Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
for development of a
Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Program for Windham and Bennington Region
Issued: March 1, 2013
Due Date: March 18, 2013
Send to: BDCC CONTACT: Laura Sibilia 76 Cotton Mill Hill Brattleboro, VT 05301
PHONE: (802) 257-7731 E‐MAIL:
Background information: In December of 2012, US Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded the Windham Regional Commission (WRC) and the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) $472,000 in disaster recovery funds to supports disaster recovery capacity building for the Southern Vermont region.This project is funded through the FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity administered through the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) is a key partner in implementing this grant and will specifically be responsible for carrying out the business resource services task, which includes the Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Progam. Additional partners in the project are numerous and include a number of departments within the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Vermont Agency of Transportation, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Brattleboro and Bennington downtown organizations, several towns and multiple chambers of commerce in southern Vermont.
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC), in cooperation with its affiliate the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies Group (SeVEDS), The Windham and Bennington County Regional Commissions, the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM) and four Southern Vermont Chambers: The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce, The Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce and the Manchester and the Mountains Chamber of Commerce is seeking proposals from qualified professionals that are knowledgeable in marketing research and plan development, planning and data analysis, brand development and graphic design, to create a Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Program for Windham and Bennington Regions.
About BDCC and Southern Vermont: BDCC is a private, nonprofit economic development organization that serves as a catalyst for industrial and commercial growth throughout Southeastern Vermont, including Windham County and the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, and Weston.
The primary objective of the BDCC is to create and retain a flourishing business community in the Windham Region that supports vibrant fiscal activity, and improves the quality of life of all its residents. BDCC is affiliated with the State of Vermont as the certified Regional Development Corporation (RDC) serving the greater Windham County area. BDCC is one of 12 RDCs throughout Vermont.
For the purposes of this application, Southern Vermont consists of the two southernmost Counties – Windham and Bennington and the Town of Weston in Windsor County. Southern Vermont is bordered on the west by New York, the south by Massachusetts and the east by New Hampshire. Interstate 91 runs north south through Windham on the east and Route 7 runs north south through Bennington on the West. Route 9 runs across the two counties. Major employers and manufacturers are primarily in the larger towns in the extreme east and extreme west of Southern Vermont. In the middle, where the counties meet, scenic route 100 travels north through tiny villages and major ski areas Mount Snow and Stratton.
BDCC, SeVEDS, VDTM and The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce, The Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce and the Manchester and the Mountains Chamber of Commerce will be active partners in this project. The Windham Regional Commission will contract with the winning firm and provide payment terms.
Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Program for Windham and Bennington Region:
The Windham and Bennington Regional Commissions have applied for and been awarded funding for disaster recovery from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). Part of the disaster recovery plan is to develop a Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Program for Windham and Bennington Region.
The Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Program for Windham and Bennington Region is a regionally initiated research, analysis and program development process designed to provide a brand and a mechanism for Windham and Bennington Region development organizations, employers and tourism dependent businesses to create long term marketing strategies. Those strategies will be targeted to grow the economy via adding new businesses, new employees and visitors, and will tie into regional economic development efforts. The scope of work includes evaluating existing employer and tourism marketing efforts, current targeted markets, and employer and tourism brands to create a large marketing umbrella brand for Southern Vermont that can be used by all of those entities, and to create annual marketing cooperative marketing plans with a cooperative sustainable funding mechanism.
Proposal Content
Responses to this RFP should include:
1. A detailed work plan that addresses the overall timeline and milestones necessary to complete the Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing program, identifies specific activities that will be accomplished, identifies staffing and number of hours that will be devoted to each activity, identifies subcontractors and their relevant experience, and describes the work product that will be produced.
2. A process for communicating with BDCC staff and involving VDTM and the four chambers
3. Timeline for status reports, draft report and hard copy and electronic delivery of final products.
The Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing program should be developed after conducting:
4. An analysis of significant current Southern Vermont Brands and Marketing Strategies
o What are the current strong
§ Tourism Brands
§ Employer Brands
§ Quality of life Brands
o Analysis of
§ Major employer marketing strategies
§ Major tourism marketing strategies
o Analysis of the range of marketing budgets
o Analysis of market targeting
The Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing program should include an Umbrella Brand for cooperative marketing and the creation of a sustainable tiered marketing plan:
5. Creation of an Umbrella Brand for cooperative marketing inclusive of:
o Creative brand development and design process
o Brand positioning statement
o Marketing and communications plan with proposed budget
o Use of print and online media, radio and/or tv
6. Creation of sustainable tiered marketing plan inclusive of:
o Annual cooperative sustainable funding mechanism
o Annual mechanism for creation of plan annually
o Annual mechanism for implementation of plan annually
Evaluation Criteria
Responses to this proposal will be evaluated on the following criteria:
o Qualification/experience of prime consultant with studies of similar scope and size
o Qualification/experience of sub consultants with studies of similar scope and size
o Demonstrated knowledge of marketing plans, principals and trends
o Sufficient staff for all work required in the study
o Past record of performance on similar projects
o Portfolio of past products
o Proposed cost of the study and demonstration of commitment for meeting the project schedule
Proposed Schedule
o RFP issue date: March 1
o Deadline for proposals: March 18
o Review by BDCC: March 25
o Consultant Interviews: March 27-28
o Consultant Selection: April 1
o Start Date for consultant: April 15
o End Date: no later than December 1, 2013
Responses
Please submit 4 sealed proposals to the address below and a pdf version of the proposal to the email address below. Materials and documents submitted in response to this RFP become the property of BDCC and will not be returned to the bidder.
Responses must be received by mail or delivered to: Laura Sibilia, BDCC, 76 Cotton Mill Hill, Brattleboro, VT 05301 by
Inquiries may be directed to Laura Sibilia at (802) 257-7731 extension 217 or by email at