SANTA PAULA HOLIDAY MARKETING RFQ HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SANTA PAULA REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Holiday Season Marketing Plan and Campaign Services

RFQ INFORMATION RFQ

issued by Project area Campaign period RFQ release date Initial Application and Questions Due Qualifications due Submission method Primary contact DETAIL Santa Paula Downtown Property-Based Improvement District (PBID), in coordination with the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce Historic Downtown Santa Paula, California Approximately November through early January

SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

by 5pm

PST SEPTEMBER 14, 2026

by 12pm PST Electronic PDF to info@santapaulachamber.com Deirdre Weaver, Executive Director, Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce, (805)525-5561, deirdre@santapaulachamber.com / info@santapaulachamber.com 1. Invitation The Santa Paula Downtown PBID invites qualified marketing firms, creative agencies, consultants, and collaborative teams to submit qualifications for the development of a coordinated holiday-season marketing plan for Historic Downtown Santa Paula. The selected consultant will create a practical, measurable strategy that attracts residents and regional visitors, increases foot traffic and spending, strengthens Santa Paula's identity as a holiday destination, and makes it easy for downtown businesses and community partners to participate. This solicitation is a Request for Qualifications (RFQ). The PBID intends to evaluate the experience, team, approach, local understanding, capacity, and proposed cost framework of respondents before negotiating a final scope, fee, and agreement with the highest-ranked firm. 2. Community and Project Context Santa Paula is a distinctive Ventura County destination known for its historic downtown, agricultural heritage, murals, museums, local businesses, restaurants, arts and culture, and strong community traditions. The holiday season provides an opportunity to unite lighting and decorations, downtown events, merchant promotions, visitor messaging, and community storytelling under one recognizable campaign. The PBID seeks a plan that is ambitious but executable within a compressed seasonal timeline. The work must reflect Santa Paula's character, be inclusive of its bilingual and multicultural community, and create value for businesses of different sizes and levels of marketing capacity.

DOWNTOWN SANTA PAULA PROPERTY OWNER'S ASSOCIATION

Managed by the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce 866 E Main St | Santa Paula, Ca | 93060 | (805)525-5561 SANTA

PAULA HOLIDAY MARKETING RFQ

3.Project Goals

• Establish a clear, memorable holiday identity and campaign theme for Historic Downtown Santa Paula.
• Increase downtown visitation, foot traffic, local spending, and participation in holiday activities.
• Connect holiday lighting, decorations, events, shopping, dining, arts, and visitor experiences into one coordinated story.
• Reach Santa Paula residents and regional audiences throughout Ventura County and nearby markets.
• Give downtown merchants simple, ready-to-use tools and meaningful opportunities to participate.
• Deliver bilingual English/Spanish outreach appropriate to the intended audiences and channels.
• Generate measurable results and reusable assets, data, and recommendations for future holiday seasons.

4.Anticipated Scope of Services Respondents should describe how they would perform the following work. The final scope may be refined during contract negotiations.

Discovery and alignment:

Review available plans, holiday activities, business needs, audiences, existing channels, partner opportunities, and implementation constraints. Conduct focused stakeholder input without delaying launch.

Campaign strategy:

Define objectives, priority audiences, geographic reach, value proposition, theme, messages, calls to action, channel strategy, partner roles, and a week-by-week activation calendar.

Creative platform:

Develop an original campaign concept and visual direction that complements downtown holiday decorations and works across digital, print, outdoor, merchant, media, and event applications.

Content and storytelling:

Create a framework featuring shopping, dining, events, downtown experiences, business stories, family activities, and Santa Paula's cultural and historic character.

Media and promotions:

Recommend organic social, paid digital, email, web, public relations, community calendars, print, radio/audio, signage, partnerships, and earned media, with costs and audience rationale.

Merchant participation:

Provide a practical toolkit, participation calendar, submission process, shared messages, templates, and low-barrier activations that encourage cross-promotion.

Visitor conversion:

Make it easy to decide when to visit, what to do, where to shop and dine, where to park, and how to move through downtown.

Measurement:

Set baseline assumptions, KPIs, tracking methods, reporting cadence, and a post- campaign evaluation approach tied to visitation, engagement, reach, participation, and business impact. Optional Implementation Services The PBID may include some or all implementation services in the final agreement. Respondents should identify which services they can provide directly, through subcontractors, or would leave with PBID/Chamber staff.

• Campaign project management and partner coordination.
• Graphic design, copywriting, photography, short-form video, translation, and production-ready files.

DOWNTOWN SANTA PAULA PROPERTY OWNER'S ASSOCIATION

Managed by the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce 866 E Main St | Santa Paula, Ca | 93060 | (805)525-5561 SANTA

PAULA HOLIDAY MARKETING RFQ

• Media planning, placement, optimization, and reconciliation of paid media.
• Website or landing-page design/content support.
• Public relations, media outreach, and press materials.
• Social calendar development, posting support, community management, and reporting.
• Printing, distribution, signage, wayfinding, and merchant toolkit production.

5.Required Deliverables

NO. DELIVERABLE 1

Project brief and findings 2 Holiday marketing plan 3 Creative concept 4 Media and content plan 5Merchant participation toolkit 6 Measurement framework 7 Final asset package 8 Final report

MINIMUM CONTENT

Confirmed objectives, audiences, insights, assets, constraints, roles, and decisions needed. Implementation-ready strategy, audiences, messages, channels, calendar, responsibilities, and budget. Campaign name/theme, core message, visual direction, sample applications, and bilingual adaptation approach. Channel mix, paid-media allocations, content pillars, calendar, specifications, and deadlines. Instructions, calendar, templates, sample copy, assets, submission process, and participation opportunities. KPIs, tracking tools, reporting template, data responsibilities, and evaluation method. Editable source files and production-ready exports organized for future PBID use, subject to licensing terms. Results, participation, lessons learned, asset inventory, and recommendations for the next season. 6.Target Audiences

• Santa Paula residents and families.
• Ventura County and nearby regional residents seeking a distinctive holiday outing.
• Downtown shoppers, diners, arts and culture visitors, and event attendees.
• Spanish-speaking and bilingual households.
• Businesses, employees, organizations, schools, and partners that can extend campaign reach.

7.Budget and Cost Expectations The anticipated not-to-exceed project budget is $30,000, subject to PBID authorization and final contract negotiation. This amount is expected to cover professional services and approved direct campaign expenses included in the negotiated scope. Respondents should distinguish consultant fees from pass- through expenses.

COST CATEGORY RESPONSE REQUIREMENT DOWNTOWN SANTA PAULA PROPERTY OWNER'S ASSOCIATION

Managed by the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce 866 E Main St | Santa Paula, Ca | 93060 | (805)525-5561 SANTA

PAULA HOLIDAY MARKETING RFQ COST CATEGORY RESPONSE REQUIREMENT

Strategy and project management Fixed fee or estimated hours and rates Creative and content production Itemized fees and assumptions Paid media Recommended working-media amount and any commission or markup Printing, signage, and distribution Estimated direct costs and markups, if any Optional services Separately priced menu Total Not-to-exceed amount and exclusions The PBID may revise the budget, remove optional services, provide certain services in-house, or negotiate a phased scope. No expense or media commitment may be incurred without prior written authorization. 8.Desired Qualifications

• Demonstrated success with destination, downtown, retail, tourism, placemaking, cultural, event, or community campaigns.
• Ability to translate strategy into high-quality creative work and realistic implementation on a compressed schedule.
• Experience engaging independent businesses and coordinating public, nonprofit, and private partners.
• Strong digital marketing, content, media planning, public relations, and performance-measurement capabilities.
• Capacity for culturally responsive, bilingual English/Spanish outreach directly or through qualified partners.
• Clear project management, budget control, responsiveness, and deadline performance.
• Understanding of Santa Paula, Ventura County, or comparable historic and culturally rich communities is preferred.

9.Statement of Qualifications - Required Contents Submit one electronic PDF organized below. Excluding appendices, the response should not exceed 15 pages. 1.Cover letter identifying the firm, primary contact, business address, telephone, email, and authorized negotiator. 2.Firm and team qualifications, including assigned personnel, roles, availability, subcontractors, and day-to-day lead. 3.Up to five comparable projects, emphasizing measurable outcomes and work completed by the proposed team. 4.Proposed approach from discovery through an approved, launch-ready plan and, if selected, implementation. Identify decisions, dependencies, risks, and PBID/Chamber inputs. 5.Preliminary schedule showing tasks, reviews, deliverables, earliest kickoff, and feasible launch date. 6.Cost framework with itemization, hourly rates where applicable, direct expenses, optional services, assumptions, exclusions, and not-to-exceed total.

DOWNTOWN SANTA PAULA PROPERTY OWNER'S ASSOCIATION

Managed by the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce 866 E Main St | Santa Paula, Ca | 93060 | (805)525-5561 SANTA

PAULA HOLIDAY MARKETING RFQ

7.Links or examples demonstrating strategy, creative development, bilingual outreach, merchant engagement, and measurement. 8.Three recent client references with organization, contact, title, phone, email, project, and dates. 9.Actual or potential conflicts, relevant pending claims, material exceptions, and requested contract terms. 10.Evaluation and Selection

EVALUATION FACTOR WEIGHT

Relevant experience and demonstrated results 25% Quality, clarity, and feasibility of proposed approach 25% Qualifications, capacity, and availability of assigned team 15% Understanding of Santa Paula, downtown businesses, audiences, and goals 15% Cost effectiveness and transparency 15% References, work samples, and overall submission quality 5% The PBID may invite interviews, request clarification, check references, seek a best-and-final cost proposal, and negotiate scope and terms. Selection will be based on the response judged most advantageous; lowest cost will not necessarily determine selection. 11. Anticipated Schedule

MILESTONE TARGET DATE RFQ

released September 1 Initial Application and Questions due September 8 Responses to questions issued September 10 Qualifications due September 14 Interviews, if conducted September 17 or 18 Selection Sept 17 or 18 Target kickoff September 24 Plan and creative direction approved September 28 Campaign launch October 1 Campaign close and final report January 6, 2027 DOWNTOWN

SANTA PAULA PROPERTY OWNER'S ASSOCIATION

Managed by the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce 866 E Main St | Santa Paula, Ca | 93060 | (805)525-5561 SANTA

PAULA HOLIDAY MARKETING RFQ 12.

Questions and Submission Instructions Submit questions in writing to info@santapaulachamber.com by the stated deadline. Material responses will be distributed in writing to known prospective respondents. Do not rely on oral interpretations. Submit one searchable PDF with the subject line SP Holiday Marketing RFQ - [

FIRM NAME

]' to info@santapaulachamber.com. The PBID is not responsible for late, misdirected, corrupted, or unreadable submissions. 13.General Conditions

• The PBID may amend, suspend, cancel, or reissue this RFQ; reject any or all submissions; waive immaterial irregularities; request information; and negotiate when in the project's best interest.
• Respondents bear all response costs. This RFQ does not commit the PBID, Chamber, or City to award a contract or reimburse any cost.
• Any award depends on funding authorization, approval of final scope and terms, and execution of a written agreement by authorized parties.
• The selected consultant must maintain required licenses and insurance and comply with applicable laws, nondiscrimination requirements, and contract provisions.
• PBID, Chamber, or City names, logos, assets, or project information may not be used for publicity without written approval.
• Ownership and licensing of plans, data, copy, images, designs, source files, templates, and work product will be addressed in the agreement. The PBID prefers broad, perpetual reuse rights to final paid-for deliverables.
• Respondents must disclose subcontractors, markups, commissions, media rebates, referral fees, or other compensation.
• Submitted materials may be subject to public-records disclosure.

Clearly identify specific material claimed legally confidential; marking an entire submission confidential is discouraged and may not be effective. 14.Requested Acknowledgment By submitting qualifications, the respondent confirms it reviewed this RFQ, can meet the schedule or has identified alternatives, and agrees its response may be relied upon during evaluation and negotiation.

DOWNTOWN SANTA PAULA PROPERTY OWNER'S ASSOCIATION

Managed by the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce 866 E Main St | Santa Paula, Ca | 93060 | (805)525-5561