Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert has formed a group to review the contract terms that will be used to hire the city's next tourism marketer.
For decades, that mission was the responsibility of Visit Duluth, which hired advertising and marketing agencies to help promote the city. But the selection of marketing partners is often done internally, and in 2021, then-Mayor Emily Larson said more transparency was needed. She asked the city to issue a request for proposals (RFP) from agencies to provide this service. Of the 28 responses, the Duluth-based advertising and marketing company did not make it to the final five. Ultimately, Minneapolis-based Belmont Partners was selected to provide the services in conjunction with Lawrence & Schiller of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Choosing an agency other than Duluth was controversial among the public. The second decision proved controversial among RFP respondents. Larson hired a Duluth agency that is not competing on the Visit Duluth contract to help evaluate the bid. Some other Duluth advertising and marketing companies thought it was unfair for Visit Duluth's work to be judged by their major day-to-day competitors. Reinert said that part of the process will not be used to evaluate future bids.
At a March 27 press conference, Reinert acknowledged that any marketing firm, Duluth-based or not, may respond to the RFP, but added, “I fundamentally believe that “I think it's hard to tell the real Duluth story unless you're a Duluth resident.” . I think we have great local talent. ”
He said the tourism marketing task force has a narrow mandate to determine how to structure the RFP to best serve Duluth tourism entities. The mayor said in a news release that the goal of this initiative is to ensure that funds allocated for tourism marketing are effectively reinvested into the city to maximize benefits for Duluth businesses and residents.
Karen Pionk, general manager of the Sheraton Duluth Hotel, was named chair of the task force.
“Duluth's tourism industry is an important economic driver for our community,” Pionk said. “We attract visitors from within the region and beyond to experience Duluth’s unique culture, natural beauty and vibrant community.”
The 14-member working group was formed because Belmont is in the final year of a three-year contract that expires at the end of 2023. At the same time, Visit Duluth's contract will end.
“This is an opportunity to review what we want and discuss whether we want to be partners again,” Reinert said.
The group was scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon. Pionk said public input will be solicited later in the process.
