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Travel Montana advertising contract still up in the air

It’s back to square one for the advertising firms that are battling for Travel Montana’s business.

By BETH BRITTON
Tribune Business Editor

Following a request for proposals, or RFP, process that ended in protest, Montana’s tourism promotion arm has decided to restructure the way it awards its advertising contract. RFPs are a common way for state agencies to solicit and choose the best contractors.

For more than 14 years, Travel Montana has been one of the largest clients for Great Falls advertising firm Wendt Kochman. This year, the firm once again earned the points needed to retain the contract, later to learn that a competitor’s protest would nullify that score.

A five-member committee awarded a final score of 910.75 points to Wendt Kochman and 888.50 points to Mercury Advertising of Bozeman, according to Jeanne Wolf, a contracts officer with the Montana Department of Administration, the department that ultimately awards the contract. They were the two top proposals, she said.

"Ultimately we ended up losing the contract, and that was painful," said Mercury co-owner Jamie Willett-Hurd, the daughter of Showdown Ski Area owner George Willett.

"Then it was brought to our attention that our competitor had distributed a self-promotional piece to the RFP committee members after the RFP was released," she added. "Since (the score) was so close, we just felt we had to step up and say something."

The RFP specifies that from the issuance date until a contractor is selected and the selection is announced, no contact is allowed with the committee, Wolf said. Unauthorized contact, she said, may result in disqualification.

The promotional piece, sent to committee members by Wendt Kochman, was a mock newspaper that featured a spoof of sorts on the RFP process, Wolf said.

"It’s just a silly little thing we put together, something we’ve done with other clients before, to help people relax and have fun," said Wendt Kochman President and CEO Carl Kochman "We sent it out to several people."

In response, Mercury filed a formal protest in writing.

According to Montana Promotion Division Administrator Betsy Baumgart, the committee didn’t feel the piece had influenced the score, but following Mercury’s protest, the members felt it created a cloud over the process. Travel Montana wiped the slate clean, and the department is considering breaking the RFP into three separate RFPs — one each for a winter advertising campaign, for publicity efforts and for all other marketing.

"The protest by Mercury forced us to take a look at the RFP process," Baumgart said. "We have the opportunity to make some changes."

Once the new process is established, Baumgart said the goal is to have the contracts awarded by June 30.

"We are, of course, very disappointed. To us, it dilutes the branding presence and the consistency we have built up," Kochman said of potentially awarding separate contracts to different agencies. "The tourism industry has grown, and to do something to dilute that or decrease its effectiveness is of great concern."

Willett-Hurd said it is not uncommon in the industry for clients to work with several agencies; she said she is pleased that the department is reviewing its process in what she said is a critical time for tourism in Montana.

Bottom line, this is expensive for both Travel Montana and the various advertising firms. Preparing for a RFP is an expensive and time-consuming process, Kochman said, and it’s about to start all over again.

Travel Montana goes through the process every seven years, Baumgart said. The contract, which may be renewed annually for the following six years, ranges from $2.2 million to $2.6 million annually.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030301/localnews/1086233.html

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