REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) Project: Creative Strategy & Graphic Design For: Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism Society Submission deadline: October 26, 2015, 9:00am

Introduction Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism Society (NKLT) invites proposals for a creative strategy that will encompass a review and evaluation of our existing data, brand, target markets and marketing materials. Once that is completed, a positioning statement, new creative direction and design templates for all our future marketing materials will be developed by the chosen Contractor.

Background Nelson Kootenay Lake is a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) whose primary function is to attract visitors to the Nelson Kootenay Lake region (Nelson, Balfour, Ainsworth Hot Springs, Kaslo, Lardeau and Meadow Creek) for the purpose of enhancing the local economy through the purchase of accommodation, food and beverage, retail items, and tourism-related activities. The NKLT DMO will work with Kootenay Rockies Tourism (KRT) and Destination BC (DBC) to cooperatively leverage budgets, advertising, services, and information for the benefit of all tourism entities in the region.

Vision To be the acting tourism voice of the Nelson Kootenay Lake region creating innovative and strategic marketing plans to attract visitors to its communities.

Mission Through year-round compelling marketing Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism Society promotes the region’s unique cultural qualities (outdoors, sports, dining, shopping, arts, health and wellness, heritage) to potential visitors, ultimately increasing the number of visitations and length of stays.

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Submission Procedure Proposals conforming to the requirements set out below must be received by email in Word or PDF by October 26, 2015, 9am. Proposals must state that they are valid for a period of at least ninety (90) days from the closing deadline. Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism Society reserves the right to waive irregularities and to reject any or all bids. NKLT also reserves the right to negotiate with the selected bidder in the event that the price exceeds available funds. NKLT may consider informal any bid not prepared and/or not submitted in accordance with the provisions hereof and may waive any informalities or reject any and all bids. Any bid may be withdrawn prior to the above scheduled time for the opening of bids or authorized postponement thereof. Any bid received after the time and date specified shall not be considered. Modification of Bids Modifications to bids already submitted will be allowed if submitted in writing prior to the time fixed in the Request for Proposals. Modifications shall be submitted as such and shall not reveal the total amount of either the original or revised bids.

Opening, Evaluation and Contracting Proposals may be opened by NKLT at any time once received from the Contractor. All proposals satisfying the requirements of this Request for Proposal will be evaluated to establish which of the offerors best fulfills the needs of NKLT and this project. NKLT anticipates entering into a contract with this offeror to execute the proposed work. This Request for Proposal, however, does not commit NKLT to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal or to contract for the goods and/or services offered. NKLT reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this request, to negotiate with all qualified offerors or to cancel this Request for Proposal, if it is in the best interests of NKLT to do so. After the selection of a Contractor the schedule should include a period of collaboration between NKLT and the Contractor to better define, elaborate upon and fix the Contractor’s exact and final scope of work, starting with the date of this Agreement and extending until the agreed upon completion date. The Contractor should assume work begins immediately upon notification that they have been selected. The Final Scope will be defined with NKLT and the chosen Contractor. Once contracted, the Contractor warrants to NKLT that the Scope of Work reflected therein can be completed by the Contractor. The submission of a proposal implies an acceptance of determining final scope amounts and general acceptance on the part of the bidder of the terms of this form of contract, and especially of those parts establishing warranties, guarantees and NKLT’s rights to intellectual property. In addition, all aspects of the proposed work must comply with NKLT’s standards and agreements. Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism Society - 2

Creative Outline Overview: NKLT, representing six communities, requires a strong creative strategy to succinctly express who they are to their target audiences. A well thought out creative direction will allow for continuity throughout the year, whether promoting skiing or fall festivals. Primary purpose of the creative strategy is to better communicate what we have to offer, and engage potential tourists with the intent to have them stay several nights in the NKL region. Objectives  

Improve the written and visual story of the NKL region through strategic, creative, wellarticulated messaging and graphic design Develop continuity in the graphic design and messaging for digital and print ads, promoting the region and what it has to offer throughout the year

Deliverables 1. 2. 3.

Review the existing data, evaluate and verify our identity and market position Develop a creative strategy with a positioning statement to guide the look and feel of the marketing materials of NKLT Develop the graphic design files for the various target markets and mediums: digital (newsletter, online ads) and print (magazine, newspaper, vacation guide, rack cards)

Requirements 

Contractor responsible for: o working with NKLT to determine the new creative strategy, positioning statement, messaging and graphic design templates o ensuring there are no gaps between the review, creative strategy and the execution of the graphic design templates

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NKLT responsible for: o overseeing the timeline, provide existing research and history on NKLT, providing feedback throughout the process, approving the creative strategy, approving the design, managing the budget, approving final decisions and implementing the new graphic design into the selected media.

Additional Information 

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NKLT, along with KRT and DBC has a lot of data to reference on who we are and our target audiences. This data will be presented to the chosen Contractor and reviewed to save redundancy in further surveys and data collection. The website was recently completed and will not be part of this creative strategy but it should be considered when developing the new marketing materials.

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NKLT has a large database of images to work from. Complete access will be provided to the chosen Contractor.

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The consultant may not proceed to the next stage without approval of NKLT and NKLT shall not pay invoices submitted by the consultant until the stage is completed to the satisfaction of NKLT.

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NKLT reserves the right to cancel the consulting contract at any time with appropriate compensation for authorized work completed up to the date of notice.

Next Steps      

Contractor chosen – October 30, 2015 Approval of requirements, process and timeline beginning of November 2015 Start developing the creative strategy November 2015 Board approves creative strategy end of January 2016 Develop the messaging and graphics and get Board approval end of February 2016 Final templates provided to NKLT mid-March

Other Work If a bidder has identified a scope of work not listed in the Proposal Requirements, and the bidder feels it is required to complete the project, then the bidder should assume that scope falls within the bidder’s responsibilities and must be listed and described separately in the Request for Proposals response and detailed estimates of costs provided. Invoicing NKLT will initiate payment from invoice from the winning Contractor 2 months after commencement of the project. Invoices will occur once a timeline is established and deliverables reached. Final payment will occur after the project is completed. $20,000 Canadian is available for this project. Invoicing and payment must occur in this fiscal government year, expiring March 31, 2016.

Proposal Requirements Proposals should include the following information:      

The Contracting company name and Owner The name and contact information of the person in your firm who would be the official contact person for any contractual relationship negotiations and project work. The team of people who would execute the work, with descriptions of the experiences and skills of each and his/her role in the bidder’s firm and in the team. Provide references of previous completed work (up to three examples) and client contact information (E.g.: url, Client: John Doe at [email protected], phone 250-123-1234). Outline process for creative strategy, positioning statement, messagin and graphic design Cost to develop a strong creative strategy Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism Society - 4

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Cost to develop a positioning statement Cost to develop the messaging and graphics Cost to develop a series of templates for various target markets and mediums Agreement to commence work as soon as the contract is signed Proposals must state that they are valid for a period of at least ninety (90) days from the closing deadline.

Proposals to be submitted to: Dianna Ducs, Executive Director Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism [email protected] 250-352-7879 Deadline: October 26, 2015, 9:00 am If you have any questions please email or call prior to October 23, 2015 1pm.

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