Members of the county’s tourism development committee discussed what the 2013 Haliburton County Destination Guide might look like during a July 11 meeting.
Janis Parker, owner of Parker Pad and Printing Ltd., was in council chambers to talk about what councillors liked or disliked about the 2012 guide and what they want to see for the upcoming year’s publication.
“I want to hear from you,” Parker said. “If there’s a natural treasure we’re missing, we need to know.”
Parker Pad produced the guide for the first time last year. It cost the county about $45,000 and the county profited about $8,000 after the advertising quota was exceeded.
Parker said some people have told her there was too much advertising in the guide and she will be trying to decrease that a little for the 2013 issue.
The goal is that the guide be revenue-neutral.
Parker said some people had also found the 2012 too bulky, but that overall, there seemed to be positive reaction to it.
“Most people really like the quality of the brochure,” she said.
One of her ideas for the 2013 guide is to keep coupons relegated to a centre spread, or on double-page features if advertisers purchase those.
She suggested that getting a free page with the purchase of a full page might be an option.
Parker also showed councillors an example of a horizontal, glossy guide, something she thought she might like to try and councillors seemed to like the design.
There was some conversation about doing away with the county map that has been traditionally featured in the guide and Parker said her company produces much nicer maps than the one used people could access via the Internet.
Minden Hills Reeve Barb Reid said she thought some sort of map should be retained in the guide, even if it was just enough to give people a sense of where the county’s communities are located.
“It doesn’t maybe need the level of detail that’s on here . . . but just something that shows the general orientation of the villages,” Reid said.
Parker said she’d like to go to press right around the new year, but that waiting for the 2013 warden to be appointed would hold that up.
Traditionally, the guide has included a warden’s address, which councillors agreed to scrap for the sake of getting to press early.
“Nobody cares what politicians have to say,” Algonquin Highlands Reeve Carol Moffatt said. “It’s a destination guide.”