WORLAND — Who should be in charge of marketing the Worland area and how can they get residents more involved in the comprehensive plan were two questions the Worland Board of Adjustments and Planning Commission delved into at their Thursday afternoon meeting.

Worland Planning Consultant Ron Vanderpool said he watched a recent webinar by Roger Brooks, an expert on marketing and branding for communities. He said someone of things addressed in the webinar are things the BAPC has discussed.

Vanderpool said one of the things Brooks suggested was to first determine what is the message the community wants to convey.

The use of websites and social media were also discussed in getting that message out with Worland City Councilor Dennis Koch stating that conventional, local media should not be left out.

BAPC member Mike Dykman said most of the visitors to his campground find him on social media.

He added as Worland keeps shrinking the one thing that keeps coming is tourists. He said they will stay one night in Worland on their way to somewhere else and Worland needs to figure out how to get tourists to stay more than one night.

Garret Immesoete said, “We have to capture them before they get to Wyoming. We have tremendous things to offer in this area like rock climbing.”

Landis Benson agreed, adding that contacting tourists after they are already en route on their trip, it is too late.

Dykman said, “You have to catch them at least two days out so they have a chance to change their schedule.”

Why the interest in branding and marketing? According to two actions under “community pride and character in the 2015 Grow Worland Comprehensive Master Plan, the city needs to “sponsor effort to develop a unique marketing message for economic development,” and “develop multi-pronged marketing effort tied to core message.”

While the BAPC was instrumental in helping develop the plan, Vanderpool said the BAPC might not be the organization that should lead the charge on marketing and branding.

He said the BAPC rather should “start lobbying for governmental financial participation in the branding process. The city could allocate annually to support the financial burden of the process and be the deciding factor for determining who will take the lead and administrate the branding project.

Benson said the organization that may take the lead on this may not be formed yet although there are several organizations who could — Washakie County Visitors Council, Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber, Worland Main Street, Downtown Friday Merchants, and Washakie Development Authority. Another organization that was suggested is Washakie Leadership Institute, which has class turnover annually.

Benson said “They are a group with some energy. Some of the folks in our office are involved and they are excited. Somehow we need to tap into that energy.”

He said, “We should define what we want and then see if someone can help create it.”

Since work on the marketing of the community is part of the comprehensive plan, Vanderpool said he would like to see more public involvement in the implementation of the plan. He suggested quarterly public meetings on different topics of the plan.

The BAPC were in agreement to explore the public meetings with Dykman making a motion to direct Vanderpool to check on funding to advertise the meetings and report back at the March 23 meeting. He said at that time they can determine the subject to discuss and select a date for the first meeting.