New Mexico Tourism Issues Marketing RFP
The New Mexico Tourism Department is seeking an agency for Cooperative Advertising and Strategic Marketing Oversight.
The goal of the RFP is to provide NMTD with a new approach to cooperative advertising that involves execution of that program (negotiating media rates and securing advertising insertions on behalf of NMTD and industry partners), as well as critical strategic planning and marketing oversight to achieve the NMTD’s objectives.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In April 2012, the NMTD launched a new brand and fully integrated advertising campaign, New Mexico True, after extensive consumer research of the perceptions of New Mexico as a tourist destination. The brand has been phenomenally successful, driving record-breaking growth in New Mexico’s tourism economy — growing trips, visitor spending, and overall economic impact. NMTD has maintained a vigilant commitment to data-based decision making, with ongoing consumer insights; driving the brand creative and messaging, marketing priorities, and the media strategy to improve perceptions, create awareness, and ultimately, travel to New Mexico. As the brand has grown, so has its adoption by New Mexico’s tourism industry and other private partners. NMTD’s cooperative advertising program is a critical initiative that must continue to improve and evolve to both allow tourism industry players to benefit from the scale of New Mexico True media investment and maximize the consumer impact of all advertising aimed at driving tourism in New Mexico.
The department has traditionally awarded matching funds to local and tribal governments and non- profit entities for the purpose of cooperative advertising projects (1:1 match). Entities have been notified of an award amount based on a competitive grant process, then reimbursed once they expended twice the amount award.
SUMMARY AND SCOPE OF PROCUREMENT
The contractor shall develop and execute a reinvented approach to the cooperative advertising program that will permit the Tourism Department to continue to make awards by competitive grant process but collect the match from awarded entities up front, thus combining these funds with the NMTD cooperative advertising funds and the general advertising funds to allow media to be purchased at a lower rate for the benefit of both the State of New Mexico and grant awardees. This approach should also open the door for greater participation from rural communities who would only be responsible for 50% of their eligible media purchase. The result should be more advertising purchased for the same amount of funding, and greater participation from local entities.
The contractor must be skilled in media negotiation and trafficking, and demonstrate the ability to oversee the strategic development and execution of the cooperative advertising program, collaborating with NMTD staff, industry partners, advertising agencies, and media vendors to maximize industry participation and consumer impact of the overall cooperative advertising investment. The contractor shall provide comprehensive, integrated, strategic marketing and research services while consulting with NMTD staff and third party contractors. This may include, but is not limited to, ongoing consumer understanding and insight, leverage of cumulative research and data sources, and consulting on the design and analysis of visitor research in the areas of awareness, perception, consumer behavior, visitation, Return on Investment (ROI) and economic impact. The contractor must have the ability to distill and make recommendations to drive NMTD’s marketing strategy, investments, and messaging priorities.
The contractor must be able to aggregate and translate key insights to develop strategic marketing plans, including creative strategy, consumer messaging, target markets (including geographic, demographic, and psychographic), and media mix. Such plans must be tailored to meet the needs and goals of NMTD’s contractors, partners, and constituencies, which include but are not limited to: advertising and media agencies, industry partners, legislative bodies and committees, and the public.
The contractor shall have the ability to consult and work with NMTD personnel and the contracted advertising and media agency on creative development that adheres to the strategic priorities identified in the strategic marketing plan.
Proposal due by April 28, 2017 to:
Ray A. Maestas, Procurement Manager Address:
491 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87501
