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PACIFIC SURFLINER MARKETING SERVICES ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY LOS ANGELES-SAN DIEGO-SAN LUIS OBISPO RAIL CORRIDOR AGENCY

Marketing RFP Issues For Visit California In Mexico

Proposal Submittal Date: April 19, 2024

LINK: file:///C:/Users/cbettencourt/Downloads/42080_0.pdf

SCOPE OF WORK

PACIFIC SURFLINER FIELD MARKETING SERVICES

I. INTRODUCTION

This Scope of Work describes Consultant’s essential roles, responsibilities, functions, activities,

and deliverables necessary for the successful implementation of the

Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency’s (Agency) field

marketing program for the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner.

The LOSSAN Agency wishes to contract with a strategic marketing firm to provide field marketing

and community outreach services to:

• Increase Pacific Surfliner ridership

• Influence consumer purchase decisions within communities served

• Cultivate awareness, positive brand associations, and visibility of the Pacific Surfliner

through experiential marketing, in-person events, and other advertising and marketing

efforts

• Uncover opportunities to expand reach and influence in college markets to build

awareness in that key demographic

• Promote brand goodwill and partnerships with key convention and visitors bureau partners

• Identify and evaluate existing assets that can be offered to partners as part of a

sponsorship package

Through this contract, Consultant shall provide expertise to supplement LOSSAN Agency’s

in-house marketing and communications staff, as well as work with external vendors when

necessary.

II. BACKGROUND

The 351-mile LOSSAN Rail Corridor travels through a six (6)-county coastal region in southern

California and is the second busiest intercity passenger rail corridor in the United States. The

LOSSAN Agency manages the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service, which has an annual ridership of

nearly 3 million (pre-pandemic). There are currently twenty (20) daily Pacific Surfliner trains

between Los Angeles and San Diego, with ten (10) trains extending to Santa Barbara/Goleta and

four to San Luis Obispo. The Pacific Surfliner serves twenty-nine (29) stations between San

Diego and San Luis Obispo.

The Pacific Surfliner provides a relaxing and sustainable travel option for destinations along the

LOSSAN Rail Corridor and beyond. In addition to rail service, dedicated Amtrak Thruway bus

connections supplement the train by extending connections to destinations such as Palm Springs,

Solvang, and the Bay Area.

III. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The LOSSAN Agency seeks a qualified consultant experienced in field marketing to assist the

agency staff with increasing service ridership. Consultant shall work closely with staff to create a

strategy leveraging various field marketing tactics to expand the LOSSAN Agency’s brand

awareness, relationships, and community interactions in a data driven and measurable way.

Consultant shall be expected to meet the following general qualifications:

– A solid understanding of the Pacific Surfliner brand and market position

– Expertise in targeted, audience specific marketing

– Knowledge of emerging technology, trends, platforms, and messaging opportunities, and

demonstrate the ability to leverage them effectively.

– A thorough understanding of marketing best practices in the transportation and/or tourism

industry

IV. SERVICES REQUIRED

This section contains a brief description of the types of services required for this contract. The

work plan shall provide a precise and clear description of the firm’s ability to meet the

requirements of each service category specified below. Those proposing as the prime contractor

on this RFP are encouraged to sub-contract tasks that are outside of their expertise. Firms shall

provide turnkey marketing programs and be able to act as a prime contractor in each of the

following areas:

Brand Awareness, Advertising, and Partnership Building

Consultant shall be responsible for:

• Elevating LOSSAN Agency’s brand awareness, presence, and engagement across the

corridor.

• Developing cooperative advertising and promotional opportunities to amplify the LOSSAN

Agency’s reach. Foster and expand relationships with partners in the travel industry, as

well as with relevant sports teams, festivals, event venues, special events, trade shows,

and Universities along the LOSSAN Rail Corridor.

• Serving as LOSSAN Agency’s Agency of Record, which will authorize Consultant to act

on LOSSAN Agency’s behalf to negotiate and to enter into sponsorships, secure

memberships, plan advertising programs, seek and execute advertising opportunities,

purchase and place media, and manage invoices and payments. If necessary to complete

the requirements of the scope of work, Consultant shall license direct with vendors and

partners to obtain necessary media placements and utilities. All invoicing pertaining to

these agreements shall be managed by the selected Consultant. The LOSSAN Agency

shall be listed as a user and/or advertiser on any agreements. At the end of the term (or

earlier), the selected Consultant shall assign/transfer all its rights to the agreement to the

LOSSAN Agency at no additional charge.

Through these tasks, the aim is to establish a robust and recognizable brand presence, drive

community engagement, and optimize the LOSSAN Agency’s outreach efforts effectively.

Multi-lingual community outreach and engagement

Consultant shall assist the LOSSAN Agency with establishing and maintaining brand awareness

through special events and community education efforts. Consultant shall be responsible for:

• Planning, promoting, and implementing outreach events that enhance brand awareness

and strengthen relationships with communities served.

• Identifying strategic opportunities targeting key audiences in key geographical areas for

business and community outreach

• Providing event planning services and support

• Staffing in-person community events. Consultant shall be expected to engage audiences

in English and Spanish. Community event support in other foreign languages such as

Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, Farsi, Armenian, Japanese, and others may occasionally

be necessary. Consultant must submit a plan for hiring subcontractors to provide services

if necessary. Consultant shall also provide support with follow up activities and create tools

for nurturing relationships with referral sources and influencers.

Promotional marketing

Consultant shall be responsible for developing and/or supporting new marketing program

initiatives for key audiences. Consultant shall support the following:

• Raising awareness of key destinations along the route through events, partnerships,

special event partnerships, advertising, and other innovative marketing efforts.

• Design strategic campaigns to target specific markets and audiences to increase

ridership and revenue.

In addition to creating campaign deliverables, Consultant shall provide suggestions for

enhancements to optimize ongoing campaigns, refine messaging, boost community engagement,

and meet other performance metrics.

Creative services

Fulfillment of field marketing programs includes coordinating and ensuring timely delivery of all

creative assets. The creative services expected include:

• Copywriting and trans-creating of advertising and marketing materials in English and

Spanish. Consultant may also be occasionally required to create materials in other foreign

languages such as Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, Farsi, Armenian, Japanese, and

others may occasionally be necessary. Consultant must submit a plan for hiring

subcontractors to provide muliti-lingual services if necessary.

• Producing design solutions, messages including copywriting for radio and/or video

advertisements and creative assets for print, outreach, broadcast, advertising, or other

customer communications channels, that resonate with target audiences and meet both

brand standards and business objectives.

• Design solutions and creative assets for print, radio, video, broadcast, digital and social

media elements, as well as the development of special promotions and fares discounts to

incentivize trial and repeat ridership to support program initiatives.

• Consultant must be able to respond quickly to execute creative development through

concept development, execution and production in a timely manner to meet the project

deadlines. There may be times when Consultant shall also work with the other

Agency vendors to optimize existing creative assets for the appropriate audiences and

channels.

Consultant shall be responsible for monitoring performance of all campaign and managing

quality of content for campaigns as determined by engagement metrics, hyper-targeted media

placements, content engagement, media impressions, and client feedback.

PERFORMANCE, MONITORING, AND EVALUATION

The success of the Pacific Surfliner field marketing program relies on continuous monitoring,

evaluation, and optimization of various performance metrics.

The selected Consultant shall employ a systematic approach to monitor and evaluate the

performance of the Pacific Surfliner field marketing program. This includes the continuous tracking

and analysis of engagement metrics across various channels, campaigns, and events to ensure

the program’s alignment with the LOSSAN Agency’s objectives and foster ongoing improvement

throughout the contract period.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

The LOSSAN Marketing and Communications Manager will be the key contact for Consultant

and will direct Consultant ’s work efforts. All jobs performed by Consultant will require a cost

estimate within two (2)-days of project requests and prior approval from the LOSSAN Marketing

and Communications Manager before commencing work.

Consultant shall designate a project manager within the firm to be the primary liaison with the

LOSSAN Agency for day-to-day marketing activities. The project manager shall have the authority

to make commitments and decisions that are binding to Consultant. Any changes to Consultant’s

personnel under this project shall be subject to the LOSSAN Agency’s written approval.

The selected Consultant shall invoice the LOSSAN Agency for services rendered on a monthly

basis.

1. Deliverables shall include but are not limited to: Job-by-job estimates of time

and materials needed to complete each project, approved by the designated

LOSSAN Marketing and Communications Manager.

2. Documentation of strategies, tactics, media recommendations, evaluation

criteria, timeline, and budget proposal including executive briefs and reporting

3. Implementation of effective design, layout, editorial, and art direction from

concept and development through execution and production tailored to

strategic objectives.

4. Campaign management and monitoring informed by ridership and revenue

reporting, online engagement metrics and client feedback.

5. Pro-active feedback for enhancements to optimize ongoing campaigns, refine

messaging, boost online engagement, and search engine visibility, and meet

other performance metrics.

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