The Communications Working Group will report regularly to the City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee.

In the March 2009 Budget Message, the Council unanimously approved the following:

Coordinated Marketing Effort: Last year, the City Council directed the City Manager and Redevelopment Agency Executive Director to work with the Mayor's Public Information Officer to review marketing budgets and identify opportunities to improve collaboration and use resources most effectively.

In these tough times, San José must spend its existing marketing resources more efficiently. Over the next year, I recommend that the City Manager and Redevelopment Agency Executive Director continue to work in partnership with the Mayor's Public Information Officer to bring these disparate efforts together and coordinate marketing activities. This effort will measure the return on our investments, and pursue opportunities and new ideas to spur new investment and grow San José's identity as an innovator in emerging technologies, create vibrancy Downtown, encourage retail spending, and bring new business to the Airport. This effort should include regular reports to the Community and Economic Development Committee.

This follows direction given by Council in approving the March 2008 Budget Message:

The City Manager and the Executive Director are directed to work with the Mayor's Public Information Officer to evaluate all current marketing efforts being made on behalf of the City of San José. They are to identify best practices and possible duplication of efforts for potential cost-savings. This evaluation should be completed by fall 2008 and include, but not be limited to:

• Global Fluency
• Redevelopment Agency campaigns to market homeownership in the downtown
• Advertising campaigns by the Agency or the Office of Economic Development
• Funding to Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Association, Convention and Visitors Bureau and other organizations

Since March 2008, the Mayor’s Public Information Office has worked with City and Agency staff to conduct research into the scope of the San José-funded marketing efforts. Key stakeholders have been interviewed, marketing plans have been reviewed, and two large-group meetings were held in December 2008 and May 2009. There is a consistent desire across staff and our partner agencies to increase collaboration, more effectively use resources, and do the best we can to market San José in these tough economic times.

The outcome was to develop a Communications Working Group.