At last Wednesday’s (Oct. 23) meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC), two key subjects were on the agenda, including the first peek at the findings from a recently completed business satisfaction survey, and a potential new initiative for a Wilton promotional video produced by Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid.
“I get very excited about marketing and branding [Wilton], because I love this town so much, and I want other people to know it, and I also want those that are currently here to feel that pride,” said First Selectman Toni Boucher, who attended the EDC’s meeting and introduced the concept of working with Viewpoint to produce a video promoting Wilton.
According to its website, “Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid features a creative team of tenured producers, writers, editors, and imaging specialists” and “provides a unique educational platform for curated content designed to inspire and illuminate.” Though municipalities do not appear to be a primary focus, the video production company’s portfolio includes clients in a broad array of sectors, including business, education, health, technology, travel, finance, the environment and agriculture, among others.
As described during the EDC meeting, the Viewpoint project would result in a new promotional video for the Town. If the project were to proceed, the $30,000 fee would include a year of free exposure on PBS in addition to the video production itself.
Everyone seemed to agree it’s time to update the “It’s Working in Wilton” video currently posted on the Town website. That video — which was produced by a Wilton-based marketing company for roughly $13,000 — was created in 2017.
Some of the commissioners, including Marty Avallone, Hillary Springel and Donna Peterson, were initially skeptical about Viewpoint, raising concerns about whether the pitch might be “a scam” and the potential risk of association with actor Dennis Quaid, given his own persona and political activity, which includes a recent speech at a Trump rally.
“We’re all trying to move away from partisanship, I think that [someone] who is on stage with a presidential candidate, and has said some things that maybe not everyone would agree with, would be a problem being the frontman for PR for the town,” Springel said.
Boucher initially believed Quaid’s status as a “popular” celebrity would be a benefit that would “draw people to want to see the video,” but softened her position somewhat during the meeting after learning from commissioners about Quaid’s public political stances. She said she would inquire as to whether the video could be done without Quaid.
Commissioners also questioned the reach and relevance of PBS to promote Wilton. Boucher felt there could be some benefit given PBS’s educated audience profile, but emphasized her primary goal for the project was not the free media, but rather the high-quality, 3-5-minute video and one-minute commercial that would be part of the package.
While Viewpoint content airs on PBS, Viewpoint is not affiliated with PBS, according to FAQs on Viewpoint’s website:
“Both PBS and American Public Television (APT) provide television content to member Public Television stations. Additionally, Public Television stations receive content from other organizations such as NETA (National Educational Telecommunications Alliance), and other independent organizations. Viewpoint Project with Dennis Quaid operates independently and provides content to Public Television partners by way of satellite uplink.”
Boucher acknowledged commissioners concerns and indicated she was open to alternatives to Viewpoint, but also noted she’d discussed the idea with at least two local businesses that agreed to donate roughly two-thirds of the project cost — and she did not expect any difficulty finding additional donors for the balance.
“The thing is, we don’t have the funds to do this,” Boucher told the commission. “So the idea was to approach different businesses in our community.”
Boucher acknowledged that the sponsors would have their own objectives for the video content, which could result in a video that is “too commercial.” Commissioners agreed that questions about the sponsors’ expectations and visibility in the project would have to be carefully considered.
“This is not an easy decision to move forward with this,” Boucher said. “It would be nice if we didn’t have to solicit financial partners, with more freedom of what we would want to showcase. If someone’s participating financially, they’re going to want to be more of a part of it.”
The “It’s Working in Wilton” video included roles for executives at some of Wilton’s largest employers — Dorel Sports, Tauck and ASML — along with two developers. Boucher said she envisioned more “balance” of economic and residential life in the new video, but is open to discussing what should be highlighted, such as the schools, amenities, nonprofits, and countless desirable features of the Town.
Boucher said she welcomed the EDC’s involvement and suggestions for how to proceed, and emphasized no decisions have been made yet. Commissioner Marty Avallone will be the EDC’s liaison as the project develops.
GMW reached out to Boucher after the meeting with questions about the sponsors and how the potential project came about.
“I was approached by this company called ‘The Viewpoint project’,” she said. “They identified us as a community that was brought to their attention as being a good fit for what they try to do [for] communities, highlighting their positives, why it’s a good place to live, why it’s a good place to do business.”
It’s unclear how Wilton came to be on Viewpoint’s radar. Boucher surmised “they were told by somebody that [Wilton] is an ideal community for this sort of thing” but said that was all she knew.
GMW also asked Boucher about the local businesses who offered financial support for the project. She declined to reveal their identity until more details about the project were confirmed.
“This is very exciting,” Boucher said. “But again, it’s not decided yet.”
Survey Findings Preview
The EDC commissioners have begun analyzing the results from its business satisfaction survey, which was conducted online in August and September. It was designed to gather input from the Wilton business community and provide insights on how the EDC should focus its efforts to improve the local business environment.
Fifty-nine business owners — including 19 home-based business owners — completed the survey. Commissioners plan to delve further into the data before formulating their conclusions and recommendations. More analysis and discussion is expected at the next EDC meeting on Nov. 13.
Membership Change
EDC Chair Joe Favorolo announced that Peter Squitieri has resigned from the commission, effective immediately, due to time constraints. Residents interested in serving on any Town board or commission may find information posted on the Town website.
Before agreeing to a new video, has anyone done a cost-benefit analysis to see if the old one from 2017 actually had any impact? Perhaps that should be the first step before any additional time/energy/money is spent on this project…
This is just odd. Besides this type of marketing being passé, why not give this to a Wilton based firm or to a group of students.
This is something only people of a certain age would be excited about- PBS, Dennis Quaid. These aren’t relevant to the younger portions of America that, presumably we want to attract.
This is how you market a retirement community, or hip replacement surgery. She’s had some bad looks recently, add this to the list.
I would hope that Wilton’s First Selectman would be focusing her efforts on the town’s $200M infrastructure problem and its zoning debacle, rather than promoting a video about Wilton by a washed-up Trump-loving actor.
I totally agree!
I have concerns about the lack of judgment here by the members of Wilton’s Economic Development Commission. “Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid” is a shady marketing company that charges $30k for poorly produced generic videos that never get aired. Anyone with access to google can see that it’s a hustle, so why is the EDC even considering throwing away money on this?