Johnson City, Tennessee Issues Branding RFP

City of Johnson City, Tennessee has issued a branding RFP.

The primary goals/objectives to be achieved by the branding initiative include:

1. Uniformity – The brand should convey a common message and image to audiences both within and outside of Johnson City.
2. Community Identity/Pride – Identify and promote what makes Johnson City distinct and appealing in a regionally competitive environment for investors, businesses, retailers, visitors, and residents.
3. Community and Economic Development Promotion – Promote a healthy economy, attract private investment, new residents and young professionals, and retain key businesses and creative talent. A defined message that will market Johnson City locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally as a great place to live, work, play and do business; the right place for development, redevelopment and investment; the perfect mix for a business-friendly community.
4. Flexibility – The brand must be flexible and adaptable in order to meet the needs of a variety of departments and municipal functions within the City, as well as groups and businesses within the Johnson City area in their specific marketing initiatives, while maintaining consistency with the overall brand. It must also be flexible enough to grow and evolve along with any changes in the market.
5. Endorsement – The brand must be authentic and resonate with citizens, businesses, and community groups within Johnson City and throughout the region in order to gain the broadest possible support for the initiative. It must be relevant to Johnson City now, but also reflect the desire to move forward.

Scope of Work:

• Advisory to the Steering Committee – This team will be composed of representatives from the City and community leaders.
• Facilitator during the research process and/or testing of the new brand – Include descriptions of community engagement efforts that will take place during this process. The City of Johnson City has a very involved and engaged community. The consultant will be expected to employ creative means of public involvement to ensure that all segments of the community are aware of and involved in the project.
  • Research – Research will be the basis for the development of a brand concept, creative elements and the overall brand initiative. The consultant will create and implement a brand research plan, which may include qualitative and quantitative research to identify the following:
  • List of key stakeholders, groups, or influential individuals, as well as a cross section of citizens and business owners in Johnson City and those outside of the city that have a vested interest in the branding initiative and need to be involved in the process.
  • The key elements of the City of Johnson City.
  • Analysis of current efforts and existing creative elements such as logos, tag lines, and creative designs.
  • Analysis of competitor marketing strategies.
• Strategic Plan – The consultant will develop strategic objectives that will include implementation, management and ongoing promotion of the brand to include, but not be limited to the following:
  • Promotion of the use of the brand among many City of Johnson City and community agencies, groups and businesses while maintaining brand integrity.
  • Maintenance and consistency of brand image and messaging while providing suitable flexibility for the target audiences of the participating agencies.
  • Recommendation of ways to articulate the brand; define markets and promotional avenues; and advise on strategies to better promote and create brand awareness.
• Creative/Development of Brand – The consultant will develop creative elements that may include design concepts, logos, messages, tagline, and other products to support the overall brand initiative. A minimum of three distinct creative options must be presented, based on the results of the research. The selected logo design will be delivered with a style manual and guidelines for use and the capability of use in the following:
  • Print and electronic advertising
  • Website design
  • Media placement
  • Public Relations
  • Events
  • Templates
• Implementation Plan – The consultant will develop an action plan for implementation of the brand in sufficient detail to allow the Steering Committee to understand the approach and work plan.
  An Action Plan should include:
  • Estimated costs/budget associated with the implementation process.
  • Proposed timelines for development of creative elements. Schedule and expectations: Proposals shall include an outline of what the City can expect as part of the proposal along with applicable timelines and implementation plan. Ideally the process should not exceed 6 months.
  • Recommended positioning logo and brand guidelines.
  • Evaluation Plan – The consultant will develop a plan for ongoing evaluation of the brand’s effectiveness and reporting of results of the strategy to the Steering Committee, key stakeholders and the public.

Proposal is due on May 29 to:

City of Johnson City’s Purchasing Department
209 Water Street, P.O. Box 2150
Johnson City, TN 37601/37605

Strong government focused PR firms include Ketchum PR and APCO Worldwide.