Larimer County, Colorado Issues Marketing RFP
Larimer County is seeking a multi-faceted marketing firm to aid in the recruitment of employees, produce informational/educational content, help support its social media presence, enhance the public’s perception of Larimer County and what it does for the community, and raise public awareness of the individual departments within Larimer County Government.
While the Road & Bridge Department maintains a social media presence through accounts on Facebook and Twitter, the department and the work it does across Larimer County is not widely known. Through these pages Road & Bridge shares department news, recruits for employees, posts updates on projects, and lets the community know about closures to roads and bridges. The pages are currently managed by administrative staff who could use the support of professional social media managers. Currently, the Facebook page has 180 followers and the Twitter page has 92 followers. Road & Bridge would like to grow these numbers and develop more engaging content to share on these platforms. This new content may include short video clips about the important functions Road & Bridge plays in the community which could then be shared on platforms aside from social media, including the Road & Bridge webpage, and Larimer County’s job recruiting website.
Larimer County is a great organization to work for, performs exciting and important work, is proud of the work it does, and believes that its employees are its greatest asset. During the past several years, as the economy has improved and unemployment has dropped, the Road & Bridge Department has found it increasingly difficult to recruit employees. Road & Bridge has a full-time staff of over 60 employees and a seasonal staff of about 30 employees resulting in frequent recruiting and hiring. While Road & Bridge has recently created a 60-second recruiting video it needs additional support in “getting the word out” on job openings and wants to produce additional recruitment-focused videos.
The selected marketing firm may be asked by other Larimer County departments, particularly others within the Community Planning, Infrastructure & Resources Division (Community Development, Engineering, Natural Resources, Solid Waste, Planning and The Ranch), to produce content on an as-needed, project-specific basis.
Background:
Larimer County is home to nearly 335,000 residents making it the sixth largest county in Colorado. It is highly respected among local governments because of its innovative programs, quality of life, and proactive leadership. Rapid economic and population expansion is projected for the region over the next ten years. The county is in the north central part of the state and consists of two cities and six towns, in addition to several unincorporated communities; the county seat resides in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The county extends from east of I-25 to the Continental Divide and north to the Wyoming border, and includes several mountain communities as well as Rocky Mountain National Park. The County encompasses 2,640 square miles that include some of the finest irrigated farmland in the state, as well as vast stretches of scenic ranch lands, forests and high mountain peaks. Over 50% of Larimer County is publicly owned, most of which is land within Roosevelt National Forest and Rocky Mountain National Park. In addition to these federal lands, Colorado State Parks and Recreation, and Larimer County Parks and Open Spaces combine to provide a wide spectrum of recreational opportunities that are enjoyed by both residents and visitors alike.
Larimer County Government currently employs approximately 2,300 employees across 39 different departments. The county is governed by ten elected officials, including a three-member Board of County Commissioners, that oversee different functions of county government.
Scope of Work:
Using the Larier County Brand, Contractor shall provide technical assistance in developing key messaging and public awareness strategies and plans to be used in electronic and printed materials. Work will initially be focused on the Road & Bridge Department, however, other key departments may be added in the future.
Proposed messaging to be focused on:
- Larimer County Road & Bridge’s value to the community.
- Key activities and accomplishments of Larimer County Road & Bridge and staff.
- Opportunities for qualified candidates.
- Why Road & Bridge is a great place to work.
- Promoting Road & Bridge programs and how they affect stakeholders.
- Conveying technical information in a user-friendly format to a diverse range of stakeholders, including governmental groups and residents of Larimer County.
- Creating a greater understanding of Road & Bridge’s work and role in the county.
- Other as needed messaging through-out the duration of the Contract.
Contractor shall conceptualize, storyboard, and produce (shoot, edit, and manipulate) digital and social media content including videos, photography, and graphics to be used for social media, Larimer County website and other digital platforms.
- Contractor shall allow for draft reviews of products as necessary prior to completion, determined solely by Larimer County for each product.
- Contractor shall assist in proofing all products for spelling and grammar, as well as adherence to Larimer County’s brand guidelines.
- Contractor shall provide videos in MP4 format (file formats other than MP4 will be accepted if recommended by the Contractor and approved by the County), as well as the final digital production files.
- Contractor shall provide graphics and other digital content in image formats (JPG, PNG, GIF, etc.), as well as the final design files (InDesign, Illustrative, Photoshop etc.).
Contractor shall provide consultative services to assist with the management of social media platforms for Road & Bridge and/or other departments on an as-needed basis.
Larimer County shall retain full ownership of all finished products with no restrictions or licensing required.
Contractor will provide support for products created in accordance with the contract.
Contractor will archive all materials for at least one (1) year after the contract expires unless otherwise agreed to by County.
Responsibility of image acquisition, by either Larimer County or Contractor, will be determined solely by Larimer County on a project-by-project basis.
Contractor shall commit to providing small updates to products it produces as-needed and in a timely fashion (i.e., update to a title on a video, or addition of new photos or footage to an existing video).
Contractor is expected to adhere to the established Larimer County brand standards, including the use of the logo, color palette, fonts, etc., to ensure consistency with other existing, public-facing products.
Occasionally, it may be requested that a product be provided in print rather than digital format. In such cases, the Contractor is responsible for providing finished art to printers and/or fabricators per specifications of the County and printing company.
If printing services are expected to exceed $5,000 for one (1) project Contractor will request competitive quotes from at least three (3) printing and/or fabrication Contractors; selection of Contractor to be determined by the County.
Contractor account manager will attend project kick-off meetings and site visits as needed. Teleconferencing is available for non-local Contractors.
Contractor will provide a single point of contact for work with Road & Bridge and other departments.
Due Date:
July 10th, 2019.
Address:
LARIMER COUNTY PURCHASING DIRECTOR
200 W. OAK STREE, SUITE 4000, PO BOX 1190
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO 80522
Agencies with relevant experience includes Kite Hill PR and Makovsky PR.
