CITY OF PITTSBURGH – CALIFORNIA REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS MUNICIPAL MARKETING & BRANDING SERVICES RESPONSES
DUE: 5:00 p.m. PST May 15, 2023
BACKGROUND
The City of Pittsburg’s mission is to provide responsive and high-quality public services in partnership with our citizens celebrating our community’s rich history, cultural diversity, and pride in its prosperous future.
Known for its industrial dominance since the early 1900s, Pittsburg seeks to modernize its image for the 21st century. Economic development and diversification are driving the City’s vision. With the recently approved Economic Development Strategic Plan, the City is seeking a consultant for marketing services to help brand, market, and promote Pittsburg and its assets, focusing on driving economic development.
“Think Pittsburg” has been recently developed as the driving theme for economic development in the City. All branding, previous identification, and marketing efforts tied specifically to economic development have been communicated using this theme. For more information on “Think Pittsburg,” please visit www.thinkpittsburg.com.
The preliminary focus of this RFP is to develop a brand for the City that defines an identity and market position and to create a Marketing Strategy to implement and solidify the brand in the hearts and minds of local and regional residents, businesses, and visitors.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The Scope of Services for this RFP requires the consultant to be forward-thinking and proactive in municipal marketing and branding functions. To this end, the following services are requested:
Project Management: The consultant shall lead all aspects of the City community
marketing and branding initiatives, including the following:
1. Review and assess the City’s current marketing and branding efforts.
2. Provide a summary of competitor (municipalities) advantages in branding and marketing and recommendations to enhance the City’s competitive edge.
3. Create branding for the City, including multiple departments/divisions and the City’s economic development concepts and initiatives.
a. The consultant shall be responsible for branding all economic development activities to align with the current theme.
b. Specific activities will include providing data, information, programming, mapping, photography, and other related functions to enhance the City’s overall branding, messaging, and the Th!nk Pittsburg website
(www.thinkpittsburg.com) and to interact with the City’s primary website
4. Prepare a communications toolkit that includes preparation of press releases, social media posts, paid advertisements to market Pittsburg in print and electronic media (local, state, national, and international audiences), and preparation of various newsletters, brochures, targeted industry brochures, opportunity sites brochures, annual reports, Recreation Guides, one-page summary flyers, among other requests.
a. Consultant shall design and disseminate content on the City’s behalf at the City’s direction.
b. Consultant shall provide design services as needed to ensure consistency with our marketing and branding efforts.
5. Provide recommendations for promotional materials.
6. Provide advisory recommendations for the following subcategories:
• Promoting a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Business Climate.
• Business Attraction and Business Retention Efforts.
• Successful Event Planning and Programming Best Practices; and Municipal Marketing
7. Provide training and guidance to in-house marketing/branding team and department users.
8. Provide design services on an as-needed basis to ensure consistency with our marketing and branding efforts.
DELIVERABLES:
Deliverables shall include:
• A minimum of (3) meetings with staff to coordinate as the project progresses.
• Minimum monthly reports outlining significant meetings, discussions, actions, and results.
• Draft Brand and Marketing Plan and present to the Economic Development and
Waterfront Subcommittee prior to finalizing the deliverables to receive feedback and make revisions at the direction of the board.
• Branding Guidelines Booklet (7 copies, one electric copy), including the following:
o Brand statement and messaging
o Brand tagline, communications, brand values, brand positioning, brand insights
o Brand color palette and font styles
o Implementation plan for brand identity application and brand identity maintenance plan
o Logo for each representative department/district (please note, the City does NOT wish to change its primary logo).
§ Style manual and guidelines for use and capability of use in the following: print and electronic advertising, media placement, public relations, events, templates, implementation plan, etc.
o Advertisement/flyer layouts and samples
o Street and digital banner designs
o Brochure design templates to include a variety of guides, including visitor guides, recruitment packets, etc.
o Wayfinding graphic design development
o Original content for social medial platforms to include content created for the specifications of each platform with multiple versions of the content made to the format, time length, and specification best suited for each channel.
o Design for letterhead, business cards, etc.
o Photography to include both Pittsburg-specific and stock imagery.
o Collateral designs and promotional items – shirts, water bottles, hats, etc.
• Full design and dissemination of special projects to include various newsletters, brochures, targeted industry brochures, opportunity sites brochures, the City’s
Annual Report, Recreation Guide, and one-page graphics/designs, among other printed and digital designs as requested.
• Final designs must also be provided as raw vectors and working files using Adobe Creative Cloud (InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop).
The City reserves the right to request and/or require additional services determined necessary to carry out the project during the course of the contract.
