The George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) is the planning district commissionestablished by the Virginia General Assembly for the region comprising the City of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford, known collectively as Planning District 16. The Commission provides a broad array of services for the residents of Planning District 16, including operation of GWRideConnect, the region’s nationally-recognized transportation demand managementprogram that encourages vanpools, carpools, and transit as alternatives to driving alone.
The goal of GWRideConnect is to promote, plan, and establish transportation alternatives to the single occupant vehicle, improving air quality, reducing congestion, and improving quality of life. GWRideConnect supports the largest vanpool fleet in Virginia. The program reduces the number of vehicle miles driven by an estimated 25,977 each day and generates over $1.35 million annually through the Vanpool Alliance Program.
Objective
GWRideConnect strives to be the go-to source for commuter assistance services in the region. In the past, GWRC has promoted and advertised the GWRideConnect program through digital, radio, and print advertising as well as promotion at fairs and events. However, all paid marketing has been on pause since March 2020 due to COVID-19. GWRideConnect staff have continued to maintainsocial media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter,and LinkedIn.
GWRC is seeking assistance with marketing and advertising services to restart and continuepromoting the GWRideConnect program, with the goals of increasing 1) awareness of the program, 2) the number of applications for assistance, and 3) usage of alternatives to driving alone. GWRideConnect aims to develop an Enhanced Marketing Program, building upon the success of past focused marketing programs implemented in the service area. GWRC aims to work with one or more Contractor(s) to develop a marketing plan that includes both general GWRideConnect messaging and specific target marketing strategies. The marketing plan will need to take COVID-19 into consideration. The marketing plan will also need to include promotion of a new ridematching app that GWRideConnect hopes to implement in the nextfew months.
One source of data that could be used to better target GWRideConnect’s marketing andadvertising is the 2019 Fredericksburg Region Commuter Workforce Study, which includesdemographics and characteristics of the region’s commuters. Takeaways from this study include:
· Over 83,000 people commute outside of theregion each day
· The top five commuting destinations outside of the region are Fairfax County, Prince WilliamCounty, the District of Columbia, ArlingtonCounty, and Henrico County
· The median age of those commuting outside ofthe region is 47
· 2/3 of those commuting outside of the region aremen
· Higher-income commuters are more likely tocarpool than lower-income commuters
GWRC is open to new and innovative ideas andencourages creative proposals from Offerors.
Marketing and advertising services may include:
· Market research, analysis, and counsel
· Advertising, including conception, planning, design, development, production, andevaluation
· Media buying, placement, and monitoring
· Graphic design
· Photography/video
Media types may include, but are not limited to:
· Digital
· Social Media
· Video
· Radio
All inquiries concerning this RFP should be submitted by e-mail to Kate Gibson atgibson@gwregion.org.
Proposals are due by June 28. Agencies to consider include Ruder Finn and MWWPR.