Hawaii Tourism Authority seeks sports marketing/events agency

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), the state’s tourism agency, announced today that a request for proposal (RFP) has been issued to secure a sports marketing/events agency.

HTA is seeking an entity deemed to be the most qualified and capable of providing sports marketing consultation services in conjunction with HTA’s strategic plan for global tourism marketing. Among the services sought by the new contractor include:

• Assist HTA in establishing Hawaii as a premier destination for all levels of sporting events to include youth, amateur and professional athletes.

• Assist HTA in building upon successful current events, such as the Ironman Triathlon and Duke’s OceanFest.

• Ensure that the sporting events strategy builds upon HTA’s mission to attract visitors to the Hawaiian Islands and support generating of revenue for the State of Hawaii.

• Assist HTA in attracting national and international sporting events.

The selected contractor will work directly with Leslie Dance, vice president of marketing and product development for HTA. Dance, who joined HTA on January 5, initiated this RFP process to secure a sports marketing/events agency based on her prior experience of working with global sports brands in product marketing.

Dance commented, “Sports presents opportunities to expand our marketing platform in fulfilling HTA’s mission to support tourism on behalf of Hawaii’s taxpayers. We want to capitalize on sports events that support Hawaii’s brand image, and encourage people to come here from around the world to experience the islands before, during and after the event, especially first-time visitors. Ultimately, we want these attendees to see what a beautiful experience Hawaii is, and to come back for vacations.

“We’re seeking an experienced sports marketing agency that expands our network of support for Hawaii tourism. We will look to this agency to help develop leads, advise on contract negotiations, provide logistical support, and give us the kind of insight needed to ensure a successful event for both Hawaii and our sports partner.”

Prior to joining HTA, Dance collaborated on numerous product promotions and partnerships with the NFL, FIFA, PGA, LPGA, USTA, Major League Baseball and the Olympics through her representation of Motorola, Eastman Kodak and Burberry.

Written proposals responding to the RFP are due to HTA by April 25, 2016, with the contractor to be selected by May 13, 2016. The one-year contract will begin on June 1, 2016.