City of Murrieta Seeks Branding And Marketing Agency

The City of Murrieta is seeking Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from professional marketing firms who have expertise in creating an Economic Development Marketing Plan for a public agency. The purpose of this RFQ is to select qualified consultants who will then be invited to submit proposals for the actual marketing plan. Qualified consultants/firms will be able to identify:

• Best practices for economic development marketing.
• A marketing plan that fits the City of Murrieta.
• Marketing program launch and implementation timeframes.
• Performance measures for periodic evaluation of the marketing plan. 

Background:

The City operates under the Council/Manager form of government. It is a full-service city with a Police and Fire Department. It boasts a diverse population of over 114,000 people with an average age of 33 and average household income of $96,000. The City has been aggressive in its economic development efforts and is the home to two full-service hospitals, Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta, and Rancho Springs Medical Center, along with an excellent school district, and is one of the safest cities in the country. Other notable businesses that have chosen to locate in Murrieta are CarMax, Hampton Inn & Suites along with 4 other hotels, assisted living and memory care facilities, and many others.

The City is strategically located at the junction of the I-15 and I-215 freeways, which carry over 275,000 cars every day. The convenient freeway access makes Murrieta a great location in the center of Southern California, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Historic route 395 runs through Murrieta’s Downtown.

Scope of Work:

TASK 1: RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING

During this task, multiple interviews/workshops should be conducted with key stakeholders, including but not limited to: City Council, City management, Economic Development staff, residents, business owners, external developers and commercial brokers, and any other group deemed necessary for the complete understanding of Murrieta and what its key distinctive competencies and unique values are.

Deliverables:

• Research summary
• Brand positioning statement

TASK TWO: DEVELOPING AN IDENTITY

This task will build on the research from phase one, by developing an in-depth message that highlights Murrieta’s best qualities and communicates the City’s desired identity. The message should communicate the City’s vision and identity in a believable, relevant and simple format for the target audience. The message should serve as a framework for City staff to deliver its services to residents, businesses and visitors. In addition, the message should be appropriate for use across a variety of departments, programs and services.

Deliverables:

• A comprehensive style guide including:

o             New logo and tagline. Workshops should determine if there is a need for logos for specific departments.

o             Full identity system including, but not limited to, graphic elements, verbal branding (tone of voice), logo type, fonts, color palette, image guidelines, guidelines for co-branding, website branding, and presentation templates.

o             Writing style – guidelines and examples on how to talk about the City and the services in marketing the City. These are to be shared with internal and external writers of messages on behalf of Murrieta.

• Recommendations to introduce and embed a new brand with employees.
• Recommendations as to which platforms are most compatible for the City to advertise in to reach different markets.

TASK THREE: MARKETING EXECUTION {OPTIONAL}

For this potential phase, the information gathered from the two first phases will be used to create a comprehensive marketing execution strategy, and will be up to the discretion of management and the consultant to decide the exact scope of services needed. They may include, but are not limited to:

• Creating marketing materials on behalf of various City departments

o             Brochures, flyers, handouts, event invitations

• Executing the distribution of marketing/advertising
• Setting up outreach and/or marketing events for the public and/or specific groups

Due Date:

October 31

Address:

City of Murrieta

Attn: RFQ Coordinator
Hildur Sam, Economic Development
1 Town Square
Murrieta, CA 92562

Strong California based firms include APCO Worldwide and Porter Novelli.