Marketing RFP Issued By City of Dauphin

The objective of this Request for Proposal is to secure a firm that will deliver the best overall proposal to market Dauphin while providing value to the City of Dauphin and Rural Municipality of Dauphin. This plan will include marketing campaigns through several media channels such as social media, print material, the website and video. A portion of this project will involve the development of a publication that would be showcased at various events, and on the website, to promote the City and Rural Municipality of Dauphin as an excellent place to start a business (modes of transportation, affordable hydro, affordable housing, available land, etc.). Cost will be a factor, but other criteria will help form the basis of our decision, as more fully described in the Evaluation Factors section.

Background:

The City of Dauphin is in the Parkland region of Manitoba, approximately 3.5 hours NW of Winnipeg. The City has a population of around 8,500. Immediately surrounding the City of Dauphin is the Rural Municipality of Dauphin which has a population of approximately 2,400 people. Combined the population of the region is around 11,000 but it services a population over 50,000 people. Much of the economy revolves around agriculture, tourism, and the service sector. Dauphin has many of the amenities of a larger city but certainly maintains a less hectic pace and much better quality of life. In January 2020, there was considerable interest from commercial retail to relocate or upgrade existing infrastructure in Dauphin. There was also interest in land in the Business Park and other locations for small to medium manufacturing and processing. In March, the world was under the grips of a global pandemic and investment was no longer a priority for most businesses. As of early December 2020, a vaccination for COVID-19 has been released and new confidence and hope in the investment world has emerged. Within the next 4 years, markets are expected to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, with some markets seeing a 25% increase. There has already been new interest in Dauphin from the commercial retail sector, and with many companies eager to invest, the municipalities need to be prepared to engage those companies. The municipalities are looking to establish a marketing campaign that will promote the benefits of doing business in the area and identify the most appropriate markets and avenues to reach the target audience. It is expected that the materials created will be utilized on social media platforms and be incorporated into municipal websites. Expected mediums will include radio, video, and print marketing materials. This will create new material that showcases the region as a desirable place to do business.

Scope of Work:

The following submission guidelines & requirements apply to this Request for Proposal:

a. Only experienced individuals or firms with prior work on projects such as this should submit proposals in response to this Request for Proposal.

b. Bidders intending to submit a proposal should notify the representative identified on the cover page no later than two weeks prior to the submission due date. This will help forecast the number of proposals; making sure ample time is allowed for review. 

c. Bidders must submit up to 3 projects that are similar to this project as part of their response, including references for each.

d. A proposal must provide an overview of the project as well as qualifications of all key personnel performing the work. In addition, the proposal should provide a proposed schedule and milestones, as applicable. This will form the basis of a detailed work plan for the project. This proposal should indicate the overall fixed price for the project as well as hourly rates and an estimated total number of hours, should the municipalities decide to award a contract on an hourly rate basis.

e. Proposals must be signed by a representative that is authorized to commit bidder’s company.

f. If you have a standard set of terms and conditions, please submit them with your proposal. All terms and conditions will be subject to negotiation.

g. Proposals must remain valid for a period of 90 days. 

h. Proposals must be submitted and marked “CONFIDENTIAL – Dauphin Attraction & Marketing Plan Proposal” before 4:30 p.m. local Dauphin time, Monday, March 15, 2021 to: Brian Baker Economic Development Manager City of Dauphin 100 Main Street South Dauphin, MB R7N 1K3 Email: ced@dauphin.ca Fax: 204-622-3290 Phone: 204-622-3229

Develop a marketing plan that would involve all facets of the media promoting the City and the Rural Municipality to potential markets. This would mostly promote available lands and amenities, focussed mainly on the Business Park. Identify best potential markets for this region. Provide a list of avenues (be it tradeshows, publications, radio, signage, etc.) to best promote what this region has to offer. Develop a strategic marketing piece that incorporates all aspects of social media. Identify both domestic and foreign markets and how best to reach them. Finally, develop a print piece that can be used in marketing events or other ways to market.

The project scope can be best laid out with a description of deliverables. The work plan you include in your proposal will layout your plan of action and the scope and length of the project.

A. Deliverable 1

A marketing plan designed to attract new investors to the region.

b. Deliverable 2 

A comprehensive marketing approach for social media. Must be user friendly and easy to update with new material.

c. Deliverable 3 

Identify list of potential markets and the best ways to reach those markets (trade shows, print material, social media, etc.).

d. Deliverable 4 

Produce a printed marketing piece that can be used to promote this region to all potential investors by whatever means chosen to present this material.

e. Deliverable 5 

A written letter that clearly states that the City of Dauphin and the Rural Municipality of Dauphin have ownership of the document and other material. Any distribution of the document can only be at the discretion of the City and Rural Municipality of Dauphin.

Acceptance of the work is contingent on the following acceptance criteria:

a. Criteria 1 

All deliverables are met in the final document, unless any variance from those deliverables are approved by the City and Rural Municipality of Dauphin.

b. Criteria 2 

The outlined workplan was followed, unless any change from the original workplan are approved by the City and Rural Municipality of Dauphin.

c. Criteria 3 

All deliverables are met in a timely fashion, unless any change in schedule is approved by the City and Rural Municipality of Dauphin.

d. Criteria 4 

All digital and print material, as described in the deliverables, are delivered to the City and Rural Municipality of Dauphin.

Due Date:

4:30 p.m. Local Time, Monday, March 15, 2021

Address:

Brian Baker Economic Development Manager 100 Main Street South Dauphin, MB R7N 1K3 ced@dauphin.ca 204-622-3229

Agencies to consider include Prosek Partners and MWWPR.