Request for proposals

Richmond Region Tourism Inspiration Campaign

Our regional jurisdictions will be receiving funding from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) via Virginia Tourism Corporation to help the local tourism industry recover from the devastating effects of Covid-19. This funding must be used for tourism recovery efforts.

The purpose of this Request for Proposal is to retain a qualified, highly creative, and diverse agency for the development of an inspiration campaign to help raise awareness of the Richmond region and to drive tourism.

This is not a rebranding exercise. We will include the existing Richmond Region brand in the campaign.

Since this is a tourism recovery plan, it will be centered around a national tourism inspiration campaign. The campaign will be rolled out in Q4 2022 and will continue until at least Q4 2023 with the ARPA funding. However, Richmond Region Tourism (RRT) intends to build a campaign that could be successfully deployed for a minimum of 3 to 5 years.

This plan/campaign is intended to create a halo effect that will, ultimately, benefit leisure tourism, meetings and conventions, economic development, air travel, higher education, businesses and attractions throughout the region. The goal is to show that while the Richmond region is an excellent place to visit and meet, it is also an ideal location to build, live and learn.

A Truly Collaborative Effort

Representatives from Chamber-RVA, Greater Richmond Partnership (GRP) and Richmond Region Tourism (RRT) will lead the plan development while RRT will oversee the build out and rollout of the plan as well as overseeing vendors.

Representatives from RRT’s jurisdictions will also help with plan development, providing feedback on creative and vendor selection, and providing feedback as needed throughout the process.

The jurisdictions include Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties, the cities of Richmond and Colonial Heights.

Marketing Efforts Tied to an Overarching Marketing Campaign

While our marketing efforts will include paid, owned, shared and earned media strategies, our plan will be built around a major inspiration/image campaign that will resonate with our target audiences and allow the Richmond Region messaging to be elevated above the noise of other destinations also striving to drive tourism.

Goals of this Project

The primary goal of this project is to drive tourism and help the region’s tourism industry continue its recovery. The campaign will create a halo effect that is intended to achieve the following goals:

Raise awareness of the Richmond Region as a thriving and exciting destination for leisure, family and friends travel, sports events, and business meetings.
Raise awareness of the region as a prime location for economic development.
Raise awareness of what RRT’s seven jurisdictions have to offer.
Raise awareness of the region as an excellent destination to live, work, learn and play.
Drive hotel occupancy and visitation to the region’s businesses and attractions.
Promote the diversity of the region, including raising awareness of community initiatives such as BLK RVA and OutRVA.
Complement the efforts of Virginia Tourism Corp. in driving visitors to the Commonwealth and encouraging our visitors to vacation throughout Virginia.

Download the RPF Here

Timeline For RFP, Campaign Development and Launch

Tuesday, May 17, 2022: RFP released

Friday, May 27, 2022 (5p.m. EST): Written questions due

Wednesday, June 8, 2022: RRT responds to questions via email

Thursday, June 16, 2022 (5p.m. EST): Notice of Intent to bid due

Thursday, June 30, 2022 (5p.m. EST): Proposal due

Week of July 11, 2022: Proposal evaluation by scoring committee

Week of July 18, 2022: Notification and scheduling of finalists Interviews

Week of August 8, 2022: Presentations at RRT office

Week of August 15, 2022: Contract awarded

Weeks of August 22 and 29, and September 5, 2022: Agency to meet with group of RRT stakeholders to discuss needs/wants

Week of September 19, 2022: Agency to present concepts to RRT

Week of October 17, 2022: Launch of campaign

Questions

All Proposers wishing clarification of this RFP must submit questions via email (with subject line: Questions about RRT RFP) by Friday, May 27, 2022 (5p.m. EST) to:
Tom Loftus, Vice President of Marketing
tloftus@visitrichmondva.com

Notice of Intent to Bid

Notice of Intent to Bid, Attachment A, must be received by Thursday, June 16, 2022 (5p.m. EST).
The notice must be submitted via e-mail (with subject line: RRT Image Campaign) to:
Tom Loftus, Vice President of Marketing
tloftus@visitrichmondva.com.

The Notice of Intent to Bid is non-binding; however, it ensures the receipt of all addenda related to this RFP. Proposals will be accepted only from applicants who submit a Notice of Intent to Bid. Once you have submitted your intent to bid, you will be sent a link to the dropbox for your proposal.

Proposal Delivery

Proposals must be submitted as PDFs via Dropbox or hand-delivered hardcopy by Thursday, June 30, 2022, by 5 p.m. Interested firms will receive a Dropbox link to deliver their RFPs after their Intent to Bid Notice is received. Hardcopy RFPs may be hand-delivered to:

Richmond Region Tourism
Attention: Tom Loftus, Vice President of Marketing
401 N. 3rd Street
Richmond, VA 23219

Thank you for your interest in this project.