Why was Showcase Pensacola formed?
In 2012, Visit Pensacola was the tourism arm of the Greater Pensacola Chamber, which hired the Nashville, TN-based BOHAN Advertising to handle all tourism marketing for Escambia County.
- The hoteliers wanted control of Visit Pensacola. In June 2013, local filmmakers joined their cause when it was revealed the Chamber had $258K for a 30-second video spot produced by BOHAN.
Dig Deeper: The Chamber was already in disarray over the firing of CEO Jim Hizer. County Commission Chair Gene Valentino also wanted to take economic development away from the chamber.
- By the end of 2013, the Board of County Commissioners had voted to remove Visit Pensacola from the Pensacola Chamber and make it an independent authority. Collier Merrill was its first chair.
In 2014, after the independent Visit Pensacola was formed, several local ad agencies created a collaborative alliance, Showcase Pensacola, to handle tourism marketing for Escambia County. The group manages the advertising, marketing, and public relations programs for Visit Pensacola.
- Showcase Pensacola was immediately successful, increasing bed tax collections by 15.6% by 2016.
Success Continues
In FY 2015, direct visitor spending totaled $849 million. For FY 2024, the direct visitor spending totaled $1.3 billion.
• “Our peer destinations aren’t experiencing comparable performance,” noted Visit Pensacola Executive Director Darien Schaefer, referencing competitive markets including Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, Fort Walton Beach/Destin, and Panama City Beach.
Ads Placed, Not Paid or Reimbursed
On May 16, I received, via a public record request, a spreadsheet from Escambia County of all the tourism-related invoices that County Clerk Pam Childers has refused to pay and has continually requested more and more documentation. The Showcase Pensacola total is $1.7 million.
Since we received the invoices, we have been told the clerk’s office cut a check for $71,692.64 of an invoice totalling $540,901.87, and Visit Pensacola has submitted another set of invoices for more than $600K, so the total below is probably much higher.
“We’re at a point where we’re limited on what we can reimburse Showcase,” Visit Pensacola CEO Schaefer told WEAR-TV. “As far as options go, the next option for us is to take out a line of credit. And we don’t wanna do that.”
- “I’m about half of what they owe,” said Dick Appleyard, managing partner of Showcase Pensacola.
9/30/24 75 Showcase Tagger Sprout Social Subs 19,992.00 9/30/24 75 Showcase NO Saints P’ship Buy #1 135,297.50 9/30/24 75 Showcase Fall Photo & Video Production 27,055.84 9/30/24 75 Showcase Annual Meeting Videos 15,095.00 9/30/24 75 Showcase Beach Outfitters Video Production 50,825.00 9/30/24 75 Showcase AllAboutBirds.com Digital Buy #2 7,059.00 9/30/24 75 Showcase WTB Billboard Buy 187,543.52 9/30/24 75 Showcase Girlfriend Getaway Insert 4,706.00 9/30/24 75 Showcase Garden & Gun Dec/Jan Ad Buy 48,236.50 9/30/24 75 Showcase Dreamscapes Ads Buy 16,353.36 9/30/24 75 Showcase Birdsmagazine Ads Buy 14,103.96 9/30/24 75 Showcase Southern Living February Ad Buy 36,232.67 9/30/24 75 Showcase Southern/Midwest Living VF Coop/March/Spring Buy 58,825.00 9/30/24 75 Showcase CarVertise New Orleans Campaign 16,941.60 9/30/24 75 Showcase New Orleans Saints Partnership 75,296.00 9/30/24 75 Showcase Garden & Gun 2025 Seafood Rodeo Sponsorship 107,061.50 9/30/24 75 Showcase ESPN+ and American Magic Promo 11,765.02 9/30/24 75 Showcase NO Saints P’rship Buy #2 60,002.00 892,391.47 02/28/25 79 Showcase Public relations, marketing plans-January 2025 15,000.00 02/28/25 79 Showcase Digital programming-Q1 9,000.00 02/28/25 79 Showcase December Freelance Writers Blogs 750.00 02/28/25 79 Showcase FY 23/24 Annual Report Production 4,230.00 02/28/25 79 Showcase Influencer Marketing 2025 & Project Management 6,125.00 02/28/25 79 Showcase Brand Buy 182,644.27 02/28/25 79 Showcase CTV/OTT/You Tube Brand Buy 40,280.34 02/28/25 79 Showcase Diversity Digital Buy 9,753.62 02/28/25 79 Showcase Direct Flight Digital Buy 10,343.52 02/28/25 79 Showcase Interest Digital Buy 6,023.68 02/28/25 79 Showcase Canada/UK Buy 18,518.16 02/28/25 79 Showcase MICE Digital Buy 883.89 02/28/25 79 Showcase Winter Visitor Digital Buy 62,755.78 02/28/25 79 Showcase Winter Visitor Broadcast Buy 5,242.72 02/28/25 79 Showcase Scuba Diving Niche Interest Media Buy 26,482.64 02/28/25 79 Showcase 2025 PNS Beach Visitor Guide Ad Buy 1,676.51 399,710.13 03/31/25 80 Showcase SBC 2025 Digital & Social Media Buys 27,870.70 03/31/25 80 Showcase SBC 2025 In-Market Outdoor Buy 4,000.12 03/31/25 80 Showcase SBC 2025 Project Management 9,781.25 03/31/25 80 Showcase SBC 2025 Newspaper Advertising Buy 3,095.97 03/31/25 80 Showcase SBC 2025 Out-of-Market CTV/Video Media Buy 10,000.25 03/31/25 80 Showcase SBC 2025 PR & Production 3,100.00 03/31/25 80 Showcase Public Relations, Marketing Plans-February 2025 15,000.00 03/31/25 80 Showcase NOLA and Saints Promotion Management 3,375.00 03/31/25 80 Showcase Influencer Marketing-Olga Valentin@mini.jetsetter 2,500.00 03/31/25 80 Showcase Brand Buy 147,169.06 03/31/25 80 Showcase CTV/OTT/You Tube Brand Buy 35,473.78 03/31/25 80 Showcase New Orleans YouTube TV Superbowl Support Buy 12,000.00 03/31/25 80 Showcase Diversity Digital Buy 10,623.27 03/31/25 80 Showcase Direct Flight Digital Buy 7,728.30 03/31/25 80 Showcase Interest Digital Buy 5,426.02 03/31/25 80 Showcase Canada/UK Buy 13,652.64 03/31/25 80 Showcase MICE Digital Buy 4,146.54 03/31/25 80 Showcase Spring 2025 Broadcast Buy 21,766.25 03/31/25 80 Showcase New Orleans Super Bowl Buy 10,325.00 03/31/25 80 Showcase Family Traveler Canada/UK Buy 31,177.25 03/31/25 80 Showcase Scuba Diving Niche Interest Media Buy 4,079.34 03/31/25 80 Showcase Life on the Water Promotion/Filming 58,825.00 03/31/25 80 Showcase Professional Services & Media Buy 9,785.02 450,900.76 Grand Total 1,743,002.36
