Marketing and Strategic Communications Support Services

The vendor is required to provide marketing and strategic communications support services to develop a cohesive, inclusive, and accessible brand architecture that reflects agency mission, values, and community impact, and to deliver flexible, project-based communications that serve customers, employees, and community partners with clarity and quality.
- Branding and marketing initiative includes but is not limited to the following activities:
1. Discovery and landscape research
•    Conducting stakeholder interviews and internal workshops to gather insights on brand perception.
•    Reviewing existing materials and assessing agency current visual and messaging presence.
•    Conducting comparative research with peer utilities, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
2. Identity revamp and content development
•    Developing a refreshed agency visual identity that is modern, accessible, and reflective of agency values.
•    Creating a messaging framework that defines who agency is, what it does, and why it matters.
•    Producing templates and tools for consistent, brand-aligned communication across platforms.
3. Organizational history
•    Researching and documenting agency history, milestones, and contributions to city growth and sustainability.
•    Developing a narrative that captures agency evolution, values, and community partnerships.
•    Creating materials that can be used across internal and external communications, presentations, and outreach efforts.
4. Rollout and implementation
•    Developing a phased rollout plan for internal and external brand launch.
•    Supporting change management, staff training, and brand adoption activities.
•    Providing consultation on brand governance, usage, and accessibility standards.
5. Marketing and communications support
•    Providing ongoing support for marketing campaigns, community outreach, and creative content production.
•    Developing branded collateral, promotional materials, and engagement tools as needed.
•    Assisting with special projects related to reputation management, storytelling, or outreach.
- Strategic communications includes but is not limited to the following activities:
1. Research and analysis
•    Conduct research on agency public reputation and communications landscape. 
•    Assess how agency is perceived by customers, partners, and the broader community. 
•    Identify opportunities to improve understanding of the utility’s mission, services, and values.
2. Key messaging development
•    Create and maintain clear, utility-wide key messages that reflect agency mission, priorities, and brand voice.
•    Ensure consistency across all communication channels and materials.
3. Corporate storytelling
•    Develop a unifying corporate story that highlights city role in delivering essential services, supporting affordability, and protecting city environment.
4. On-call strategic communications support
•    Provide as-needed support for communications planning, content development, creative production, and strategic counsel. 
•    Tasks may include message development, campaign planning, media strategy, executive communications, and storytelling projects.
- Budget: $450K to $650k

- Contract Period/Term: 5 years
- Pre-Submittal Conference (Non-Mandatory) Date: November 4, 2025
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: November 10, 2025