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Branding Humboldt: Marketing the Flowers & the Trees
A new marketing strategy takes root.
BY THOMAS OLIVER
A 40-year working relationship between the City of Eureka and the Eureka-Humboldt Visitors Bureau (EHVB) may come to an end this summer over divergent views on how to brand the region’s world-famous trees and flowers. At a February 5 meeting, the Eureka City Council voted unanimously to approve a request for proposals (RFP) for marketing services. The winner will be selected on May 7 and will be under contract beginning July 1.
In February, Eureka’s Director of Development Services Rob Holmlund presented the City of Eureka’s position on the pitfalls of the current marketing strategy and the potential for growth. EHVB Marketing and Media Director and Interim Director Richard Stenger then stepped up to plead the EHVB’s case to remain the proprietor of marketing services. The crux of the issue: Does the EHVB, which is responsible for marketing Humboldt County as a whole, not only Eureka, dynamically promote and represent the city to justify its yearly funding?
The city council meeting caused quite a stir. Thirty citizens of Eureka took to the podium for public comment, including owners of the city’s four largest hotels, EHVB board members, and concerned public citizens. Across the board, support for the RFP was overwhelming, while those who spoke in favor of the EHVB retaining their contract without competition could be counted on one hand.
In favor of passing the RFP, Eureka citizen James Kloor argued the case with simple logic: “It would be a shame to see the City of Eureka out of touch with what could bring interested tourists into the area by never reevaluating our outreach campaigns,” Kloor said during the public comment period. His arguments echoed most in favor of passing the RFP—why not?
Yet, embedded within any conversation around marketing and tourism in Humboldt County is the question of how to navigate the legal cannabis industry. At the February meeting, discussion around how to best incorporate cannabis quickly became a central theme of the debate. For years, the EHVB’s marketing strategy can perhaps best be summed up with one word: Redwoods. Redwoods. Redwoods. But since California’s passage of Proposition 64 in 2016, some EHVB board members and councilmembers wondered why the legal cannabis industry has not already been brought into the fold. After all, Humboldt County is one third of the Emerald Triangle—the colloquial term for Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity counties and easily the most (in)famous pot-growing territory in the world.
“Couldn’t we be using this to our benefit?” asked Eureka Councilman Austin Allison.
At the podium, Richard Stenger asked for a glass of water before answering Allison’s question about marketing cannabis—the elephant in the room. In response, Stenger emphasized the lack of “deliverables,” stating, “In order for an industry to succeed, it needs to create its own business plan first.” Stenger compared cannabis to the burgeoning Humboldt County wine market several years ago. “We were so bully on [the wine industry] that we jumped the gun and marketed before it was ready. That resulted in a lose-lose situation,” explained the marketing director. “Recreational cannabis is still in its early days,” stressed Stenger. He argued that pushing cannabis to the forefront before it’s dressed for showtime would do more harm than good.
But some EHVB board members disagree. “I have been trying to get the EHVB to recognize cannabis as the opportunity it is for the past two years, and it has fallen on deaf ears,” explained Laura Lasseter, operations director of the Southern Humboldt Business & Visitors Bureau (SHBVB) in Garberville. Meredith Maier, EHVB board member and co-owner of McKinleyville’s Six Rivers Brewery, echoed Lasseter’s sentiment. “I can tell you with certainty that the Bureau has failed the city and the county, and has not lived up to their obligations,” said Maier during her public comment at the February 5 meeting.
—Rob Holmlund, City of Eureka Director of Development Services
Maier and Lasseter were both central members of the recently created (and soon after dissolved) subcommittee on cannabis. The group was formed at the direction of the executive board to investigate and explain how cannabis could be used as a marketing tool for Humboldt County. Until the sub-committee was dissolved, the sub-committee refuted the notion that cannabis does not have marketing deliverables.
“We’re educating people on the right way to grow cannabis and breaking down misconceptions,” says Lasseter. An effusive advocate for Southern Humboldt, Lasseter and the SHBVB will host the first Meet the Farmers dinner series at the Benbow Inn this May. “That’s a deliverable,” she adds.
In Eureka, Ward 5 Councilwoman Natalie Arroyo agrees. “I’d like to see cannabis be included in the marketing of our community, as it is unique to Humboldt, involves a lot of innovation, and is a legal and important sector of local business.”
When reached for comment, Stenger described a different reality. “We understand there is some frustration from certain segments of the cannabis community regarding the EHVB and its role in marketing an important part of Humboldt’s culture. I think the real issue is identifying the most promising potential tourism assets within the cannabis community.” Preaching patience and process, Stenger added, “We see deliverables coming, but it’s going to take some time.”
At the February council meeting, Matt Kurth, owner of the Eureka-based Humboldt Cannabis Tours, also spoke to the viability of marketing cannabis. “We’re not fully mature yet, but we have the deliverables to make it happen,” says Kurth. “I did 60 tours last year, all out of Eureka. We have bud-and-breakfasts opening up, we have lounges and dispensaries opening up. And I can start doing [tours] right now,” added Kurth.
The EHVB has held a non-competitive contract with the City of Eureka since the 1970s. Annually, it receives $370,000 in funding from the City of Eureka, which comprises 43 percent of its total budget. Only three years ago, the city found itself in a similar position with the de facto Visitor’s Center, formerly operated by the Eureka Chamber of Commerce. As disillusionments grew, the city underwent a similar RFP process, resulting in a brand-new Visitor’s Center now housed in the lobby of the Clarke Historical Museum, an iconic building in historic Old Town.
“We want to get the best ideas on how to market Eureka and optimize our return on investment fiscally, socially, and culturally,” explains Holmlund.
Humboldt County has the potential to be the vanguard for a new age of cannabis. Neither Trinity nor Mendocino county, the other two vertices of the Emerald Triangle, have officially adopted cannabis as a marketing tool. Yet, in October of 2018, the Eureka City Council voted unanimously to allow on-site cannabis consumption at permitted locations, making Eureka one of half a dozen cities in California where such innovation is legally approved. In the heart of the Emerald Triangle, such legislation is a major step forward in recognizing the region’s legendary cannabis heritage.
