Someone's frustrated with government RFPs! (requests for proposals)

Some day, I'd love a shot at the contract for the marketing communications program for WMATA, the DC region's transportation agency, because so much could be done to improve what they do.

Too often, and WMATA is no exception (and that is irrespective of the post-crash degradation of service, myriad safety failures, etc.), government agencies don't do a great job with marketing, and that's true of all types of government agencies, including the transit agencies, even though state and national transportation association organizations give awards every year for high quality marketing programs.

(Note that the Arlington Transportation Partners marketing communications efforts along with those of the transportation agency in Tempe, Arizona, TIM "Tempe In Motion" are particularly good. ... I didn't say that their websites were the absolute best, but their marketing communications programs are topnotch.)

The blog of the marketing-advertising firm SmithGifford, is railing against the RFP for WMATA's communications program, in these entries, "Boycott The Metro RFP!" and "Wake Up D.C.."

What he says is that the RFP (CQ-11001RK/MKTG Advertising Agency Services) is so bad that agencies should boycott it, not respond.

The thing is that someone will respond, because they want the business.

But it is true that government contracting processes are so overdefined that they make it difficult to be very innovative.

This is what I mean by what I call action planning, which links design methodology with social marketing, and branding and identity systems through an integrated program delivery system, based on a foundation of civic engagement and participatory democracy.

But action planning focused on making systems and public programs better, isn't the way we do things...

Also see "Social Marketing the Arlington (and Tower Hamlets and Baltimore) way," "More on Metro and rethinking transit marketing," and "Making Transit Sexy."