Officials with the Baton Rouge North Economic Development District will meet with firms over the next two weeks with the goal of selecting a company to execute a marketing and branding strategy for the district.
“We’re meeting with any vendor that’s interested in the project, asking for quotes,” says Jerry Jones, the newly-minted BRNEDD executive director.
The organization is no longer issuing a formal Request for Proposals for the project, instead pursuing informal meetings because of limited funding for the initiative, estimated, says Jones, to be between $10,000 and $20,000.
The campaign, a key priority of the two-year-old district, involves pitching north Baton Rouge as an ideal place to live, work and play. It would include the creation of a new website and logo for the district, along with an amped-up social media presence and outreach to local media.
Jones wants to hear ideas from no less than three firms, ideally speaking with anywhere from eight to 10 to get a broader range of visions and price points. So far, he knows of at least three interested vendors, though he says he’s open to assigning different tasks to different individuals or groups and could potentially hire more than one vendor on a contractual basis.
“I’m not married to anything at this moment,” Jones says. “The more people sitting at this table to help in the endeavor, the better.”
Jones says he plans to recommend a firm to the 13-member BRNEDD Board of Directors at its March 7 meeting, with a goal of hiring someone in March.
