Page 16 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch October 18, 2013 NFL FOOD AND DRINK SPECIALS 5 Big Screens To Watch Your Nascar Action Enhanced Member Listings On OCWebsite Headed To Council Elected Officials To Have Final Say By JOANNE SHRINER STAFF WRITER Buzztime • Keno OPEN MONDAY-FRIDAY NOON SATURDAY-SUNDAY 11 A.M. 28TH ST. PLAZA 410-289-3100 WWW.COINSPUB.COM IT’S BACK! 1/2-PRICE ENTREES Every Sunday, Tuesday And Thursday All specials are not valid with any other offers. Add $4 for each crab and all steak dishes. Dinner available with purchase of beverage. No carry-out. (Some Restrictions Apply) HAPPY HOUR DAILY 3 P.M.-6 P.M. FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS EARLY BIRD DAILY 4 P.M.-6 P.M. SPECIAL DINNER MENU MONDAY 6 P.M.-9 P.M.: 1/2-PRICE BURGERS AND CHEESEBURGERS (Some Restrictions Apply) WEDNESDAY (WHILE IT LASTS) PRIME RIB $15.99 OCEAN CITY – If the Mayor and City Council’s approve the change, Ocean City businesses will gain an enhanced online listing through an improved OCocean.com site that is expected to launch next month. During June’s Tourism Commission meeting, member Todd Ferrante, owner of Park Place Jewelers, suggested the opportunity to enhance the town’s official website, OCocean.com, by expanding Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) member listings. For a price of $200 a year, CVB member businesses are listed under the Dining and Nightlife tab or under the Things to Do tab on the website. Each business is allowed a small image and basic information, such as address, phone number, website link and a small description. In August, Ocean City’s advertising agency, MGH, attended a Tourism Commission meeting and proposed a tiered membership platform. Each tier offers a different variety of options to enhance a business listing, and the price increases with the more options provided. Allison Fiorelli of MGH presented a four-tiered business listing option. Tier 1 will be the basic listing that is more simplified then the current listing setting. Tier 1 members will be placed at the bottom of the list below the higher tier members. Tier 2 includes the current options for CVB members, plus a click through button that would send the viewer to an expanded page with additional pictures and overview of the business. Tier 3 would receive all that Tier 2 does but will be highlighted among the list, including a star will be on the listing to mark the business as a featured member. Tier 2 and Tier 3 will be randomly rotated throughout the list of all members, but Tier 4 members will always be placed at the top of the list while receiving all that is offered to Tier 3 members. At that time, the commission was in consensus to have MGH create a generic survey over the proposed tiered membership to poll CVB members. Tourism Director Donna Abbott explained this week an immediate negative response was received from the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce and Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association (OCHMRA) before the survey was distributed. “Rather than have a lengthy process, time and the effort to have a survey that probably won’t have a huge response … but also the fact the business community was already not in favor of a tiered mem- bership structure … we just decided to scrap that survey and move forward with what the original plan was, and that is to offer an enhanced listings on the website that any of the CVB members can take advantage of,” Abbott said. Fiorelli presented CVB members can be offered a photo gallery and additional description space of the property’s amenities, as well as an enhanced “deals” tab that will now list the individual business’s multiple deals. Fiorelli also presented the option of adding advertising to OCocean.com through banner ads with three available placements on the homepage and four available placements on the interior pages. Value per advertisement was proposed to be based on the average monthly page views, such as $10 per 1,000 impressions (CPM). For example, based on the amount of impressions OCocean receives, an annual contract for one ad on the homepage could cost close to $21,000 as a premium rate, or a little over $74,000 to have one ad on the interior pages as a premium rate. Fiorelli explained the interior pages are more expansive because they receive more traffic than the homepage. MGH President Andy Malis added the thought behind the proposed advertising is not only to be directed to local businesses but it also provides an opportunity for corporate sponsorships, such as Pepsi. OCHMRA Executive Director Susan Jones said the OCHMRA board had already discussed advertising on OCocean and the consensus was that it would clutter the website, and although it would improve the website’s visual, it would not be a fair and equitable opportunity for small local businesses compared to large companies. She suggested only targeting corporations to collect sponsorships instead of creating competition between members. Ferrante disagreed with advertisements creating clutter on the website but agreed there is significant value in the idea and an opportunity to gain sponsors. “It needs to be looked at,” he said. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melanie Pursel pointed out the revenue would be returned to Ocean City’s marketing fund and said she will take the concept to the chamber’s board to be discussed. The Tourism Commission was in consensus to send a favorable recommendation to the full Mayor and City Council to approve the enhanced listing for all CVB members on OCocean.com. Advertising on the town’s website will return for further discussion.