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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 20, 2007 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. <br />SUBJECT: RFP Award: Marketing, Advertising and On-line Web Strategies for the Chapel <br />Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau <br />DEPARTMENT: Purchasing and Central Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />Visitors Bureau <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Copy of RFP <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Pam Jones, (919) 245-2652 <br />Laurie Paolicelli, (919) 968-2060 <br />PURPOSE: To consider awarding a Request for Proposals (RFP) award for providing <br />Marketing, Advertising and On-line Web Strategies for the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors <br />Bureau. <br />BACKGROUND: Approximately 40% of the Visitors Bureau's annual budget is spent on <br />marketing, advertising, and on-line services that promote Orange County as a destination for <br />vacation and business travelers. Tourism marketing and conference sales are the two focal <br />points of the Bureau's work plan. Since 2004, the Visitors Bureau has served as an in-house <br />advertising agency. Prior to 2004, an agency contract was in place with Sheer Associates. The <br />move in-house was designed to utilize internal creative resources during a slower, post- <br />September 11, 2001 downturn in the United States travel industry. In the past three years, the <br />Visitors Bureau and the county at large has experienced a strong resurgence in tourism. Today, <br />85% of consumers look to on-line resources when booking hotels and travel. In addition, the <br />County's offerings to travelers have grown, which requires a re-positioning of how the towns of <br />Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough are sold to travelers, tour bus operators and conference <br />planners. <br />To meet the growing demands of sophisticated web technology, search engine optimization, <br />competitive travel advertising and demands of meeting planners for electronic resources, the <br />Visitors Bureau Board decided to hire an advertising agency and subsequently developed and <br />issued a Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP was sent to 21 national advertising agencies <br />requesting that agencies show, through creative and strategic execution, how they would <br />position Orange County on-line, while increasing hotel occupancy and aggressively promoting <br />Orange County's food culture, attractions and cultural and heritage travel. The RFP was also <br />advertised on the County's web site. Ten agencies responded. The Visitors Bureau Board <br />appointed a marketing committee to review proposals. Four were chosen to make <br />presentations in September of 2006. The two finalists were then presented to the full Board. At