OCEAN CITY — With Ocean City getting ready to transition to a new advertising agency after 20 years, interest has been robust in the early part of the process.
Last month, a Request For Proposal (RFP) was prepared and sent out seeking bidders for the town’s advertising firm contract. Every 10 years or so, Ocean City shops out its advertising firm contract and for the last 20 years, the town has contracted with Maryland firm MGH Advertising out of Owings Mills to handle the town’s advertising campaigns.
The plot surrounding the new RFP thickened when MGH opted to not participate after working with the resort for 20 years. During an update on the process following a recent Tourism Commission meeting, Council President and Commission Chair Matt James reported this week interest in the RFP has been robust.
“A pre-bid meeting was held with 34 people on a call for a new ad agency for Ocean City with a ton of interest,” he said on Tuesday.
With the pre-bid meeting in the books this month and the RFP process underway, the finalists will be notified in November. The commission will review the finalists and make a recommendation to the full Mayor and Council in December, and the contract will be awarded by the end of the year to the successful bidder, who will hit the ground running in the new year.
For the last 20 years, the town has contracted with MGH to handle the town’s advertising, including television, radio, print and billboard advertising campaigns, for example. Malis has worked closely with town tourism officials and the leadership of organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association, for example, on conceptual plans for campaigns and his carries out the conceptual plans.
