MARKETING Profile
The Marketing Department is responsible for promoting and managing the brand and identity of the District in addition to marketing the District’s programs, facilities, events and services to a community of approximately 150,000 residents. Destination facilities such as Centennial Beach, Knoch Knolls Nature Center, the Riverwalk, and Springbrook and Naperbrook Golf Courses are promoted regionally to expand visibility, interest and participation beyond Naperville. More locally, programs and events and facilities like Fort Hill Activity Center are a key area of emphasis for ongoing marketing efforts. The Marketing Department staff serves two distinct roles: 1.) promote the District’s programs and facilities to increase awareness and revenue; and 2.) serve the internal communication needs of departments across the organization. Ultimately, the goal of the marketing function is to leverage aspects such as data, technology, partnerships, creativity and efficiencies to increase visibility of the District across the community and beyond, educate our residents regarding District projects and processes, and establish and manage the identity of the District as premier provider of exceptional recreation experiences for all ages and interests in Naperville. Effectively fulfilling the marketing function requires the retention of a creative and engaged staff possessing varying skillsets and expertise.
The Marketing Department is staffed with the following roles: • Director of Marketing and Communications
for promoting a wide variety of content and information at the District. As expected, 2024 has been a very ribbon-cutting- heavy year, with many newly renovated facilities coming online, from playgrounds to the opening of the Rothermel Family Skate Facility and the dedications of the Marie Todd Practice Facility at Naperbrook and the Frank J. Rus Pavilion at Knoch Knolls Park, in addition to anniversary celebrations at Springbrook Golf Course (50 years) and the Knoch Knolls Nature Center (10 years). These events have been great opportunities for the District to celebrate with the community while promoting new places to play and enjoy recreation in Naperville. Last of all, but certainly not least, the District’s sponsorship program continues to grow as an important aspect of overall alternative revenue. We have experienced year-over-year growth for more than a decade, except for 2020 due to Covid-19 impacts. While staff continues to raise the bar year after year, not only from a revenue standpoint but also through the addition of new sponsorable opportunities, we set a revenue goal of $330,000 for 2024; this was after successfully achieving and surpassing the 2023 revenue goal of $300,000 by midyear. While we reached the 2024 goal by August, what assisted us in doing so was the inking of a brand-new partnership with Wintrust for the naming of the synthetic turf field at Knoch Park, thereby expanding the prior relationship with local banking provider Naperville Bank & Trust – a Wintrust Community Bank. This first-ever naming agreement for the Naperville Park District nicely sets the stage and establishes a framework for possible similar future agreements with other industry businesses.
• Creative Services Manager • Communications Manager • Sales and Sponsorship Manager • Publications Designer • Graphic Designer • Digital Marketing Specialist
In late 2023, the department welcomed two new staff: Danny Rehm, Communications Manager, who assumed the majority of Sue Omanson’s duties following her December 2023 retirement, and Connor Bangs who was hired as the Digital Marketing Specialist – a new role for the District. Much of 2024 has involved the onboarding and training of these two new employees and integrate them into the overall marketing and operations of the organization. While the Communications Manager role no longer has oversight of grants and legislative aspects, there have been increasingly more opportunities to expand the District’s PR/media relations while enhancing our internal customer support capabilities as it pertains to other department’s communication/ marketing needs. The Digital Marketing Specialist role has been a great addition not only to the Marketing Department, but also to the District as a whole. Connor’s vision for developing content and aptitude for working with a wide range of social media tools has helped us to expand our capabilities and reach different audiences. Just by adding social media “video reels” (on Facebook and Instagram, for example) alone has increased overall engagement across the board and has become an incredibly dynamic mechanism
2025 BUDGET 50
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