The City of Greeley is seeking services from an agency that can lead and work collaboratively with city staff to execute an integrated strategic advertising plan to promote the UCCC shows. The chart below outlines the previous deliverables used to promote the UCCC. *The onset of COVID has provided an open opportunity for us to reset and identify the best path forward for promoting the UCCC. While these tactics were previously held as standards and expectations for promotion, the City is interested in resetting the standards and is looking for an agency that will identify best practices and successful strategies for achieving our goals.
Background:
The Union Colony Civic Center is Northern Colorado’s premier performing arts venue and is proudly owned and operated by the City of Greeley. Built in 1988 with a combination of public funds and private donations, the UCCC is home to two performance venues, Monfort Concert Hall, which seats 1,686 and Hensel Phelps Theatre, which seats 214. The UCCC programs a wide variety of Broadway musicals, concerts, comedy shows, dance, and other performances. The UCCC runs on a semester schedule; Spring (January through April) and Fall (September through December), which each include approximately 10 performances.
Traditionally the Union Colony Civic Center has had a core audience of Baby Boomers as returning buyers since it opened in 1988. In general, about 50% of our audiences are from the Greeley area. Fort Collins, Windsor, and Loveland each add another 6% and the remaining audience represents a broad spread from across Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming. The major marketing piece for the first 30 years has been a printed glossy brochure distributed either through newspapers or by mail. In self-reported data from buyers of tickets this continues to rate well above 50% as the way ticket buyers “hear about” a performance. Significant secondary financial expenditures have been in printed newspapers, and targeted magazines with limited data supporting these significant expenditures. Recently a substantial shift was made to engage in more targeted digital online advertising through email blasts, Facebook, and Google Ads. These efforts have generally shown positive gains in reported data supporting these efforts. While Greeley’s long-time residents know about the UCCC and have had exposure to its array of productions, a known gap in communication exists with newer residents of Greeley. The recent growth and continuous diversification of the community demand a significant effort be made to identify how to reach these new residents and exponentially expand communication efforts that will increase their awareness of UCCC and inform them of the entertainment options available. We know it’s important to continuously grow our audience to sustain business. We recognize the shift in consumers, and have a strong desire to expand our audience reach beyond our traditional audience (baby boomers), and increase participation in ages 22-55. Greeley demographics and the Northern Colorado and Front Range markets are shifting and, as a result, the UCCC is shifting its efforts to book performances to develop the Gen X and Millennial audiences. We also have a strong desire to increase our regional audiences by at least 2% for the upcoming semester. Due to the significantly different marketing strategies required to reach these audiences, the City of Greeley is seeking services from a reputable agency that can provide greater expertise in implementing advertising strategies with a flexible approach that supports reaching these diverse audiences.
Scope of Work:
The selected agency will be responsible for precisely documenting expenses per show and reporting expenses to city staff. The chosen agency will also be responsible for sharing all design assets with city staff in a shared cloud storage solution. *Approximately three shows per year require additional documentation, including copies of invoices, detailed advertising expenditures, and sample artwork. The agency will be informed at the onset which shows will require this level of tracking and reporting.
C. Goals
The City of Greeley /Union Colony Civic Center’s goals for its paid advertising campaigns are:
1. Drive revenue for the venue,
2. Increase and expand audience reach
3. Establish consistent metrics that assess ROI and drive decision making for future investments
The selected agency will work closely with the City’s Communication and Engagement and UCCC management to establish goals, incorporate brand standards, and understand baseline statistics/data such as total show cost, per ticket price, audience reach, and break-even threshold prior to establishing the show’s advertising plan. The selected media-buying agency is expected to set specific, measurable goals (per identified strategy) that will be tracked and measured to evaluate success and/or track sale conversions. The selected agency will be responsible for providing reporting and analysis within a mutually agreed amount of time following a performance for city staff evaluation.
The selected agency will provide the City of Greeley with media buying services and creative content generation for the City’s Union Colony Civic Center programming. The scope of work includes but is not limited to the following:
1. Strategy and planning of media campaigns in conjunction with the City’s communication and Engagement staff and Union Colony Civic Center personnel for: Fall 2021 Semester (Performances September through December) Spring 2022 Semester (Performances January through April) Fall 2022 Semester (Performances September through December)
2. Media buying of Radio, Outdoor, Television/Cable, Digital/Internet/Mobile, Print, Promotions, and Specialty Media (Advertising typically 30 – 60 days in advance of performances) * Please ensure your proposal includes specific goals attainable via each media source and the necessary support, access, and tools required of the City. *Example: we estimate we can convert x % of online views to ticket purchasers. To measure this we would require access to (example) City Google analytics, monthly sales reports or social media analytics. *A detailed description of work (strategies/tactics) and associated costs will need to be submitted as part of the selected agency’s invoice for service.
3. Reconciliation of all media placements. Several performances per semester (typically between one and three per semester) require a media placement and cost report. For these shows: the selected agency will be required to provide the City of Greeley samples of each placed paid advertisement, the cost for each, and the associated fees for placement in order for the operations staff at the UCCC to document for performance producers the expenses related to that specific performance. These specific cases would be identified at the onset of the semester, and the deliverable would be due 5 business days prior to the performance date.
4. Performance analytics and tracking. It’s critical the agency be prepared to track and report ROI per strategy.
5. Frequent reporting on media buys and holistic campaign (mid-campaign and post-campaign reports at a minimum).
6. Coordinate work with the City’s Communications and Engagement department to cooperate on and determine all creative deadlines and make sure media deadlines are met.
7. The agency will pay all invoices from media/vendors on behalf of City within thirty (30) days of receipt.
8. The agency will be compensated for their work on a professional fee basis. Please provide your hourly rate and/or fee schedule.
9. Media buying agency will submit their invoice for services monthly to the City.
Due Date:
March 16
Address:
Linda Ingram Email Address: Linda.ingram@greeleygov.com Telephone Number: 970-652-3709
Hunter PR and Edelman PR are agencies to consider.