Milwaukee Metro Fire Rescue (MMFR) Branding Services

The Cities of Wauwatosa and West Allis, Wisconsin are issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP MK-26022) on behalf of Milwaukee Metro Fire Rescue (MMFR), a newly consolidated fire and rescue department created through the merger of the Wauwatosa Fire Department and the West Allis Fire Department. This procurement seeks a qualified creative agency to develop a comprehensive brand identity for MMFR that honors the histories of both founding departments while establishing a modern, cohesive visual system. The scope of work encompasses four primary phases: Discovery and Listening, Brand Development, Asset Production, and Public Launch Support. Key deliverables include station audit reports, facilitation of three distinct focus group sessions (internal staff, elected officials, and community members), a consolidated Discovery Report, three initial logo concepts with rationale, two finalist concept presentations, a final approved logo system with departmental seal and all variations, a typography suite with licensing documentation, a color palette with WCAG 2.1 AA compliance documentation, comprehensive brand standards and application guidelines, priority asset production files for apparatus decaling and uniform patches, a complete final branding kit with source files, and a community launch package. The selected agency must demonstrate the ability to meet all specified deadlines, maintain project visibility through a project management platform, and provide professional biographies of core team members. Required qualifications include General Liability insurance ($1,000,000 each occurrence), Automobile Liability insurance ($1,000,000 each accident), Professional Liability/Errors and Omissions coverage ($1,000,000 project-specific), and Worker's Compensation per Wisconsin statute, with all carriers rated A-VII or better by Best's and naming the Cities as additional insureds. The RFP was published on April 17, 2026, with an optional pre-proposal meeting scheduled for April 29, 2026, and a proposal submission deadline of May 15, 2026, at 4:00 PM Central Time; the selected agency will be notified in June 2026 with project kickoff on or before July 6, 2026, station audits and listening sessions to be completed by August, three initial concepts due by September 1, two finalist concepts presented by September 30, priority asset deliverables due November 1, and the complete final branding kit and community launch materials due by December 15, 2026, to support the public brand transition on January 1, 2027.

The RFP document does not identify any set-aside designations, restrictions on types of organizations eligible to respond, or disadvantaged enterprise programs specific to this procurement. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are listed, and no existing infrastructure or technology integration requirements are specified. The solicitation requires a single, total not-to-exceed fee for all work, with all travel costs for station audits and in-person focus group sessions included in the flat fee, though the RFP document does not disclose a specific budget range or estimated award value. Vendors must submit cost proposals with line-item breakdowns by phase or deliverable category as part of their response. All proposals must include a mandatory Conflict of Interest disclosure certification, which requires vendors to disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including financial interests, relationships with city officials or employees, prior work with either municipality, or other circumstances that could compromise their ability to serve MMFR objectively; failure to disclose known conflicts or providing false information may result in proposal disqualification or contract termination.