Clackamas County Seeks Search Engine Marketing Agency

CCTCA is the recognized Destination Marketing Organization (“DMO”) for Clackamas County, branded as Oregon’s Mount Hood Territory (“OMHT”). The mission of CCTCA is to increase overnight stays and encourage visitors to linger longer in Clackamas County. CCTCA accomplishes this by serving as the primary entity within the county responsible for destination brand awareness and development, inspiring potential visitors, and for providing trip planning tools and information for travelers in Clackamas County and the region. CCTCA works in partnership with members of the industry and with communities to develop and enhance local tourism assets and experiences. This department works to balance the interests of visitors, businesses, other organizations, and government through innovative leadership and strategic investment of resources and staff.

Marketing Background

An effective destination marketing program demonstrates the ability to increase the awareness of the county’s visitor experiences through implementation of targeted and partner-based advertising, sales, and visitor service strategies resulting in increased visitor spending and increased occupancy/revenue per available room (“REVPAR”) in commercial lodging facilities. The main objective in marketing is to deliver the OMHT brand message to reach our audience of local, regional, national, and international markets. Historically, our target audience is 24-65 year of age; predominately leisure visitors; and some business and special group travel. Our primary pillars of work include outdoor recreation, agritourism, and heritage/culture.

Historically, CCTCA’s marketing campaigns have included a mix of print advertising (leisure media, coop partner program); out of home (bus kings, billboards); cinema; digital (banners, video, search engine marketing (“SEM”); social media; and limited broadcast. Responding to the changing behaviors of customers throughout the entire trip planning process, advertising focuses are changing to respond to these trends, with priority directed to digital to be consistent with consumer utilization of online resources for travel planning and to maximize marketing return on investment (“ROI”). CCTCA’s advertising call to action includes www.MtHoodTerritory.com (and #OMHT when appropriate) for consumer access, engagement, and inquiries, which are filled with and annual Travel Planner (print and online view).

Marketing services covered under contracts with various vendors include a marketing agency of record, public relations, Search Engine Marketing (“SEM”), Search Engine Optimization (“SEO”), and website management. CCTCA employs staff to manage and deliver our public relations efforts in house, with deskside coordination assistance through a separate contract with a public relations firm. Social media strategies and community management are conducted and monitored through in-house staff. CCTCA has recently executed a contract with a marketing agency of record to deliver an integrated an aligned marketing strategy and campaign. The SEM/SEO contractor will work closely with all staff, marketing agency, and the website management company to provide input on the strategy that will enhance our website presents and performance in the ever changing online marketing world.

Scope of Work:

SEM and SEO plans for CCTCA will be based on the 2017-2022 Master Plan, FY 2017-18 Business Plan, as well as the planning work documented in the previous Master Plan, and Destination Audit. These documents can be found online at www.MtHoodTerritory.com/partners/ in the Document Center of the Partners’ Resources section.

Technical

• Manage the “Pay-Per-Click” (“PPC”) marketing campaigns, maximizing yearly ad spend of $50,000.00 – $70,000.00, under the direction of the CCTCA Marketing Manager.
• Have a complete understanding of webpage structure of the basics of HTML3.
• Establish metrics and methodologies for monthly and quarterly reporting of program performance reviews, indicating program’s growth, to CCTCA via Word, PDF, and/or Excel documents.
• Test and collect data to maximize the best return on investment (“ROI”).
• Demonstrate the use of basic Content Management System (“CMS”) tools to optimize copy on the website.
• Must have a full understanding of AdSense and other such PPC programs, as well as bid management tools.
• Understand and analyze effectiveness of traffic on the website using Google Analytics.
• Write creative and engaging content for PCC ads.
• Research and compile effective SEM/SEO keywords and identify off-page influences to digital campaigns.

Administration and Management

• Manage campaign expenses, staying on budget, estimating monthly costs, and reconciling discrepancies.
• Work collaboratively with CCTCA marketing team, the marketing agency of record, and technical support as part of an integrated marking team.
• Audit of existing content and website practices for SEO evaluation and benchmarking for success.
• Research and analyze competitor advertising and SEO efforts.
• Provide CCTCA marketing team with content guidelines to better maximize digital marketing content.

Expectations and Deliverables

• Identify the success of the Oregon’s Mt Hood Territory brand by conducting an audit of the current placement in the major search engines, website content, as well as evaluate the current ad placements in AdSense. Upon completion, provide a written report to the marketing manager and webmaster with their recommendations on a plan of action to better improve the performance during the term of the contract.

This report will be utilized as the baseline for key performance indicators through the duration of the contact.

• Provide a comprehensive report to the marketing manager, on a monthly basis, demonstrating success with increasing visitation of both organic and PPC traffic with lower bounce rates, longer time on site, and higher engagement within appropriate “Cost-Per-Click” (“CPC”) spend. This report should be easy to read and include SEO health matrix, troubleshooting, and reviews of program performance and indications of programs growth. The report should be presentable to internal advisory groups, such as the TDC and marketing committee.
• Participate in campaign planning sessions (approximately 4 per year) to identify and prepare the SEM deliverables for each campaign, and provide written recommendations and feedback to best implement both long and short term strategies.

Due Date:

November 13

Address:

Clackamas County Procurement Division
Clackamas County Public Services Building
2051 Kaen Road,
Oregon City, OR 97045

Agencies with strong digital PR experience include DKC PR and 5WPR.