Metro, a metropolitan service district of the State of Oregon and the Metro Charter seeks a communications and marketing firm, particularly focused on the Latino market.
About Metro
Clean air and clean water do not stop at city limits or county lines. Neither does the need for jobs, a thriving economy, and sustainable transportation and living choices for people and businesses in the region. Voters have asked Metro to help with the challenges and opportunities that affect the 25 cities and three counties in the Portland metropolitan area. Metro provides direct services to the region, operates regional venues and visitor attractions such as the Oregon Zoo and works with communities to make decisions about how the region grows. Metro is committed to ensuring that all community members of the region have access to service and decision that affect their lives. For a complete profile of Metro’s responsibilities, programs and services visit oregonmetro.gov.
Project background
Metro recognizes that the diversity of the region’s population will continue to flourish over time. Guided by input from many regional partners and informed by research, Metro has identified making racial equity a strategic and operational priority for our agency. Metro staff are fully committed to ensure that all people who live, work and recreate in the Portland region have the opportunity to experience a thriving, livable and prosperous place. Metro develops and manages multiple communications campaigns that promote our region’s cultural venues, transportation options, parks and natural areas, and garbage and recycling services. Our communications objective is to engage, inform, and encourage Latino audiences to access and use all of the spaces and services that Metro provides. Communications tactics and campaigns are informed by Metro’s Strategic Plan to advance racial, equity, diversity and inclusion.
To help meet this commitment Metro has used on-call services to provide comprehensive communication services for several programs whose primary audience includes Latinos living within the Portland metropolitan region. The use of the on-call contract has allowed Metro staff to efficiently retain services without a lengthy proposal process for each project resulting in optimum use of staff time and services, higher quality control and more consistent application of agency communication standards.
Scope of work
Successful proposers will help promote and raise awareness of Metro’s services, venues and products using a strategic, results-focused multi-cultural marketing and communications approach. Once engaged, contractors will help guide Metro on best practices for outreach and engagement with Metro’s increasingly Latino customer base. Proposers must have the demonstrated experience and organizational capacity to introduce best practices and research-based pathways to engaging Latino audiences where they live, work, play, and pray.
Metro expects to incorporate cultural insights about Latino audiences into several programs including:
- Metro’s public opinion research tool, OptIn;
- Land and transportation projects;
- Parks and natural areas;
- Garbage and recycling, including MetroPaint;
- Oregon Zoo;
- Arts and conference centers such as the Portland Expo Center, Portland’5the Oregon Convention Center.
Service categories
Category 1: Strategic consultation, Marketing communications and Public relations:
- Deliver culturally relevant insights, supply secondary research, and serve as a fully integrated multi-cultural communications strategist working with Metro’s staff of subject matter experts to design and deliver targeted communications programs to Latinos in the Portland metro region.
- Identify and secure earned media opportunities that build positive brand recognition among Latinos in the Portland metro region; write and distribute press releases; develop and send pitches directly to journalists; find and develop story opportunities at Metro; write talking points; provide media coaching to Metro spokespeople as needed.
- Provide traditional and online media planning. Advise on audience targeting and strategy, plan, negotiate and directly manage placement and monthly reconciliation of advertising on outdoor media, print, radio, television and online platforms. Metro is also seeking strategic media counsel on emerging and non-traditional media platforms that are consumed by Latinos in the Portland metro region.
- Provide culturally relevant interpretation, translation, or transcreation of Metro creative assets including brochures, postcards, marketing and advertising, web content and presentation scripts. Advise on culturally relevant visuals, language and messaging as needed.
Category 2: Community engagement and outreach:
- Work with Metro staff to develop and represent Metro programs in a culturally relevant context at multiple community events; identify community based organizations or community advocates whose mission and passions align with Metro program goals; bi-lingual staffing, booth presentation, and coordination of logistics in support of community outreach activity.
- Work with Metro staff to identify high-traffic community locations to distribute Metro campaign materials; serve as an on-location bi-lingual liaison at community events to answer questions or refer a community member to a Metro customer service resource.
- Identify and recruit community based ambassadors that can serve as liaisons at community events; share learnings and partner with leaders of the Latino community to establish relationships, discover partnership opportunities, and leverage Metro assets to benefit their constituents.
Category 3: Survey and Evaluation: conduct qualitative and quantitative surveys, intercept surveys, 1:1 audience interviews, focus groups and online surveys; identify facilitators and moderators who can manage research activity; provide translation or interpretation services as needed; compile raw data into written reports, executive summaries, and presentations.
Proposal due by May 31, 2017 to:
Metro
600 NE Grand Ave.
Portland, OR 97232-2736
503-797-1700
Burson Marsteller and Porter Novelli have strong Latino focused divisions.