Agency of Record RFP 25-01.pdf

Request for Proposals:

Marketing and Public Relations Services

Huerfano County Solicitation #2025-01 January 17, 2025

1. Summary of Request The Huerfano County Board of County Commissioners (“the County”) is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide marketing and public relations services including, but not limited to: (1) destination marketing Huerfano County, through the County Tourism Board, as Spanish Peaks Country; (2) advertising County services, such as the Spanish Peaks Airfield; and (3) assisting the County in providing general public information and emergency communications.

2. Submission Information Written submissions for the supply of the services described herein will be accepted until Monday, February 10, 2025 at 4PM MT. Any proposal received after that time will not be considered.

Submitted materials must be emailed in PDF Format to Carl Young, County Administrator, administrator@huerfano.us

3. Questions Procedural and technical questions are to be submitted in writing to Carl Young, County Administrator at administrator@huerfano.us. Questions will be accepted until Wednesday, February 5, 2025 at 4PM MT. A summary of questions and answers will be released according to the schedule set below.

4. Anticipated Timeline Dates are approximations for the process steps and are subject to change.

Step Date Selection Process

One January 17, 2025 Request for Proposals Issued

February 5, 2025 Questions may be presented prior to 4PM MT on this date.

February 6, 2025 Questions and answers posted.

February 10, 2025 Proposals due at 4PM MT

February 12, 2025 Committee Review of Proposals.

Two February 14, 2025 Notifications of Interviews.

February 24, 2025 Interviews conducted.

Three February 26, 2025 Notification of selected proposer.

Four March 4, 2025 Agreement executed.

March 14, 2025 Anticipated Start Date

5. Background Huerfano County encompasses 1,593 square miles and is home to approximately 6,800 residents. The County is governed by a three-member Board of Commissioners, elected by districts to four year terms.

Huerfano County is home to two incorporated communities, Walsenburg and La Veta, as well as two unincorporated communities, Gardner and Cuchara.

Tourism Board The mission of the Huerfano County Tourism Board (HCTB) is to enhance the quality of life for residents by bringing visitors to our county, having a positive impact on our economy while preserving our environment and culture. Residents of Huerfano County felt strongly enough about tourism to pass a lodging tax in 2007. HCTB has branded Huerfano County as Spanish Peaks Country, a tribute to the distinctive twin peaks that watch over the Cuchara Valley. The Peaks have been among the most important landmarks of the southwestern United States, guiding Native American tribes, Spanish and French trappers, gold seekers, hunters, and American settlers. The Industrial Revolution brought coal mining to the region to feed the Colorado Fuel and Iron Steel Mills in Pueblo. Now, with the industry gone, we have a County that is growing and attracting new residents and visitors to experience a mild climate, amazing history, beautiful landscapes, and great people. HCTB’s current digital assets include spanishpeakscountry.com, the Visit Spanish Peaks Country Facebook Page, Instagram account, and an e-mail newsletter that reaches 20,000 addresses. HCTB also participates in the Colorado.com lead generation service.

Other assets of the Tourism Board include a newly-launched Gravel Adventure Field Guide for Huerfano County that outlines a variety of gravel biking opportunities within the County and audio walking/driving tours for Walsenburg, La Veta, Cuchara, and the Scenic Highway of Legends through TravelStorys. The Tourism Board is interested in continued support of these assets as well as the creation of new assets.

In Fall 2024, Huerfano County was awarded a Colorado Tourism Office Marketing Grant to be used to complete a multiple-day photography/videography shoot at various locations throughout the County to help build out a digital asset library and provide the backbone for new campaigns and an upcoming visitor’s guide refresh. Any Agency of Record selected through this RFP process would be expected to have a significant role in the execution of this grant project, which must be completed by December 31, 2025.

Public Information and Service Promotion The Huerfano County Board of County Commissioners has made connecting with residents a significant priority. The County has a goal of increased promotion of public services, such as the Spanish Peaks Regional Airfield, as well as to offer more robust public communication to promote both increased utilization of public services and increased education of County residents on County happenings and their opportunities for civic engagement. The County operates a website and Facebook Page and seeks to better utilize these resources as well as to develop new resources, such as a County newsletter, to engage with the public. Other goals include: increased awareness of public and community meetings and activities; improved emergency and crisis communications; and generally promoting a positive public image of Huerfano County and our communities.

6. Outline of Services to be Provided The selected firm(s) will be expected to service the Huerfano County Tourism Board’s Spanish Peaks Country Destination Marketing Program and the marketing, branding, and public relations needs of Huerfano County and. Interested parties may submit proposals to provide one or all of the services the County requires, which include, but are not limited to:

Marketing Strategy and Execution Work closely with the County to develop a multi-year strategic direction including high level goals and objectives for the County marketing programs. The selected respondent will then develop, execute, and track results of the annual marketing plans to meet said goals and objectives. Strategic documents and annual plans will reflect the differing needs of County business units and include:

● Develop a concrete social media strategy using tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and

Instagram;

● Create coordinated marketing campaigns (print, broadcast, digital, online, email, etc.) to include a written plan addressing objectives, audience/market description, strategies (to include increasing user-generated content), tactics, and budgets;

● Media planning & buying: media negotiations, client meetings, correspondence related to specific media plans/buys;

● Send a monthly Tourism newsletter to Spanish Peaks Country subscribers;

● Assist with current and future grant-driven Tourism projects to expand Spanish Peaks Country’s reach.

Public Relations Build messaging that can be used in various channels including earned media, social media, and paid traditional media to geo-target key audiences through relevant channels to drive awareness, create an emotional connection and educate on key actions. Messaging should drive interaction and build excitement through sharing relevant content and providing opportunities to interact with Huerfano County and Spanish Peaks Country to include:

● Develop and pitch storylines and press releases, fact sheets, issue briefings, and industry highlights to the media.

● Develop and maintain targeted media lists (local, trade, and national).

● Support communication efforts (i.e., blog posts, monthly newsletters, etc.) as needed

Content Creation Develop creative concepts and campaign elements. This includes producing written copy and custom graphics as well as managing the process of working with subcontractors as needed. Selected respondent will work with the County to bring approved materials to their final form. Creative materials may include but are not limited to:

● print advertising

● audio/video assets

● digital graphics

● signage

● branded merchandise

Website Maintenance and Updates Keep content on both Huerfano County websites updated and maintain the backend systems to insure minimal downtime, including:

● Keeping Event Calendars of both sites up to date as directed;

● Making updates to the Business Directory of the Spanish Peaks Country Website;

● Making posts or updating pages as requested;

● Ensure website security standards are met;

● Process and reply to directory submissions as necessary (e.g. Claim Your Business, Submit Your

Event, Visitor’s Guide Sign-ups).

7. Budget The HCTB has a typical annual advertising budget, including agency of record services, of $60K to $90k.

The Tourism Board has a marketing matching grant, discussed in the background section above, with a budget of approximately $45K.

The majority of work for the rest of the County will be on an as needed basis and the County has a budget of approximately $10K per year for ongoing work, such as website maintenance and public relations.

8. Qualifications Firms must have at least 5 years of experience providing the services proposed. Experience working with local governments, particularly county governments, is highly desirable. Experience with similar-scale Destination Marketing is also highly desirable.

9. Contents of Letter of Interest Written submissions for the supply of the services fully described herein will be accepted until the date set forth in the Anticipated Timeline above. Any proposal received after that time will not be considered.

Submissions should be no longer than 20 pages and include:

1. Cover Letter, which must include:

a. A statement of interest for working with the County to complete the scope outlined above including a summary of key points describing the respondent’s unique qualifications as they pertain to this particular scope;

b. A brief overview of the history and structure of the respondent including structure, time in business, number of employees, and other data to assist in characterization of the respondent;

c. The name, address, and daytime telephone number for contact persons to whom additional selection process requests should be communicated;

d. A disclosure of the name of any employee or official of Huerfano County who could be directly and personally benefited if the proposing firm is awarded a contract pursuant to this solicitation. If there is nothing to disclose, the proposal shall so state.

2. Experience and Reputation

a. Describe respondent’s experience in the types of work likely to be performed;

b. Describe similar engagements performed or operations run by the respondent within the past five years; and

c. Provide contact information for engagements or operations listed. Letters of reference are also accepted.

3. Personnel and Qualifications

a. If the respondent is an individual, provide a resume that describes your expertise, experience and qualifications for this work;

b. If the respondent is a firm, provide a listing of and resumes for the team leader and any others that would support the project with a summary of each team member’s area of responsibilities, expertise, experience and qualifications for this work;

c. Describe the availability and commitment of either the individual or assigned team members to undertake the outlined work; and

d. Provide an organizational chart of the project team, if applicable.

4. Understanding and Approach

a. Describe in detail the respondent’s understanding of and approach to providing the types of services described;

b. Describe the respondent’s approach to client service, including onboarding process, communication methods and approaches, as well as availability to take on projects and answer questions; and

c. Describe the respondent’s capability and approach to meeting schedules and deadlines.

5. Fee Proposal

a. Propose specific payment terms and arrangements (e.g. hourly rate vs. retainer or a combination).

10. Selection Process The process for selection and award of the Professional Services will consist of four steps and be organized as follows:

Step One Review and scoring of Proposals submitted

Step Two Interviews (if required)

Step Three Selection of successful respondent, negotiation of Professional Services Agreement

Step Four County Commissioner approval of Professional Services Agreement

Step One: Review of Proposals Following an initial screening of the proposals, the committee will select what it considers the most highly qualified party to provide the services outlined in the scope of services. Selection will be based on the evaluation criteria set forth below. Those submitting proposals will be ranked, and the committee will then recommend the most qualified finalists.

The following selection criteria will be the basis for the ranking of most qualified submission:

Criteria Points

Qualifications, years of relevant experience, and proven abilities in performing similar work.

30 Points

Experience working in a rural context and familiarity with Huerfano County and/or Southern Colorado

25 Points

Approach to client service, communication methods and approaches, capacity to take on projects.

25 Points

Quality of previous projects undertaken and references 20 Points

Total 100 Points

Step Two: Interviews (if required)

1. Interviews may be conducted for the purpose of determining which respondent is the most highly qualified to perform the required work and which responds most fully understands and is able to perform the work envisioned by the County.

2. Key personnel from the interested party are required to be present and participate in the interview.

3. Respondents are asked to give a presentation on their organization and proposal. The Review Board will then ask any questions they have of the respondent.

Step Three: Selection of Successful Respondent and Negotiation of Professional Services Agreement

1. After the successful respondent is selected, the County will negotiate a Professional Services

Agreement.

Step Four: County Commissioners Approval of Professional Services Agreement

1. The successful respondent is encouraged to attend the Commissioners’ meeting to answer any questions concerning the proposal, or the respondent’s qualifications.

2. The County reserves the right to undertake or award supplemental or successor contracts for work related to this Contract.

3. This solicitation shall not be binding upon the County and respondent, and no services shall be performed under the terms of the proposal or the Professional Services Agreement until the Contract has been reduced to writing and approved by the County Commissioners.

11. Selection and Contracting Provisions Notifications.

The County will provide timely notifications in writing (letters and/or emails) of the following actions to individuals or firms responding to the Request for Proposal as follows:

● Selection of short-listed individuals or firms for interviews (if required);

● Individuals or Firms not short-listed;

● Selection of recommended individual or firm; and County Commissioner approval.

Right to Reject The County reserves the right to waive informalities in the proposals or fees and to reject any and all proposals and re-advertise this solicitation at any time prior to County Commissioner approval of the recommended firm or individual and the negotiated professional contract for services if doing so would be in the public interest, as determined by the county in its sole discretion. The County reserves the right to award this solicitation to the individual or firm that best fits the requirements outlined in the request for proposals. The County reserves the right to waive any informality in any submittal and/or reject all proposals, and to accept the proposal that is in the best interest of the County. The County further reserves the right to: (1) negotiate a final professional contract for services that is in the best interests of the county and the public; and (2) request any additional information county deems reasonably necessary to allow the County to evaluate, rank and select the most qualified proposer to perform the services described in this solicitation.

If the County and the selected individual or firm cannot agree on the contract, the negotiations will be terminated, and the County reserves the right to begin negotiations with the next highest ranked proposer.

Procedure Requirements

1. Any individual or firm failing to submit information in accordance with the procedures set forth herein may be considered non-responsive.

2. All costs incurred by individuals or firms choosing to participate in this process shall be borne by the proposing individual or firm.

3. All proposals submitted regarding this solicitation are the property of the County and will only be returned to the individual or firms if requested in writing to the County at the sole discretion of the County.

4. Late submittals shall not be accepted. It is the responsibility of the individual or firms to ensure that the proposal arrives at the Huerfano County Administrator’s Office, prior to the date and time stated in this solicitation.

Conflicts of Interest Any conflicts of interest whether real or perceived by the individual or firm submitting a proposal should be fully disclosed and explained within the proposal.