The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) invites proposals for strategic media relations services. ABOUT SCAG SCAG is the nation's largest metropolitan planning organization, representing six counties, 191 cities, 16 tribal governments and more than 19 million residents. Under the guidance of the Regional Council and in collaboration with partners, SCAG’s mission is to foster innovative regional solutions that improve the lives of Southern Californians. SCAG leads the development of a long-term vision document, the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, or Connect SoCal, and promotes its implementation through administering funding, conducting research, creating and sharing resources with local jurisdictions, as well as regional advocacy and collaboration. BACKGROUND As part of its overall effort to create regional plans and support implementation, SCAG requires a relationship with the media. This includes creating media visibility to support SCAG’s influence and leadership in fostering collaboration among Southern California’s land use and transportation planning community. Specifically, the work under this contract supports the following objectives from the latest version of SCAG’s Strategic Plan, adopted in 2024: Be a cohesive and influential voice for the region •Spur innovation and action through leadership in research, analysis and information sharing •Secure and optimize diverse funding sources to support regional priorities SCOPE OF SERVICES The media relations consultant team will generate coverage to support SCAG in accomplishing its goals of implementing strategies from Connect SoCal 2024 (Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy) toward bettering the quality of life for residents across its region. This includes sharing about the impact of SCAG’s work to build the agency’s credibility and trust with partners and constituents. The media relations consultant team will have a proven record of leading strategic media work, including crafting pitches and obtaining media coverage for public sector clients in Southern California online, broadcast and print media outlets. In addition, the media relations consultant team must have strong working knowledge and demonstrated experience in public sector projects in SCAG’s purview of transportation, housing, environment and sustainability, and economic development. The media relations consultant team will also be capable of generating coverage in all six counties of the SCAG region. The team will have established relationships with media contacts in the region, as well as the ability to build new relationships. This solicitation is for a lump-sum contract. SCAG reserves the right to award to multiple proposers; in this scenario, SCAG’s media relations consultant team may consist of a consortium of firms; as such, proposers will be expected to work collaboratively to collectively meet the full requirements of the scope of work. The media relations consultant team will also have a track record of engaging with local multicultural and non-English language media in Southern California media markets, specifically communities with the largest in-language populations: Hispanic/Latino (Spanish), Chinese (Mandarin), Korean and Vietnamese. In addition, this media relations consultant team will have experience arranging meetings with editorial boards or journalists from regional/local outlets, focusing on SCAG’s primary legislative and programmatic priorities.
