To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Molly Rattigan, Interim Community Development Director
Prepared By: Jennifer Owen, Economic Development Program Coordinator
TITLE:
Title
Napa Tourism Improvement District - Contract for Marketing Services
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Approve Service Agreement with D. Augustine & Associates, Inc. for Destination Marketing Services for the term of July 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 for an amount not-to-exceed of $233,193.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Background
The Napa Tourism Improvement District fund is managed by the City, with oversight by the Napa Tourism Improvement District Local Governing Committee (“LGC”), as defined by the Napa Valley Management District Plan (“MDP”). At a meeting held on May 27, 2025, the LGC voted to recommend Council approval of the FY 2025-2026 Budget and Work Plan.
Consistent with past years, the most significant expenditure in the LGC Budget and Work Plan is the “Advertising and Marketing” line item. This budgeted line item reflects the most critical part of the Work Plan - the contract(s) for Destination Marketing Services that must be performed to meet the Napa Valley Tourism Improvement District assessment’s purpose and intent.
The City provides administrative staff support to the LGC and part of that support includes the planning and execution of the procurement process for the professional marketing and advertising services described above.
Contract Renewal
At their May 27, 2025 meeting, the LGC heard a presentation from D. Augustine & Associates, Inc. and unanimously recommended renewing the marketing services agreement with Augustine & Associates for the period of July 1, 2025 - December 31, 2025 for an amount not to exceed of $233,193. The proposed agreement (Attachment 1) details the recommended Scope of Work and corresponding budget. The services within the Scope of Work include:
• Account Planning & Management
• Public Relations Strategy & Management
• Social Media Strategy & Management
• Digital Strategy & Management
• Search Engine Optimization
• Creative Production
• Blogs & eNewsletters
• Paid Media
• Website Management
The LGC has voted unanimously to go to RFP for destination marketing services, as is best practice, with City staff driving the process beginning in June 2025. The intention is to commence work with the chosen creative agency or agencies in January of 2026, which is why this contract renewal with D. Augustine & Associates is set to conclude December 31, 2025.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
There is no financial impact on the City’s General Fund. The Napa Tourism Improvement District was formed by Napa County through a two percent assessment of gross room rentals received from lodging businesses throughout the county. Napa TID funds are to be expended for tourism promotion in accordance with the approved Management District Plan. The City retains 25 percent of the assessment revenue collected within the City limits, to be used for promotion purposes as set forth in an annual work plan and budget prepared by the Napa TID and approved by City Council.
The City also retains one percent of the assessment revenue as an administrative fee. No activities implemented as a part of the Napa TID budget are supported by the General Fund. The marketing allocation is the revenue source for funding the Augustine & Associates agreement. The proposed not-to-exceed amount of $233,193 is within the proposed FY 2025-2026 Budget and Work Plan as recommended by the Napa TID.
CEQA:
The Community Development Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines
Section 15060.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Augustine June-Dec 2025 SOW + Budget
NOTIFICATION:
The Napa Tourism Improvement District Local Governing Committee and the staff of D. Augustine & Associates, Inc. have been notified of this agenda item and an agenda has been posted in publicly accessible locations as required by law.