“I’m Home” Heads For The Shubert

A digital Water Street billboard and a series of Shubert Theatre Playbills might soon feature ads from the Livable City Initiative — as part of the city’s new marketing strategy to spread awareness of its housing and anti-blight resources.

Mark Wilson, the Livable City Initiative (LCI)’s manager of neighborhood and commercial development, appeared before the Board of Alders City Services and Environmental Policy (CSEP) Committee to pitch two multi-year advertising contracts promoting the department’s services, at the Water Street and Shubert locations.

“This is new to us: an aggressive outreach program,” Wilson told the committee, which unanimously voted to advance the two contracts.

The proposal is part of the city’s effort to obligate the remainder of its pandemic relief aid from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) before the federal deadline at the end of 2024. 

The city had already designated ARPA funding toward ​“marketing and communications” related to LCI’s ​“I’m Home” Initiative, a pool of funds for a variety of housing programs including affordable homeownership promotion and rent assistance. After the latest ARPA reallocation amendment reduced those marketing funds by over $170,000 in late May, the city was left with a remainder of $245,764.96 to advertise the ​“I’m Home” programs.

LCI has already taken out ads in CT Transit buses as well as on a billboard by the intersection of the Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and Whalley Avenue. But the department still needs aldermanic approval to enter into multi-year contracts — which is why alders are now weighing two LCI advertising contracts slated to last through 2026.

One contract before alders is a $67,600 agreement with Barrett Outdoor Communications allowing LCI to advertise on the electric billboard at 145 Water St., right by Route 34.

“You get a lot of stagnant traffic there,” Wilson said to committee members.

The billboard would display an LCI ad for ten seconds every minute, according to Wilson. 

Its digital nature would allow LCI to rotate different messages, featuring a variety of programs and possibly including multiple languages, Wilson said. ​“You get a phone number and a glimpse of what LCI does.”

Another contract under review is a $46,000 agreement with the Shubert Theatre from Jun. 4, 2024, until Dec. 31, 2026. 

According to Wilson, the agreement would entail a poster display outside the Shubert’s building at 247 College St. It would also include ads in materials for the Shubert’s summer camp, which serves rising third through eighth graders both from within and outside of New Haven.

While the kids themselves are not necessarily LCI’s target audience, Wilson said he envisions their families taking home Playbills and learning more about the resources available to them.

“We will also be able to use the [Shubert] facility for events,” such as meetings with landlords, Wilson said in an interview.

East Rock Alder Caroline Tanbee Smith asked about the effectiveness of LCI’s existing advertisements, such as the billboard on Whalley Avenue.

Wilson responded that he’s seen an increase in demand for LCI’s services since the advertising campaign kicked off. 

He said that the department’s ARPA-funded initiative to help tenants pay for security deposits, a resource that became available around the same time that LCI began to advertise its programs, has seen significant demand from the public. Earlier that day, he said in an interview, the ​“line was out the door.”

Smith asked Wilson how LCI plans to assess the impact of its advertising campaign going forward.

Wilson replied that the department can ask clients how they heard about LCI.

Smith later suggested that the department could make use of digital QR codes to collect data on how many constituents interact with the ads. 

“I think it would be really valuable to see how useful they are,” she said of the ads.

Committee Chair and East Rock Alder Anna Festa seconded the idea of using QR codes. She expressed support for the advertising approach in general, ​“especially with some of the challenges that LCI has with some of the larger landlords.”

Hill Alder Kampton Singh, meanwhile, stressed the importance of outreach initiatives for city programs. ​“They’re still in the infancy of the public knowing what they’re doing,” he said of LCI. 

The committee unanimously voted to recommend the two contracts, which will next go before the full Board of Alders for a final approval.