Downtown Oakland Association/Lake Merritt-Uptown District Association Joint (D.I.S.I.

) District Identity and Streetscape Improvement Committee

September 22nd, 2011 11:00 a.m. 388 19th Street CBD Conference Room
Present: Andrea Kirkpatrick, Carmen Santisteban, Laurie Cooperman-Rosen, Chris Curtis, Neeta Puthanveetil, Joe Gallardo, Kim Bardakian, Dane Hooks, David Tolioupov, Shabano Imran, Deborah Acosta, Natalie Nadiui, Alana Rayford Steve Snider, Andrew Jones, Victoria Decker Andrew Neilly

Staff: PR Consultant:

Minutes The following items were discussed and recommendations or actions are made to the Board as follows:

Subject
Welcome and Introductions Approval of Minutes, August 25th, 2011

Discussion
Carmen Santisteban and Andrea Kirkpatrick welcomed everyone to the meeting and Introductions were made. The minutes of the July 28th DISI meeting were presented for review.

Action?

Chris moved and Neeta seconded the motion to approve the minutes of the August 25th meeting as presented. The motion was approved unanimously. Chris moved and Andrea seconded the motion to authorize Local On to work with Jonathan Bair and transfer our websites to Local On.

Website Task Force/New direction with Local On and Jonathan Bair

Steve reminded the committee that at the last Website Task Force meeting Jonathan Bair was present to discuss the possibility of his services to build a database of available property on the websites. Since that meeting CBD staff has discovered an organization called Local On, which can provide many helpful website services, such as this, to us free of charge. Steve introduced David and Shabano from LocalOn and briefly described how their services are

388 19th Street Oakland, California 94612 DOA Phone 510.238.1122 LMUDA Phone 510.452.4529 Fax 510.452.4530 info@downtownoakland.org www.downtownoakland.org info@lakemerritt-uptown.org www.lakemerritt-uptown.org

E-blast InOak Mixer

Great Wall of Oakland-Project Bandaloop

Gallen Neilly PRnewsletter

beneficial to us. David continued to discuss Local Ons goal, which is to bring local customers to local businesses through online marketing. They streamline this process for a business by giving them one place to post all of their information and updates, which Local On then distributes. The committee viewed a video presentation. David and Shabano explained that there are some premium services that cost money including appointment systems and putting information in local newspapers. They went into detail describing how their services can benefit both our organization and the businesses within our districts. Our website will retain its over-all look and feel, but it cannot stay 100% the same. This process will allow staff to easily edit the website. Steve explained that he wanted to continue to work with Jonathan Bair and make use of his marketing and branding expertise for an hourly rate of $45.00. He would work with Eddy and Local On to execute the Real Estate Database. The committee responded positively to the Local On Presentation and moved to authorize Local On to work with Jonathan Bair and staff to shift our current websites to Local On. Steve simply stated the EBlast is continuing to be a successful product. Last nights mixer was successful. Comcast, our sponsor, was very pleased with the turn out. Steve noted that there were groups in attendance that were unaware of the event. This in part is due to a lack of marketing. Deborah noted that support, from the city and volunteers, has dwindled. Her goal is to build a sustainable strategic plan. Deborah went on to discuss the various tech businesses that are flourishing in Oakland. Andrew Neilly suggested that we look into hosting a job fair in conjunction with a mixer. Chris reported that there were as many as 4,000 people in attendance at the Saturday performance. He also noted that Project Bandaloop would like to make Oakland their home. Improvements are being made to the Great Wall to accommodate them. Andrew Neilly distributed a copy of the Gallen.Neilly report. He mentioned that they are looking into ways of leveraging the Moneyball event for positive press for Oakland. He noted the correlation between the Moneyball event and the work Pixar has done in Oakland, and it

No action taken

No action taken

No action taken.

Billboards

Banners Pop-Up Galleries/Window displays/LED lighting Budget Review Fine-tuning sponsorship guidelines/meeting schedule for 2012 Other

was suggested that we look into reaching out to trade press to advertise Oakland as a great place for movie premieres. Steve recapped the promotions and specials of the night. Andrew mentioned that the newsletter is well underway, and there is an article that is going in the Business Xpansion Journal. The deadline for the article is October 7th and will be business development oriented. In the next two days, two of the designs approved by the committee are going up onto billboards around the borders of the CBDs and by the Berkeley/Oakland border. In total there are ten billboards going up. Banners are scheduled to be installed on October 7th. Steve outlined several pop-up spaces that have been coordinated in the last few months, and noted their success. Alayna discussed her project, and the creation of a fashion district. The budget will be reviewed at a later meeting.

No action taken

No action taken. No action taken.

Steve discussed the suggestions for refining our sponsorship process. It was recommended that we increase our sponsorship meetings to 4 a year. He also outlined the need for increased flexibility. Carmen announced that she is leaving City Center, and will be working at Shorensteins corporate office in San Francisco. She will be unable to continue her position as Chair of the Downtown DISI chair. Steve suggested that Chris Curtis take over as an interim Chair until a new one can be selected. Kim discussed the availability of the outdoor space at the Cathedral, and she mentioned that they are looking for events to host in the Spring. Much discussion occurred about the possibilities and potential of the space.

This item for discussion to be included in the next agenda. This item for discussion to be included in the next agenda.

Next Meetings: October 27th, 2011-11:00 a.m. and November 24th, 2011-11:00 a.m. in the CBD Conference Room at 388 19th Street Minutes taken by Victoria Decker, staff.