Advertising Agency of Record 2014 Request for Proposal Questions Submitted

Transcription

1 Advertising Agency of Record 2014 Request for Proposal Questions Submitted 1. How have you prioritized your media mix in the past and do you see that changing? Every year is a little different. You can see this year's budget online, by detail, at The Woodlands Township's website. 2. Are you currently pleased with your branding and web presence, or are you looking for enhancements? Yes, we are pleased with branding carrying forward through 2015 and we're getting set to launch a new website. We might look at something new regarding branding next year. 3. In addition to hard copies, may we provide a CD to provide digital examples such as video case studies, additional Destination Marketing examples etc.? Yes. 4. For our submission due July 18th does agency need to develop and provide creative concepts applicable to the Bureau, indications of media placements, and suggested financial allocations by market, suggested support materials, and special financial considerations (In other words attachment F Requirements)? No Or, for this stage of the submission, only demonstrate our capabilities and experience through existent work for each of the following Evaluation Criteria provided on page 3 of the RFP? Yes 5. We are taking a few of our team members up your way (probably on Wednesday) to walk around, have lunch, and get a greater feel for your special property. That being said, if you have time we d love to have you join us for lunch and share whatever info you can regarding The Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau s past, present and future. If you are unable to join us, would it be possible to drop by your office for a short visit? Answer: this is a quasi-governmental RFP which I need to be very careful not to give anyone a unique advantage. We have plenty of materials online and our full budget, down to the line item, is online at The Woodlands Township. Our goals, initiatives and objectives are specifically stated in the document. There are several companies who have been ing with questions regarding this RFP and a lot of interested parties.

2 6. Is there specific proposal design and layout specs that agency should keep in mind when developing document? Use the RFP guideline for your submission. 7. Will there be a pre submittal conference for agencies to attend? No 8. May we contact you by phone with questions regarding RFP? By What is the impetus for going out to RFP? Is it mandated or voluntary? Mandatory every three years 10. Is there an incumbent agency and will they be participating in the process? If there is an incumbent, how long have they partnered with The Woodlands CVB? Yes, John Manlove Marketing & Communications. For the last three years 11. Will existing metrics and data be available to the selected agency partner(s) to use for benchmarking and measuring campaign results? Not sure i completely understand this question. 12. What selection criteria will be used in evaluating the RFP responses vs. The criteria used for the oral presentations? Listed in the RFP, by percentage. Several criteria to be used to evaluate the oral presentations does not translate to the written RFP responses. 13. Has an agency not based in The Woodlands ever been selected as an agency partner for The Woodlands CVB? Yes 14. Can you please share the strategic mission for The Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau for 2015 and beyond? I would encourage you to look at the CVB website which has mission, vision and more. 15. If The Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau has conducted any additional visitor research over the last 3-5 years, that would be helpful in understanding your unique audience groups. Specifically, visitor statistics, demographics, interests, out-of-statevisitors, etc. Can you share any research if available? Yes, please check out visitor services reports online and tourism fact sheet online 16. Visitor Profile: Can you please outline your top 3 visitor / audience groups? People who spend money, people who spend money, people who spend money. Actually, it s a difficult question to answer because all kinds of groups and audiences are coming to The Woodlands, for business meetings, conventions, weddings, leisure, dining, entertainment, sports tournaments, and more. We have not defined a top 10, top 3, etc. Our biggest gap right now is Sunday night. 17. Would it be possible to obtain a YTD Analytics data report so that we can glean some initial insights into the how, why and where - when it comes to your website visitors?

3 That data will play a crucial role in how we engage constituents as they visit the site. See attached report. 18. Do you currently have a set of brand standards / guidelines that we can review? Guidelines/policies can be found online under CVB website under public documents 19. For TV / Video content, will the selected agency have the opportunity to produce new / original content? Yes. Or will we utilize existing photo and video assets? And yes. We have a strong library of B-roll. 20. Will all media be planned and purchased via the selected agency? For the most part, yes. There might be some one-offs like local magazines or similar. But not much. 21. Is Public Relations part of the Destination Marketing Advertising Services? If yes, what is the scope? Not on this RFP. It s on a separate RFI. 22. Page 4. Sec VIII, Question 1: what is visitor services? Visitor Services is a program with The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce which the CVB financially supports. 23. Page 5. Question 3: define in-house production capabilities? Graphic designers, photographers, writers on staff or outsourced. 24. Page 22. Are the special events outlined on this page included or separate from the Destination Marketing Advertising Services? Separate 25. Page 22. Is the promotion of the Waterway Cruiser included or separate from Destination Marketing Advertising Services? Separate 26. Is reputation management something this budget includes? No 27. What portion of the overall marketing budget is allocated to the Hispanic market? Very little. Haven t found a major need at this time with double digit growth in sales and hotel tax. 28. Are you looking to rebrand? No, but can always be considered. 29. Do you currently do any Spanish only creative? Very little 30. Attachment A, Question 19 C: Can you please clarify the information you d like to see from us on "Accounting for proof of performance?" What does this mean? Discuss your accounting process to show performance on the account. 31. What percentage of annual visitors are from the Greater Houston area? This would be an impossible number to accurately portray. We have all kinds of survey information

4 regarding CVB events and people s deriving zip codes as well as all the market data from our visitor services. 32. Where do the majority of your leisure visitors come from? Please see Visitors Services report at this link: ult.aspx 33. What is the demographic breakdown of visitors, including Latin American visitors? Please see Visitors Services report at this link: ult.aspx 34. How quickly do your visitors make travel decisions? And how far in advance last minute, or planned several months ahead of time? We do not have that information 35. What is the breakdown of leisure vs. Business vs. Convention business? We do not have that information 36. What is the aggregate hotel capacity or maximum available room count on any given night for The Woodlands area hotels? Approximately 1,650 at 12 locations but many nights sold out. 37. Can respondents jointly submit the destination marketing RFP and public relations agency of record RFI as one proposal if the agency is responding to both? One or both or neither 38. Public relations and social media are mentioned in the destination marketing budget but not in the proposal services. Does TWCVB expect respondents to provide public relations and social media services as part of its destination marketing campaign, or will that be handled separately by the chosen public relations agency of record as listed in the RFI? Most social media is handled internally, but we do outsource through the pr firm. 39. How does TWCVB or its agencies currently measure success for its destination marketing campaign? Through a variety of sources, the collection of sales tax, collection of hotel tax, number of attendees at events. 40. What are the current advertising problems that TWCVB is experiencing? None at this moment. The toughest challenge is managing the popularity of the destination and getting people to stay in hotels on Sunday nights.

5 41. Can TWCVB provide any examples of cooperative partnerships for advertising, promotional and marketing activities that they are currently using? Expedia, billboards, radio, social 42. Can TWCVB provide more information on current media placements/buys for local, national and international markets? Local is Houston radio and TV, no national, no international. 43. Regarding TWCVB s television commercials, are the spots placed anywhere other than online? If so, can you provide examples of the media outlets? All Houston majors and cable. 44. Where do radio spots currently run? Houston, primarily with Sunny In the summary of 2014 destination marketing tools, item D outdoor billboards- what is meant by market-specific? Selecting marketing like east Texas or southeast Texas or Brazos Valley. 46. Regarding digital/online tools, will the chosen agency be responsible for managing all web and social media tools, or will that be handled internally by TWCVB? Internally Will there be an opportunity for web design or social media development/implementation, or is that handled internally? Web design is external, getting ready to launch new site in next few weeks. 47. What does TWCVB currently use for search engine marketing and search engine optimization? Outsourced through agency. 48. Is the TWCVB using any Spanish-language advertising or marketing currently? If so, can you provide examples of these? Very limited. Our international advertising is mainly in a partnership with United Airlines. 49. Does relevant experience have to be current company? Or can relevant experience have been gained at another agency if we completed the work? I would see the judging criteria: A. Agency/Joint Venture Previous Experience 10 points i. Number of current clients? ii. Gross annual billings? iii. Number of new clients in past two years? iv. Number of lost clients in past two years? v. Number of current accounts held for at least five years? vi. Is agency/joint venture financially sound and well established? vii. Is agency/joint venture account team capable of handling this account with all its diversities and complexities?

6 viii. Is the presentation team permanent staff? ix. Did outside consultants participate in presentation planning?