PR Committee eyes $6,250 contribution
Pub Date: 12/1/2006
The Public Relations Committee of the Montana Tavern Association voted to recommend to the MTA Board of Directors that $6,250 be budgeted for a cooperative advertising campaign championing responsible gaming, set to launch in the spring of 2008. The board later approved the recommendation.
The action was taken during the 9 a.m. committee meeting prior to the MTA board meeting Nov. 16 at Jorgenson's in Helena. Committee member Kent Frampton led the discussion and called for the motion.
The notion came out of a meeting the previous day of the Gaming Research and Education Fund board, which considered a proposal from the Gambling Control Division that called for the GCD to contribute $25,000, the State Lottery to contribute $25,000 and business groups, through the research and education organization, to match it.
GCD Administrator Gene Huntington had proposed an $80,000 advertising campaign to run during the nationally declared Responsible Gaming Month in March, but since the division, or the lottery, wouldn't have budget authority for the program until the 2007 legislative session concludes, the program could not be implemented until 2008.
The Research and Education group, comprised of the MTA, Gaming Industry Association (GIA), Montana Coin Machine Operators Association (MCMOA), Town Pumps and other corporate partners, endorsed the proposal, with representatives of the GIA and Town Pumps indicating at the time they would provide a one-fourth share of the requested $25,000, or $6,250 each. MTA subsequently agreed to budget a like amount with the MCMOA yet to decide.
Frampton also told the committee the Research and Education group favors investing in an update to the 2002 gaming economic impact study conducted by the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER). The original study cost just over $30,000 and it was suggested an update could be done for considerably less since the study wouldn't need to be designed again.
Frampton said Dr. Paul Polzin, head of the BBER, would be approached for a cost estimate, and that MTA needed to be aware it would likely be approached to help fund the study update in the near future. The Research and Education Fund's support from MTA is funnelled through the MTA's PR Committee.
Sue Foster, the PR Committee chairman, asked member Mary Jane Heisler to report on the "Dinner/No Dinner" raffle conducted in conjunction with the September MTA convention. Heisler said ticket sales exceeded 2005 volumes but lagged behind 2004, She said 852 tickets were sold at $100 each, with $50,000 being given away in prizes and $35,200 going to fund MTA programs.
Heisler noted the MTA poker tournament netted about $3,000 for the group's political action committee (PAC) but that perhaps some raffle proceeds could be designated for the PAC as well. It was decided to see what the 2007 tournament produced before raffles funds were earmarked for the PAC.
Sandy Jones, a member of the PR committee and chairman of the poker tournament, said she had some promotional enhancements in mind for the 2007 competition, including designating some key players as having "bounties" on their heads, hopefully enticing more players into the tournament to gain bragging rights for having knocked off bountied players.
The committee continues to work on a project that would provide stickers to be attached to all invoices paid by MTA members that would say something to the effect that "this invoice is being paid with income from the gaming and liquor business."
It was reported the Montana Chamber of Commerce was once again asking for a $250 contribution from MTA toward conducting economic surveys. Since the group received no results from a previous survey to which it had contributed, it was decided to contribute conditional only upon receiving survey data.
The group also voted to recommend the board spend $100 for an ad in the summer edition of Alert Magazine, a publication for high school seniors that focuses on the problems of drug and alcohol abuse.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, Dec., 2006, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.