charlottesville

The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitor’s Bureau is looking to hire a PR firm to bolster its image that was tarnished by the year-ago white supremacist rally.

The organization concedes the city “has been facing a serious PR challenge for over a year, starting on Aug. 12, 2017, with the takeover of our town by a white nationalist rally organized by Jason Kessler," according to its RFP. “We have failed to be proactive in combatting the emerging negative story lines related to this event, and all indications are that tourism and hospitality in our area have suffered as a result.”

The CACVB wants a PR ally to create a strategic media plan and provide counsel “that is designed to address the negative tone of national and international media coverage of Charlottesville in the wake of these tragic events.”

In the quest for a more positive image, the PR firm will engage national journalists “in an honest, inclusive view of Charlottesville” and “frame a narrative that communicates that we are safe, open for business, and working on the challenges we face as a community."

The CACVB believes it faces “challenges akin to crisis communications.”

The RFP is for a one-year PR campaign with up to four additional one-year renewals.

Proposals are due Dec. 28.

They may be shipped/mailed or hand-delivered to:

CACVB of Albemarle
Purchasing Office
401 McIntire Road
Room 248
Charlottesville, VA 22902

A pre-proposal conference is slated for Dec. 11.