Shifting the Focus: A RFP Process Based on Value

Sep 10, 2024 | Advertising, Blog, Branding, Tourism

The government procurement system that issues RFPs, especially when soliciting proposals for creative and other professional services, is completely broken. The system is so riddled with flaws that it is essentially useless. The process rarely results in the best selection for the issuing city, county or state. To make matters worse, it frequently increases the cost of the products and services being sought. There are more thoughts on this in the previous blog. Today, we will focus on solutions.

We are not merely suggesting a few minor tweaks to the system. The process, as it is commonly used, needs to be entirely scrapped and replaced with a better model. The RFP method simply does not work for creative services, and it never will. The inherent problem is that it tries to apply an artificial evaluation/scoring formula — one that overemphasizes pricing — to a situation that requires the judgment of professionals who have some experience in the marketing world. That outdated process needs to be completely eliminated and replaced with a system that allows people to select the a firm best suited to the need, while still safeguarding fairness and competition. When the goal is getting the highest-caliber creative work that the community can afford, instead of choosing the least expensive that is still barely acceptable, the result is maximum value for the taxpayer money.

Here are the highlights of a system that would make it possible for a government department to have the opportunity to choose wisely, while allowing the competitive procurement process to work:
  • The department seeking the creative services would be required to research and reach out to a minimum of three firms or individuals that they think are suited to the project(s). There is no upper limit on the number of firms identified. They can find qualified firms via Google, or confer with colleagues in other cities, or, perhaps, they are aware of firms from trade shows or professional associations. They then communicate with each firm by phone, Zoom or in-person to discuss the details. This step allows the firms to ask questions, and possibly, offer suggestions that the department may not have thought about. The meeting or conversation gives the firm a chance to summarize its expertise, processes, and to share examples. It gives the government department a chance to ask questions and get to know the firms.
  • The budget should always be disclosed. No exceptions. An honest discussion about budget allows potential bidders the chance to see if the project is even a good fit. If it is not, they part on friendly terms, and neither the bidder nor the department will have wasted any more than a few minutes of meeting time. Plus, the give and take with potential bidders might lead to an idea to actually save money. Small businesses genuinely want to be efficient and save their clients money. It can be a learning experience for the department seeking the services.
  • After the initial meeting, potential bidders will have an understanding of the department’s needs and can then submit a detailed price proposal. Any good price proposal will summarize the details of the project, including deliverables and a timetable, to demonstrate their understanding of the project.
  • The department seeking the services can document and report everything to the procurement department to show that fair competition exists without collusion. Otherwise, the judgments and decisions for how to proceed and how to spend their department’s budget most effectively is left up to the people who know best. After a firm is selected, the procurement team can assist in making sure the paperwork is in order, including insurance requirements, SCC registration and other necessities.

This process ensures that the spirit of competitive bidding resulted in the city, county or state selecting the absolute best firm within their budget. The final selection may or may not be the least expensive. But, if it results in the best quality creative work within the budget, that means the government got maximum value for its money. The process does not reward mediocrity by making price a greater factor than excellence, nor does it unwittingly drive up the cost with unneeded steps and processes. Price is only a factor to the extent that all of the bidders have to stay within the budget. Therefore, the department is free to select a firm solely on the merits.

Postscript
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As long as the old, bloated, inefficient system is used, there should be at least one requirement added. After proposals are reviewed and a decision is made, it should be mandatory and standard operating procedure for the soliciting entity to not only post the decision, but contact in writing or email every bidder informing them of the outcome, and a brief summary explaining the decision. That does not seem to be an undue burden on the procurement department, considering the dozens, or even hundreds, of hours a firm might spend on submitting a proposal.

Time to Reform the RFP Process for Professional Services

Aug 28, 2024 | Advertising, Blog, Branding, Tourism

Over the course of our 30 years as a creative services firm, we have responded to quite a few Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from government procurement offices, and received many more that did not deserve a response. Since some tourism offices are part of local or county governments, it is a necessary process for them and us. We can’t speak for a firm that sells other services or products, especially commodities, like office supplies or fertilizer. But, when it comes to securing creative services, the government RFP process is badly broken. At best, it rewards mediocrity. More often than not, it does a disservice to the community that it claims to protect. At worst, the process contains lies and deceptions that many unwitting bidders don’t even know about.

  • A department of local government usually seeks a creative firm to help them address a marketing need. By definition of the creative process, it is unknown what the end product will be. Yet, most RFPs, in an effort to be thorough, borrow boiler plate language from other communities to describe what they think is needed. The truth is, they have no clue what is needed. The result is that the details of the RFP either add in a lot of unnecessary steps that drive up the price, or limit what a great creative firm could deliver if only they had been allowed to shine. The result is that the community either ends up spending more than is necessary just to comply, or the agency is forced to think small because that’s what was dictated by the terms of the RFP — terms written by the least qualified person in the mix.

  • Most of the government departments we deal with are tourism offices. The destination marketing professionals in those offices know how competitive the market is for travelers. Their mindset is (or ought to be) to work with the creative team that will produce the very best, most impactful work they can possibly afford. As marketing pros, they want brochures, ad campaigns and websites that will inspire people to take action. Their jobs are on the line if they don’t get results. However, the procurement process prioritizes finding the lowest price. An RFP may include an evaluation criteria in which price is supposedly only 15% – 20% of the score, with experience and past performance being the remaining 80% – 85%. It’s a lie. As long as pricing is introduced into the proposals and review process, it will always be the item that matters most. It will be the page that gets dog-eared by reviewers to come back to time and again. “This firm is clearly the best, most experienced choice, and they are within our budget, but maybe it would be OK to go with one of the less impressive, but less expensive firms.”

  • Procurement departments exist to ensure that rules are followed. Often the rule is that projects over a certain dollar value require an RFP, and that recurring projects/contracts require a new RFP every few years. In far too many instances, it is known even before the RFP hits the internet who the chosen firm will be. No department will ever publicly admit this, but we all know it to be true. If that is not deception, I don’t know what is.

  • RFPs set an adversarial tone before a relationship has even begun. We have spent an entire career building relationships with clients and getting them to think of us as partners. Honesty flowing in both directions is the best way to stay on time, on budget and producing the best quality work. RFPs, on the other hand, decline to share budgets, yet fill 20 pages with language about how they are not responsible for anything, make no promises at all, reserve the right to change terms, own the rights to everything that is created, and even claims a right to review our books and record keeping. Seriously?

The greatest irony of the RFP debacle is that a process meant to serve the community so often ends up costing it more. Over the course 30+ years, we have worked with more local, county and state government departments than we can count. They have included not only tourism offices, but also economic development, parks & recreation, public safety and administration. Without exception, every decision maker has always been extremely budget conscious. No department we have dealt with is rolling in cash. They are under pressure to make their budgets go as far as possible, and, as a result, act responsibly. So, the procurement/RFP process is both tying the hands of and driving up the compliance costs of the already cost-conscious professionals in every department.

Now that we have done a thorough examination of how broken the RFP process for professional and creative services is, the next blog will offer some thoughtful proposals to reform the system.

What Do We Know? What Don’t We Know?

Aug 14, 2024 | Blog, Branding

I once saw a clip of a news conference where a high-ranking government official was talking about national security and the intelligence community. While his remarks made perfect sense when it comes to gathering intel, I started thinking about how it really is the secret to being successful at almost anything, including business, career, and in life.

The official explained that in intelligence, there are things that we know that we know. An example is something about which we are well educated and 100% confident, or we have hard proof. That knowledge keeps you a step ahead of adversaries. Then, there are things we know that we don’t know. For example, we may know an adversary is developing a weapon, but we’re not certain of its range, accuracy, capability or their intentions. At least we know this situation exists and requires more effort and resources to find out what is unknown. The final and most worrisome situation is the things we don’t even know that we don’t know. In this case, we are clueless and may be caught off guard or unprepared at any time.

My world of branding, marketing and creative services is pretty far removed from national security, but it seems to me that understanding these concepts can help almost anyone do better in their career.

The most important are the second and third scenarios. They are also the most difficult to recognize and accept. It forces us to realize that we don’t know everything, in spite of the degree hanging on the wall or the months of experience on the job. In some cases, maybe deep down we realize we need someone to help us figure out what we don’t know, but we don’t want to admit it publicly, or just don’t want out boss to find out. No decent boss would fire someone for not knowing something. Instead, the employee’s willingness to admit it and their ability to find answers or bring in outside help is a greater test of that employee’s value.

The three-part philosophy provides a valuable lesson about life in general. Never quit learning and be proud and confident about what you know. At the same time, recognize that it’s OK to need help sometimes. After all, life is complicated. Finally, be humble enough to know that there are going to be things in life that will completely blindside us — the things that we don’t even know that we don’t know. Those will be the things that challenge us the most. Learn from it, and it becomes something you know.

Back from Our Blogging Break – a Few Random Thoughts

Jul 30, 2024 | Advertising, Branding, Tourism, Travel

It has been awhile since we posted a blog here. We took a brief hiatus, although we stayed busy writing some blog posts for clients. It’s both a pleasure and an honor to be guest blogger for a client, because it gives us a reason to spend time in their community sampling a new restaurant, exploring a new trail or chatting with local business owners. But now, we’re back to sharing our thoughts on our very own blog.

Much has happened since our last post. The UK got a new king; Barbie was a big hit at the box office; and a team not lead by Tom Brady won the Super Bowl. The world continues to spin, and changes and advancements seem to come at light speed. We will be sharing thoughts on many of them.

We will be writing mostly about trends in advertising, branding, marketing and technology in future blogs. For this return to blogging, here are a few quick, random bits:

  • Overtourism is in the news lately, especially in Europe. Venice is charging additional fees to control the flow of visitors. Locals in Barcelona are downright hostile to tourists. Both sides have valid points. Local businesses are reaping the economic rewards, not to mention local governments collecting loads of sales and meals taxes. On the other had, it must be incredibly frustrating for local residents to not be able to enjoy the exceptional quality of life in their own community because they can’t get a table at a restaurant, or find enough square feet to spread a blanket on their overcrowded beach. We have delighted in helping communities expand tourism in recent years, but none have reached the saturation point like Barcelona, where it negatively impacts the community. Honestly, we hope it never happens to our clients. For now, we’re gratified to contribute to the economic growth and prosperity of the places we help promote and hope these places always have a great quality of life without overtourism.
  • From the beginning of modern advertising, the effectiveness of different media and platforms has risen and fallen. Have you noticed the size of your Sunday newspaper, or checked your MySpace page recently? Some people may have thought this would would happen with social media as a marketing tool. Well, they would be wrong. It’s not only still a good tool for reaching consumers, it’s bigger and better than ever. Of course, each brand has to determine which platform is best for them and develop creative ways to communicate with their prospective customers. The bottom line is, every DMO or direct to consumer marketer should make social media marketing a priority.
  • The travel sector has made a remarkable rebound from the depths of Covid a few short years ago. So much so, that tourism is bustling and the competition for travelers is fierce. Now, more than ever, marketers need every advantage they can get. Strong brands. Targeted campaigns. Very high caliber creative messaging. All of these things mattered before, they matter now, and will matter in the future for creating a program that hits on all cylinders.
  • The government procurement process, especially for selecting creative services, is irreparably broken. At its best, it rewards mediocrity. At its worst, it is filled with lies and deception. One thing is certain, it rarely leads to the best outcome for the community. We will have much more to say on this topic in future posts in hopes of starting a state-wide conversation about reforming this ineffective and outdated system.

Exciting News – New Scenic Trail Coming to Two of Virginia’s Most Scenic Counties

Jan 31, 2023 | Advertising, Tourism, Travel

Some exciting news has been filling my social media feed for the last 24 hours. A new scenic trail will soon run from New Castle to Eagle Rock running roughly parallel to Craig Creek. For those unfamiliar with these small towns, the trail will be just north of Roanoke, Va, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. This is fantastic news for the Craig and Botetourt counties where the two trailheads will be located. 

As a tourism marketer, two thoughts come to mind.

1. During the announcement of the funding for this new trail, the comparison has been made to the Virginia Creeper Trail. As much as we love the Creeper Trail – we designed a website for the conservancy — perhaps a better comparison would be to the Jackson River Scenic Trail in the Alleghany Highlands. The Jackson River trail runs parallel to, you guessed it, the Jackson River. It features some of the finest scenery on any rail-trail in Virginia. At times riders or walkers enjoy views of the river on one side and fields and distant mountains on the other. The trail’s final segment is under construction right now. When finished it will stretch from Alleghany into Bath County.

2. While community leaders are surely focused on the funding, planning and construction of the new trail right now, we hope they will not take marketing lightly. Thankfully, Botetourt County has the benefit of following the excellent example of another trail that has had a significant impact on economic development — the Upper James River Water Trail. The lesson to be learned is if you build it they will come only works in the movies. The Upper James River Water Trail is certainly one of the most successful examples of a blueway or water trail in Virginia precisely because from the moment of creation the organizers had a plan and funding for marketing. More importantly, they have continued to support it with a modest budget every year since it launched. It doesn’t always take a lot of money, but consistent marketing is crucial to the success of any tourism-centric trail. 

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