Rocked by the loss of the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2020 and reeling from the possible departure of toymaking giant Hasbro Inc., Pawtucket leaders now think the hard-scrabble city is in need of a publicist.
Pawtucket is looking to hire a public relations firm to hype the positive aspects of a community that was once an industrial powerhouse but lost its luster decades ago.
City officials insist the timing of the request for proposals from PR agencies is unrelated to setbacks such as Hasbro looking to pull up stakes and move to Boston, but advocates say it’s long overdue, noting that pieces have been in place for a successful marketing campaign for years.
“It’s really, really hard to take an old, industrial Northeastern city and bring it back from the brink,” said Robert D. Billington, Blackstone Valley Tourism Council president. “The pathway to Pawtucket’s success is already clear; it’s just taking it longer than we’d like it to.”
The city says the contract for the public relations work will last three years, with two one-year extensions available at the city’s discretion. The company that is ultimately hired will provide the city with “marketing and communication tactics including but not limited to public relations, advertising, social media, public engagement and others,” the RFP said.
The deadline for submitting proposals was Feb. 23, and the potential costs of the contract were not immediately clear. City spokesperson Grace Voll says an allocation is expected to be incorporated into Mayor Donald R. Grebien’s proposed fiscal 2026 city budget.
Pawtucket has taken similar steps before.
A previous marketing contract for services unrelated to the PR contract expired earlier this month. Pawtucket has previously hired public relations firms in the past for different purposes. Last year, the city filed another RFP seeking developers and funding for its Downtown Gateway Project, although that was put on hold when the property was offered to Hasbro as a relocation site. That offer still stands.
The details gleaned from this most recent RFP reveal what City Hall is looking for in terms of a prospective PR firm.
“Pawtucket is evolving, and is poised to undergo a 21st century evolution into Rhode Island’s premier arts and cultural destination, an ideal community to live, work, play, start a business and raise a family,” the RFP said. “Pawtucket is an important part of Rhode Island’s future. [This PR campaign] will further drive the city’s own progress and presence.”
Right now, Voll says she manages the city’s social media pages on her own. Part of the proposed publicity campaign would be to ramp up the social media strategy. That would include creative content, a content calendar, campaigns, and production, such as videos, photos and infographics, according to the RFP.
The city says it already has a logo and key messaging for an incoming PR team. The RFP states that Pawtucket would be looking to continue to further implement this messaging. “The strategy will increase pride, support, awareness and advocacy,” the city said.
The centerpiece of Pawtucket attractions has long been the Slater Mill. Constructed in 1793, it was the first water-powered textile mill in the country and is considered to be the birthplace of the U.S. Industrial Revolution. The site is now part of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.
But Billington cites the city’s highly anticipated soccer stadium at Tidewater Landing, the new commuter rail on the Pawtucket-Central Falls border and affordable housing projects, as well as its vibrant arts community, as what should be the centerpieces of Pawtucket’s proposed PR plan.
Yet many outside Pawtucket, and certainly outside of Rhode Island, have little knowledge about the changes, city leaders say.
“We need people looking at us to see those things because we, in Pawtucket, might think they’re mundane, but they are really spectacular,” Billington said.
Meanwhile, the city’s economic development has seemingly been under threat in recent years.
The city’s beloved minor league baseball team, the PawSox, left the city for Worcester, Mass., following the 2020 season. McCoy Stadium is now officially scheduled for demolition in mid-March.
And Hasbro, the fourth-largest employer in the Ocean State, started scouting Boston-area locations late last year. The company has been in Rhode Island for nearly a century and has called Pawtucket home for more than 60 years.
Gaetan Kashala, executive director of the Pawtucket Foundation, says hiring an agency to execute a marketing strategy is what is needed.
“I think it’s good for the city to be proactive to explore every option to control the narrative,” he said.
