Purpose:
Cleveland County Tourism is seeking Proposal from branding/marketing companies and website development firms specializing in Tourism to assist with a brand study of the organization, marketing plan and website development.
Background:
Cleveland County, North Carolina is a county of approximately 97,000 residents which lies midway between Charlotte and Asheville. Our citizens share a unique passion for the community. Cleveland County celebrates a proud musical heritage, 27 wedding venues, over 100 fairs and festivals, culture, local artists, quality entertainment, scenic beauty, outdoor recreation, agriculture experiences and family owned restaurants. Cleveland County is a destination.
Scope of Work:
Phase 1- Rebrand, Outreach Strategy
1. Conduct and interpret research with key partners, stakeholders, visitors and the public to determine existing perceptions about Cleveland County Tourism and the message that effectively communicates the story of Cleveland County to potential visitors.
Deliverable:
• Research summary and initial analysis of findings and their relevance to building the Cleveland County Tourism brand.
2. Create the message and brand including visual elements that will effectively communicate the Cleveland County Tourism brand to the target audience with a key driver being consistency so various partners can use the brand product.
Deliverables:
• The brand should portray Cleveland County in a modern, advanced and progressive light.
• The message should present Cleveland County in a modern progressive light, highlighting the attractions and culture of our destination
• Style guide and graphic standards should consider utilizing the current logo. Color changes are acceptable.
• Templates for common needs such as PowerPoint, letterhead, brochures, etc.
• Recommendations on progressive light rollout of new material to the public
• Recommendations on outreach to target audience and incorporation of new materials such as branded t-shirts, stickers, car decals, etc.
• Presentation to Cleveland County Travel Industry Board of Directors
Phase 2- Website redesign
1. Create a website that is visually appealing and includes a simple/compatible content management system which highlights the adopted branding strategy while allowing for staff to update and make Realtime edits. Preferably edits can be made in one platform that applies to the current mobile application in addition to the website.
Deliverables:
Look and Feel Design
• The Vendor shall provide a minimum of three (3) designs of the proposed website that are developed during this project.
• The Vendor will work with Travel Industry staff to determine a new website content information architecture navigation framework to support easy navigation.
Content Management System
• The Vendor shall provide a comprehensive CMS solution.
• The CMS software proposed shall be open-source and in use in a wide variety of industries and shall not be a beta, release candidate or other early adopter technology.
• The Vendor will provide a search engine solution that will support indexing of all contents within the CMS.
• Any custom source code and graphics should be made property of Cleveland County Tourism.
Website
• The Vendor shall provide a fully operational and working website framework.
• Website should contain a section or page dedicated to visitor information pdf files, (ie: visitors guide, maps, event vendor information, calendar of events, etc.)
• Links to partner websites should be included.
• The Website shall be Responsive by Design and work well on traditional D/Laptops as well as Mobile Devices such as phones and Tablets.
• The Vendor shall be responsible for migrating existing information to the new website.
• The Vendor shall assist in addressing any URL name changes and/or URL naming conventions.
• The website shall be hosted by Cleveland County Tourism if possible, or the vendor shall assist the County in securing a compatible third-party hosting service that is renewed through Cleveland County Tourism, not the designer.
Training
• The Vendor will provide full and complete training on the use of the CMS.
Due Date:
January 11th, 2019.
Address:
Jackie Sibley-Newton, Vice President of Tourism
200 S. Lafayette Street, Shelby, NC 28150
Tourism focused PR firms include 5WPR and Coyne PR.