Search on for marketing consultant to develop state tourism brand

STEFAN PRYOR, center, the commerce secretary, posted a request for proposals for a Rhode Island tourism and business attraction branding campaign. Gov. Gina M. Raimondo is seen on the left. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
STEFAN PRYOR, center, the commerce secretary, posted a request for proposals for a Rhode Island tourism and business attraction branding campaign. Gov. Gina M. Raimondo is seen on the left. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

(Updated 4:22 p.m.) PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s expedited search to hire a marketing consultant by Aug. 31 could result in the launch of a tourism brand for the state in January.
Commerce Corporation Secretary Stefan Pryor said Tuesday afternoon that the request for proposals posted earlier in the day could result in the hiring of a consultant who could provide expertise not only in branding the state with “positive and memorable” images but with some attention paid to the attraction of businesses to the state.
A total of $5 million has been appropriated through the budget and made available July 1, an amount that Pryor said is allocated over and above his division’s operating budget. His office will oversee spending, he said.
“We are inviting branding and marketing professionals to pitch us on their experience and expertise as well as potentially their best concepts,” he told Providence Business News. “We aim to produce a top-notch campaign that when compared to other states’ efforts is outstanding [in] promoting tourism and business attraction and succeeding in producing images that are both positive and memorable.”
Entitled, “Rhode Island Tourism and Business Attraction Branding Campaign,” the RFP instructs applicants to provide a “fresh look” and “flexible solutions” in areas that could include public outreach, design, strategy, brand development, public relations and market research.
Besides developing an “authentic and captivating brand” for Rhode Island, the winning consultant would be one who could generate not only engagement in the state’s tourist offerings and experiences but “public buy-in” and “regional and national attention,” the RFP states.
Consultants can consider using any or all of the budgeted $5 million and must say how they’ll “optimally” spend state funding, according to the RFP. The state also asks candidates to find ways “to save money and ensure the highest return on investment.”
Although it is not explicit in the RFP, Pryor indicated that the state anticipates spending about $4 million on branding and $1 million on business attraction.
New state laws enabling reallocation of funding from the hotel tax that normally goes to tourism districts will enable the state to continue funding tourism in coming years, Pryor said, though he didn’t provide specific funding projections.
The new laws also require tourism districts to incorporate any new state branding into their regional campaigns by Dec. 31, but Pryor said the procedures and exact timing have yet to be worked out.
A “handful” of finalists may be asked to present draft campaign ideas to the state, but it is unclear if those drafts would be made public, since candidates for the branding work would consider the content proprietary, Pryor said. It is “yet to be determined [but] not our expectation” that the drafts would be made public, he said.
Steve Maciel, a salesman with Independent Newspapers of South Kingstown, recently pitched an idea to Pryor in person, though Pryor said he didn’t recall it fully. Maciel focused on the state’s historic assets, and suggested Rhode Island rely on explorer Verazzanno’s log entry, made after he sailed his flotilla into Narragansett Bay in 1524.
“As legend has it, [Verazzanno] wrote in his captain’s log; “I was so struck by the beauty, I decided to linger a fortnight,” Maciel wrote, posting a version of his pitch to a PBN tourism story.
“If [Maciel] intends to be an applicant, it would be premature for me to make any judgment; it’s an open opportunity so I don’t want to prejudge anyone’s ideas,” Pryor noted. “That said, drawing on Rhode Island’s history is a superb idea. There will be a number of compatible and competing ideas submitted through this process and [they will be] taken into account.”
The RFP can be found HERE.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. More details on the Discover RI First campaign can be found here:
    http://www.1of52.net/blog
    http://www.1of52.net/blog/entry/3804670/interview-with-dan-yorke-on-state-of-mind-12232014
    https://www.facebook.com/rhodeislandfirst
    #RIFIRST

    I don’t have the infrastructure to implement the plan, so won’t be applying for the RFP directly. I will however, be shopping the concept around at no charge.

    My “Why” in doing this is to help address the root cause of hunger & poverty by improving the local economy.
    If of interest to you, contact me at 401-368-1325, endhunger@cox.net.

    Steve Maciel, Founder End Hunger Foundation

  2. More details on the Discover RI First campaign can be found here:
    http://www.1of52.net/blog
    http://www.1of52.net/blog/entry/3804670/interview-with-dan-yorke-on-state-of-mind-12232014
    https://www.facebook.com/rhodeislandfirst
    #RIFIRST

    I don’t have the infrastructure to implement the plan, so won’t be applying for the RFP directly. I will however, be shopping the concept around at no charge.

    My “Why” in doing this is to help address the root cause of hunger & poverty by improving the local economy.
    If of interest to you, contact me at 401-368-1325, endhunger@cox.net.

    Steve Maciel, Founder End Hunger Foundation