Finding Lexington’s Identity – Brand Development Project

The Town of Lexington, South Carolina, seeks qualifications from experienced marketing and branding firms to develop a comprehensive brand identity that reflects Lexington’s growth and evolution while honoring its deep-rooted small-town charm and community values. Known for its family-friendly atmosphere, strong sense of belonging, and ideal location in the Midlands, Lexington has become a place where people can live, work, play, and worship, all within a vibrant and welcoming community. This brand development initiative, funded by the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Hometown Economic Development Grant, is a critical step in preparing the Town's 2040 Vision Plan and updating the Town Council's Strategic Plan. Our goal is to create a cohesive, distinct brand identity that reflects Lexington’s unique identity, celebrates its community spirit, and guides its strategic growth over the next 15 years.

II. Project Goals

The primary goal of this initiative is to create a brand that:

• Reflects Lexington’s identity as a vibrant, diverse, and multigenerational community.
• Positions Lexington as more than a "bedroom" or pass-through town, but as a destination and home for its residents and businesses.
• Strengthens the Town’s sense of community and pride, encouraging greater resident engagement.
• Attracts visitors to explore Lexington’s restaurants, shops, and other businesses, supporting local economic growth.
• Serves as the foundation for future strategic growth, guiding the Town’s 2040 Vision Plan and Council’s Strategic Plan.

III. Scope of Services

The selected firm will be responsible for:

1. Brand Discovery & Research

• Conducting stakeholder meetings, workshops, and a community focus group that includes residents, business owners, and other community members. This focus group will ensure that diverse perspectives are captured as part of the brand development process.
• Performing a competitive analysis and market research to assess Lexington’s position in the region and state.

2. Brand Development

• Developing a comprehensive brand identity, including a tagline, Brand Book, digital assets, and brand guidelines.
• Creating design elements and messaging guidelines that reflect the Town’s values and future aspirations.
• Optionally proposing updates or complementary designs to the existing Town logo, if deemed beneficial for a cohesive brand identity.

3. Strategic Communication Plan

• Creating a plan to roll out the new brand across various platforms (digital, print, signage, etc.).
• Outlining strategies for engaging the community throughout the brand launch and beyond.

4. Implementation & Training

• Providing comprehensive brand guidelines and digital assets to ensure consistent application of the brand by Town staff, businesses and community organizations.
• Offering initial training and resources for in-house teams to manage and implement the brand across future Town initiatives.

IV. Submission Requirements

To be considered responsive, proposals must include the following sections in the specified format:

• Company Overview: A brief description of the firm, including years in business, services offered, and relevant experience.
• Relevant Experience: Examples of past branding projects, particularly for municipalities or similar organizations, and case studies demonstrating successful outcomes.
• Team Expertise: Resumes of key personnel who will be assigned to this project, including their roles, qualifications, and experience with similar projects.
• Approach & Methodology: A detailed description of the firm’s approach to brand development, including community engagement methods and a proposed timeline for project completion.
• References: Contact information for at least three relevant references, preferably municipalities or organizations for whom the firm has completed branding projects.
• Budget Estimate: An outline of the anticipated budget for this project, broken down by phases or key deliverables. The Budget Estimate must be sealed separately; only the estimate of the highest-ranked firm, based on qualifications and approach, will be opened and reviewed.

Firms may use this checklist to confirm their proposals are complete. Incomplete submissions may be deemed nonresponsive.

V. Evaluation Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated based on the following weighted criteria:

• Experience and Expertise (30%): Demonstrated experience in municipal or community branding.
• Approach (25%): The creativity, thoroughness, and feasibility of the proposed approach and methodology.
• Stakeholder Engagement (20%): Proven ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.
• Budget (15%): Alignment of the proposed budget with the project’s goals and available funds.
• References (10%): Positive feedback from previous clients, especially municipalities.

VI. Proposal Requirements

A responsive proposal will contain all required documents and forms completed in their entirety. Documents and forms must be unaltered, legible, signed, sealed appropriately, and free from errors without noted corrections. The Town reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to determine whether a proposal is responsive.

VII. RFQ Schedule

• RFQ Issued: 10/30/2024
• Submission Deadline: 11/22/2024
• Selection of Firm: 01/21/2025

VIII. Submission Instructions

Submit qualifications in PDF format via email to Jack Stuart, Town of Lexington, Economic Developer, at For security reasons, you must enable JavaScript to view this E-mail address. by November 22, 2024. The subject line should read: "RFQ – Lexington Identity Initiative." Additionally, submit five bound printed copies to the Town of Lexington Economic Development Office.

• Digital Submission: The file should be named as follows: TOL_BrandProposal_[Firm Name].pdf.
• Hard Copy Submission: All hard copies should be bound and clearly marked with "Confidential: RFQ Submission."
• Do not include the proposed budget in digital format. Only include separate sealed budget as part of the printed copy submittal.

All questions regarding this RFQ should be directed to Jack Stuart at the above email address.

IX. Proposal Delivery and Opening

All proposals must be sealed, marked, and delivered in accordance with the instructions provided in this RFQ. Proposals received prior to the advertised submission deadline shall be securely kept sealed and will be reviewed only after the deadline by an internal review team of five Town staff members. Proposals will not be publicly opened, to maintain the confidentiality of all participating firms.

X. Document and Content Ownership

All documents, reports, proposals, submittals, working papers, or other materials submitted to the Town shall become the sole and exclusive property of the Town and enter the public domain. However, per the South Carolina State Procurement Code, Section 11-35-410, any commercial, financial, price information, design concepts, methods, procedures, and recommendations clearly marked as Confidential by the Offeror may be considered privileged and confidential. This includes biographical data on key employees. Failure to clearly identify information as confidential may result in public disclosure.

Offerors shall not copyright, or cause to be copyrighted, any portion of documents submitted to the Town as part of this solicitation.

XI. Best Interest of Town

The Town reserves the right to reject all proposals whenever it is deemed in the best interest of the Town to do so, and may reject any part of a proposal unless the proposal has been qualified as provided in this statement. The Town may also waive any minor informalities or irregularities in any proposal.

XII. Negotiation

Prior to the notice of award to any Offeror, the Town may elect to open negotiations and ultimately reach an agreement with an Offeror who demonstrates the best combination of qualifications to conduct the project and who negotiates a project cost with the Town that is fair and reasonable. These negotiations may address scope of work, pricing, or any other contractual requirements contained within the proposal documents. Should negotiations commence but fail, the Town reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.