Branding RFP Issued By City of Shawnee, Kansas

The City of Shawnee, KS, requests the submission of proposals from qualified firms to provide research, marketing, design, and implementation services as the City develops a new community brand. The intent is to create a strong “umbrella” brand that expresses the City’s identity. The City is looking for creative, energized, collaborative consultants who have experience with brand image work and can help the City successfully create a series of action-oriented deliverables. Interested firms should have experience in strategic planning and corporate identity/branding including logo development, graphic standards, and recommendations for implementation, in either the public or private sector. The purpose of this RFP is to assist the City in establishing a clear identity. The objective is to develop a branding and marketing campaign that outlines the long and short term goals to ensure the City’s new brand identity is sustainable and deliverable across a variety of departments, programs, and services. This will enhance and professionalize promotional materials and develop an advertising strategy that leverages the City’s identity in multiple mediums including print, outdoor, digital, direct mail, and other informational literature to support City programs and amenities.

Background

Home to the first territorial legislature and territorial governor in what later became the State of Kansas; the City of Shawnee is now part of the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area and is one of the fastest growing cities and the third largest city in Johnson County. Situated in the northwestern corner of the county between Interstate 35 and the Kansas River to the east and west, its convenient location, sense of community, and parks and recreational opportunities have attracted new residents for decades. The City of Shawnee was incorporated as a city on June 10, 1922 and re-incorporated as a city of the first class on October 22, 1971. It operates under a mayor-council-manager form of government. The Mayor is elected by the City at-large and two councilmembers are elected from each of the City’s four wards. With a current population of more than 68,000 residents, the City’s 42 square miles of land encompasses diverse residential neighborhoods including older established neighborhoods, new subdivisions, lakeside estates, multi-family, townhomes, and senior citizen communities. The organization is made up of 350 employees within eight departments: City Managers’ Office, Community Development, Finance, Fire, Information Technology, Parks and Recreation, Police, and Public Works. Water and sanitary sewer services are provided by independent agencies on an areawide district basis. Private industry owns and operates electric, telephone, natural gas, and sanitation disposal services

The City works closely with and this project shall include sub-brands for the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Council, and Visit Shawnee – the City’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

Scope of Work

The consultant firm engaged for the Project is expected to provide a wide range of services including, but not limited to, the following:

· Recommend specific necessary elements to deliver the message, i.e. logo design, printed collateral, print advertising, website design, media placement, public relations, events.

· Conduct research and extensive community engagement to determine existing attitudes, perceptions, opportunities and challenges to enhancing the City’s image.

· Why are businesses, residents, visitors choosing us /not choosing the City? How do we address that?

· Seeking strategy initiative to develop the positioning and messaging statements to include qualitative research and analysis of quantitative data.

· Give guidance and best practice recommendation for handling sub-brands, specific department mottos and seals, etc.

· Work within dictated time constraints and budget.

· Provide a marketing plan for Shawnee with recommendations for priority allocation of limited funds by audience and by group.

· Coordinate public participation and plan creation with the Branding Steering Committee, Governing Body and City staff.

· Attend and coordinate public meetings, including outreach and informational meetings with the public, Governing Body, and Planning Commission meetings.

Community Engagement

One of the most important aspects of the Project is community engagement. Public outreach shall be multifaceted, unique, and include residents, property owners, and the business community. It is the City’s intent to involve and engage the community’s residents, leaders, employees, businesses, etc. and is a critical component to the success of the Project. The City expects the consulting firm to design and implement a fun and robust public outreach program. The program must insure the public has multiple opportunities to participate and provide feedback and direction on the Project. Public outreach activities shall include but are not limited to: marketing materials, mailings, interactive workshops, branding creation, and print/web materials. The consulting firm must show how they intend to reach all members of the community. The consulting firm shall have experience conducting public outreach and incorporating findings within similar projects.

Deliverables

· Conduct research and engage the community to gain information sufficient to ensure the brand is reflective of the community’s qualities. The City may request to review the raw data from this research.

· Brand Identity/Logo/Tagline – Develop a new City of Shawnee brand identity, including a new logo and tagline as necessary. o Provide three to five options/concepts during development phase.

o Display logo on a variety of sample collateral materials (signage, electronic media, letterhead, etc.) so the team can get a feel for what it will look like in different contexts

o Up to two revisions per option/concept may be requested based on feedback received.

o Multiple presentations (along with the City’s project team) of the recommended brand concept to City Council and/or other Boards, Commissions, and Task Forces.

o The final chosen design must be delivered as Adobe-based vector format files (Adobe Illustrator EPS) in both full color and black and white.

o Research and secure federal and state trademark and registration (owned by the City of Shawnee)

· Marketing Strategy/Implementation Recommendations – Provide an internal and external marketing strategy that includes a plan for unveiling the new brand, as well as recommendations for the types of collateral materials that would be effective for the various program areas (economic development, parks and recreation, etc.). This should be included within a Style Guide.

o The recommendations should also include guidelines for implementation and successful use of the new brand, including graphics and typography standards as necessary. The guidelines should also include cost estimates for roll-out and implementation for the various program areas. The recommendations should include both internal and external communications and marketing processes.

o Brand rollout materials should include graphics and a video that can be used both internally and externally

Submittal/Closing Date

To be eligible for consideration for the Project, the consulting firm must submit one (1) electronic PDF and six (6) hard copies of a response to this RFQ in accordance with the Response Requirements. Submittals must be received by the City of Shawnee no later than January 28, 2022 at 4 PM. Late submittals will not be considered and will be returned to the submitter unopened. The envelope package must be marked “RFQ Response: Community Rebranding”. Electronic copies shall be emailed to jbreithaput@cityofshawnee.org or provided on a USB drive. Hard copies shall be mailed to:

City of Shawnee

11110 Johnson Drive

Shawnee, KS 66203

Attn: Julie Breithaupt, Communications Manager

Edelman PR and Small Girls PR should be considered for this assignment.