Advertising & Marketing Services for Visit Central Florida

RFP NOTICE
Polk County, a political subdivision of the State of Florida, requests the submittal of
proposals from vendors that are interested in providing advertising and marketing
services as described herein. Sealed proposals must be received in the Procurement
Division, prior to the due date and time listed below.
RFP Number and Title: 26-345, Advertising & Marketing Services for Visit Central
Florida
Description: Provide professional advertising and marketing services for Visit Central
Florida(VCF).
Receiving Period: Prior to 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Bid Opening: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. or as soon as possible
thereafter.
This form is for RFP registration only. Please scroll down for additional information.
Special Instructions:
Questions regarding this RFP must be in writing and must be sent to Tabatha Shirah,
Senior Procurement Analyst, via email at tabathashirah@polkfl.gov. All questions must
be received by, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 4:00 p.m..
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RFP REGISTRATION
You must register using this form to receive notice of any addenda to these documents.
Please email the completed form to the Procurement Division as soon as possible. It is
the vendor's responsibility to verify if addenda have been issued.
RFP Number: 26-345
RFP Title: Advertising & Marketing Services for Visit Central Florida
This form is for bid registration only. Please scroll down for additional information.
Carefully complete this form and return it to the Procurement Division via e-mail to
procurement@polkfl.gov. You must submit one form for each solicitation that you are registering
for.
Company Name: __________________________________________________
Contact Name: ____________________________________________________
Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________
City: _____________________________________________________________
State: ____________________________________________________________
Zip Code: _________________________________________________________
Phone Number: ____________________________________________________
Email: ____________________________________________________________
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PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS
Proposers must submit their proposal prior to 2:00 p.m. on the receiving date. Proposals
must be submitted in a "sealed" parcel or electronically through Polk County's secure
website, Kiteworks. Proposals will be publicly opened at 2:00 p.m. on the receiving date.
Sealed Parcel Submittal:
If you are submitting a sealed parcel proposal submit one (1) original marked
ORIGINAL and five (5) copies marked COPY of the proposal in a sealed parcel to the
Procurement Division. The parcel should be labeled "RFP #26-345, Advertising &
Marketing Services for Visit Central Florida" and marked with the proposer's name and
address. The Proposals may be mailed or delivered to:
Polk County Procurement Division
330 West Church Street, Room 150
Bartow, FL 33830
To assist with labeling the sealed parcel, please cut along the outer border and affix this
label. Be sure to include the name of the company submitting the proposal where
requested.
Sealed Proposal. DO NOT OPEN
RFP Number: 26-345
RFP Title: Advertising & Marketing Services for Visit
Central Florida
Due Date/Time: August 12, 2026, prior to 2:00 pm
Submitted by:
Deliver To: Polk County Procurement Division
330 West Church Street, Room 150, Bartow,
Florida 33830
Proposals may be mailed, express mailed or hand delivered. It is the Proposers
responsibility to ensure their package is delivered to the Procurement Division prior to
2:00 p.m. on the Receiving date and time referenced above. Proposals delivered at 2:00
p.m. or later will not be accepted.
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Electronic Proposals Submittal:
All prospective Proposers that are interested in submitting their proposals electronically
can do so via the County's secure electronic submittal website, Kiteworks. Proposers
must email tabtahashirah@polkfl.gov at least 48 hours prior to opening to receive a link to
upload their submittal. Please only upload your documents as a PDF or Excel file for the
Cost Tab, if applicable. Please use the name convention of your files as follow:
"RFP 26-345, Tab 1"
"RFP 26-345, Tab 2"
"RFP 26-345, Tab 3"
"RFP 26-345, Tab 4"
"RFP 26-345, Tab 5"
For more instructions, a video tutorial has been produced to further explain the
electronic solicitation submittal process. It can be found by clicking here for RFP
Submittals: https://youtu.be/vkn_7AHgioE. If you need assistance accessing this
website due to ADA or any other reason, please email Tabatha Shirah at
tabathashirah@polkfl.gov.
Procurement recommends that Proposers submitting electronically double check the
documents submitted into Kiteworks to ensure all requested tab information has been
uploaded. Failure to upload the requested tab information may result in the proposal
being deemed nonresponsive.
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POLK COUNTY
Procurement Division
Fran McAskill
Procurement Director
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 26-345
Advertising & Marketing Services for Visit Central Florida
Sealed proposals will be received in the Procurement Division, Wednesday, August 12, 2026,
prior to 2:00 p.m.
Attached are important instructions and specifications regarding responses to this Request for
Proposal (the "RFP"). The failure of a responding proposer (a "Proposer") to follow these
instructions could result in Proposer disqualification from consideration for a contract to be
awarded pursuant to this RFP.
This document is issued by Polk County (the "County") which is the sole distributor of this RFP
and all addenda and changes to the RFP documents. The County shall record its responses to
inquiries and provide any supplemental instructions or additional documents pertaining to this
RFP in the form of written addenda to the RFP. The County shall post all such addenda,
together with any other information pertaining to this RFP, on the County's website at
https://www.polkfl.gov/business/procurement/. It is the sole responsibility of each Proposer to
review the website prior to submitting a responsive proposal (a "Proposal") to this RFP to
ensure that that the Proposer has obtained all available instructions, addenda, changes,
supporting documents, and any other information pertaining to this RFP.
The County is not responsible for any solicitations issued through subscriber, publications, or
other sources not connected with the County and the Proposer should not rely on such sources
for information regarding the RFP solicitation.
Questions regarding this RFP must be in writing and must be sent to Tabatha Shirah, Senior
Procurement Analyst, via email at tabathashirah@polkfl.gov. All questions must be received
by Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Proposers and any prospective proposers shall not contact, communicate with or
discuss any matter relating in any way to this RFP with any member of the Polk County
Board of County Commissioners or any employee of Polk County other than the County
Procurement Director or the individual designated above. This prohibition begins with
the issuance of the Request for Proposal and ends upon execution of the final contract.
Any such communication initiated by a Proposer or prospective proposer shall be
grounds for disqualifying the offender from consideration for a contract to be awarded
pursuant to this RFP and for contracts to be awarded pursuant to RFPs or Requests for
Bid that the County may issue in the future.
A Proposer's responsive Proposal to this RFP may be mailed, express mailed, or hand
delivered to:
Polk County Procurement Division
330 West Church Street, Room 150
Bartow, Florida 33830
(863)534-6757
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Introduction/Background
Polk County, a political subdivision of the State of Florida, is soliciting proposals from
qualified firms to provide full-service advertising and marketing services with
demonstrated experience in destination marketing, tourism promotion, hospitality, and
place-based storytelling. The County advertises throughout the State of Florida, as well
as in targeted markets across the United States and internationally.
The Tourism & Sports Marketing Division seeks an agency partner that will function as
an extension of its internal team by providing innovative creative development, strategic
media planning, tourism-focused storytelling, and integrated campaign execution. The
selected firm shall demonstrate a strong familiarity with Polk County and its tourism and
sports assets and possess the ability to proactively identify local tourism opportunities,
emerging trends, and audience engagement strategies. Familiarity with the Central
Florida region and Florida's overall tourism landscape is also essential.
It is the intent of the County to enter into an agreement with one firm.
The County shall request the services on an as-needed basis. There is no guarantee
that any or all of the services described in the agreement will be assigned during the
term of the agreement. Further, the Consultant is providing these services on a
nonexclusive basis. The County, at its option, may elect to have any of the services set
forth herein performed by other consultants or County staff.
Scope of Services
I. Account Management & Strategic Partnership
Agency shall provide:
* Executive-level account management
* Day-to-day account coordination
* Strategic marketing counsel
* Annual and seasonal campaign planning
* Media Plan management and oversight
* Integrated marketing coordination across tourism and sports marketing
divisions
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* Project management and workflow oversight
* Weekly/monthly status reporting
* Brand consistency management
* Tourism trend analysis and category insights
* Competitive destination analysis
* Strategic recommendations and planning support
* Coordination with third-party vendors and partners as needed
The selected agency should function as a collaborative and proactive strategic
partner to Visit Central Florida staff.
II. Strategic Planning & Campaign Development
Agency shall provide strategic planning services including:
* Destination brand strategy
* Audience segmentation and targeting
* Tourism campaign planning
* Seasonal and niche campaign development
* Market prioritization
* Messaging development
* Campaign innovation recommendations
* Media strategy development
* Visitor behavior insights
* Emerging tourism trend identification
* Creative campaign ideation
* Tourism product positioning
VCF seeks innovative campaign approaches that move beyond repetitive annual
media and creative strategies.
III. Creative Services & Content Development
Agency shall provide creative development and content production services
including:
* Campaign concept development
* Copywriting
* Graphic design
* Video production
* Photography direction and coordination
* Digital advertising creative
* Social media creative
* Traditional advertising creative
* Visitor-facing collateral development
* Experiential campaign concepts
* Content asset management
* Content refreshes throughout campaign periods
* Tourism storytelling development
* Production-ready creative preparation
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Deliverables may include:
* Digital advertising assets
* Streaming/CTV creative
* Paid social creative
* Print advertising
* Outdoor advertising
* Event promotional assets
* Tourism itineraries and destination storytelling
* Co-op and partner marketing materials
IV. Media Planning, Buying & Optimization
Agency shall provide strategic media planning and placement services including:
* Annual and seasonal media planning
* Paid social media buying
* Programmatic advertising
* Search engine marketing (excluding Search Engine Optimization)
* Streaming audio/video placements
* Connected TV (CTV/OTT)
* Geo-targeting and drive-market targeting
* Retargeting campaigns
* Audience segmentation analysis
* Ethnic and multicultural targeting
* Media negotiation and placement
* Campaign optimization
* Monthly, quarterly and annual performance monitoring and reporting
* Experimental and emerging media opportunities
VCF seeks innovative media strategies that support evolving audience behaviors
and tourism engagement opportunities with constant tracking and optimization.
V. Social Media, Influencer & Creator Marketing
Agency shall provide:
* Social media strategy support
* Paid social campaign management
* Influencer and creator marketing strategy
* Influencer recruitment and vetting
* Long-term creator partnership development
* Tourism-focused content creator campaigns
* Content licensing coordination
* Social listening and trend monitoring
* Campaign reporting and analytics
* Community engagement recommendations
* Crisis communication support
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Preference will be given to agencies with demonstrated tourism and destination
influencer marketing experience.
VI. Analytics, Reporting & Research
Agency shall provide reporting and analytical services including:
* Campaign performance dashboards
* Media performance reporting
* Website analytics
* Paid social reporting
* Influencer performance reporting
* Audience engagement insights
* Conversion tracking and reporting
* Campaign optimization recommendations
* Quarterly and annual reporting summaries
* Tourism-related audience insights
* Competitive market analysis
Reporting should include actionable strategic recommendations in addition to
performance metrics that show a clear and measurable ROI.
VII. Production Management
Agency shall provide production oversight and coordination including:
* Vendor coordination and management
* Sign off on Media Contracts and Insertion Orders
* Production estimates and budgeting
* Print production oversight
* Broadcast and video production coordination
* Traffic management
* Asset delivery and quality control
* Digital production support
* Production timeline management
* Asset library management
* Distribution and implementation coordination
VIII. Division-Specific Scope of Services
Polk County Tourism & Sports Marketing Division represents the primary scope
of work under this agency partnership; however, services may also be utilized by
other County divisions as needed.
A. General Tourism Marketing & Always-On Destination Advertising
Agency shall provide ongoing strategic support for Visit Central Florida's core
tourism marketing and destination advertising efforts.
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This scope represents the foundational and ongoing tourism marketing
responsibilities of the agency partnership and is anticipated to serve as a
primary focus area throughout the contract term.
Agency shall support:
* Always-on tourism marketing campaigns
* Seasonal destination advertising campaigns
* Brand awareness campaigns
* General leisure travel promotion
* Drive-market visitation campaigns
* Visitor conversion campaigns
* Family travel campaigns
* Outdoor recreation promotion
* Event promotion
* Destination storytelling initiatives
* Market-specific campaign creative adaptations
* Audience segmentation and targeting
* Seasonal creative refreshes
* Integrated media planning and optimization
* Cross-channel tourism messaging
* Tourism-focused content creation
While creative messaging, audience targeting, and campaign tactics may
evolve seasonally and by market, Visit Central Florida's general tourism
advertising efforts should consistently reinforce awareness, consideration,
and visitation to Polk County as a travel destination.
The selected agency should demonstrate the ability to balance long-term
destination brand consistency with evolving creative and media strategies that
keep campaigns fresh, engaging, and relevant across target audiences and
seasonal travel periods.
B. Culinary Tourism Marketing
Agency shall provide:
* Culinary tourism campaign strategy
* Food tourism storytelling
* Restaurant and chef-focused creative
* Culinary influencer marketing
* Culinary-focused paid media campaigns
* Seasonal culinary promotions
* Culinary partnership activations
* Video and photography content production
* Culinary itinerary development
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