REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR RESEARCH AND MARKETING SERVICES. Proposals must be submitted no later than 5:00pm on June 11, 2018

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR RESEARCH AND MARKETING SERVICES Proposals must be submitted no later than 5:00pm on June 11, 2018 Sam Filler Executive Director New York Wine & Grape Foundation 800 South Main Street, Suite 200 Canandaigua, NY

2 1. Introduction The New York Wine & Grape Foundation seeks a qualified consultant(s) to uncover proven and effective approaches to generate wine tourism, develop a visitor profile for NYS wine tourists, and equip NYS wine trails and winery tasting rooms with the tools to attract and grow their wine tourism. 2. Organizational Background The New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) was created by the State of New York in 1985 as a private, non-profit organization. The enabling legislation established a financing mechanism for promotion and research, providing the industry with both short-term assistance and the potential for long-term viability. NYWGF s programs are developed by a 17-member Board of Directors in consultation with other representatives from industry and state government. The activities carried out by NYWGF are designed to support all uses of New York-grown grapes from all regions of the state. 3. Project Description New York pioneered wine trails as a form of tourism when the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail incorporated in Since then every grape growing region of the State has developed a direct marketing organization to lead their promotional efforts. Current tourism and hospitality research illuminates that visitors travel because of an intersection of related interests and behaviors revolving around wine, culinary, and cultural experiences. New York s wine regions attract over five million visitors annually, who delight not only in our quality wines, but the State s diverse natural and cultural resources which compliment those wines. The 2018 State of the Wine Industry report released by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) showed that New York outpaces all other US wine regions in terms of winery visitations (see page 31). The quantity of wine tourists to New York puts our wineries at an advantage to leverage Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) sales. However, the report notes that many wine regions are seeing declines in tasting room visitation yet experiencing increasing revenues. While New York tasting rooms represent a good value for wine tourists, New York could elevate the quality of the experience. New York is competing against Paso Robles, Walla Walla, and Willamette wine regions that have made serious investments over the past decade in their wine tourism experiences, which includes the availability of quality lodging and restaurant options. And, consumers looking to develop travel itineraries can go to dynamic and engaging websites for each region. Currently there is not a centralized location for statewide wine tourism info on the over 435 wineries in New York, and a centralized website could be a valuable promotional channel for to highlight winery tasting rooms and for those wineries without staff or resources to promote themselves. NYWGF currently supports wine tourism by providing matching funds through its Regional Wine Trail Program on an annual basis to wine trails throughout the state. The program supports advertisements, marketing, and special events executed by wine trails to attract visitors to their regions and their participating wineries. Last fiscal year, NYWGF disbursed $219,000 to 17 wine trails who matched the NYWGF funds with $328,500 in private sector funds. Through this support, wine trails provided direct marketing benefits for 195 New York wineries. However, eight wine trails did not fully utilize their matching fund allocations, of which two wine trails spent $0 of their matching funds. This left $65,000 in unallocated matching funds that were

3 redistributed to other participating wine trails. The declining utilization of funding by almost half of participating wine trails caused NYWGF to take steps to reevaluate the program and research new ways to provide support to wine trails, especially trails without full-time staff. 4. Project Goal, Objectives and Outcomes Goal: To elevate the wine tourism experience through better consumer data, enhanced tasting room experiences, and improved utilization and deployment of funding available from the Regional Wine Trail program, NYWGF and its project partners, will retain a third-party consultant(s) to complete a three-part project. The lead consultant will be responsible for researching best-in-class examples of wine tourism, executing consumer research to develop wine tourism visitor profiles, and developing a toolkit of marketing strategies. This project is intended to be a benefit to all 435+ licensed NYS wineries regardless of their participation on a wine trail or regional marketing association. Project Objectives: Understand wine tourism best practices from other regions of significance Identify visitor profiles and target audiences for wine tourism into New York State Create a unified, consistent, and targeted message to promote NY wines and wine trails Equip wineries with strategies to elevate the quality of tasting room experiences Equip wine trails with actionable tactics to improve utilization of NYWGF matching funds Refreshed brand strategy and market positioning profile for New York wine trails Project Outcomes: 1. Research and benchmark Best-In-Class examples of wine tourism and agritourism in the United States and globally o This research should uncover effective strategies and tactics deployed by other regions, that will be leveraged by NYWGF, its regional partners, and wineries 2. Execute consumer research through surveys and focus groups a. This research should provide consumer segmentation by region b. Research should also uncover the activities and experiences that motivate the audiences of each region to visit 3. Toolkit containing marketing/promotional tactics that elevate the visitor experience of New York wines, wineries, and wine trails. This toolkit should also be helpful to winery tasting room staff. a. A public presentation and executive summary of this toolkit will be required of the chosen firm. The toolkit will be the springboard for wineries in New York state to elevate their experience to consumers. b. The toolkit should address how to incorporate ecotourism, sustainability practices, and the environmental stewardship of our grape growers as a reason to visit the New York wine regions. 5. Project Budget The New York Wine & Grape Foundation has been granted $93,750 in Market NY grant support through the Regional Tourism Marketing Program within the Agritourism significant tourism initiative. The total project cost cannot exceed $125,000, and the Market NY grant will be supplemented by a $31,250 cash match by NYWGF, its TPA partners: Finger Lakes Visitors Connection, Dutchess County Tourism, Cooperstown/Otsego County Tourism, and the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau, along with its wine industry partners: Cooperstown Beverage Trail, Canandaigua Wine Trail, Cayuga Wine Trail, Shawangunk Wine Trail, Pleasant Valley Wine Company, Bully Hill Vineyards, Finger Lakes Wine Alliance, Seneca Lake Wine Trail, Long Island Wine Council and Lake Erie Wine

4 Country. The proposed services should be broken out by cost for each project outcome outlined above. 6. Proposal Requirements Only firms that are MWBE-certified or can sub-contract with an MWBE-certified firm will be considered, as we are obligated to fulfill a 30% goal of the expenditures on this project, totaling $24,375. We will accept a mix of contractors in your proposal and may also select contractors for only certain parts of this project as we see fit. Furthermore, should you only be interested in submitting a proposal for one or two of the outcomes, rather than all three, that is allowed. To be considered, proposals must include: Cover letter including a brief description of the firm or individual, as well as the name and contact information of the principal. Executive summary of the proposal, including purpose, outcomes, and key dates on a timeline. List of any personnel involved in the process and their role and prior experience. List should note the primary personnel assigned to the project. Summary of the respondent s qualifications and experience. Project plan that includes a description of the methodology, tasks, timeline, key dates. Schedule of costs to complete the project. All costs associated with the project should be listed. Project management fee must be separate from expenses such as travel and other anticipated incidentals. Weekly rate structures are not permitted. Provide references and three case studies of work you have done for similar organizations. Each case study should include: o A brief background statement on the project goals and objectives o A description of the strategic considerations and process used o Summary or examples of the finished project deliverables. Copy of your standard contract, if applicable. Additional documentation or information as the respondent deems fit to assist NYWGF in the selection process, including any exclusions, exceptions, or recommendations. Explicit articulation of what the respondent requires of NYWGF Board and staff to make this a successful project. 7. RFP and Project Timeline Request for Proposal Issuance May 11, 2018 RFP Q&A Conference Call May 18, 2018 Click Here to RSVP for the Call Respondents Inform NYWGF Intention to May 21, 2018 Respond Deadline to Submit Proposals June 11, 2018 Proposal Review by Committee June 21, 2018 Top 3 Proposal Finalists to Present to Committee June 28, 2018 RFP Contract(s) Announced June 29, 2018 Project Begins July 8, 2018 Draft Project Results October 1, 2018 Final Report and Public Presentation January 31, 2019

5 8. Selection Criteria Proposals will be evaluated by a committee of the stakeholders on this project. (Listed above) Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria: Relevant marketing and research experience and success in the wine tourism industry including wine specific experiences in the tasting room Cost to complete the process Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and operate within budget Proposals must remain valid for a period of 90 days. NYWGF reserves the right to award to the bidder that presents the best value as determined solely by NYWGF in its absolute discretion. NYWGF reserves the right to not select a contractor based on the proposals received. Efforts will be made by NYWGF to utilize New York based small business, women and/or minority owned business. Offeror qualifies as a small business firm if it meets the definition of small business as established by the Small Business Administration (13 C.F.R ). And, MWBE firms must be certified in accordance with the requirements of Article 15-A of the New York State Executive Law. 9. Contact information and deadline for submissions This RFP will be posted on the NYWGF website, and may be distributed to individual firms. Questions regarding this RFP must be submitted via to rfp@nywgf.org. The deadline for submitting questions is May 18, 2018 at 5 pm EST. Inquiries will only be received and answered by . Respondents must notify their intention to submit a proposal by May 21, 2018 by 5 pm EST by to rfp@nywgf.org. Respondents must submit a copy of their proposal in PDF via (rfp@nywgf.org) or a flash drive by: June 11, 2018 at 5 pm EST.