TURNING THE NEW YORK STATE OF CIDER INTO A NATIONAL STATE OF MIND

New York Cider Association
Attn: Scott Ramsey, Executive Director
Submitted via email: info@newyorkcider.org

RE: Proposal for Strategic Marketing, Brand, and Communications Partner — NY State of Cider Campaign

Dear Scott,

On behalf of everyone at FourthIdea, thank you for the opportunity to submit a proposal for this work. New York's cider industry has spent a decade earning a leadership position most categories only dream of, and we'd be honored to help make sure the rest of the country finally notices.

I believe you may already be familiar us. FourthIdea has served as Agency of Record for Dutchess County's destination marketing for the past 6 years, and it's worth mentioning that our paths first crossed there during the county's tourism focus groups. Those conversations have stayed with us.

That experience also shaped how we think about this specific challenge. A campaign like “The State of Cider” has to succeed on two fronts at once, and most agencies are only built for one of them. It has to work as product marketing—building the trial, the brand recognition, and the retail and restaurant demand that grows sales for 140 producers. And it has to work as destination marketing—turning orchards, tasting rooms, and trail routes into a reason people plan a trip to New York. Get only the first right and you have a beverage brand nobody visits. Get only the second right and you have a tourism campaign that never moves a bottle. We've spent our careers doing both and we believe that balance is the difference between a campaign that wins a short-term bump in awareness and one that sets the foundation for long term success.

The pages that follow lay out how we'd approach the first 90 days, where we see the greatest opportunity, and how we'd structure our team and budget to serve as a true extension of yours. We'd welcome the chance to discuss it further when the time is right.

Thank you again for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Thomas Mooney
Chief Executive Officer, FourthIdea

A proposal to deliver strategic branding, marketing, and creative services to the New York Cider Association.

FourthIdea.com