City of Palm Desert Issues Marketing/Public Relations RFP

Palm Desert will host its fourth annual Swing ‘N Hops Street Party on Saturday, February 2, 2019, and is seeking an innovative agency to produce an event that builds on and elevates it over the last three years through increased activation of the venue utilizing increased music, art, and vendor participation.

Background:

Swing ‘N Hops Street Party is part of the City of Palm Desert’s monthly First Weekend event schedule. First Weekend is an economic development tool for the City of Palm Desert intended to attract visitors and locals to Palm Desert for event based programing that occurs annually on the first weekend of the month from November through May. The event began as a celebration of arts and culture in Palm Desert and has expanded to include monthly large scale events and festivals. First Weekend is intended to bring members of the Coachella Valley and the southern California region to Palm Desert and includes festivals/street fairs, art walks and receptions, interactive arts/hands on projects, art tours, classic cars/cruising, dance, theater, film, music, culinary programming, and health and wellness events.

Each month during First Weekend, a “featured event” is highlighted in the City’s marketing and public relations efforts. A featured event is large in scale, intended to attract 1,000 or more participants and is promoted and marketed via print, online, and TV and radio outlets. Featured events typically involve a festival atmosphere and are usually free. Although most featured events are produced by outside agencies, in 2016, the City of Palm Desert produced the first annual Swing ‘N Hops Street Party on El Paseo. The event was held on the street of El Paseo between Larkspur Lane and San Pablo Avenue and included a swing dance band (the Jennifer Keith Quintet), a classic car show provided by El Paseo Cruise night, interactive art stations, two beer gardens, various food and retail vendors, a photo booth, dance instruction, and was attended by more than 2,000 people of all ages. For the last two years, the City opted to contract for professional event planning and production of the Swing ‘N Hops Street Party, which was attended by approximately 3,000 people each year.

Scope of Work:

In brief, the scope of work includes planning and executing all elements of the 2019 Swing ‘N Hops Street Party including:

1. Event layout and décor
2. Event budget development and management
3. Procurement, coordination, and contracting for band(s) and all other vendors including, but not limited to, food, libations, dance instruction, classic cars, retail, art, event rentals, and stage management and equipment.
4. Coordination and contracting for street closures with Tops ‘N Barricades (traffic control plan to be provided by City staff).
5. Coordination of and payment for all permits including, but not limited to, those with the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health, Alcohol and Beverage Control, and City of Palm Desert Building & Safety and Fire Marshal (City fees will be waived).
6. Booth, restroom, event identification, and all other appropriate signage.
7. Personnel for event management planning to include personnel onsite the day-of the event from set-up through breakdown and clean-up.
8. Trash and recycling coordination in conjunction with the City and the Gardens on El Paseo.
9. Restroom coordination in conjunction with the City and the Gardens on El Paseo.
10. Cultivation and management of media and other sponsorships as appropriate.
11. Management of all social media posting and graphics on existing Facebook and Instagram profiles.
12. Outreach to regional dance organizations.
13. Coordination and purchase of event collateral materials including rack card design and printing, ad design (print and digital as appropriate) and placement, etc. (additional ads will be placed through the First Weekend program, see item 3E).
14. Lighting as appropriate.

Services to be provided by the selected consultant include the following:

1. Establish one individual who will serve as the point person to work with City staff.
2. Work with City staff for timely approvals on all aspects of the event.
3. Meet in person with City staff for planning meetings as needed and attend meetings with the City’s event team for overall coordination of the event.
4. Onsite event management including set-up and clean-up.
5. Planning, budgeting, and management of all aspects of the event including sponsorship. There is a marketing and PR budget in place for First Weekend programming; however, additional services for social media management and media sponsorship for Swing ‘N Hops will be the responsibility of consultant.

Due Date:

August 2nd

Address:

City of Palm Desert

Amy Lawrence, Management Analyst

73510 Fred Waring Drive

Palm Desert, California 92260

California PR firms include Zeno Group and Edelman PR.