Downtown Boulder hires marketer

BOULDER – The downtown Boulder Business Improvement District (BID) has hired a destination consultant to help promote the Downtown Boulder brand during the fall and holiday business seasons.

It also hired legal counsel and hopes to find an operations manager to oversee maintenance of the BID, which includes the Pearl Street Mall and the East and West ends.

Boulder attorney John Mehaffy, chairman of the BID board, informed members at a public meeting Sept. 6 that Jeff Cohn of Denver had been hired for the BID under a short-term contract.

“We spent the first half of 2000 in a learning curve, and we’re not thrilled with the results,” Mehaffy said of the BID marketing efforts this year. Because of its disenchantment, the board decided to seek a professional consultant. BID Executive Director Jane Jenkins suggested Cohn, and after a review process, the board approved hiring him. The position was not advertised. Cohn started Sept. 1 with a six-month contract.

“My goal is to be a consultant and an agency to the BID under this contract,” Cohn said. As a consultant, Cohn said he brings the ability to make the most efficient use of the marketing budget to maximize sales in downtown Boulder.

As an agency, the Denver-based J. Cohn Marketing Group LLC, Cohn said he can provide the resources and infrastructure needed to carry out the BID marketing plan.

“We only bring in people when we need them. For example, when we’re ready for public relations, we’ll bring in someone at the time,” Cohn said.

His first step is to focus on fourth-quarter planning and to look at alternatives for the holidays, especially the addition of an ice rink. “We’re still in the strategic planning stage for marketing the downtown area and determining what the exposure will be for the fourth quarter,” he said. “My objectives are to build brand awareness and to draw in traffic and sales.”

Cohn reported to the BID board Sept. 14 that he already has contacted Broomfield’s FlatIron Crossing mall management and Westcor corporate representatives about partnering with them in a joint marketing program.

Cohn’s background includes managing downtown New Orleans as a corporate partnership for three years. Under his management, the area experienced sales growth of 5 percent to 10 percent, and he won a downtown message award. Prior to that experience, Cohn developed Rouse Company’s downtown strategy and worked with major destinations such as Baltimore.

“Selling downtown is a unique sell. At the same time you develop a brand you have to deliver customers. The only way to get it done is to work in partnership with convention and visitor bureaus, the city and others,” Cohn said.

The BID also has hired Larry Rider of Boulder-based Martin and Mehaffy as its legal counsel after considering two attorneys with BID experience. Rider represented the BID in the litigation with Boulder County to establish the BID. He starts immediately.

“My marching orders are to work on the budget hearings and to answer questions about the Tabor Amendment,” Rider said.

A CU law school graduate, Rider mostly has local experience in municipal law, urban renewal and business improvement districts. He worked for the city of Boulder and was the city attorney for Vail and Georgetown, both for 10 years. “This will be my first new BID,” he said.

Jenkins also is hoping to hire an operations manager right away to provide maintenance, repair, landscaping and equipment operation for downtown Boulder. Affectionately known as “Ranger Bob,” the position will require great flexibility because of the critical importance of weekend maintenance.

Duties of this position include responsibility for the overall appearance of the downtown BID outside the four blocks of bricks along the Pearl Street Mall and coordination with the city’s staff to provide an enhanced level of maintenance and service on the mall. The person hired also will manage outside service people like pressure washers and remove graffiti and illegal posters. The position pays $32,000 to $38,000 a year with benefits.

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