Yarmouth committee opens review of tourism/marketing contract; members push for separate branding process and short-term contract

The Town of Yarmouth Community and Economic Development Committee held an extended workshop March 11 to review the current marketing contract, quarterly reports, and recommended next steps. Committee members and stakeholders discussed splitting the scope of the existing contract, hiring a branding specialist, and issuing a shorter-term marketing contract to bridge until a town-wide brand and strategy are completed.

Courtney Butler, committee chair, opened the discussion with materials from the previous RFP and quarterly reports. Committee member Laurie Sullivan (recently appointed; introduced herself as a former television producer and public-television programming director) said the current contract mixes distinct services and recommended issuing separate procurements for marketing, visitor services and event production. Sullivan said the services “feel very disjointed” when combined in a single contract and argued that…