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 branding and marketing are specialized tasks that may require separate procurement and expertise.

Molly (Cultural Center staff) and Mary Vilbon of the Chamber of Commerce participated and advised the committee on outreach and campaign strategy. Molly said a central missing piece in the current RFP is a clear “value proposition” or branding statement that explains what Yarmouth wants to be known for. Molly said, “What is Yarmouth? What are we striving for?” and urged that a brand be meaningful and measurable before signing a long marketing contract. Mary Vilbon described the historical role of the Chamber and explained the current arrangement in which the Chamber receives tourism-marketing funding under a contract to deliver visitor services and promotions.

Committee members debated whether to remove events and visitor services from the marketing contract and to treat them as separate budget items or grants. Multiple speakers recommended a two-step approach: 1) issue a one-year marketing contract to maintain essential promotional activity while immediate needs (including crisis communications related to wastewater-construction impacts on local businesses) are addressed, and 2) launch a town-wide branding procurement with public engagement and select-board participation to create a multi-year strategy tied to economic development goals.

Wastewater construction and road closures emerged as a pressing communications issue. Committee members and staff described businesses reporting steep revenue losses during construction closures and urged the next contract to include crisis communication and “open for business” promotion. A committee member suggested allocating a portion of economic-development funds to short-term business support and marketing tied to construction impacts.

The group discussed timing: the committee can extend the current contract through August if needed; issuing an RFP and selecting a vendor for a full multi-year contract would likely push a new comprehensive procurement into the fall. Several members proposed bringing the Select Board into a formal briefing after Town Meeting to secure leadership buy-in for a town-branding effort and to discuss funding options; the committee agreed to prepare a memo summarizing its recommendations.

Next steps: committee members will prepare edits to the existing RFP for a one-year marketing contract, gather questions for the vendor (and for the current contract-holder), and present a recommendation and a memorandum to the Select Board after Town Meeting. The committee scheduled a workshop on April 8 and a joint meeting with the Chamber on March 31 to refine choices. Committee members also asked staff to produce an updated budget and a short proposal for immediate marketing support targeting businesses affected by construction.