HomeMy WebLinkAboutSR - C27340 - Website Dvlpmnt & Mrktg SvcsContract No. C27340
REQUEST:
DATE:
CONTENT:
CITY OF PALM DESERT
COMMUNITY SERVICES
STAFF REPORT
Consideration of an agreement with Off Madison Ave. Inc. for website
development and marketing services.
February 28, 2008
Off Madison Ave. Inc. (Mighty Interactive) Agreement
Mighty Interactive Marketing Audit
Vision Internet Proposal
Recommendation:
By Minute Motion, 1) Concur with the Marketing Committee's recommendation to enter
into an agreement with Off Madison Ave. Inc. in an amount not to exceed $45,000 for
website development and marketing service; 2) Authorize the Mayor to execute the
agreement on behalf of the City.
Executive Summary:
The tourism website is one of the most cost-effective marketing tools available to reach
local, regional, and international travelers. Upgrading the site fits with the Palm Desert
City Council's initiative to increase the Palm Desert brand and to make the City
internationally known. Staff firmly believes it is important for Palm Desert to continue to
stay atop of the latest methods and technology. Off Madison Ave. provides these
services with specialized software and expertise to keep Palm Desert at the forefront of
website development and marketing, thereby increasing the number of visitors to the
City.
Mighty Interactive will assist in requirements gathering, development of wireframes,
design consulting, and offer strategic marketing initiatives to be sure the new site is
efficient and effective. Through the company's subscription to specialized competitive
intelligence software, Palm Desert will have access to numerous statistics about not
only our site, but competitors' sites as well. This software generates competitive insights
to get the best return on content strategies, search phrases, and online
marketing/branding efforts. Additionally, Exact Target is one of the top email tools in the
industry (one of the biggest and the best, used by T Mobile, Gannett, Home Depot, etc.)
and Mighty Interactive is a partner that can offer Palm Desert a license to use this
software at a discount.
Off Madison Ave. Inc. Website Development and Marketing Agreement
Page 2
For the past seven years, the City has contracted with Sitewire Marketspace Solutions
for website services. They are no longer updating its email software, Accelera, and has
not provided new technological advances in the past two years. Staff recently went out
to bid for the E-Government website and while interviewing firms, considered the
tourism site as well. Sitewire did not bid on the E-Government site and staff selected
Vision Internet, a company specializing in government websites. Upon completion of
that site, Vision submitted a proposal for revisions to the tourism site. However, staff
has determined that they do not possess the technology and experience necessary to
meet the needs of the tourism website.
Staff recommends approval of this agreement in an amount not to exceed $45,000,
which covers costs associated with development, hosting, and site promotion, as
outlined in the attached. Staff budgeted to redesign and start the development process
of the tourism site this fiscal year, with the remaining costs to be included in the 2008/09
budget. Initial funds to start these services were included in the 2007/08 Marketing
budget Account No. 110-4417-414-3090, with the remaining funds to be budgeted in
Fiscal Year 2008/09. No special appropriation will be required.
Background:
Website marketing and customer service has become increasingly important to the
business community and even more so to the tourism industry. The large majority of
travelers use the Internet in some form to research, plan, and even book their next
weekend getaway or vacation.
The City's tourism website, while only a few years old, is out-of-date. Currently, it does
not offer the technology and interactivity necessary to be a successful marketing tool.
Web 2.0 is the latest trend in online website development that allows the end user to do
more than just retrieve information, they can interact with the site through various
means. By incorporating Web 2.0 into a website, search, links, and other trafficking
tools are increased. In addition, Web 2.0 allows you to create a relationship with your
customer by gathering data about them and their interests and, in turn, targeting emails,
Web pages and even offline efforts in an effort to attract and retain them.
The timing of these revisions coincides with the launching of the City's E-Government
website www.CitvofPalmDesert.orq. There are several tools that will be offered by the
new tourism site that can be carried over and used to improve interaction and promotion
with the E-Government site, including databases, calendars, and E-marketing.
Staff is recommending contracting with Off Madison Ave., more specifically its division
Mighty Interactive, an Arizona based website marketing development and consulting
firm. It is difficult to find a company that is full service, offering development, creative,
email, and search that works with top clients such as Fujitsu, Nike, etc. In addition,
being that they are based in Arizona, prices are more reasonable than New York and
Off Madison Ave. Inc. Website Development and Marketing Agreement
Page 3
Los Angeles companies. Mighty Interactive has a wealth of experience promoting
tourism entities and convention and visitors bureaus.
By entering into an agreement with Mighty Interactive (Off Madison Ave.), Palm Desert
will have the ability to stay abreast of the latest, useful website trends and have the
development and marketing of the site completed by reputable, proven experts in the
field. More importantly, the tourism website will have the infrastructure built in to
achieve higher rankings in various search engines and a useful E-mail marketing
program that will increase the number of visitors to the website as well as to the
destination.
Staff recommends approval of this agreement in an amount not to exceed $45,000.
Submitted By:
Kristy Kneitling
Marketing -n. •er
Sheila R. Gilli
Assistant City Manage
Carlos L. Orte(
City Manager
Doucan Gelder
Director of Information Systems
Paul Gibson
Director of Finance
2ITY COUNCIL TION:
APPROVED DENIED
RECEIVED OTHER
MEETING DATE
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Original on File with City Clerk's Office
* Approved the recommendations, with staff directed to provide a
comprehensive historical report on development of the City's
websites, including expenditures, relevance and the benefit
realized by the City's marketing program to date. 5-0