comply with the parameters outlined in this policy; will not reflect negatively on the City's public image; will be consistent with the City of Kitchener's vision, and; will not compromise or contradict any laws, bylaws or policies of Canada, Ontario or the City. The placement of an advertisement on a municipal asset does not represent any partnership between the City and the advertiser; or the City's endorsement of any product, service, company or message contained in the advertisement. PURPOSE To establish parameters for future advertising on municipal assets that will safeguard the City's assets, interests and reputation while creating an environment that encourages increased revenue generation through the sale of advertising. DEFINITIONS For the purposes of this policy: • "Advertising" means the sale to an external company, organization, association or individual of advertising space on a municipal asset for the purposes of influencing, educating or informing the public. • "Municipal Assets" means facilities, vehicles, equipment, programs, services, publications, websites or events, owned and operated by The City. This includes assets owned and operated by the City's Enterprises. • "The City" means to the Corporation of the City of Kitchener and all of its Enterprises. • "Third-party company" means an advertising company or agency that has the right to negotiate and place advertisements on municipal assets. KITCHENER Page 1 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 5 POLICY NUMBER: TBD POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL ADVERTISING POLICY SCOPE: This policy applies to Advertising from external advertisers on all municipal assets, including, but not limited to: • Advertisements on City properties, facilities and equipment; • Advertisements at City owned and operated events; • Advertisements in City publications, and; • Advertisement on City owned and operated websites. This policy does not apply to any pre-existing relationships with partners or third- party advertisers to sell advertising on municipal assets. POLICY CONTENT: Principles and Conditions: The following principles and conditions will apply to all advertising agreements with the City: (1) Advertisements shall not in any way invoke future consideration, influence or be perceived to influence the day-to-day business of the City. (2) Advertisements will not cause a specific City employee to receive any product, service or assets for personal gain or use. (3) Advertisements will not impact the quality and integrity of the City's municipal assets and provide no added risks to safety. (4) Advertisements on municipal assets will not contain inaccurate or deceptive claims. (5) The advertisement of a product, service, business or message on a municipal asset does not act as the City's endorsement of that product, service or business or message. (6) The City will not enter into any advertising agreements with companies that are a direct competitor its enterprises (including golf and cemeteries). (7) The City will not enter into any advertising agreements with a company whom The City is in, or is entering into, litigation. KITCHENER Page 2 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 6 POLICY NUMBER: TBD POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL ADVERTISING POLICY Advertising Criteria: When determining whether or not an advertisement is acceptable, the City will be guided by the principles embodied in the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (CCAS) which is administered by Advertising Standards Canada. All advertisements on municipal assets must adhere to the CCAS and must comply with federal and provincial statutes, and municipal by-laws or policies. The City will not accept Advertising from companies whose reputation, products, services or message could prove detrimental or reflect negatively on the City's public image and/or whose business is derived from • pornography; • the support of or involvement in the production, distribution and sale of weapons and other life-threatening products, or; • the sale of tobacco. In keeping with the CCAS, advertisements on municipal assets will not: • condone any form of personal discrimination, including that based upon race, national origin, religion, sex or age; • appear in a realistic manner to exploit, condone nor incite violence, nor appear to condone, encourage or exhibit obvious indifference to unlawful behaviour; • demean, denigrate or disparage any identifiable person, group or persons, organization, profession, product or service or attempt to bring them into any public contempt or ridicule, or; • undermine human dignity, display obvious indifference to or encourage, gratuitously and without merit, conduct or attitudes that offend the standards of public decency among a significant segment of a population. In addition, the City will not accept any advertisement that disparages a City program, service, facility, event or employee. Advertisements of alcoholic products will be accepted on municipal assets that are not primarily geared towards youth, so long as they are permitted by Federal, Provincial or Municipal law, including the Liquor Licensing Board of Ontario. Notwithstanding the above, the City may at any time, by providing the Company with 90 days advance notice, alter its policy on the Advertising of alcoholic products. Any product or service which is prohibited from sale to minors will not be advertised on municipal assets primarily geared towards youth. KITCHENER Page 3 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 7 POLICY NUMBER: TBD POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL ADVERTISING POLICY Advertisements of a political or religious nature must indicate that the advertisement is paid for by a party, candidate or religious institution. Federal and provincial political advertisements will not be accepted during the writ period of an election, and it is the responsibility of the person placing the ad to ensure it complies with all legislation and guidelines governing that form of advertising. Political advertising of a regional, municipal or school board nature will not be accepted at any time. Although the City is guided by the CCAS, the City retains the right to refuse or order the removal of any Advertising material at any time, at its sole discretion. Administrative Responsibilities: Unsolicited Advertising proposals received by the City will be reviewed by the City's Corporate Partnership Program Steering Committee and evaluated by the provisions of this policy for a decision. City staff may, at their discretion, chose to bring any Advertising proposals to City Council for their consideration if staff determines circumstances warrant Council's approval before proceeding. City Council approval is required for any Advertising contract that does not satisfy the provisions of this policy. The City reserves the right to terminate an existing advertising agreement should conditions arise that makes it no longer in the best interests of the City. Third-Party Advertising In cases where the City has engaged the services of a third-party company to assist in the sale of advertisements on municipal assets, the following process will be applied when a disagreement arises between the third-party company and a potential advertiser: • Potential advertisers shall deal with the Company directly and the Company shall interpret this policy. If there is disagreement between the Company and a potential advertiser on policy interpretation, the matter may be referred to City staff for consideration. • A contract must be signed with the Company before the matter will be considered by the City. In cases where the content of an ad is in dispute, the contract will be signed "subject to approval by the City". • City staff charged with the responsibility of interpreting and implementing the City Advertising policy may overrule decisions made by the Company. KITCHENER Page 4 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 8 POLICY NUMBER: TBD POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL ADVERTISING POLICY Should a change in policy be requested or a question of policy interpretation be raised by potential advertisers, the City may become involved, at its discretion. The City continues to be the sole and final arbiter in all matters relating to City Advertising acceptance. The Company agrees that Advertising is to be accepted based on all current or future policies of acceptable Advertising and the City shall not be held responsible for any loss of Advertising business as a result of any changes it shall make in its policy regarding the acceptability of certain types of Advertising or individual advertisements. SEE ALSO POLICIES ON: In addition to the specific statements contained within this policy, Advertising on any municipally owned and operated website is also governed by XX-XXX, Municipal Website Policy. KITCHENER Page 5 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 9 Appendix : B COUNCIL POLICY RESOLUTION POLICY NUMBER: TBD DATE: MARCH 3, 2014 POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL WEBSITE POLICY POLICY STATEMENT The City of Kitchener owns and operates a variety of websites for the purposes of providing information and services to citizens, staff, businesses, investors, visitors and other stakeholders. It is essential that the City's websites provide stakeholders with information and services that are accurate, up-to-date, visually pleasing, easy-to-read and easy-to-find. In addition to information and services pertaining to The Corporation of the City of Kitchener and its Enterprises, the city's websites may also contain information that a reader should reasonably expect to find on municipal government websites, including but not limited to information from or links to other orders of government, community groups which receive support from the city, Kitchener- based professional organizations, service clubs and paid advertisers. All content (text and visual) on the website should contribute to a professional and unified corporate brand. PURPOSE To establish the parameters under which the City will post content from a third- party organization on any of its municipally owned and operated websites. SCOPE: This policy applies to any website owned and operated by the City of Kitchener. POLICY CONTENT: Posting External Links: The City of Kitchener will consider posting external links on its websites if the link is directed to the website of: • An official government website (municipal, regional, provincial, federal). • A government-funded agency or board. • A City of Kitchener affiliated organization. KITCHENER Page 1 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 10 POLICY NUMBER: TBD POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL WEBSITE POLICY • An organization receiving a City of Kitchener community grant (Tier One or Tier Two). • Service clubs operating in the City of Kitchener who perform service work that benefits Kitchener residents. • A charitable organization with a registered charitable number and operating within the City of Kitchener. • A business improvement area. • A major community tourist attraction as determined solely by the City of Kitchener. • A professional association. • A business, organization or association with an agreement under the Municipal Partnership Program. • A company that has tendered to do with The City. • Artist-in-residence, and artists commissioned by the City of Kitchener to create and/or display public art. • Regulatory authorities (e.g. Ontario Energy Board, TSSA) The city will not consider posting external links on its websites to: • Personal websites. • Business websites that are not part of an advertising agreement with the City. • Political parties (unless as part of an advertising agreement as per the regulations of the City's Municipal Advertising Policy). Notwithstanding the criteria listed above, the City reserves the right to post, or refuse to post any external links on its website or to delete links already posted on its site at any time, without notice. Removing External Links: External links will be removed by the City without notice if, but not limited to, any of the following conditions apply: • The site's original information has been altered and the context of the information has changed; • The site no longer meets the conditions listed above for acceptable external links; • In the City's sole opinion, the information on the site becomes inaccurate and/or not trustworthy; • Page formatting, lengthy download items or intrusive advertising make accessing information difficult; • The link returns a "not found" error for more than 72 hours; • The link promotes, exhibits, illustrates or manifests hate or obscene/pornographic/sexual content of any kind; KITCHENER Page 2 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 11 POLICY NUMBER: TBD POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL WEBSITE POLICY • The site and content does not comply with municipal, provincial or federal legislation. Requesting an External Link: Requests to add an external link to the city's website, according to the criteria listed above, are to be submitted to info(ckitchener.ca for consideration. External Link Policy Enforcement: All sites may be reviewed by City staff to ensure that, in the sole opinion and discretion of the City, they meet and are in keeping with the above criteria. Enforcement of the above linking policy and the decision on whether or not to add, remove or deny an external link on the city's website will be made by the Manager of Corporate Communications, in consultation with the Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing, or his/her designate. Community Calendar Postings: City of Kitchener staff will post information regarding activities, programs, meetings, events and festivals organized by the City and its Enterprises on its website calendar. The City reserves the right to post any additional events to its website calendar it deems to be in the community's interest. Criteria for Publishing Events on the Community Calendar: Members of the public may submit event information for inclusion on the City's website calendar if that event is open to the general public, occurs within the boundaries of the Region of Waterloo and meets one of the following criteria: • Organized or funded by another order of government. • Organized by a government-funded agency or board. • Organized by a City of Kitchener affiliated group. • Organized by an organization identified as eligible for a City of Kitchener community grant (Tier One or Tier Two). • Funded in full, or in part, by the City of Kitchener. • Sponsored by the City of Kitchener. • Organized by a charitable organization with a registered charitable number and operating within the City of Kitchener. • Organized by a service club operating within the City of Kitchener performing work that benefits Kitchener residents. • Organized by a business improvement area for general promotional purposes. • Located in a facility owned or leased by the City of Kitchener. KITCHENER Page 3 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 12 POLICY NUMBER: TBD POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL WEBSITE POLICY Events submitted by the public will not be published on the city's website calendar if they: • Are commercial in nature and, in the city's sole opinion, are attempting to advertise, promote or sell products or services of an individual or an individual business. • Promote, exhibit, illustrate or manifest hate or obscene / pornographic / sexual content of any kind. • Do not comply with municipal, provincial or federal legislation. • Promote an individual religion or religious service. Events deemed by the City to be political in nature will not be posted after the writ has been dropped for a federal or provincial election, or after the 1 st day of a municipal election year. Notwithstanding the criteria listed above, the city reserves the right to post, refuse to post, or remove, any event from its website calendar at any time, without notice. Submitting An Event to the Community Calendar: Requests from a member of the public to add an event to the city's website calendar must be submitted directly through the calendar itself. To be considered for publication, an event submission must be accompanied by a name and contact information of an individual from the event organizing committee. Anonymous postings of events will not be published. Policy Enforcement of Community Calendar: All events submitted by a member of the public for publication on the city's website calendar will be reviewed by City staff to ensure that, in the sole opinion and discretion of the City of Kitchener, the event meets or is in keeping with the intent of the above criteria. Decisions on whether or not to add, remove or deny the posting of an event to the city's website calendar will be made by the City's Manager of Corporate Communications, in consultation with the Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing, or his/her designate. Disclaimer The City of Kitchener does not endorse or make any representation or warranty, expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, quality or reliability of information KITCHENER Page 4 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 13 POLICY NUMBER: TBD POLICY TYPE: TBD SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL WEBSITE POLICY contained on externally linked websites or posted on its Community Calendar that has been submitted by a member of the public. Advertising All advertisements placed on a municipally owned and operated website must comply with the City's Municipal Advertising Policy. KITCHENER Page 5 of 5 MARCH 2014 1 - 14