Macomb Township awards five-year publishing contract to Drive Creative Services

The Macomb Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to award a five-year publishing contract to Drive Creative Services to produce a redesigned version of the township’s Reach catalog and a new community publication.

The move follows a months-long procurement process and a presentation by Drive Creative Services about a revenue-share model that would sell advertising to offset printing and mailing costs. The board’s approval was made subject to township council review of the contract.

Supervisor Viviano said the township and parks and recreation department have been exploring ways to expand and improve mailed communications to residents and that the proposed vendor would provide 8 to 10 pages of township-controlled content within a larger catalog. "We hope to update and amend the way we are advertising our parks and rec services and our programs," Viviano said.

Scott Chambers, owner of Drive Creative Services, told the board the publisher would separate paid advertising from township content in a "Community Resource Guide" section and would share advertising revenue with the township to reduce per-issue costs over time. "With the proposal that was put together, not only is it advertising space that's taken out within the section of the publication that's called the Community Resource Guide, so that is separate from everything that Macomb Township would supply," Chambers said.

Chambers said the vendor projects a multi-year trajectory in which ad sales would increasingly offset printing costs; he cited examples of local contracts with Chesterfield Township, Mount Clemens and others and said recent comparable ad revenue runs have been in the low-to-mid five figures per issue. He told the board the vendor has local sales staff and that two of the publisher’s sales representatives live in Macomb Township.

Trustees asked about restrictions on advertising. Viviano said the township would retain veto authority over "sin businesses" and specific categories such as political advertising or cannabis retailers. The board also discussed distribution: the vendor’s proposal calls for full saturation mailings to Macomb Township ZIP codes and a print run of about 35,000 mailed copies plus roughly 3,000 additional handout copies for township facilities.

Trustee Lucido and other members asked why competing bids were not included in the board packet. Viviano said that was an oversight by purchasing staff and that the contract includes an exit clause so the township can terminate the arrangement if the vendor does not meet expectations.

Motion to award the contract was made by Treasurer Gillette and supported by Trustee Lucido; members voted unanimously to approve the award, subject to attorney review.

The board did not adopt the vendor’s projected break-even year as a contractual guarantee; instead it approved the agreement and asked for legal review before the contract is finalized.