Town of Windham Issues RFP For Branding/Marketing Campaign

The Town of Windham is seeking proposals from qualified firms to coalesce a brand identity and create a Marketing Campaign as part of a 5-year Marketing Action Plan.

Background:

The Town of Windham (Windham) is an eastern Connecticut community located on Route 6 and 32, approximately 27 miles east of Hartford and 27 miles north of Norwich. The town is 27.9 square miles in area and includes the historic mill city of Willimantic and three rural villages. The majority of the town’s population of 25,268 (2010) resides in Willimantic. The town is home to Eastern Connecticut State University, Hartford Healthcare’s Windham Regional Hospital and CAA’s Windham Airport. The community also plays host to a number of events: 3rd Thursday Street Fests, the Victorian Historic Homes Tour, Willimantic Whitewater Riverfest and the annual 4th of July Boom Box Parade. Other town destinations include: the Garden on the Bridge State Heritage Park, the Eastern Connecticut Railroad Museum, the Windham Textile & History Museum, the Windham Theatre Guild and the Hop River and Airline State Park Trails.

In the past several years, Windham has been engaging in a series of economic development projects that includes efforts to reinvigorate the historic downtown of Willimantic. In addition to downtown revitalization, other examples of projects include, creation of new developments and retail stores and a series of public-private partnerships. The town recently constructed a new bandshell (the Shaboo Stage) which will have its first concert on August 3, 2018. In May of 2018, the town approved building a deck on the abandoned Hop River bridge across the Willimantic River, connecting the Hop River and AirLine trails. In addition, plans for the construction of the Windham Senior/Community Center are also underway.

Scope of Work:

The successful awardee shall develop the following strategies, including but not limited to:

• Evaluate and assess the effectiveness of the existing branding/marketing materials of the town and town organizations (Arts, Dining, Entertainment, History, Music, Recreation, etc.);
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative research with a representative sample as to how Windham is perceived both inside and outside of the town. This could include: community leaders, community organizations, the business community, etc.;
• Use feedback and insights from surveys and input gathering sessions to prepare a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis for town’s review;
• Next, develop (at least 3) options for a comprehensive brand including the generation of a tagline and logo;
• Once a brand is selected, provide a strategy for marketing the new brand including but not limited to public relations activities, marketing strategies, online/social media strategies, advertising, collateral materials, etc.;
• Assist with copy-writing and editing of all promotional materials such as fliers, brochures, advertisements, scripts, etc., to main brand consistency;
• Provide a digital strategy, website design & development;
• Video Production – a promotional video for Windham; and
• Other printed & digital services.

Due Date:

September 5th

Address:

James V. Bellano

Town of Windham

Director, Economic Development

979 Main Street

Willimantic, CT 06226

5WPR, founded by Ronn Torossian has extensive tourism experience.