Thursday, July 27th 2023, 10:10am
Below are the responses to the questions the Town of Nederland received regarding the Branding & Marketing Strategy Plan (RFP 23-003). Funding for this project comes from the Tourism Management Grant that Nederland was awarded in April.
Proposals for the Branding & Marketing Strategy Plan are due August 3rd, 2023 by 2:00pm. Read the full RFP here: https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/document/46921/
Q.) What email address should the electronic copy of the proposal be sent to?
- Electronic copies should be sent to engagement@nederlandco.org.
Q.) Would you need to receive hard copies of the proposal before the deadline for us to be considered a candidate for this work, or as long as the electronic copy is with you, we would be in the running?
- Both the electronic copy and hard copy must be received by the Town of Nederland by 2pm on Thursday, August 3rd, 2023.
Q.) Does the committee have any examples of town brand marketing initiatives they like?
- No, the committee does not have examples of brand marketing initiatives from other municipalities. We are aware that Johnston, Ignaciao, pagosa Springs, and Bayfield have all done branding/identity campaigns; however we have not decided as a team if we want to mirror any of those plans.
Q.) Do you have a desired minimum research requirement (in terms of methodology and/or number of people we need input from)?
- We would like the consultant to seek input from at least 15% of our community (approximately 225 people).
Q.) How many stakeholders will we need to engage with throughout the process?
- The consultants should plan to host community outreach sessions as well as connect with the Town's seven boards and commissions and business community. Town staff will assist with the outreach since we recognize there is a smaller budget for this project.
Q.) Is the "Educational Campaign" the execution of this marketing strategy? Or a separate campaign to educate the public on your marketing plans?
- The education campaign should be a part of the market strategy. $5,000 of the $25,000 grant has been set aside to design, print, and distribute marketing materials.
Q.) At the completion of the marketing strategy phase, are you looking for the actual creative elements to be created for the campaign? You mention needing help to produce print, digital, and social content in the "Background" section of the RFP, but it is not listed in the "Project Deliverables and Scope of Work" section.
- Yes, we are looking for creative elements to be designed as a part of the marketing strategy phase.
Q.) Does the budget also need to cover any production needs (e.g. photo or video shoots) and media buys?
- Yes, if the consultant chooses to use photos or videos as a part of the educational campaign/creative content then it would need to be included in the $5,000 budget. The Town has received $20,000 to cover production expenses from the Colorado Tourism Office under the Reimagine Destinations Program, however we likely won't have access to that until mid-2024.
Q.) Is there a requirement or preference for a local Nederland or Colorado-based agency?
- The Town would prefer to work with a company that is familiar with Nederland. The agency does not have to be based in Nederland or a Colorado-based agency.
Q.) Where would I locate the "CDOT's Affidavit of Small Business Participation (Attachment C)" that is listed on the "Proposer Certifcation" on page 2 of the RFP?
- The "CDOT's Affidavit of Small Business Participation" should have been removed from the list of required documentation. This can be disregarded.
Q.) Do you have a summary of the taglines used in prior years (referenced in the RFP)?
- Some of the taglines that have been used for Nederland include: "Life is Better Up here", "Nederland - A Dog in Every Subaru", "Everything is Better in Ned".
Q.) It looks like the following stakeholder group participated in the Reimagine Destinations Program in 2022/2023, will these same stakeholders be the core group for the new Branding & Market Strategy? Will any additional stakeholders be needed beyond this group? "Town Administrator Miranda Fisher, Administrative Support Manager Peter Cacek, Parks Department Director and Traffic Control Supervisor Nicki Dunn, and Nederland Community Center Director Dawn Baumhover were all part of the core team. Barbara Hardt: Chair of the Nederland DDA, Event Coordinator Stephanie Andelman, Wild Bear Nature Center Executive Director Jill Dreves, Teens Inc. Executive Director Stephen LeFaiver, and Fire Chief Mike Scott were also part of the core team."
- We would like to work with the consultant to assess who are the most appropriate people for the core team. At the very least, Peter Cacek - Public Engagement Manager; Miranda Fisher - Town Administrator; and Nichole Sterling - Trustee will be on the core team. We want to be sure to solicit feedback from the community as well as our boards and commissions (Board of Trustees; Board of Zoning Adjustment; Downtown Development Authority; Parks, Recreation, & Open Space Advisory Board; Planning Commission; Sustainability Advisory Board; Youth Advocacy and Advisory Board) and other partnering agencies, like the ones listed in the question.
Q.) How will the new Branding & Market Strategy intersect with and/or support the "Do Nederland Right" campaign that came out of the Colorado Tourism Office's consultant work?
- The community has not responded well to the "Do Nederland Right" campaign. While they support what the campaign is trying to communicate, they have not been in support of that tagline. Therefore, we'd like to integrate the educational components of "Do Nederland Right" into a new campaign focused on what it means to be a Nederland visitor and what our expectations are for those coming to spend time in our community.
Q.) There is mention of providing 'print, digital, and social content' as part of this effort. Do you have a summary of what you'd like these deliverables to be, or is that the responsibility of the chosen consultant?
- We will be looking to the consultant to provide recommendations on what type of media content would be most appropriate to communicate Nederland's brand and identity.
Q.) Can you please expand upon what you'd like the $5,000 educational campaign to include? It seems like the marketing Strategy listed in the required scope deliverables could help outline uses for this amount, but we'd like to know if you have any ideas in mind for what the educational campaign will include.
- We want to see print, digital, and/or social content campaigns that focus on what it means to be a Nederland visitor and what our expectations are of those who are coming to spend time in our community. We want this educational campaign to help us shape the visitor experience and aid in our management of tourism.
Q.) Is a new website, photography, video, marketing collateral, social media and PR items you would like to see the price for in addition to what has been requested?
- Yes, if a consultant wants to provide additional pricing for PR items, we would accept those. However, we are expecting that with the $5,000 set aside for the educational campaign, that some PR materials would be able to be generated under the grant funding.
Q.) Are you looking for messaging points in addition to a logo or visual identity?
- The Town already has a logo; however we are open to modifying it if that is a recommendation of the consultant. We are looking for key messaging though, as well as the visual identity.
Q.) Are you looking for a tagline?
- If it seems appropriate after soliciting feedback from the community and stakeholders to have a tagline, we definitely support that. Nederland has had taglines before (see above) and we do think taglines help with branding.
Q.) What is your timing for this brand to launch?
- We are looking to launch the brand in spring 2024.