Proposal for General Communication
CITY OF HERCULES
May 20, 2024 VALID FOR 45 DAYS By: Ryder Todd Smith, Co-Founder & President Jennifer Vaughn, Principal
City of Hercules / General Communications Support
CREATIVE SERVICES • Communication • Web • Social Media • Photography • Video • Design 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... 2 Cover Letter ................................................................................................................... 3 Proposed Scope of Retainer .......................................................................................... 4 Cost Proposal ................................................................................................................. 5
City of Hercules / General Communications Support
CREATIVE SERVICES • Communication • Web • Social Media • Photography • Video • Design 3 COVER LETTER Thank you for the opportunity to continue providing communications support services to the City of Hercules. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with your city and being a part of your team since 2022. This proposal offers the same retainer scope we’ve had in place over the last two years with some suggested options to fit the needs of the City of Hercules should you need any additional assistance with special projects. As you know, Tripepi Smith is a team of nearly 60 communications 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. Tripepi Smith has a strong record of working with public agencies across California to better engage and connect with residents. We gain insights from the breadth of our work and share that knowledge with our city clients. No other communications firm has the city client depth and diversity that Tripepi Smith offers. We leverage this experience to the benefit of each client, applying experiences and lessons learned throughout the course of the engagement. We look forward to the continued opportunity to help tell the story of Hercules for the benefit of its residents, businesses and visitors. I affirm that I have the authority to bind Tripepi Smith for this proposal. Regards, Ryder Todd Smith Co-Founder & President Tripepi Smith
City of Hercules / General Communications Support
4 PROPOSED SCOPE OF RETAINER Bi-Weekly Check-In Calls & Content Planning To coordinate our efforts with City Staff and sustain momentum on projects, Tripepi Smith will schedule a recurring, 30-minute bi-weekly phone call that will include a City-designated lead for our engagement. These calls will help drive content planning for press releases, social media posts and stories for a potential digital as well as any additional needs that may arise. 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 article drafts, in a shared workspace where the City can see our progress in real time and provide instant feedback as needed. These tools allow for enhanced collaboration and expedite the production process. Social Media Management Content Creation: Social media content creation involves: planning, fact-checking, sourcing graphics, grammar checking and scheduling the post. Tripepi Smith will create up to three (3) posts per week over the course of a month (or generally 12 a month) and distribute them on up to five (5) platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Nextdoor). Council Agenda Monitoring: Our work also includes reviewing upcoming council agendas to develop additional ideas worthy of social media or press releases. News Articles & Press Releases Tripepi Smith can draft news articles, press releases and/or official statements, which are typically up to five hundred (500) words in length. The City 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. Additionally, this assumes the City would provide a media and external agencies notification list for use by Tripepi Smith where a press release scenario is desired. The City would also facilitate timely approval of quotes in the release when connected with City Staff or City Councilmembers. Monthly Dashboard Metrics Report Each month, Tripepi Smith will provide a summary report of the basic metrics (reach, posts, engagement, etc.) related to City-controlled social media platforms and other key metrics if available, such as website visits and e-newsletter platform metrics. This will help us evaluate the success of our efforts as well as serve as an ongoing feedback mechanism for gathering valuable insights that can help inform ongoing communication strategy. Quarterly Communications Calendar Planning Sessions The main goal during these two-hour meetings is that each department identifies key communication opportunities and wins to celebrate in the next 6-12 months. We document all this into a shared spreadsheet/editorial calendar that can then serve as a roadmap for the organization to track communication opportunities–or to hand off to the communications team to execute. The exercise breaks down barriers between departments and often helps senior staff recognize communication opportunities they were simply unaware of before. The process also includes Tripepi Smith preparing and giving a presentation that covers notable communication wins to review what has worked well. We conduct these meetings on a quarterly process to refresh our 12-month calendar and stay apprised of the upcoming communication priorities. Additionally, Tripepi Smith will curate a content calendar with staff that can be shared with media contacts.
City of Hercules / General Communications Support
5 COST PROPOSAL Estimated Cost of Retainer Engagement Deliverable Quantity/Notes Project Management Leverages Principal, Business Analyst and Junior Business Analyst Conduct bi-weekly client check-in calls, provide check-in call recap outlining action items and deadlines, advise on media relations and strategy Max. of 60 minutes per call
Social Media Management Leverages Junior Business Analyst with support from Business Analyst Create and publish social media post content. Council Agenda Review to mine opportunities for social media 3 posts/week Social media graphic design included Press Releases Leverages Junior Business Analyst with support from Business Analyst Create and publish press releases and/or website news articles 1 press release or news article per month Metrics Reporting Leverages Junior Business Analyst with review support from Business Analyst Produce regular report on key performance metrics for external communication channels: social media, email, etc. 1 report per month (PDF file) Quarterly Strategic Communications Planning Leverages Principal or Director, Business Analyst, Junior Business Analyst Quarterly meeting with Dept. heads to plan next year of communication opportunities 1 meeting every 3 months Max. of 2 hours per meeting Keeping centralized “Content Calendar” updated throughout the year for staff’s reference Via Google Sheets TOTAL MONTHLY COST $6,880.00
City of Hercules / General Communications Support
6 Time and Materials Work Sometimes, the nature of the work we do cannot be included in a retainer and is best handled on a project price basis or a time & materials basis (i.e. photo shoots, videography, annual reports, major project outreach, etc.). In these cases, Tripepi Smith will use the following information and rates to price this additional work with the City. Tripepi Smith can provide regular updates on the budget use and how it is being spent, depending on the nature of the engagement or project. Title Hourly - Standard Hourly - Retainer Principal $370 $295 Director $255 $215 Art/Creative Director $255 $215 Senior Business Analyst $195 $165 Business Analyst $140 $115 Junior Business Analyst $115 $95 Senior Videographer/Animator $195 $165 Senior Photographer $170 $145 Videographer/Photographer $130 $110 Junior Videographer/Photographer $110 $95 Senior Graphic Designer $185 $155 Graphic Designer $130 $110 Junior Graphic Designer $110 $95 Web Developer $195 $175 Junior Web Developer $110 $95 Drone Operator $195 $170 Council Chamber A/V Operator $110 $95 City of Hercules / General Communications Support
7 Retainer Discount When client monthly retainers exceed seven thousand one hundred fifty dollars ($7,150) a month, have access to our reduced Hourly – Retainer rates noted above. Otherwise, any ad hoc work done outside the scope of the Retainer would be at the Hourly – Standard rates. 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.
Billing Schedule & Terms Time & Materials Billing For ad hoc work, 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.
Other Costs Because Tripepi Smith offers a broad set of services, including extensive content production, we have some other content production-related fees that may come up during our engagement that we want to tell you about. Travel Costs Travel costs must be pre-authorized and then will be reimbursed by the City for any requested travel. Travel costs to be covered are for airfare, lodging and car rental or mileage. If Tripepi Smith is requested to be onsite, we will invoice for travel time at half rate of the resource’s Standard 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 City 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).
City of Hercules / General Communications Support
8 Service Fees Title Client Pays Directly Client Reimburses TS Print costs, digital advertising, media placement, voiceover/captions No Fees 10% 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 City for advertising space within various mediums, such as newspapers, magazine 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 Discounts Tripepi Smith has financial interest in certain related entities. These partnerships allow Tripepi Smith to offer clients extra media reach or additional services at partner pricing. Partnerships include: PublicCEO – digital news about public affairs, reaching over 17,000 California government executives https://www.publicceo.com Civic Business Journal – digital interest stories about the people in local government https://www.civicbusinessjournal.com FlashVote – planning, implementing, measuring civic surveys https://www.flashvote.com TS Talent Solutions – talent search services for local government and related agencies https://tstalentsolutions.com