Request for Proposals: Organizational Rebrand & New Logo

Proposals Due: Thursday, January 23, 2025, no later than 5:00 p.m. EST 

Project Overview: 

Established in 1972, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (“Cultural Alliance”) has proudly served as the region’s foremost advocate for arts and cultural for over 50 years. Its mission is to lead, strengthen and amplify the voices of a dynamic cultural community that sparks creativity, inspires people, and plays a vital role in fostering the health and wellbeing of the region. Representing a diverse cultural ecosystem—including museums, visual artists, dance companies, community art centers, musicians, historic sites, zoos, and more—the Cultural Alliance is dedicated to being a thought leader, trusted resource, and powerful advocate for the Greater Philadelphia creative sector.  

Recently in 2024, the Cultural Alliance announced a new strategic plan, Co-Creating Our Future, to reinforce its mission. Co-created with input from the cultural community and stakeholders across the region, the plan is rooted in the bold vision that the Greater Philadelphia cultural community is an essential partner in reaching shared civic ambitions for equity, economic vitality, access to creative expression and the health and wellbeing of all residents. 

As the Cultural Alliance embarks on a new journey, it has identified the need for a new visual identity and brand that reflects its new strategic vision. The organization’s renewed focus as a representative and convener, alongside its role as a thought leader and advocate, demands a fresh visual identity that communicates its bold stance and expanded influence. 

The Cultural Alliance seeks to engage a Greater Philadelphia-based design firm with a proven track record to create a creative new visual identity that reflects the organization’s ethos and vision for Philadelphia’s cultural sector. The selected firm will be tasked with creating a bold, comprehensive visual suite to drive the launch of this new brand in spring 2025, which will include the development of a logo, visual identity, and sample collateral that reflects the organization’s evolving identity and ethos. 

Interested agencies should submit proposals to Kate Foley at kfoley@signature57.com for review by the deadline: Thursday, January 23, 2025. Please note, proposal submissions after the deadline will not be considered. Requirements and additional details outlined below. 

Deliverables:

The agency will be expected to provide the following key deliverables: 

• New logo design 
• Visual identity (color palette, typefaces, etc.) 
• Brand guidelines 
• Brand message and/or tagline 
• Brand templates (documents, slides, letterhead, stationery, social media posts, email newsletters, etc.) 
• Additional needs, as identified by the Cultural Alliance including printed marketing materials and collateral 
   

Timeline:  

• Thursday, January 23, 2025: Proposals Due 
• Thursday, January 30, 2025: Firms Notified of Next Round Decision (3-4 firms will be invited to make in-person presentations) 
• Thursday, February 13, 2025: Finalist Presentations (Time to be shared in advance)
  • These will be in-person at the Cultural Alliance’s office: 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 732 Philadelphia, PA 19107  
  • Each firm will be given 75 minutes to present (45 minutes for presentation; 30 Minutes for Q&A) 
• Friday, February 21, 2025: Notification of Decision to Presenting Firms 
• Monday, March 3, 2025: Project Launch 

The selected firm should anticipate a three-month timeframe for the scope of work and should include a schedule concluding by the end of May 2025.  

Budget: 

The budget for the rebranding initiative is $50,000, which should include a reserve of funding for printed marketing materials. 

Application Process:

As mentioned above, proposals should be sent to Kate Foley at kfoley@signature57.com and include the following information:  

1. Firm Information: Please provide the agency’s name, address, web site and telephone number. Please identify the agency’s point of contact for this project, if awarded, including their title, email address and phone number.  Include a brief description,  history of the firm, and the firm’s location. Firms located in the Greater Philadelphia region will be prioritized. 
2. Project Approach: Please discuss the firm’s project approach, style and process to client engagement and similarly scoped projects.  
3. Experience: Please provide a list describing projects that are similar in scale that the firm has completed, including two (2) case studies that include creative samples. When/Where possible, highlight work from similar or analogous organizations.   
4. References: Please include three (3) references with names, titles, organizations, email addresses and phone numbers.   
5. Schedule and Timeline: Based on the Proposed Timeline, please provide a detailed recommendation for completing the deliverables as outlined above.   
6. Cost: Include the estimated costs for all work related to the tasks and deliverables as outlined above.   

Selection Process:

The Cultural Alliance’s Rebranding Advisory Committee will shortlist the proposals and select 3-4 firms to present their proposals in person at the Cultural Alliance’s office in Philadelphia. Work would be intended to start in February 2025.  

Point of Contact  

Questions and proposals should be submitted to Kate Foley at kfoley@signature57.com. Proposals must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 23, 2025.  

Proposals submitted after the deadline will not be considered. 

Additional Information About the New Vision of the Cultural Alliance: 

In recent years, the cultural landscape has evolved due to shifting audience behaviors, changing philanthropic goals, and the lingering impacts of COVID-19. The Cultural Alliance recognized the need to adapt and lead with renewed vigor. To propel us the organization into a dynamic future where it can serve as catalysts for transformative change, the Cultural Alliance introduced its bold, new Strategic Plan: “Co-Creating Our Future" to respond to the expansive evolution witnessed over the past decade and the opportunities that lie ahead spurring the Cultural Alliance to focus on a broader and more inclusive cultural ecosystem. Reflecting the organization’s 52-year commitment to the region’s cultural ecosystem, the strategic plan will allow the Cultural Alliance to boldly reassert its role as a thought leader, advocate, and catalyst for transformative change for Philadelphia’s creative sector. 

The strategic plan is the culmination of more than a year’s consultative and iterative work involving its board of directors, Strategic Planning Task Force members, staff, and dozens of diverse community stakeholders and observers including artists, cultural workers, volunteers, civic leaders, and grant- and policymakers. 8 Bridges Workshop served as the consultants for the strategic planning process.   

As a result of the year-long planning process, the Cultural Alliance identified three substantial, strategic shifts for the organization’s vision, programs, and business model that will have far-reaching impacts. These strategic shifts will redefine the Cultural Alliance, its role as a leader in the cultural ecosystem, and how it can best serve the interests of the creative sector:  

• Building Connections: We are evolving from solely providing programs and services for nonprofits, to building connections across and throughout the entire creative sector. We’ll seek to create and uplift a shared vision, identify shared opportunities and obstacles, and will work with our partners to create shared approaches and solutions for the entire ecosystem by expanding our membership base to include individual artists, creative entrepreneurs, cultural consumers, allied business interests and other stakeholders.   
• Advocating for Public Investment: We are shifting our advocacy strategy from merely needing more funding to save the arts to advocating for public and philanthropic investment in the arts as a means to enhance the health and well-being of all citizens and as core to realizing the vibrant Philadelphia we all envision. Establishing a fund dedicated to stabilizing, supporting and stabilizing the creative sector is a core objective of the plan.  
• Uniting Us All: We are refocusing our value proposition from access to services and programs to become part of a collective effort that unites us in striving towards shared goals that no organization or individual can accomplish alone. Our advocacy, our research and our collective voice will be at the forefront of a movement that positions the creative sector as an essential civic value and as core to our larger public interests.