HURON-CLINTON METROPOLITAN AUTHORITY ISSUES DIGITAL MARKETING RFP
Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA) is soliciting proposals from experienced, professional, qualified vendors for Digital Marketing Services for a one (1) year contract, with up to four (4) optional one-year extensions.
Background:
Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA, also known as the Metroparks), a regional park system created in 1940 by the citizens of southeast Michigan, provides excellent recreational and educational opportunities while serving as stewards of its natural resources. Our efforts are guided by the belief that the use of parks and exposure to natural environments enhance society’s health and quality of life.
The park system (or HCMA Metroparks) consists of 13 parks covering over 25,000 acres throughout Southeast Michigan, encompassing Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties. These parks are:
Delhi Metropark Lake St. Clair Metropark Dexter-Huron Metropark Lower Huron Metropark Hudson Mills Metropark Oakwoods Metropark Huron Meadows Metropark Stony Creek Metropark Indian Springs Metropark Willow Metropark Kensington Metropark Wolcott Mill Metropark Lake Erie Metropark
The Metroparks offer 365-day access to open space, outdoor experiences, and abundant resources for the communities of southeast Michigan now and into the future.
The Metroparks provide unique quality-of-life amenities to southeast Michigan through our commitment to:
• Excellence in public service, stewardship, and programming
• Sustainability in balancing the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the Metroparks
• Responsibility in planning, development, and maintenance and Connectivity to the places and people we serve
Scope of Work:
With a saturated ad market, shrinking attention spans and increased options, it is becoming more and more difficult to reach visitors with ads. It is no longer enough to run an ad alone in a local newspaper and expect to see a jump in attendance. Instead, it is increasingly more important to have consistent quality content across multiple channels.
Content creation is at the heart of this trend. Impact and results increase if content is relevant and relatable to the reader. The Metroparks want storytelling and content be at the center of all communications and share that content in multiple locations.
The goals of using social media to promote the parks are as follows:
• Increase and promote brand awareness
• Increase and promote the public’s awareness of the Metroparks as a system and all the amenities offered
• Increase the perception of Metroparks staff as expert industry thought leaders
• Reinforce the editorial/theme calendar created for the Metroparks through engaged storytelling
• Create a “social community” to interact with park users, the public and stakeholders
• Inform park users and the general public of major press releases, park closures, event reminders, and other announcement worthy pieces
• Increase web search engine optimization (SEO) by way of involvement on multiple networks
• Increase the number of “touch points” with visitors
• Reinforce a loyal following of visitors by way of consistent and professional posting, involvement and responding
• Involve relevant staff members more consistently and successfully
• Diversify content by focusing a post to mention at least one park from each county each week
• Create a sense of FUN around the Metroparks
The goal of all HCMA advertising campaigns is to reach the entire Southeast Michigan market. To achieve this goal, HCMA is soliciting proposals from experienced, professional, and qualified vendors for Digital Advertising services and Placements for 2020. HCMA plans on awarding one contract for all digital marketing services.
Calendar of Campaigns and Events
A complete list of proposed 2020 Campaigns is attached to this RFP in Exhibits A and B.
The editorial/theme calendar should serve as a guidepost for the topic of the content in the following calendars for each social platform.
The individual network content calendars will explain the “types” of posts.
The monthly themes will help direct the topic of ad placements. As community trends shift, this calendar will also be updated. Content and ads should mimic and complement each other to send stronger and more consistent messaging across all channels. The Metroparks want the same story and conversation taking place in all communication channels; the difference is that story will be told differently, and the conversation will take place differently, dependent on platform norms.
Monthly Budget HCMA’s monthly budget for digital marketing (exclusive of golf) from March to December 2020 is listed below. The budget is inflexible and must cover all costs and fees charged by the successful Proposer.
Proposers should provide a monthly digital marketing plan costing no more than the amount HCMA has budgeted for the corresponding month. HCMA anticipates that the monthly digital marketing plan submitted by the Proposer will best leverage the monthly budget to meet HCMA’s objectives outlined above.
TOTAL DIGITAL BUDGET March 2020– December 2020: $85,000
Due Date:
February 21, 2020
Address:
Heidi Dziak, CPPB RFP 2020-011 Digital Marketing Services Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority 13000 High Ridge Drive Brighton, MI 48114
Hunter PR and Shift Communications are relevant agencies.
