Washington State Public Relations Campaigns
Kent, Washington is seeking a travel PR & marketing company for tourism promotion and marketing services for the city’s tourism program, Visit Kent. Budget is $100,000 to $150,000 for a one year campaign.
Kent, Washington is located in the heart of the Seattle-Tacoma metroplex only seven miles from SeaTacInternational Airport, 19 miles south of Seattle and 19 miles northeast of Tacoma. Incorporated in 1890, Kent is the second-oldest and third largest city in King County with a population over 125,000. Kent is the sixth largest city in the state of Washington.
Kent is a major industrial and economic driver for the region, home to nearly 5,000 businesses including Boeing, Oberto Sausage, Blue Origin, Amazon, Flow International, Tazo Tea and one of five Starbucks roasting plants. It is the fourth largest manufacturing and distribution center in the United States.
Scope of Work:
Strategic assessment – Review the current strategy that is in place and make recommendations for adjustments or changes that need to be made, including but not limited to target audience, marketing channels, marketing opportunities, etc.
Website – Refresh and manage the city’s tourism website – VisitKent.com – to promote local businesses and events to residents, visitors and businesses; develop content for the website; update and enhance the website with new event information; link the website to the City of Kent and other regional travel promotion sites; ensure the site and content utilizes good SEO practices; and website-related opportunities and functions.
Social Media – Maintain existing social media sites to support tourism marketing efforts and recommend additional social media platforms that may be suitable. Update and enhance social media platforms regularly with new, relevant content and engage potential visitors and residents. Publications – Develop, design, deliver and distribute marketing collateral materials to build awareness of Kent’s positive attributes and attract visitors.
Branding. Advertising and Media Relations – Create content; utilize print, online, radio and video to target travelers; submit regular news releases to local media regarding events; create and implement innovative promotional campaigns to drive visitors to visit local businesses; identify potential marketing needs of the city by analyzing available advertising media to determine suitable advertising media for the city; and other related branding and advertising activities.
Market Research – Track website and social media analytics and report on them regularly; track advertising success rates via click throughs, website landing pages, etc; and submit regular reports on marketing efforts.
Proposals are due by May 27, 2016 to: Ben Wolters, Economic & Community Development Director City of Kent, 400 West Gowe Street Kent, WA 98032, bwolters@kentwa.gov
Major PR firms in Atlanta include APCO Worldwide, Allison+Partners & Weber Shandwick.
