In controversial move, Duluth picks Arizona agency to push tourism

DULUTH – A Tucson, Ariz., marketing agency will orchestrate tourism efforts in Duluth over the next two years, after what some have said was a thorny process that resulted in Mayor Roger Reinert flip-flopping on a campaign talking point.

Madden Media was chosen from more than two dozen applicants, including six that are based in Duluth or have an office here, for the $3.6 million contract.

Tourism in Duluth is a nearly $1 billion industry.

The Duluth City Council voted 8-1 Monday night, with Councilor Wendy Durrwachter dissenting, to approve a recommendation to choose the out-of-state agency. Most said they wished they could vote no but felt they had no choice.

The city released the scores of the five finalists, which include three Duluth agencies, one with a Minneapolis office and Madden Media. Without considering points given to local shops, Madden Media's score was 81.2 on a 100-point scale, with Duluth-based Hailey Sault and AimClear the next-highest scorers, at about 73 points each. Bonus points for the other companies being local put Madden Media ahead by just three points.

Calling the scored selection process "frustrating," Council President Roz Randorf said she and others worked behind the scenes to soften the blow — by asking to adjust the contract so more money would be spent in town, for example — but found no viable options. At a council meeting last week Duluth City Attorney Teri Lehr said that if the council rejected a pick that resulted from a competitive proposal process, it could expose the city to legal liability.

"We need a broader conversation about how important local is," Randorf said. "Outsourcing marketing to out-of-town firms undermines local expertise and siphons money and jobs away from this community."

Councilor Arik Forsman said he didn't like the agency's location, "but I can't argue with their qualifications."

Madden Media CEO Dan Janes told councilors last week that he has an employee who lives in St. Paul, and expected to work with local content creators. But he wouldn't likely employ someone in Duluth, he said, a decision that concerned several councilors.

Two local marketing agency leaders have also criticized the process, which included two requests for proposals; one issued a couple of weeks after the first, with crucial financial details changed. The contract changed from $6 million over two years to $3.6 million.

One of those leaders, Swim Creative CEO Patrice Bradley, said she is worried about the economic impact of the decision.

"My recent conversations with community members has shown a widespread concern over our city leadership, particularly the mayor, who promised to bring valuable tax dollars back to our local economy," she wrote in an email. "[Reinert] literally campaigned on the backs of Duluth's agencies and yet, here we are again, watching this significant contract leave our community."

In 2021, former Mayor Emily Larson picked a Minneapolis-based marketing agency to do work that had long been handled in town by Visit Duluth, a move that Reinert criticized as he campaigned against her last year. At a news conference in March when he announced a task force to evaluate the partnership with the current agency, Reinert said the city had many creative people to do the work.

"I fundamentally believe — and I said this over and over again during the campaign and so walking that talk here today — that it's hard to tell an authentic Duluth story if you're not a Duluthian," Reinert said at the time.

In a recent social media post he addressed that statement and said that during that same news conference he mentioned the possibility that he could be convinced a nonlocal agency is the right choice.

Finalists made presentations to a committee of six that included directors of the Duluth Airport Authority and the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center and the city's workforce development director.

Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce President Matt Baumgartner wrote in a letter to the City Council last week that the body would support the choice, but he had anticipated a local agency.

"Beyond their expertise, these firms bring an intimate understanding of our city's unique identity and an ability to tell our story authentically," he said.

City administration has indicated a return to Visit Duluth overseeing marketing efforts when this two-year contract expires, and the organization will begin a search for an executive director to take over then. It has been tasked with a smaller share of duties since 2022.