RFP OF JONES COUNTY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: ADVERTISING AGENCY SERVICES
Tourism Industry Recovery, II
Proposals due on or before 5:00 p.m. CDT on MARCH 22, 2023.
DESTINATION BACKGROUND
Jones County used to be one of the best kept secrets in South Mississippi. However, all that has changed with the popularity of HGTV’s hit television series “Home Town.” Now, millions across the country have seen how Laurel’s historic downtown is undergoing a modern renaissance, and thousands have come in person to see first-hand what’s happening across Jones County. As one of The South’s newest destination towns, Laurel offers visitors eclectic shopping and diverse dining options. Laurel is also home to Mississippi’s first art museum, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art that will be celebrating its centennial throughout 2023. Jones County boasts an array of outdoor recreational activities, attractions for all ages and a robust calendar of events. With a growing number of vacation rental properties and national hotel brands, there are many ways for visitors to enjoy their stay, whether it is for one night or an extended visit.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The EDA OF JONES COUNTY wishes to employ an outside agency to produce an overall creative strategy
spanning from April 2023 to September 2025, including destination marketing and messaging; content
design/creation, both for use as print and digital; and integrated marketing activities, including digital
marketing, social media strategies and others relevant tactics. The agency is also asked to evaluate the
current tourism website, make recommendations and then execute the necessary updates or redesign.
The agency should recommend an overall media creation and placement strategy to clearly position the
EDA OF JONES COUNTY to visitors as an affordable and attractive open destination for those who enjoy
traveling, specifically in its top drive markets. It will be imperative to ensure this scope of services
adheres to any changing public health guidelines and is conveyed in an informed manner.
The selected agency’s responsibilities will include the below:
1. Strategic Plan: The EDA requests an outside firm to develop a strategic marketing plan for the
Visit Laurel & Jones County brand to use over the course of the ARPA Tourism Recovery Fund
campaign that will run from 2023-2025. This would include assessing the current tourism assets,
opportunities and stakeholders, current and future audiences through traveler data, brand
identity and messaging, media planning and new tactics to deploy to aid in the recovery of the
tourism industry in Jones County.
2. Website Redesign: The EDA’s tourism site is www.visitjones.com. This site is essential in the
operations of the EDA’s tourism marketing efforts, and it will play a central role in the tourism
recovery campaign as the primary location for tourism resources. The website has had many,
small updates throughout the years, but these incremental changes have resulted in an
increasingly difficult platform for the multiple marketing partners involved to continue to
maintain.
The EDA is seeking recommendations on updates and/or a new design concept, a reimagined
homepage, internal page redesign, organized and searchable blog and any new elements that
provide better access for information to current and potential visitors. The site’s directories are
fed through the EDA’s CRM database, and this is an element of the redesign that can not be
altered. The EDA is open to looking at new platforms to host the site, as long as the integration
of the exiting data can be maintained.
3. Media Plan and Placement: Based on the strategic plan, the EDA would like the agency to
develop a media plan for Visit Laurel & Jones County, with a heavy emphasis on digital tactics.
The agency would also negotiate the terms and place all media. Additional tactics are encouraged
to be recommended as well if they coincide with the strategic plan.
The strategy should aid in market revitalization during and after the business disruption effects
of COVID-19. It will be imperative to ensure this scope of services adheres to any changing public
health guidelines.
Digital: The EDA has a separate contract to manage its social media channels and blog publishing.
The scope of work for the digital marketing portion of this contract would include, but not limited
to: SEO, digital display ads, social media ad campaigns and sponsored content.
4. Content creation: The agency will create a portfolio of new marketing assets, including photos,
videos, graphics and testimonials, for use in promotional materials and travel campaigns. The
EDA may source additional content production as needed that can be used in the agency’s media
placement strategy.
