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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRequest of Proposal OverviewRequest for Proposals Renton Community Marketing Campaign Strategic Marketing Services OVERVIEW On behalf of the Renton Community Marketing Campaign (“RCMC”) partners, the City of Renton is seeking to contract with a world class, innovative and cutting-edge vendor to provide digital marketing services and development to promote Renton as a destination for tourism, recreation, business opportunity and investment. We seek a partner to provide the following: 1) Digital media planning and buying, 2) Website development and maintenance, or both. ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN The City of Renton is a thriving community of just over 104,000 residents located in the heart of the Puget Sound region, just 6 miles from SeaTac International Airport, 8 miles from Downtown Bellevue and 11 miles from Downtown Seattle. As a major employment center for the region, Renton hosts such major manufacturing companies as Boeing, PACCAR, Mitsubishi Aircraft and Alliance Packaging; finance and banking institutions such as the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; healthcare sector leaders such as UW Medicine’s Valley Medical Center, Providence Health System, and Kaiser Permanente; regional shopping destinations such as IKEA, The Landing, and Fry’s Electronics; and, national headquarters of the world famous Wizards of the Coast entertainment company and the Seattle Seahawks (including its training facility). HISTORY In 1997, the City, in conjunction with the Greater Renton Chamber of Commerce, Renton Technical College, UW Medicine|Valley Medical Center, Renton School District and the Renton Visitor’s Connection launched a community marketing campaign. The mission was to collectively market the Renton community to recruit quality companies and diversify Renton's employment base. Like any successful company, Renton needs to continue to be on the cutting edge to market its products and services. When companies or residents look at locating in Renton, they look at the community as a whole: schools, parks, housing, amenities, higher education, public safety, health, and medical care. Our goal is to collectively market our product, Renton, to help us maintain a healthy community. Stakeholders developed a brand and a series of websites to promote a consistent identity that built on the appeal of the community's residential, educational and business opportunities and positioned the community for future success. These tools capture our community and the innovation and creativity of all key stakeholders. By leveraging marketing dollars, the stakeholders collectively promoted Renton as an outstanding place to work, live, learn, shop, visit and play. The RCMC has been a success. Over its course, many new investments have been made, the employment base has diversified, and Renton’s image has been elevated throughout the region. Nevertheless, after nearly 20 years into the campaign, it is time to reassess our efforts, refocus our messaging, grow our network of followers and take our campaign to the next level. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The RCMC’s goals and objectives in issuing this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) include: 1.Analyze Renton’s competitive position, opportunities and target market. 2.Position Renton as the community of choice for visitors, residents and businesses. 3.Position the City as an attractive, affordable tourist destination in the Seattle region. 4.Develop strategies to increase the visitor count particularly during the shoulder and winter seasons. 5.Develop strategies to promote business growth and investment in Renton to drive increased business travel. 6.Provide a special focus on developing strategies to promote Downtown Renton as a visitor destination and place to do business. 7.Work within the RCMC’s advertising and marketing budget to maximize exposure at a reasonable cost. The objective of the City, working through the RCMC, is to award a one (1) year agreement, with two (2) one-year renewal options exercisable at the City’s sole discretion. Scope of Work The selected agency will be expected to service the marketing, branding, and public relations needs of the RCMC partners in the development of the campaign; collaborating with additional vendors and the in-house marketing team to execute the marketing strategy. The following includes a sample of the required services: 1.Agree on the strategy development scope and cost (or for future-year refresh) 2.Create the strategy with KPI identification and accountability 3.Agree on the execution scope based on budget approved by RCMC 4.Execution with monthly reporting and KPI accountability Marketing themes include: Attract new residents Attract new businesses Attract more visitors and tourists Attract more business travelers Attract more business meetings and conferences Attract more website visitors Promote business growth The geography targets include: International Domestic Region Renton (for promoting business growth, business meetings, and website visitors) Campaign management, including: 1.Themes and stories to tell 2.Press engagement & earned media 3.Social engagement 4.Website engagement 5.Online advertising 6.Traditional advertising 7.Search Engine Optimization and Content Marketing 8.Reporting, transparency, and KPIs reviews 9.Other stuff (submitting businesses for awards, local business relationship building, marketing research) PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Proposals must demonstrate a clear understanding of the project. Any proposal responding to this RFP should include the following: 1.Company profile a. Name of the business, contact person, and contact information: Provide address, telephone, mobile telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, and web address, as applicable. b. Statement of ownership: Describe the type of business entity (sole proprietorship, corporation, LLC, or other), and list the majority and minority owners. c. List of subcontractors, if applicable. Provide company name, contact person, address, and telephone number, and intended percentage of work to be performed by any subcontractor. 2.Qualifications a. Provide a brief description of your firm, including its founding and history; number of employees; service areas; and, awards or other forms of recognition. b. Provide a description of your work process. c. Special consideration: Describe your experience with destination tourism & promotion. d. Special consideration: Describe your experience with community marketing as an economic development strategy. e. Special consideration: Describe why and how your firm is uniquely positioned to serve as RCMC’s lead marketing strategist, implementer, and advisor. 3.Experience and ability to perform this work a. Describe the approach your firm would undertake to successfully complete the tasks described in the Scope of Work in conjunction with the Goals and Objectives. b. Provide examples of relevant work and / or case studies. c. Provide a minimum of three (3) client references (firm name, primary contact, telephone, address, email, and website). d. Provide a list of personnel who would be assigned to RCMC work, along with their credentials and experience. 4.Timeline A timeline for development of the Plan (refreshed vision and marketing strategy) in conjunction with the RFP’s Goals and Objectives and Scope of Work. 5.Pricing a. Provide a schedule of fees for all relevant services described in the Scope of Work including, as applicable to your approach, cost of Ongoing Consulting, Management, and Strategy Development; Digital Marketing Services; External Collateral; Content Development and Website Maintenance; Public Relations; and, Paid Media. b. Based on your approach, provide an estimate of the annual number of hours required for each service area described in 5a. Please follow exactly the requirements for the responses noted above. It is the responsibility of respondents to provide all required materials in the required form and format. Responses that are not in the required form and format will not be considered. Responses to requirements 1-5 above shall not exceed more than 20 pages total. SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS One original and an electronic PDF stored on a flash drive shall be submitted in a sealed envelope or box by 4:00 PDT on February 24, 2020. Please mark “Proposal for the Renton Community Marketing Campaign” on the front of the envelope or box and deliver to Renton City Hall, 1055 S Grady Way, 6th Floor, Renton, WA 98057. SELECTION CRITERIA AND PROCESS A selection committee composed of RCMC partner representatives will review all submitted proposals. The selection committee will determine a finalist short list (preliminary review; no less than three teams), and each finalist will be offered an opportunity to interview and present its proposal to the selection committee. The committee will select a top candidate to recommend to RCMC partners for entering into a consultant contract. Top candidate selection will be based upon the following criteria: a.Specialized experience of the team and related experience on projects of similar scope in similar type and market communities; b.Proposed project approach, including team organization and structure, and understanding of the project goals and objectives and scope of work; c.Completeness of the response proposal; d.Qualifications, references, and capability of key staff; e.Proposed timeline/schedule for completion of project. TIMELINE RFP Solicitation January 22, 2020 Cut-off for Questions re: RFP February 7, 2020 RFP Responses Due February 24, 2020 Selection Committee Review of Submittals for Short List of Finalists early March 2020 Interviews Conducted for Short List of Finalists Early March 2020 RCMC Selection of Consultant Mid March 2020 QUESTIONS Questions about the RFP or the project should be directed to: Cliff Long, Economic Development Director, City of Renton, via email at clong@rentonwa.gov TERMS AND CONDITIONS All materials and images developed during this project will belong to the City. The City reserves the right to reject any and all submittals, and to waive minor irregularities in any submittals. The City reserves the right to request clarification of information submitted, to request additional information from respondents, and to request interviews with respondents. The City reserves the right to award the contract to the next most qualified consultant, if the successful consultant does not execute a contract within thirty (30) days after notification of the award of the bid. Any proposal may be withdrawn until the date and time set above for submittal of proposals. Any proposal not so timely withdrawn shall constitute an irrevocable offer, for a period of ninety (90) days, for the services described in the RFP, or until one or more of the proposals have been approved by the City, whichever occurs first. The City shall not be responsible for any costs incurred by the consultant in preparing, submitting, or presenting its response to this RFP.