BOARD MEMORANDUM. FROM: Marie Casista / Patricia Pearsall-Mills DATE: January 15, 2015

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1 BOARD MEMORANDUM TO: Lorne Persiko FILE NO: FROM: Marie Casista / Patricia Pearsall-Mills DATE: January 15, 2015 SUBJECT: Request for Quotation Local Listing Management and Directory Listing Management MEETING DATE: Thursday, January 22, 2015 RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board of Directors of the Toronto Parking Authority (the TPA ) authorize staff to: 1. Select DAC Group ( DAC ) as the successful proponent of the Local Listing Management ( LLM ) and Directory Listing Management ( DLM ) Request for Quotation ( RFQ ); and 2. Enter into a one (1) year agreement with DAC to oversee the TPA s LLM and DLM at a cost of $28,000+HST with the option to renew thereafter from year to year. Purpose: The purpose of this report is to obtain approval from the TPA Board of Directors to enter into a one (1) year agreement with DAC to oversee the TPA s LLM and DLM. TPA wishes to enhance its presence in the digital space and has selected DAC to help initiative a program to assist with this objective. Through this agreement, DAC will work to enhance the customer experience for parkers by heightening the TPA s presence in the digital space. Financial Implications: Funding for this project is from the TPA 2014 Marketing Campaign Budget. Background: In 2014, DAC met with TPA staff to discuss their LLM and DLM program which focuses on the central management of online and offline business listing information to improve visibility and increase TPA exposure. During this meeting, DAC identified the results of a cursory audit of the TPA online local listing. This audit revealed a number of issues including the following: 1. Poor visibility - particularly as it relates to branded keywords when searching on map sites; 2. A lack of listing in the Yellow Pages, and by extension Google Maps; and, 3. Issues of branded keyword searches directing to inappropriate pages on the TPA s website.

2 Lorne Persiko January 15, 2015 Page 2 As a result of the above noted issues, TPA staff requested quotations to identify an organization that could assist in ensuring the overall accuracy and presence of TPA listings across search engines, local search sites, GPS navigation and other sources of business data. The main objectives were to: 1. Ensure all parking listings in the major search directories have accurate and up-to-date information for all TPA locations; 2. Syndicate TPA locations to core data providers and relevant digital properties; and 3. Improve consistency and accuracy of TPA locations data across the local listings ecosystem, including YellowPages.ca, a major source of information for Google in Canada. Request for Quotation ( RFQ ) In fall 2014, a total of four (4) companies were invited to participate in the RFQ process, all of which were selected on the basis of their company profile, degree of professionalism and relevant agency experience. These companies included DAC, MomentFeed, Rio Seo, and Whitespark. Comments: Selection of Company TPA staff evaluated the quotations received and have summarized the findings in the table below. Company Location Cost Per Location* / Year DAC Momentfeed Toronto, Ontario Santa Monica, California Rio Seo San Diego, California Whitespark Edmonton, Alberta Total Cost (based on 206 locations) per year TPA Notes $ $28,000 Reasonably priced Company based in Toronto Provided a detailed proposal including strategy / details for next steps Offers the largest range of distribution channels Works with other technologies (i.e. Beacon Technology) that could assist in the TPA in the digital space and in its relationships with local businesses $96.00 $21,776 ($19,776 + $2,000 set up fee) Lowest quotation received Company based in California Provided a proposal speaking to strategy / details for next steps Does not include the same level of distribution channels as DAC $ $31,518 Company based in California Cost is higher than both DAC and Momentfeed $ $49,440 Cost significantly higher than all of the other quotations Company based in Alberta Proposal was very limited in the direction provided to TPA in terms of next steps / strategy The number of distribution channels tied with this quotation is less than both DAC and Momentfeed *Note that the cost per location refers to the cost to create, maintain and update information about TPA parking facilities in the digital space

3 Lorne Persiko January 15, 2015 Page 3 Based on the above summary, TPA staff recommends entering into a one (1) year agreement with DAC. Staff believes that DAC is best positioned to fulfill the LLM and DLM needs of the TPA for the following reasons: 1. DAC s quotation was competitive and includes the most extensive level of distribution channels. Note that the more distribution channels that the TPA utilizes results in more accurate information available in the digital space. We have been advised that if information is seen as being accurate, search engines will position the information closer to the top of the page and thus more likely to be chosen / selected by users. 2. DAC provided a detailed strategy for TPA s next steps; 3. DAC is located Toronto whereas all other companies are located in the west coast or United States; 4. DAC has a number well recognized clients such as, but not limited to West Jet, Canadian Tire, Starbucks, Fidelity, All State, The Co-operators; and, 5. DAC has been in business for over forty (40) years. Conclusions: It is recommended that the Board of Directors of the Toronto Parking Authority (the TPA ) authorize staff to: 1. Select DAC Group ( DAC ) as the successful proponent of the Local Listing Management ( LLM ) and Directory Listing Management ( DLM ) Request for Quotation ( RFQ ); and 2. Enter into a one (1) year agreement with DAC to oversee the TPA s LLM and DLM at a cost of $28,000+HST with the option to renew thereafter from year to year. Attachments: Attachment A DAC Presentation Performance through Proximity and Personalization Marketing

4 Attachment A DAC Presentation Performance through Proximity and Personalization Marketing

5 Performance through proximity and personalization marketing September 4, 2014

6 We re a Local Agency across North America DAC Group is a digital agency focused on location-based performance marketing Connecting buyers to sellers on the journey to purchase for 40+ years We assist brands with distributed local footprints to focus granularly on their search, display and social media efforts to surround their hyper local consumers and increase engagement

7 Our Approach Attack the marketing funnel from bottom-up Start with local and focus granularly on performance Continual optimization and objective delivered results BRAND CREATIVE AWARENESS ENGAGEMENT CONVERSION LEAD GENERATION ROI

8 Presence Management LLM Reputation Management Review monitoring Marketing Science Analytics Audience behaviour Research/ White papers Social Media Social strategy Community Management Social Listening The Science of Digital Marketing SEO SEM Active Display Media IYP/PYP Strategic Planning Lead Generation Content Strategy UX DAC Group is built on robust, proprietary technologies which deliver on performance-driven objectives Marketing Automation PageTorrent COOL Dimitri

9 What we heard

10 Green P Locations

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15 It all starts with the listings Green P is not listed in the Yellow Pages, so data is not distributed to other sources such as Google Maps We can add your listings using the general information line so Green P appears more often in organic search

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18 Enhancing the Parking Experience

19 Business Objectives Increase usage of Green P mobile apps Find incremental streams of revenue Enhance the consumer experience for parkers Increase and leverage merchant partnerships surrounding parking lots