Rfp No: 1824; Tourism Marketing

A. OVERVIEW Tourism is the primary economic engine for the County. Each year visitors generate hundreds of millions of dollars in commerce for the local economy and support an estimated 32,400 jobs. Funding for tourism marketing is provided by revenues generated from the Local Option Tourist Development Tax, or “Bed Tax”, a surcharge on the rental of short-term accommodations. Specific uses of the advertising and marketing funds are approved by the Tourist Development Council and Board of County Commissioners via an annual marketing plan and budget approval process.
B. OBJECTIVES AND AUDIENCE The County is seeking a qualified, full service Consultant to work in conjunction with the County, as well as the County’s existing tourism promotion partners to create and execute a destination tourism marketing program. The awarded Consultant must ensure marketing and ad hoc campaign efforts are effective and relevant to maintaining and growing visitation to St. Johns County by providing brand strategy, creative brand development, and production services.
The awarded Consultant must achieve the following Objectives: • Effectively translate the County’s brand through native advertising, digital platforms, interactive digital platforms, video production, images, print, radio, direct marketing, television, out of home, audio and any other marketing medium deemed necessary by the County;
• Successfully partner with the County’s tourism industry partners, including the St. Johns County Visitors and Convention Bureau, the St Johns County Cultural Council and the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce;
• Maximize the value of County campaigns and operate as an extension of the County’s team;
• Provide strategic consulting during a crisis situation, such as an extreme weather event, with the intent of providing the public with accurate information about tourism venues that remain open, or timelines for re-opening, despite the crisis at hand. The goal is to develop strategies to inform and assure the public that St. Johns County remains an exceptional vacation destination, in efforts to minimize cancellations and encourage new travel plans; and
• Develop and provide effective strategies and strategic recommendations to ensure that St. Johns County remains a top travel destination and achieves its core objectives of increasing visitor volume, maximizing visitor spend, protecting and growing market share, and increasing the overall value of the County’s Tourism brand.
The awarded Consultant will be responsible for developing and conducting a marketing program that reaches the target audience, which includes:
• The County’s tourism industry at large (for partnership and cooperative advertising purposes); • Consumers in the United States, Canada, and priority international markets (which may vary by year); • Florida residents residing outside of St. Johns County; • Decision-makers in the weddings, meetings, and conventions industries around the world; and • Domestic and International travel trade professionals and media.
C. SCOPE OF SERVICES: With the goal of increasing the economic impact of tourism in St. Johns County, the awarded Consultant shall provide creative services to the SJC Tourism Department for the conception, design and execution of advertising/marketing campaigns and programs targeting a variety of audiences, to perform the required Services as follows:
1. Develop an annual marketing plan incorporating creative ideas and headlines and identifies opportunities to increase the economic impact on St. Johns County, across all tourism sectors. The awarded Consultant may be required to present this plan to the TDC and/or BOCC each year. 2. Identify key trends and reasons people travel that align with business objectives. 3. Generate consistent high-value media placements for St. Johns County, raising awareness among consumers and media. 4. Develop a target media list and pitch to U.S. lifestyle media, hotel and meetings trades, broadcast, and online outlets which influence decisions among leisure and business travelers, as well as meetings professionals. Identify appropriate media to pitch in specific international markets based on business need and inbound travel. 5. Produce and submit reports of monthly results to include tracking and measurements, including standard industry measurements, across all tourism sectors. 6. Identify original opportunities for further promotion of tourism in St. Johns County.