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Council awards communications RFP to True North to assess city’s messaging and recommend staffing plan
Summary
After presentations by three agencies, council chose True North Marketing to conduct a communications assessment and plan for Clermont, directing the firm to identify options for internal staffing and outside support and to return recommended steps and budgets.
Clermont’s City Council voted Dec. 9 to retain True North Marketing to perform an initial assessment and to develop a strategy for the city’s public communications, social media and brand management. Three firms presented capabilities earlier in the meeting; council members expressed support for strengthening the city’s communications capacity while keeping an internal public-information role.
Council members and several residents said the city’s communications workload has outgrown a single-staff model and asked for a structured plan that would spell out whether to expand internal staffing, use outside firms for peak events, or adopt a blended approach. True North (speakers 6 and 38) proposed a discovery-led process—audience profiling, stakeholder interviews, a brand-audit and a prioritized implementation roadmap—and offered a mix of retainer and project-based engagement options. Crosswords Communications and Appleton Creative also presented case studies and recommended approaches.
After public comment from residents urging outside review and emphasis on local knowledge, council voted 4–1 to award the RFP to True North to begin with an assessment focused on audience segmentation, staffing needs and a recommended phased implementation plan. Council emphasized the assessment should prioritize training and support for the city’s current public-information officer and define specific next steps for in-house hires (content creator, videographer) and for limited outside support during large events. The minority vote referenced concerns about cost and the desire to test smaller in-house hires first.
Staff will negotiate scope, deliverables and a cost estimate with True North before returning a contract for final approval.
