Proposal submitted for:
Communication Support Services
TOWN OF ATHERTON
Submitted: February 5, 2024
By: Ryder Todd Smith, Co-Founder & President
Jacob Lyle, Junior Business Analyst
Town of Atherton / Communication Support Services
2 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover Letter ......................................................................................................................................................................3 Proposed Fixed Work Project Team.............................................................................................................................4 Proposed Scope of Work ...............................................................................................................................................5 Cost Proposal....................................................................................................................................................................6 Town of Atherton / Communication Support Services
3 Cover Letter
Thank you for the opportunity to continue services for Town of Atherton’s need for communication support services. This proposal updating pricing of Tripepi Smith services to meet the needs of the Town.
Tripepi Smith is a team of over 56 communication experts—robust enough to offer experienced and effective professionals for the job, yet small enough to be nimble and responsive. We offer a spectrum of skills that allows us to match the appropriate resource to the task at hand, letting us execute faster and reduce engagement costs. These resources vary by both years of experience and core hard skills (graphic design versus videography versus writing versus social media, for example). The result: we have an ability to tell a complete story across mediums, all within our one team. The Town will only need one communication partner.
Tripepi Smith is a force multiplier for the communication operations in cities across California. From Napa to Pismo Beach to La Cañada Flintridge to Carlsbad and out to Indian Wells, Tripepi Smith is actively working with dozens of city governments and public agencies. We gain insights from the breadth of our work and share that knowledge with our city clients. No other communication firm has the city client depth and diversity that Tripepi Smith offers.
We look forward to the opportunity to be able to continue working with the Town and help tell the story of Atherton for the benefit of its residents, businesses, partners and visitors.
Respectfully,
Ryder Todd Smith
Co-Founder & President
Tripepi Smith
Town of Atherton / Communication Support Services
4 Proposed Fixed Work Project Team
It is anticipated that Jacob Lyle, Junior Business Analyst, will be the project lead. Business Analyst Skyler Addison and Junior Business Analyst Mia Valenzuela will execute on newsletter article writing and other duties as assigned. Junior Business Analyst and Graphic Artist Alexis Mendez will lead print/layout/design of the Town’s newsletter with oversight from Senior Business Analyst and Graphic Artist Melanie James. Of course, Tripepi Smith is a collaborative firm, with many available skillsets. Resources will be brought to the table when necessary to aid the Town in telling its story.
Team Details
Team Member Role Description
Melanie James
Senior Business Analyst
Role: Design Strategy Lead
Based in Costa Mesa, CA
Melanie is a talented graphic artist, expert on the WordPress platform, a skilled project manager and a lead for Tripepi Smith’s cablecasting and videography services. She has managed and delivered dozens of successful website development projects and has a full suite of creativity skills rooted in her formal graphic arts education. Her skills cover the full Adobe Creative Suite and into HTML and CSS. In addition, she has managed an array of projects ranging from robust digital advertising campaigns to comprehensive video production projects.
Her clients include City of Tracy, City of Daly City, City of Bellflower, City of Huntington Beach, City of Fullerton, City of La Cañada Flintridge, City of Menifee, City of Paramount, Santa Clara County Fire Department, Rowland Water District, and Placer Mosquito Vector Control District.
Jacob Lyle
Junior Business Analyst
Role: Project Lead
Based in La Verne, CA
Jacob brings a strong background in policy research and local government to the Tripepi Smith team. Jacob graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a degree in Government and Economics. During his college years, Jacob was able to gain experience through the various jobs and internships he held, including as a student researcher for the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance and a police cadet for the Ventura Police Department. Jacob acquired valuable leadership experience as a 3-year captain of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team.
Jacob is certified by Hootsuite in Social Media Marketing.
His clients include: City of Westlake Village, City of Santa Paula, Blind Children’s Center, HdL Companies and Human Services IT Advisory Group.
Alexis Mendez
Junior Business
Analyst/Graphic Artist
Role: Lead Graphic Design
Support
Based in Corona, CA
Alexis is a visual communicator and problem solver,
specializing in motion graphics, illustration, layout, and brand identity. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a B.F.A. in Visual Communication Design. During his time in college, he developed his skills as a graphic designer during his
internship at Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).
During his time as an intern, he designed digital and print materials to produce flyers, brochures, posters, and
advertisements that reached over thirty cities. Additionally, he worked on creating work for the California Express Lanes, including reports, charts, forms and maps.
Town of Atherton / Communication Support Services
5 Skyler Addison
Business Analyst
Role: Project Management
Support, Writing Support
Based in Los Angeles, CA
Skyler knows the power of a well-told story in transforming and transmitting a message to a large audience. She
graduated cum laude from Claremont McKenna College,
receiving a dual degree in Literature (honors) and
Government. Skyler was involved in several activities on campus that enhanced her writing, event planning and
marketing skill sets. She was most recently a student manager for Gould Center for Humanistic Studies, a research institute where she established creative research fellowships and robust online programming for students. Skyler completed professional internships in both majors that have enabled her to illuminate the intersection between messaging and good governance.
Skyler is a certified Hootsuite Social Marketing, Constant Contact and Sprout Social Professional. She is an expert in updating websites, managing social media and strategizing marketing plans. Her client work includes: Town of Yucca Valley, City of Twentynine Palms, City of Orinda, Culver City Transportation Department and City of Lancaster.
Mia Valenzuela
Junior Business Analyst
Role: Writing Support
Based in San Francisco,
CA
Mia is a community-oriented writer and public speaker with a background in the arts supported by strong organizational and communication skills. After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in philosophy from Scripps College, Mia is now
pursuing an MBA at the Drucker School of Management at
Claremont Graduate University to further her knowledge of leadership and business. Mia is enthusiastic about serving the public through effective communication and informative
storytelling and is proud to do so with Tripepi Smith.
Mia is certified in Hootsuite Social Marketing and Sprout Social. Her clients include Renne Public Law Group, City of Menlo Park, City of Hercules, and City of Martinez.
Proposed Scope of Work
Tripepi Smith is proposing the continuation of services of newsletter production. Services would include the following items:
1. Fixed Fee Newsletter Engagement
Monthly Strategy Discussions
To coordinate our efforts with Town Staff and sustain momentum on projects, Tripepi Smith will schedule a recurring, onehour monthly phone call that will include a Town-designated lead for our engagement. These monthly calls will help drive content planning for various communications channels, including newsletter articles, website articles, webpage updates and other stories. Call content will focus on story plans, new issues or concerns that need to be communicated and identification of major themes or ideas to address in the coming weeks. This will be a working call during which Tripepi Smith will manage an agenda and provide notes for each call. After each call, the client will receive an action summary email about decisions made on the phone call and related action steps. We will produce work, such as webpage and article drafts, in a shared workspace where the Town can see our progress in real time and provide instant feedback as needed. These tools allow for enhanced collaboration and expedite the production process.
Quarterly Newsletter Design
Town of Atherton / Communication Support Services
6 Tripepi Smith has multiple graphic artists with access to the complete Adobe Creative Suite. Our artists’ experience working in public affairs expedites their development process and reduces the possibility of design direction being lost in translation. which includes graphic design time to layout the “Athertonian.” We have assumed here that Tripepi Smith will write five (5) articles and the Town will write all remaining content for the newsletter. Tripepi Smith will also make our resources available on an ad hoc basis to assist with content writing if extra writing is needed for a particular issue.
The articles Tripepi Smith drafts are up to five hundred (500) words in length. The Town would direct the allocation of stories with Tripepi Smith’s suggestions, making internal subject matter experts available to aid the development of the stories when needed. The Town would also facilitate timely approval of quotes in the release when connected with Town Staff or Town Councilmembers.
2. Time & Materials (Ad Hoc) Work
If the need arises for any additional ad hoc services, Tripepi Smith is ready to provide those services. We are providing our hourly rates below for the full array of our resources to support Town communication efforts. Examples of these ad hoc projects include but are not limited to: video production, photography services, virtual meetings/events, website development and a wide array of graphic design and branding services.
Cost Proposal
Tripepi Smith is providing fixed prices for the newsletter and recruitment services. Tripepi Smith remains open to collaborating with Town Staff to expand the scope engagement or refine our understanding of the scope needs, and can modify our pricing accordingly.
Fixed Fee Engagement
Tripepi Smith proposes we shift our costs on each edition to a quarterly fixed fee of $7,100. The total annual cost would be $28,400.
Quarterly Newsletter Costs
Deliverable Quantity/Notes
Monthly Strategy Discussions & Ongoing
Project Management
Leverages Business Analyst
and Junior Business Analysts
Conduct monthly client check-in calls, provide
check-in call recap outlining action items and
deadlines, advise on strategy
Max. of 60 minutes per call
Newsletter Design Leverages Junior Business Analyst/Junior Graphic Artist with review support from
Senior Business Analyst/Graphic Artist
Content planning, content writing, design, layout
and print vendor coordination
Max of 2 drafts per issue
Max of 5 drafted articles per issue
FIXED FEE PRICE $7,100.00
Payment Schedule
Tripepi Smith proposes the following payment schedule:
• Start each newsletter edition: 50% of the total fixed fee: $3,550 • Delivery of print files: 50% of the total fixed fee: $3,550 Time & Materials (As Needed) Work
Town of Atherton / Communication Support Services
7 Beyond the fixed fee for the Quarterly Newsletter, Tripepi Smith recommends incorporating $10,000 into the contract for any other services with a not to exceed for all services of $38,400. Our time and materials services will allow the Town to tap into the breadth of Tripepi Smith’s offerings to help the Town advance its communication goals. We’ve included our current hourly rates below.
The following are examples of various needs the Town has expressed.
Atherton Police Department Annual Report
- Project management and graphic design support for the Atherton Police Department’s annual report.
As-Needed Graphic Design Support
- Graphic design support for Town branding, events, social media, etc.
As-Needed Content Development
- Drafting additional articles for quarterly newsletter, Town website or news releases Hourly Rates and Payment Information
Tripepi Smith will use the following information and rates to price additional work outside of the retainer scope.
Billing
Time at Tripepi Smith is billed in 15-minute increments – i.e. we invoice our time in the following examples: 1.25, 0.75, 4.0 or 6.5 hours. Ad hoc work is invoiced at the end of the month. Fixed items are invoiced upon delivery.
Annual Increase
Tripepi Smith will increase the hourly rates and retainer fees for all resources by five percent (5%) or the national BLS Consumer Price Index — whichever is higher — each year on the anniversary of the contract, starting on the first anniversary of any contract when the contract duration is longer than one year. Otherwise, new rates will be negotiated with each new contract renewal period.
Retainer Discount
When client monthly retainers exceed six-thousand-five-hundred dollars ($6,750) a month, they have access to our Reduced Retainer rates noted below. Otherwise, any ad hoc work done outside the scope of the Retainer would be at the Standard rates.
Town of Atherton / Communication Support Services
8 Title Resource Standard Reduced Retainer
Principal $350.00 $295.00
Director $240.00 $215.00
Art Director $240.00 $215.00
Senior Business Analyst $190.00 $165.00
Business Analyst $130.00 $110.00
Junior Business Analyst $105.00 $90.00
Senior Videographer/Animator $190.00 $165.00
Senior Photographer $160.00 $135.00
Photographer/Videographer $120.00 $100.00
Senior Graphic Designer $175.00 $145.00
Graphic Designer $120.00 $100.00
Junior Graphic Designer $105.00 $90.00
Web Developer $195.00 $165.00
Drone Operator $195.00 $165.00
Council Chamber A/V Operator $105.00 $90.00
Other Costs
Travel Costs
Travel costs must be pre-authorized and then will be reimbursed by the Town for any requested travel. Travel costs to be covered are for airfare, lodging and car rental. If Tripepi Smith is requested to be onsite, we will invoice for travel time at half rate of the resource’s Hourly Rate.
Equipment Costs
Tripepi Smith offers some services that require equipment, such as drone operations and video production. As such, in those cases, the following rates apply:
Title Half Day Full Day
Video Equipment $400 $600
Drone Equipment N/A $500
• Six-hundred dollars ($600) for a full day of video equipment use (includes full set of video equipment). Full day is defined as a shoot lasting four (4) or more hours.
• Four-hundred dollars ($400) for a half day of video equipment use. Half day is defined as anything under four (4) hours of video production. All such expenses will be authorized by the Town prior to fee being assessed. • Five-hundred dollars ($500) per day drone fee applies and is not inclusive of the drone operator time (Drone Operator rate).
Service Fees
Town of Atherton / Communication Support Services
9 Typically, Tripepi Smith prefers to have service providers bill the client directly to avoid additional administrative costs and because we have no economic interest in the service provider selection. If Tripepi Smith is asked to pay the bill for the client, we will apply a ten percent (10%) agency fee to the reimbursement expense. Typical services include, but are not limited to:
• Print Costs: Tripepi Smith is happy to use a printer of the client’s choosing for print production work, or to recommend a printer with whom we have experience.
• Digital Advertising: Tripepi Smith is a Google Partner and Constant Contact Solution Provider and has Facebook Certified staff. We consider digital platforms to be a cornerstone element of any outreach strategy; often this comes with digital advertising fees.
• Media Placement: Tripepi Smith can help liaise on behalf of the Town for advertising space within various mediums, such as newspapers, magazines or websites.
• Voiceover, Translation and Closed Caption Fees: Tripepi Smith occasionally uses third-party resources to record voiceovers for videos, generate closed captions for videos, and for non-English language translations.
Tripepi Smith Partnership Access
Tripepi Smith has access to entities that may be relevant to our engagement. These partnerships allow Tripepi Smith to offer clients extra media reach or additional services at partner pricing. Partnerships include:
• PublicCEO: https://www.publicceo.com
o Digital news about public affairs, reaching over 17,000 California government executives through a daily podcast, job board, video podcast and more.
• Civic Business Journal: https://www.civicbusinessjournal.com o Digital interest stories on the people, companies and solutions that make local government in California more effective.
• FlashVote: https://www.flashvote.com
o Statistically valid surveying that helps leaders make decisions. • Tripepi Smith Talent Solutions: https://tstalentsolutions.com o A multifaceted recruitment consultancy service, combining local government access with communications to advance talent quests and build culture warriors.
• Meltwater: https://www.tripepismith.com/media-intelligence o An enterprise-class, comprehensive media monitoring solution that is best combined with Tripepi Smith’s analytics team.