The City of Corner Brook. Request for Proposals Marketing Consultant

Transcription

1 The City of Corner Brook Public Notice Request for Proposals Marketing Consultant Proposals are invited for Marketing Consultation services to develop a marketing plan for the Pepsi Centre to attract additional conferences and conventions to the area. This project would also involve analyzing proposed infrastructure upgrades and engaging local stakeholders in assisting with recommending the optimal model to implement the proposed marketing initiatives. Any interested proponents should visit our website at or contact Mr. R.J. Locke at or via rlocke@cornerbrook.com for full RFP. Deadline for submissions is Friday October 26 th at 4:30pm Proposals can be submitted to: R.J. Locke, Supervisor of Business Services clearly labeled Marketing Consultant RFP By Mail: P.O. Box 1080, Corner Brook, NL A2H 6E1 By rlocke@cornerbrook.com Subject: Marketing Consultant RFP 1 P age

2 Terms of Reference Marketing Consultant Pepsi Centre, Corner Brook, NL Proponent Background The City of Corner Brook has a population of 20,000 which doubles to 40,000 when including the immediate area of the Bay of Islands and Humber Valley. Corner Brook is the largest community on Newfoundland s west coast and serves as the distribution and service centre for Western Newfoundland and Southern Labrador which totals to about 95,000 residents. The City of Corner Brook is an incorporated Municipality governed by a Mayor and Council and employs approximately 200 staff. The Pepsi Centre opened in 1997 for the 1999 Canada Winter Games, and is promoted as Western Newfoundland s premier event facility. The Pepsi Centre building is owned by the City but is currently managed and operated by Memorial University. Memorial University runs the operations via Western Sports and Entertainment Incorporated (WSE), a separate incorporated entity (SIE) of Memorial University whose board of directors is made up of representatives from the university, City and community. The City currently pays an annual subsidy of up to $850,000 to WSE for the operation of the Pepsi Centre. The Pepsi Centre caters to concerts, conventions, trade shows and sporting events of all sizes. It has two regulation sized arenas, the Pepsi Studio (commonly referred to as the Annex), and seven conference rooms. The Pepsi Studio consists of a soundstage a large room approximately 20,000 sq. ft with a ceiling height of 32, restrooms with change areas and showers, and a kitchen capable of catering to 1000 guests, a main lobby, a ticket office and office space. Project Description The Pepsi Centre Studio contains 20,000ft 2 of underutilized space that the City is looking to renovate and with the proposed upgrades (see appendix A for proposed upgrades and cost estimates) it would be able to accommodate larger conferences and sporting events. These conference and events would attract additional people into the city and contribute more to the local economy. With the proper assets and flexibility, the Pepsi Centre can be its own destination in Western Newfoundland. Currently, the conference facilities in the region do not have the capacity to properly accommodate events with more than 150 delegates. With the proposed Pepsi Studio upgrades, the Pepsi Centre will become the main venue with the other facilities (Greenwood Inn & Suites, Mamateek Inn, Glynmill Inn, Comfort Inn, Marble Mountain, etc) becoming secondary venues for smaller meetings and functions associated with the main event being held at the Pepsi Centre. Completing these upgrades would serve to increase the volume of business for local tourism related businesses as it would bring more people into the City requiring more accommodations, food and beverage services, etc. 2 P age

3 Scope of Work The City of Corner Brook is requesting proposals for marketing consultation services based on the information provided in this package. The requested duties would be: Review and analyze the current operations and marketing efforts of the Pepsi Centre Review the proposed upgrades to the Pepsi Centre (provided in Appendix A). Based on your analysis and expertise, provide recommendations in relation to the conference and convention market: o potential target markets along with supporting market analysis o Potential size and trends of market o Best activities used to reach the market (ie. Promotion via print, web, conference attendance, social media, etc.) Analyze current marketing efforts (relating to conference attraction) of the local accommodators Competitive analysis of the conference market in Atlantic and Eastern Canada, with a focus on market of a similar size as Corner Brook. o Given the proposed upgrades, Identify Corner Brook s competitive advantage and the Pepsi Centre s suitability to compete with similar facilities. Research best practices adopted for similar areas and facilities Meet with potential stakeholders to gather input and gauge interest Identify best strategic partners Provide marketing plan recommending the optimal structure (model), resource availability and funding sources to market Corner Brook and the Pepsi Centre as a conference and convention destination and outline activities to proceed. Included with the plan should be an estimate of costs for each specific component of the plan. Steps to implement marketing plan Intended Outputs The final marketing plan (produced print and electronic version (MS Word), is anticipated to be submitted to various funding partners in an effort to secure the funds needed to complete the proposed renovations to the Pepsi Centre. In addition, key stakeholders identified in the marketing plan will be approached to form a formal group to assist in its implementation. The Consultant This contract will be awarded to the individual or firm who best exemplifies their exceptional experience and expertise in the following areas: Strong analytical skills for business case analysis and marketing plan development Experience with facility marketing and conference attraction Ability to review and verify information and provide recommendations on best practices Report preparation & evaluation 3 P age

4 References Three relevant references from previous customers along with contact information and a brief summary of working relationship are to be provided. Anticipated Project Timeline: 4 Months Deadline for Submission of Proposals: October 26 th, 2012 by 4:30pm Contract Awarded: November 2 nd, 2012 Orientation Meeting: November 6 th, 2012 Progress Update meetings (on going as needed): November 23 rd, December 14 th, January 11 th, and February 1 st Project Completion: February 8 th, 2013 The City reserves the right to adjust or modify the anticipated timeline. Proposal Requirements Detailed breakdown of services to be provided Total cost and time allotment for each component of the project (including HST) Anticipated time line Submit at least one example(s) of similar projects completed General Information The lowest price or any proposal will not necessarily be accepted All proposals will be considered strictly confidential There will be no payment for the preparation and submission of this proposal No payment will be made on the costs of the work incurred to remedy errors or omissions for which the consultant is responsible The successful consultant agrees that all information collected and reports produced are the sole property of the City of Corner Brook The consultant will not publish or in anyway use said information, materials or reports without express prior consent from the City of Corner Brook. This includes information and materials associated with this Request for Proposal information package. Project and Financial Management The direction for this project will come from the staff at the Business Resource Centre, City of Corner Brook. Contact Person R.J. Locke, Supervisor of Business Services, City of Corner Brook P.O. Box 1080, Corner Brook, NL, A2H 6E1; T: ; E. rlocke@cornerbrook.com 4 P age

5 Appendix A: Proposed upgrades & cost estimates for the Pepsi Centre Annex 5 P age

6 Ballroom Infrastructure (setting and ambiance) Rationale: Proper draping is required to divide the space into various configurations, current materials are outdated and labor intensive to install. The installation of trusses will allow drapes and AV equipment to be properly hung and the current grid to be removed, increasing the potential for multipurpose usage of the space. Dividing curtain can be used to split the space, allowing for concurrent meeting and events to occur. Activities that require various upgrades will be itemized individually to outline the specific activities needed to complete this component of the project (ie. Kitchen recondition, AV equipment, washrooms recondition and stage equipment). Item Description Unit Amount Total ($) Cost ($) 12 Box Truss Based on 8 sections. 500 provides enough to do full studio or divide into 2 sections ,900 Pipe & Drape Lighting White Drape 12 Pipe & Drape. Includes all stands, uprights, crossbars & fabric LED Battens. Would add lighting effects to curtains To use as a canopy to create a ceiling 20,000 1, , Total 58,300 6 P age

7 Conference Accommodation Rationale: Current inventory is not sufficient and has reached its useful life to accommodate large scale events. Additional tables and chairs have to be borrowed to service major functions.. The current space requires minor capital work to improve the overall aesthetic appeal. Item Description Unit Cost Amount Total ($) ($) Chairs Banquet & ,000 Stacking Tables Heavy Duty ,000 Plywood Podium Current ,400 podiums require replacement. New podiums have power & computer interface Acoustic Panels Sound proofing & sound control ,000 Vinyl Wall Covering 20oz heavy duty wall covering for meeting room walls & Divider 30,000 Total 152,400 Kitchen Recondition Rationale: Current kitchen equipment had outlived its useful life. Numerous pieces of equipment no longer function while others pose OH&S hazards. Household stoves are being used in commercial settings, making it difficult for the current caterer to keep up with the demand of large scale functions. One would argue that an updated kitchen facility is a necessity to cater to conferences to fulfill expectations of conference delegates. The Pepsi Centre kitchen facility should not be considered to be in competition with local businesses due to the fact that the catering services are tendered out therefore any business with catering capacities have a fair and equal opportunity to be awarded the contract. 7 P age

8 Item Description Unit Cost Amount Total ($) ($) Steam Kettle 20, ,000 Tilting Skillet 15, ,000 Commercial 15, Stove Commercial 40, ,000 Oven Commercial 15, ,000 washer/dryer Total 105,000 Audio Visual Equipment Rationale: Additional equipment is required to service many of the small medium size events. Additional equipment will allow for improved profitability as outside contractors often have to be brought in to service these events. Item Unit Cost ($) Amount Total ($) Lapel mics Wireless handheld mics Wedge monitors CD Player Channel Mixer Media input Wireless Presenters Podium Mic Lumen ,000 Projectors 16 x16 Video Screens ,000 Ceiling mounting ,000 screens for meeting rooms Ceiling mounting ,000 projectors/controllers Total 58,100 8 P age

9 Washrooms Rehab Rationale: Current conference/meeting area washrooms have painted concrete floors. Ceramic tiles will increase the aesthetic appearance. Additional investment in new countertops and lighting will also enhance the overall appearance and remove the arena feeling from the conference area. Item Description Unit Cost Amount Total ($) ($) Ceramic Tile Install 8/ft ft 2 32,000 Ceramic Floor in studio and meeting room washrooms Lighting Upgrade & 10,000 install lighting Countertops Replace 8000 countertops Total 50,000 Stage Equipment Rationale: The current inventory of stage rails and ramps are in house/homemade solutions. Stage Items are labor intensive and difficult to install. Our current inventory of stage skirts is also not sufficient to service multiple events (we often use table skirt to skirt the stage). Additional equipment will allow for proper servicing of events and provide a more professional appearance to our inventory. Item Unit Cost Amount Total ($) ($) Stage Skirts Stage Ramps 10,000 10,000 Stage Stairs Total 21,000 Storage Facility Rationale: The building has storage issues as noted on multiple occasions by the Corner Brook Fire Department. A storage facility is required to properly store our current inventory along with the proposed additions to the inventory. This addition will also allow the existing complex facilities to function more effectively. Original designs for the Pepsi Centre allowed for multiple storage spaces. Unfortunately due to cost overruns these spaces were eliminated. As a result, equipment is stored throughout the building making it difficult to retrieve items when needed. The limited storage also requires the constant movement of equipment and furniture throughout the building in order to provide sufficient space to accommodate different events and meet the needs of the varied customers. Based on our review of 9 P age

10 operations, the facility requires a 5000 sq ft steel building attached to the facility that is fitted with racks and other storage optimization equipment. This will allow for more efficiencies and better protection of the equipment, improve the time required for the changeover of events, and effectively provide storage for conference equipment currently stored ineffectively throughout the facility. Estimated Cost: $450,000. Studio Entrance Rationale: The current configuration of the entrance to the Pepsi Centre Studio is designed for vehicle rather than pedestrian traffic. A proper access from the main parking lot with the required stairs was not part of the original design and as a result attendees walk across a grassed area to gain access to the facility. With conference and event attendees attired in business or formal wear; this design flaw causes dissatisfaction for the customers of the Studio. A proper concrete entrance is required to access the Studio entrance from the parking lot. Estimated Cost: $10,000. Scissor Lift Rationale: A lift is required to service all major conferences and events; this lift is generally rented from a local rental company. In addition to the revenue potential, the lift will also allow proper maintenance to occur in areas that cannot be accessed by the current lift (i.e. dehumidifiers, main arena and kinsmen lighting and parking lot lights). Estimated Cost: $30,000. Pepsi Centre Suites Rationale: Create a boardroom on the upper level of the studio, install glass walls and windows. The current space is underutilized, redevelopment will allow for increase utilization and revenue through increasing the rentable space. It will also allow for more appropriate use of the space during large scale conferences and meetings. Estimated Cost: $60, P age