HomeMy WebLinkAboutMatchfire_CityofSLO_RFQCity of SLO RFQ
On-call consulting for
communications support services.
SUBMITTED FOR REVIEW BY MATCHFIRE / 03.15.2022
2MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Letter of Interest
Relevant Experience of Key Personnel & Firm
Fee Structure & References
Appendix: Relevant Case Studies
Table of
Contents
03
07
17
20
3MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Dear Recipient:
The team here at Matchfire welcomes the opportunity to submit our qualifications for the
RFQ -On-call Consulting For Communications Support Services. Matchfire opened its
headquarters here in San Luis Obispo over 20 years ago and has previously contracted with the
City of San Luis Obispo to manage the TBID account. Additionally, our team has provided the
services requested under this RFQ for many of the prominent organizations in the region
including:
•Cal Poly –CIE, CAFES, COB
•City of SLO –TBID
•Trust Automation
•Meathead Movers
•San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce
Matchfire has also provided these services to some of the largest organizations around the
world. Many of these clients have retained or on-call agreements in place and we routinely
provide the following services, as promised, on time and on budget. We are bidding on the
following services as outlined in the RFQ:
•Brand Awareness Strategies
•Stakeholder Engagement and Information Gathering
•Small Projects -Content Creation, including:
-Full-service Graphic Design
-Light Graphic Design Projects
-Video & Photography Production
-Key Messages Development
-Informational, Educational, Social Media Posts
LETTER OF INTEREST
•French Hospital Foundation
•REACH
•Foundation for the Performing Arts Center
•Associated Students Inc. (ASI) -Cal Poly
•San Luis Obispo Coastal Foundation
4MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
•Additional Services not Listed in the RFP
-Website Design & Development
-User Experience, Information Architecture, User Interface Design
-Social Media Strategy & Management
-Fundraising & Purpose Base Marketing
-Strategic Guidance & Planning
-Brand Identity & Design
-Full Service Creative & Content Creation
-Experiential Planning &Execution
-Digital Marketing
Of the services outlined in the RFQ, only crisis communication, speech writing and media
relations/releases (PR) are outside of our wheelhouse –but we have signification partnerships close at
hand if these services are required.
For those of you who are not familiar with Matchfire, here’s a brief overview of who we are,
followed by our commitment to you as an agency partner.
In our 20 years, Matchfire (Causemedia Group LLC) has created and counseled hundreds of
brands, collaborated with top agencies and provided strategic marketing, creative, branding, CSR
and digital solutions and services to hundreds of clients. Here is a little of our history:
•In 2000, Kompolt was formed as a marketing agency serving eBay and eBay clients. It moved
from Washington to SLO in 2001.
•In 2006, Kompolt was acquired by an internal team of executives, and Causemedia Group
(CMG) was formed to create large online/offline integrated campaigns for Fortune 500
clients, celebrities, and charities with auctions as their core.
•From 2006 to 2008, CMG created campaigns on Myspace as an additional anchor for client
projects.We became the retained agency to manage and promote the Impact Channel on
Myspace –the second largest channel next to Music.
•From 2008 to today, the company has evolved into a digital marketing agency, producing
global brands and campaigns, building hundreds of best-in-class and award-winning
enterprise websites, developing marketing platforms and social/digital campaigns for
companies like LG, Mars Wrigley, Electrolux, American Red Cross, United Nations,
Equinox, eBay, PayPal, and many more.
LETTER OF INTEREST
5MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Today, we are 25 specialists in San Luis Obispo, Dallas, and New York City who create
brands, campaigns and websites that move people to think and act. Here is our
commitment to you.
WORK HARD: We work to find unique solutions that can be executed on time and
on budget.
SHOW UP AND SPEAK UP: You deserve an agency partner that brings their own
experience and point of view. We’ll work alongside you and always tell you what
we’re thinking.
COMMUNICATE EARLY & OFTEN: We will run iterations and review sessions as
“sprints”, working quickly to get small approvals and keep you in the loop instead of
disappearing for long periods.
REMAIN ACCESSIBLE: From weekly zoom meetings to ongoing ClickUp tasks, or
instant messages using teams or slack, we remain accessible throughout the process.
BE A TEAM: Our team becomes an extension of your team. We work as if we are one,
and we don’t work in silos. We consult with you along the way and occasionally, we
have a drink together.
THINK IT THROUGH: We combine industry experience and creative expertise to
deliver the best solution to your business problems.
Lastly, thank you for the opportunity to participate in the RFQ response for the City of San
Luis Obispo. We believe we can be a good agency, offer fresh perspectives, new ideas, and
passionate talent for any organization within the City of SLO.
Joey Leslie
President
818-300-4999
joey@matchfire.com
LETTER OF INTEREST
6MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Here is the requested information per the RFQ:
A) Causemedia Group, LLC (dba Matchfire)
1880 Santa Barbara Avenue
Suite 160
San Luis Obispo CA 93401
805-788-0500
B) Matchfire has the expertise, experience and availability to provide on-call consulting
services to the City of San Luis Obispo.
C) Matchfire has 20 years of experience providing the exact services requested in this
RFQ to clients in San Luis Obispo and around the world.
D) Matchfire will adhere to the provisions described in this RFQ.
E) Matchfire will sign a service provider agreement if selected.
F) The contact at Matchfire for this submission is:
Joey Leslie
President
818-300-4999
joey@matchfire.com
LETTER OF INTEREST
MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO 7
Relevant Experience of Key
Personnel & Firm
8MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
KEY PERSONNEL EXPERIENCE
President / 18 years
Joey Leslie
Joey believes that good ideas and results are really all that matter –that
clients deserve more than they expect. Over the years, he has created award
winning campaigns for celebrities, entertainment studios, Fortune 50
companies and global nonprofits. At Matchfire, Joey is a Partner and is the
company’s President.
Relevant Experience:
•Oversaw relationship for TBID City of SLO
•President of the Board for FPAC
•Strategic advisor for Dignity Health, French Hospital Foundation
•General strategic advisor for all local accounts
Creative Director / 7 years
Lea Brandy
Lea has spent over 18 years in the field of marketing management. She has
worked as a brand manager for national CPG brands, taught marketing
courses as an adjunct lecturer and currently works as a Creative Director. For
Lea, developing strategy and studying data and analytics on consumer
behaviors and user experiences, is just as exciting as leading the creative
processes to develop and manage brand experiences. While at Matchfire, she's
managed major digital campaigns, rebranding efforts and website builds for
clients such as the United Nations, Meathead Movers, Mars Wrigley,
Mercato, eBay for Charity, ASI Cal Poly, and LG Get Started.
Relevant Experience:
•Design & Communication Strategy
-CAFES, Cal Poly –This is Reality Campaign
-Foundation for the Performing Arts -25th Anniversary
-City of SLO –TBID
•Video Production Services
-City of SLO –TBID
-Foundation for the Performing Arts
-Dignity Health, French Hospital Foundation –Beyond Health
•Brand Strategy & Website Design
-ASI –Cal Poly
-SLO Coastal Foundation
-REACH
-Dignity Health, French Hospital Foundation –Beyond Health
-Imagine SLO
-CIE -Cal Poly
-Trust Automation (on-going)
-Meathead Movers
•Former Committee Member to:
-SLO Wine Association
-SLO County Marketing & Communications Committee
9MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Account Director / 6 years
Brittany Garcia
Brittany is a savvy digital strategist that has spent most of her 14-year career
on the client side developing, managing and elevating brands –including
multiple recent projects for Cal Poly and former Account Director for the
City of San Luis Tourism Business Improvement District. Brittany excels at
marketing strategy across multiple channels to include digital, social, email
and print. As an Account Director for Matchfire, Brittany has managed the
many moving pieces of complex programs that include web, mobile, social,
SEO, blogs and events to bring her clients’ visions to life.
Relevant Experience:
•Account Director for the following
•City of SLO -TBID
•CIE –Cal Poly
•Dignity Health, French Hospital Foundation –Beyond Health
•College of Business, Cal Poly
•Agency Partner Liaison
•City of SLO –TBID / AMF
•Other
•Visit SLOCAL–Community & Member Relations Manager
CTO / 12 years
Brian Nance
Always looking to find creative solutions to technical problems, Brian has been
developing applications for the web since 1995. Focusing on architecting end-to-
end solutions for clients, Brian is fluent in major web programming languages,
technologies, servers and services. He has worked with a wide variety of
companies in entertainment, news, politics, games and technology.
Relevant Experience:
•Chief Technology Officer overseeing
•ASI -Cal Poly
•City of SLO -TBID
•Meathead Movers
•CIE –Cal Poly
•REACH
•Dignity Health, French Hospital Foundation –Beyond Health
•Imagine SLO
KEY PERSONNEL EXPERIENCE
10MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Senior Designer / 3 years
Ed Marshall
Ed is creative, detail-oriented and thoughtful in his design approach. From
concept to implementation, and everything in between, he aims to create
powerful visual solutions to engage and enhance the user experience. With
expertise in branding and web design, Ed is passionate about developing and
implementing a cohesive brand strategy and improving product
marketability to support business growth. Ed is Senior Designer at Matchfire
and has worked with a wide variety of clients including Salesforce, County of
San Luis Obispo, City of San Luis Obispo, LG and USAID.
Relevant Experience:
•Senior Designer for the following:
•City of SLO –TBID
•ASI –Cal Poly
•CIE –Cal Poly
•Dignity Health French Hospital Foundation –Beyond Health
•Associated Student Incorporated, Cal Poly
•REACH
•County of SLO –Website Redesign
•City of SLO –Open Space Collateral Design
Videographer / 2yr contractor
Kevin Judge
Kevin joined Matchfire as a Videographer in 2018, after working for over 9 year
in creative marketing and film. From shooting documentaries, films and
company promos in Africa and Asia, to running a boutique creative agency here
in SLO, Kevin brings a fluent knowledge of digital production, with extensive
technical and creative experience.
Relevant Experience:
•Licensed drone pilot
•Videographer for the following:
•City of SLO -TBID
•Dignity Health French Hospital Foundation –Beyond Health
•Foundation for the Performing Arts
Senior UX/UI Engineer
4yr employee
Chris Zacker
Chris is a digital developer responsible for crafting professional websites for
clients large and small. Using the latest technologies, he builds sites, launches
and maintains their digital presence. Competent in HTML, CSS, Sass, jQuery,
JavaScript, PHP, WordPress, and the Adobe Suite. Chris has worked on all
website development projects that come through the agency.
Relevant Experience:
•Senior Engineer:
•ASI-Cal Poly
•City of SLO -TBID
•Meathead Movers
•REACH
•Dignity Health, French Hospital Foundation –Beyond Health
•Imagine SLO
KEY PERSONNEL EXPERIENCE
11MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Robert Leslie (Joey) -President
Contact information:
Countries of work experience:
Language skills:
Educational & other qualifications:
818-300-4999; joey@matchfire.com
USA
English
University of Texas at Austin, Master of Humanities
SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE: Joey is currently a Principal in the Causemedia Group and President of Matchfire. Joey brings over 20
years of award-winning experience creating and managing unique social good campaigns for major entertainment studios, large
national charities and dozens of Fortune 500 companies. He’s directed online and offline cause campaigns that have raised over
$100 million for non-profits around the world. Joey’s largest clients include: Weber Shandwick, UNICEF, eBay, PayPal, Pepsi, Be
The Match, MDA, Points of Light and hundreds more.
SPECIALTIES: Cause Marketing, Fundraising, Social Media, Social Good, Marketing, Agencies,Charity
Relevant Experience (From most recent):
PERIOD:
FROM –TO
NAME OF ACTIVITY/ PROJECT JOB TITLE & ACTIVITIES
UNDERTAKEN /DESCRIPTION OF
ACTUAL ROLE PERFORMED:
Feb 2008 –2016 Weber Shandwick –production partner for 100s of
digital builds for clients like Pepsi, Unilever,
Electrolux and Diageo.
Strategic Lead
Jul 2010 –Dec 2013 Be The Match –Concept and creation of several
evergreen fundraising and awareness platforms.
Worked across multiple client departments to
exceed global KPIs
Strategic Lead
Jan 2009 –Dec 2012 Twestival –Global fundraising movement using
social media for social good. Our platform engaged
100s of thousands of participants in hundreds of
cities, on all seven continents around the world.
Twestival has over $1.8M.
Strategic Lead
References:
REFERENCE #1
Ken Scherer,CEO
Motion Picture & Television Fund
kscherer@mptf.org ;818-876-1900
REFERENCE #2
Robert Chatwani,CMO
Teespring
Robert@teespring.com
REFERENCE #3
Rossanna Wang, Consultant
Previously CMO at Malaria No More
rossannawang@gmail.com
DECLARATION: I confirm my intention to serve in the stated position and present availability to serve for the term of the proposed
contract. I also understand that any willful misstatement described above may lead to my disqualification, before or during my
engagement.
SIGNATURE OF THE NOMINATED TEAM LEADER/MEMBER
DATE SIGNED:3/09/22
Feb 2016 -Present
UNDP, Foundation for the Performing Arts, SLO
TBID, MDA, French Hospital, Hourglass, Motion
Picture Fund
Strategic Lead
12MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Brian Nance –Technology Director
Contact information:
Countries of work experience:
Language skills:
Educational & other qualifications:
928-679-0789; nance@matchfire.com
USA
English
Bachelor of Science in Physics
SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE: Always looking to find creative and efficient solutions to technical problems, Brian has been writing
software applications for the web since 1995. He focuses mostly on various cause marketing campaigns, in the past being the lead
technology architect and developer for the successful global Twestival, Jamie Oliver Food Revolution, and UNICEF 365 campaigns, as
well as the newly launched MDA.org. Through his 20+ years of software engineering experience, he has led a wide variety of
technical projects in entertainment, non-profit, social, health, politics, games and technology with the strength of experience with
many various programming languages and platforms for integration or custom development.
Relevant Experience (From most recent):
PERIOD:
FROM –TO
NAME OF ACTIVITY/ PROJECT JOB TITLE & ACTIVITIES
UNDERTAKEN /DESCRIPTION OF
ACTUAL ROLE PERFORMED:
January 2003 -Present Matchfire, Causemedia Group Technology Director
June 2000 –January 2003 Catstar,Inc.Technology Architect
Dev 1997 –June 2000 Preview Systems Sr. Software Engineer
References:
REFERENCE #1
Anthony Ronga, Chief Executive
Officer
IntoTheDarkroom
Anthony.ronga@intothedarkroom.com;
480-678-1446
REFERENCE #2
George Koster, Founder
George Koster Consulting
George@georgekoster.com;650-
248-8100
REFERENCE #3
Artemisa Saucedo, Founder
MAS Marketing
artemisa@masmarketingsolutions.com;
408-813-3371
DECLARATION: I confirm my intention to serve in the stated position and present availability to serve for the term of the proposed
contract. I also understand that any willful misstatement described above may lead to my disqualification, before or during my
engagement.
SIGNATURE OF THE NOMINATED TEAM LEADER/MEMBER
DATE SIGNED:3/09/22
13MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Brittany Garcia –Account Director
Contact information:
Countries of work experience:
Language skills:
Educational & other qualifications:
805-727-0967; brittany@matchfire.com
USA
English
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE: Brittany is a savvy digital strategist with a 15-year career working with clients to develop, manage and
elevate their brands. Brittany excels at executing marketing strategy across multiple channels to include digital, social, email and
print. As an Account Director for Matchfire, Brittany has managed the many moving pieces of complex programs that include web,
mobile, social, SEO, blogs and events to bring her clients’ visions to life.
PERIOD:
FROM –TO
NAME OF ACTIVITY/ PROJECT JOB TITLE & ACTIVITIES
UNDERTAKEN /DESCRIPTION OF
ACTUAL ROLE PERFORMED:
Account Director
Apr 2013 –Apr 2015 SapientRazorfish (formally Rosetta)Digital Strategist
References:
REFERENCE #1
Molly Cano,Tourism Manager
City of San Luis Obispo
mcano@slocity.org; 805.781.7152
REFERENCE #2
Liz Summer, SVP Business Services
SESLOC Federal Credit Union
lsummer@sesloc.org
REFERENCE #3
Deborah Nicklas, VP Philanthropy
French Hospital Medical Center
Foundation
Debby.Nicklas@dignityhealth.org
DECLARATION: I confirm my intention to serve in the stated position and present availability to serve for the term of the proposed
contract. I also understand that any willful misstatement described above may lead to my disqualification, before or during my
engagement.
SIGNATURE OF THE NOMINATED TEAM LEADER/MEMBER
DATE SIGNED:3/9/22
May 2015 -Present Matchfire –A pivotal client advocate to the agency.
Working to shape a client’s executable plans to
ensure the agency can be successful in meeting
client expectations, and then guiding the execution
of entire programs and their constituent projects
across multiple interdisciplinary stakeholders,
management of third-party agencies and internal
project management.
Dec 2009 –Apr 2013 Visit SLOCAL (formally San Luis Obispo County
Visitors + Conference Bureau)
Community + Member
Relations Manager
Central Coast Magazine Communications ManagerDec2006–Dec 2009
Relevant Experience (From most recent):
14MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Lea Brandy –Creative Director
Contact information:
Countries of work experience:
Language skills:
Educational & other qualifications:
805-215-2985; lea@matchfire.com
USA
English
San Francisco State University, CA: B.A. Communications concentration
Public Relations
SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE: Brand and digital marketing and design professional with over 18 years of experience in the multi-
disciplinary field of digital design and traditional marketing. Having worked with both global and national companies, my
responsibilities have included but are not limited to the following; business development, strategy and management, design
strategy, planning, execution and team management, leadership and conference level presenter, creative and art direction, design
staff management and development, data evaluation, advertising, paid media and email strategy and design, crm and
segmentation, and project management.
Relevant Experience (From most recent):
PERIOD:
FROM –TO
NAME OF ACTIVITY/ PROJECT JOB TITLE & ACTIVITIES
UNDERTAKEN /DESCRIPTION OF
ACTUAL ROLE PERFORMED:
2014 -current Creative Director
Account Director
2013 -2014
Matchfire –Oversee daily operations for the
creative team. Projects include: MARS Inc., United
Nations Development Programme, Cal Poly
University Advancement, LG Life is Good, Care
International, eBay for Charity, Cal Poly CIE, Cal
Poly CAFES, SLO Chamber, Sweet Defeat,
Meathead Movers
Cal Poly University
2010 -2013
2012 -Present
Cal Poly University Extended Education
Lea Brandy Consulting
2011 -2012
2007 -2010
2002 -2007
Prince Lionheart
Jackson Family Wines {KJ}
Diageo Chateau &Estates
Part-Time Lecturer: Marketing
& Sales for Print & Digital Media
Lecturer Wine Marketing
Brand Marketing & Design
Consultant
Head of Marketing
Brand Manager
Marketing & Communications
Manager
References:
REFERENCE #1
Kelly Lynch, Senior Brand Director
Mars Wrigley
Kelly.Lynch@effem.com;254.227.7327
REFERENCE #2
Aaron Steed, CEO Meathead Movers
aaronsteed@meatheadmovers.com
805.471.1035
REFERENCE #3
Christine Robertson,Executive
Director
San Luis Coastal Unified Foundation
crobertson@slcusd.org;805.549.1300
DECLARATION: I confirm my intention to serve in the stated position and present availability to serve for the term of the proposed
contract. I also understand that any willful misstatement described above may lead to my disqualification, before or during my
engagement.
SIGNATURE OF THE NOMINATED TEAM LEADER/MEMBER
DATE SIGNED:3/11/22
15MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
DIGITAL
MARKETING
Making an impact is equal parts data,
experience, creative messaging, and relevant
delivery. We develop, plan and design cross-
channel experiences, creating value for
existing brand advocates while educating and
attracting new audiences.
We provide business and marketing strategy,
integrated marketing platform development,
partnership classification and identification, and
design-thinking solutions. We work through an
inclusive lens, where intent intersects impact, to
help you maximize performance and purpose.
STRATEGY &
PARTNERSHIPS
SOCIAL
PURPOSE
We believe every brand in every category should know
its true purpose. We unite nonprofit marketing
experience with strategic social impact
development. We manage cause marketing
platform creation and activation, fundraising
strategies, corporate partnership development,
digital campaign activations, and employee
engagement strategies.
We specialize in crafting new brands that tell
a story, inspire a movement, spark action and
make an impact. We also work on brand
extensions through refreshed color palettes,
fonts, evolved logo exploration, campaign-
specific applications, collateral, POP, POS,
and event assets.
WEBSITE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
We have extensive experience building custom websites, content management systems, and rich
internet applications that support evergreen and seasonal branding and fundraising campaigns. Our
websites are made to be in a highly automated and scalable environment -built to be flexible and extensible
for an ever-changing digital environment. Our development team has broad applicable and practical
experience to cover the wide range of Full Stack development and headless architecture.
BRAND IDENTITY
& DESIGN
Firm Experience
16MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Client Experience
MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO 17
Fee Structure & References
18MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
FEE SCHEDULE
Fee scheduling varies by client. Matchfire will work with the individual
departments/organizations within the City of SLO to meet their requirements. We
accept 30 –60 days terms which can be billed monthly, by project or by milestone.
Retainer agreements are discounted by 10% of overall cost and billed monthly as
determined by Matchfire and the organization.
Fee structures vary as well and can be billed by time and materials, or by project. This is
determined on a case-by-case basis depending on deliverable and client. Hours not spent
on a project can be banked for future work. Hours are billed in 30-minute increments.
Agency Fees
Executive/Strategist/CTO
Account Director/Creative Director
Account Manager/Senior Designer/Developer
Account Coordinator/Designer
Blended Rate
Retainer Rates
Breakdown of Staff Per Project Type
Design Work
Content Development
Social Media Management
Website Design & Development
Video Production
$200/hour
$185/hour
$150/hour
$130/hour
$185/hour
2 –4
1 -3
2
3 -10
2+
$165/hour
Estimated # of Personnel
19MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
19
AMERICAN HERITAGE CHOCOLATE / MARS WRIGLEY
Kelly Lynch, Senior Brand Director
kelly.lynch@effem.com
805.756.7519
SAN LUIS OBISPO TOURISM
Molly Cano, Tourism Manager
mcano@slocity.org
805.781.7165
ASI CAL POLY
Michelle Crawford, Director
mcrawf02@calpoly.edu
805.756.2324
REFERENCES
MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO 20
Appendix:
Related
Case Studies
21MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) is a student-driven, non-profit auxiliary organization of California
Polytechnic State University, committed to providing programs, services, and facilities that enhance
and develop the student learning experience. ASI came to Matchfire to overhaul their website, which
provides critical functionality for students across campus, represents multiple departments and
programs within ASI, and uses various data sources, technologies, and platforms.
Matchfire completed a top-to-bottom analysis of their technology challenges, stakeholder needs, and
internal organizational goals to develop a plan for the updated ASI website. They needed a clean, user-
centric design that was flexible enough to update every few years to keep up with the ever-changing
design landscape, a simplified back-end that allowed for easy content updates, and an integrated
solution for the various data sources. To solve their technology challenges, we created a modern,
platform-agnostic middle-layer to keep the front end of the website separate from the different data
sources that power it, allowing for more flexibility and extensibility for years to come. We also did
extensive user-journey mapping to give visitors an unobstructed path to completing essential tasks
and created a visual design language that resonated with the student population.
+ Web Design & Development
+ Strategic Counsel
+ Visual Identity
+ Data Intelligence
+ Content Strategy
21
View Case Study
22MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
The San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District (SLO TBID) worked with
Matchfire to streamline their brand identity on digital including rebuilding their website
experience and developing a comprehensive content marketing strategy. The website got a
whole new look and feel, along with an updated site structure to house search-optimized
content and new features like an events calendar and interactive maps of San Luis Obispo.
In tandem, we developed a robust, 12-month content strategy. The plan included overhauling
the ambassador program, ShareSLO, and enlisted the help of locals and business partners to
share San Luis Obispo-centric content across social platforms and the ShareSLO blog. This
program evolved when we introduced an influencer strategy, inviting out-of-market influencers
to visit SLO and share their POV. During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, we welcomed 12 influencers
to experience San Luis Obispo and invited their audience along for the ride, reaching nearly 7
million followers.
Our ongoing work with the SLO TBID resulted in year-over-year growth in visitors to San Luis
Obispo. During the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the SLO TBID had a 7% increase in Transient
Occupancy Tax (TOT) –the largest collection to date.
+Content Marketing
+Digital Marketing
+ Video Production
+ Influencer Marketing
+Website
+ Social Media
View Case Study
23MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Over the last 30 years, the SLO Chamber has developed and produced six iterations of the San Luis
Obispo Economic Vision. Historically the document was a hard copy collateral piece shared with
citizens, community and business leaders and prospective residents. This year, the SLO Chamber of
Commerce was looking to bring the newest version of the Economic Vision to life in new way.
The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce sought Matchfire’s help in designing and building their
first ever web-based Economic Vision to be implemented as an extension of SLOChamber.org. SLO
Chamber of Commerce’s goal for the site was to connect with chamber members, current and
prospective community members, government staff and elected officials. The goal was to evoke
excitement and anticipation for the future of the City.
San Luis Obispo is an up-and-coming city with a bright economic future—it is quickly becoming a hub
for local startups, head-of-household jobs and vibrant retail spaces. Matchfire created the branding,
design and website implementation behind this vision, so the SLO Chamber of Commerce could
accurately and effectively educate its target audience on the future of the region.
+Brand Design
+Collateral Design
+Website Design & Development
View Case Study
24MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
In need of funding support for future Cal Poly College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental
Sciences (CAFES) educational programming and facilities –we designed and developed a campaign
identity for their five-year fundraising campaign initiative. As CAFES boasts one of the nation’s most
prestigious undergraduate agriculture programs with 15 majors, 22 minors, and almost 4000
undergraduate students enrolled they were eager to get fundraising underway. We created a
campaign identity that complements the existing Cal Poly and CAFES brands yet stands out and
differentiates it from other colleges –enticing supporters to contribute. The campaign, named “This
is Reality”, embodied the Learn By Doing motto and showcased the variety of classes, programs,
technologies and experiences offered to CAFES students.
+Marketing Planning
+ Visual Identity
+ Collateral Design
View Case Study
25MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) was at a pivotal point for growth since
inception in 2010. The CIE needed a cohesive fundraising campaign to help garner financial
support from major donors.
The primary goal for this project was to create a campaign identity and experience for the CIE
that connects emotionally and rationally with people who have a passion and desire for
supporting entrepreneurship and Cal Poly’s ‘Learn by Doing’ philosophy –resulting in $10.5
million in donations by 2021.
Matchfire’s team tackled this project through a series of discovery, research and input from key
CIE stakeholders and then launched into campaign development once a foundational
understanding was set. Matchfire developed a campaign that naturally created an intersection of
relevance, resonance and advocacy –It Takes More. This campaign was brought to life as a
microsite that provoked emotion and thought to guide the user to take action and make a
donation. The microsite educated potential donors on the CIE’s programming, curriculum,
success stories and the critical need for program funding.
+ Identity & Design
+ Web Design & Development
View Case Study
26MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
With the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Performing Arts Center (PAC) San Luis Obispo, the
Foundation for the Performing Arts Center (FPAC) tasked Matchfire with designing a campaign to
engage the community leading up to the anniversary and encourage event participation. The
Foundation Performing Arts Center, San Luis Obispo provides and promotes an extraordinary and
accessible center for the performing arts that works to bring the community together.
Through the Discovery process, we theorized that the campaign needed to visually depict the PAC as
an accessible, community hub —a place for artistic collaboration and exploration for all ages. The
final campaign name: Find Your Center.
In creating the anniversary campaign design, we wanted to highlight the PAC building’s unique
structure and artistic curves. To bring this to life, an outline of the building was sketched and used as
the foundational graphic element. To pair with the PAC’s bold brand red, we introduced a secondary
color palette using bold colors to mimic the loud expression of art. Incorporating circular
photography, parallel graphic elements, color and gradients, the Find Your Center campaign was
brought to life through digital properties, including a website and social media assets, as well as print
collateral, including billboards, posters and marketing materials.
Due to Covid, the anniversary campaign has been postponed to the 3oth anniversary.
+Campaign Development
+ Branding
+ Social Purpose
View Case Study
27MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
French Hospital Medical Center Foundation is committed to supporting the charitable and
community health care mission of French Hospital Medical Center. The Foundation supports French
Hospital Medical Center through fundraising and community engagement initiatives.
Matchfire was consulted to expand and enhance the initial proof of concept, “Your New French
Hospital”, into a fully integrated, capital campaign platform known as, Beyond Health. The campaign
platform mobilizes existing supporters and attract new donors, with the goal of assisting and
supporting the overall fundraising goals for the new French Hospital campus. This multi-channel
campaign has included a digital fundraising component, an awareness and engagement campaign and
marketing strategy inclusive of: campaign value proposition, strategic direction, visual identity,
website development, and ongoing support of the campaign’s execution.
+Social Media
+Campaign Development
+ Advertising
+ Collateral Design
+ Video
+Brand Identity
+ Brand Messaging
+ Digital Marketing
+ Website
View Case Study
28MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
San Luis Coastal Education Fund is a non-profit established to raise funds to support schools in the
San Luis Obispo area, specifically targeting innovation and technology in the classroom. SLCEF
wanted to create a visual identity to exist across both digital and print which looked forward-
thinking and technical without feeling impersonal. As an entity under the umbrella of the San Luis
Coastal Unified School District the new branding had to align and coexist with that existing identity.
Matchfire took visual cues from the local landscapes and focused on photography treatments of
students in hands-on learning environments to create the brand’s look and feel, which included a
refresh of their existing logo. The final SLCEF brand succinctly aligns with the greater school
district’s brand yet remains unique and identifiable as its own mark.
+Identity & Design
+ Website Template Design & Build
View Case Study
29MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
REACH is California Central Coast’s Regional Economic Action Coalition uniting public, private and
civic leaders with the goal to transform the quality of life on the Central Coast through a pursuit of
inclusive economic prosperity. REACH needed a new brand name and identity to better represent the
nonprofit’s mission and membership. The complete brand overhaul included a name change, tagline
development, identity design, key messaging, print design and digital design work.
The word, REACH, was chosen because it’s an impactful, bold action word with multiple implications
into the meaning of the name. Plus the name is timeless and extensible.
When bringing the brand to life visually, we knew we needed to represent the many diverse
communities of the Central Coast. Geometric shapes, bold type treatments and organic colors found
in the geography of the central coast were chosen as the key brand design elements.
Business cards, letterhead, an investor deck template, annual report, email design, brand guidelines
and a multi-page website were all delivered as part of the final brand roll-out.
+Identity & Design
+Multi-Media Design
+ Collateral Design
+ Annual Report
View Case Study
+ Web Design & Development
30MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
Meathead Movers was created from a mission to assist women in distress, and prepare student athletes
for their adult lives, all under the banner of a playful brand. They hired Matchfire to update their ten-
year-old web site, and to help them reevaluate their digital marketing in order to overtake the
competition in markets they were expanding into. To do this, we had to undergo a year of planning to
strategize, design and build a website that would not lose any SEO rank as search was the number one
source of revenue for the company. We launched a highly-optimized user experience and quoting
module with multiple integrations, while updating their state-of-the-art search engine optimization
program.
Post launch we saved them tens of thousands of dollars in their complex pay-per-click search engine
campaign, produced comprehensive end-to-end analytics, and implemented attribution tracking
from first touch through to revenue from every possible version of the customer journey. Our
aggressive always-on marketing engagement resulted in a 25% decrease since launch in cost-per-
acquisition for a new lead. We’ve also increased the number and quality of leads through conversion
rate optimization (CRO) experiments on the site and in paid media.
+ Digital Marketing
+ Remarketing Campaigns
+ Email Strategy
+ Website
+ Data Intelligence
+ Platform Development
+ Media Planning & Buying
30
View Case Study
31MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
After another successfully run holiday marketplace, SLOcally Made knew it was time to reevaluate
their brand to better represent and support their story and the vision for the future. SLOcally Made
engaged with Matchfire to help revitalized the current brand system and overhaul the visual design
language. We began by conducting a comprehensive brand audit and assessment that included a
comparative & competitive analysis, a digital teardown, and stakeholder interviews. Key findings
and recommendations were outlined and presented to the SLOcally Made team in the form of a
Discovery Findings deck that would serve as the roadmap for the brand work ahead.
New top-level brand messaging was created. We refined brand copy and tone of voice, updated the
positioning statement, and refreshed key messaging statements for various audiences. In tandem,
Matchfire also created an entirely new and unique visual design system –including a
comprehensive logo package, color palette, brand typography, image treatments and graphic
patterns and templates.
Final deliverables included all brand assets, an extensive brand guidelines document and branded
layout templates that showcase the new identity system in application. Templates included social
media posts, email templates, posters, wearables, gift tags, and an assortment of additional
marketing pieces.
+Brand Positioning
+Collateral Design
+Brand Design
+Identity & Design
View Case Study
Local Pro-Bono Work
32MATCHFIRE | RFQ RESPONSE CITY OF SLO
The Monday Club of San Luis Obispo was established in 1924 as a woman-run nonprofit civic
organization dedicated to supporting local charitable causes for women and children. The goal
was to reinvigorate the Monday Club brand; pay homage to their rich history, whilst making
the brand feel more contemporary and attractive to a younger generation of women. The final
brand direction pulled in the nuances of the building architecture and we embraced the overtly
feminine details that embodied the very being of the Monday Club.
•Floral patterns from the vintage wallpaper
•A color palette that matches the backdrop of the San Luis Obispo hillsides and nicely
complements the building and grounds
•The front door was sketched an outlined and used a key component to the logo mark and
we re-introduced a sketch of the building to replace the iconic building sketched used in
several marketing materials.
•A primary font that plays to the historic and vintage nature of organization, alongside a
more contemporary sans-serif font used to modernize the brand.
+ Visual Identity
+ Brand Design
+ Social Purpose
View Case Study
Local Pro-Bono Work
Thank you
for your time.
LEA BRANDY
Creative Director
lea@matchfire.com | 805.234.4567