Blog
Shifting the Focus: A RFP Process Based on Value
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...
Time to Reform the RFP Process for Professional Services
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...
What Do We Know? What Don’t We Know?
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...
Back from Our Blogging Break – a Few Random Thoughts
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...
Exciting News – New Scenic Trail Coming to Two of Virginia’s Most Scenic Counties
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...
Update on Bath County Tourism
Many colleagues, clients and friends are aware of the unique relationship that Mikula-Harris has had with the Bath County Office of Tourism in recent years. Some have watched with interest to see what this partnership achieved for the county to see if there might be...
At Least We Have Never Caused an International Incident.
No one knows quite like ad agencies, how important every single word can be. We give extensive thought to every word and phrase. We choose words carefully because what we're writing has to be descriptive yet concise. It has to impress the reader even though we're...
Reflecting on 30 years in business. Q & A with co-founder David Mikula
Q. The business is 30 years old. To what do you attribute the longevity? A. So many factors come to mind. Here are a few, not in any particular order of importance. • Perseverance. It definitely sucks to hear "no" when you submit a proposal or make a great pitch, but...
Treat Your Destination Marketing Plan like Your Retirement Savings Plan
A major objective of both a marketing program and retirement planning is growth. Both short-term and long-term. It’s easier to measure the growth in your investments because the results show up on your statement each month. Sometimes the balance goes up and sometimes...
Untrue Claims Nibble Away at Brand Credibility
In an episode of the great TV series The West Wing, a former staffer had written a tell-all book that included some stories that were totally fabricated. The media loved interviewing the author who gladly repeated his false claims on every show to sell more book. Most...
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