To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Molly Rattigan, Community Resources & Development Director
Prepared By: Jennifer Owen, Economic Development Program Coordinator
TITLE:
Title
Napa Tourism Improvement District - Contract for Marketing Services from The Abbi Agency
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with The Abbi Agency for Destination Marketing Services for the term of January 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026 for an amount not-to-exceed $345,550.
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 June 17, 2025, City Council approved the LGC-recommended 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.
New Creative Agencies
This year, LGC directed staff to conduct a competitive RFP process for destination marketing services. The last RFP was issued in 2019, which resulted in selecting the Augustine Agency, who has served as the marketing firm since that time. The 2025 RFP process, initiated in June 2025, yielded 69 proposals. At its meeting on November 18, 2025, the LGC voted unanimously to award the execution of the “Advertising and Marketing” budget line item to two agencies: The Abbi Agency for general destination marketing services, and Campstories, for Public Relations.
The Abbi Agency agreement, covering the period of January 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026, is for a not-to-exceed amount of $345,550 (Attachment 2). The services within the Scope of Work include:
• Onboarding activities, to include a thorough audit of marketing services provided to-date
• Stakeholder and branding immersion workshop
• Refreshed brand identity
• Execution of social media, content marketing, e-newsletter, blogs, influencer, and paid media marketing activities
• Ongoing campaign monitoring and reporting
The complete scope of services is included in Attachment 1.
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 Abbi Agency agreement. The proposed not-to-exceed amount of $345,550 is within the proposed FY 2025-2026 Budget and Work Plan as recommended by the Napa TID.
CEQA:
The Community Resources and 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 - The Abbi Agency January-June 2026 Scope of Work
ATCH 2 - The Abbi Agency January-June 2026 Budget
NOTIFICATION:
The Napa Tourism Improvement District Local Governing Committee and the staff of The Abbi Agency have been notified of this agenda item and an agenda has been posted in publicly accessible locations as required by law.