MARKETING RFP ISSUED BY VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
The Village of Oak Brook is in the process of developing and implementing a marketing plan. The Hotel, Convention and Visitors Committee of the Village of Oak Brook is an advisory committee consisting of the general managers of the seven hotels in Oak Brook (The Drake, Doubletree, The Hyatt House, The Hyatt Lodge, Le Meridien, The Marriott, and Residence Inn), the general manager of Oakbrook Center (a regional premier shopping mall), the executive director of the Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce, and two Oak Brook residents. The Committee makes recommendations to the Oak Brook Village Board concerning the expenditure of hotel/motel tax receipts derived from overnight stays in the Village. The Village levies a 3% tax on room rates for the hotels, 1% is dedicated to the marketing of the hotels.
The State statute that provides for a hotel/motel tax limits the expenditure of such funds to programs that are intended to maintain or increase overnight stays in the community. The Village has generally spent the funds on marketing campaigns that attract potential visitors to Oak Brook hotels. The 2022 budget for the hotel marketing campaign is $160,000.00. Also, included in the 2022 budget is $64,460.00 for dues to the DuPage Convention Visitors Bureau (DCVB). The Village is requesting that the proposals submitted include the development and implementation a marketing plan using a) the budgeted advertising funds only; and b) the budgeted advertising funds plus the DCVB dues.
Since 1997, the Village has enlisted the assistance of a marketing agency to develop and implement the annual marketing campaigns upon the recommendation of the Oak Brook Hotel, Convention and Visitors Committee and the final approval of the Village Board of the Village of Oak Brook.
The Village is issuing this Request for Proposals for marketing consultants or agencies for designing and executing a strategy that produces incremental revenue to, enhances the image of, and promotes travel to the Village of Oak Brook. The goal of the Village is to ultimately enter into a multi-year contract with an agency to develop and implement the marketing campaign. The goals of the campaign will be to increase demand for room nights in Oak Brook hotels, increase transient leisure demand, increase group demand, and provide measurable results as defined by the Village and the Oak Brook Hotel, Convention and Visitors Committee.
Scope of Services
The Village of Oak Brook is seeking a marketing consultant or agency that can:
• demonstrate a clear understanding of the hotel industry, particularly as it relates to upscale suburban areas
• demonstrate knowledge of the hotel market and related economic impacts
• develop and implement an effective marketing campaign that concentrates on the benefits of staying in Oak Brook without breaching the proprietary interests of any specific hotel chain
• demonstrate creativity in design
• demonstrate the ability to plan strategically for future campaigns
• demonstrate cost-effectiveness in its pricing and fee structure
• explain the finding allocations, where does it make sense to spend the funds, such as in digital, television, social media, billboards, magazines, etc., and in what percentages
• demonstrate a means or plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the marketing campaign
• demonstrate a means to report analytics to the Village
• demonstrate the ability to work within the constraints inherent in the expenditure of public funds and accountability to publicly formed boards and committees.
• manage existing website content and implement new content to support a marketing campaign
Proposal Instructions
Thirteen (13) copies of the Request for Proposals shall be submitted in a sealed envelope by April 1 to:
Rania Serences
Senior Purchasing Assistant
Village of Oak Brook
1200 Oak Brook Road
Oak Brook, IL 60523
