Title
CATS Marketing and Communications Services
Action
Action:
A. Approve a contract with Sherry Matthews Group for marketing and communications services for a term of three years, and
B. Authorize the City Manager to renew the contract for up to three, one-year terms with possible price adjustments and to amend the contract consistent with the purpose for which the contract was approved.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Brent Cagle, CATS
Elizabeth Presutti, CATS
Catherine Kummer, CATS
Explanation
§ The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) seeks to engage firms that can supplement CATS's internal resources by providing specialized expertise in areas such as general marketing and advertising, branding, public relations, public affairs, digital communications, community engagement, media planning, event planning, and crisis communications.
§ The services are aimed at promoting CATS’s services, engaging with the community, and enhancing the public’s perception and use of public transit in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.
§ On September 11, 2025, the city issued a Request for Proposals; 18 responses were received.
§ Sherry Matthews Group best meets CATS’s needs in terms of qualifications, experience, cost and responsiveness to RFP requirements.
§ At renewal, potential price adjustments may be considered based on legitimate and justified increases in the cost of doing business. The ability to consider price adjustments also allows the city to accept decreases, if warranted.
§ Total contract expenditures are estimated to be $5,000,000.
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)
In accordance with the USDOT Interim Final Rule, this is a federal contract exempt from DBE goals.
Fiscal Note
Funding: CATS Operating Budget