Village of Batavia
Awareness & Engagement Proposal
February 12, 2025 Village of Batavia Proposal—Confidential Copyright © 2025 by O’Keeffe PR - 1
What We Heard from You
The Village of Batavia, which sits just east of Cincinnati, has a population of 1,972 residents and is the county seat of Clermont
County. Currently, the Village is at odds with the surrounding Batavia Township, a 41.6-square mile area that includes the
Clermont County Airport and Sporty’s Pilot Shop, a major employer within the Township. The Village is pursuing multiple
economic development efforts to attract more residents and businesses. Among its projects, the Village would like to build a
market home subdivision on property that sits adjacent to the Clermont County Airport. The Township, Airport and Sporty’s
do not want the subdivision. They would like to add more homes to the township, but on larger lots and of higher home
values. The Village’s efforts to develop the area and work with the Township continue to be met with aggressive and hostile
tactics by the Township, including disorderly community meetings, flyers distributed throughout the Village by the Township,
individuals paid by Township business owners to drive through town displaying signs vehemently against the Village’s efforts,
and combative rhetoric posted to a Facebook community page called “A Stronger Batavia.”
The situation has now evolved to the point where the Township is calling to dissolve the Village. The movement has acquired
enough signatures to put the issue on the November 2026 ballot, effectively placing a deadline on the Village’s efforts to
avoid dissolution. Between now and November 2026, the Village wants to generate enough awareness throughout the
Greater Cincinnati area to help them attract development and convince residents of both the Village and the Township that
the Village is critical to the community’s overall growth and prosperity.
Recommended Approach
We believe the central issue complicating the situation for the Village is that you have let a very vocal minority within the
Township monopolize the airwaves, so to speak, and become the de facto voice of the Village. You must reclaim your voice
so you can control your narrative and more effectively and consistently tell your side of the story.
The Village of Batavia can realize significant and sustained improvement in its awareness over the course of 2025 and 2026 if
it implements a consistent and targeted content marketing strategy. This strategy would include targeted public relations,
targeted influencer relations (where appropriate), strategically written and published content, calibrated social media and
possibly other marketing efforts.
At its core, the Village should focus on two key efforts:
1. Consistently distribute news releases to announce new businesses, new or enhanced programs, new economic
development efforts, events and celebrations, and any other compelling milestones deserving of attention. While
not every release will result in a story or media response, the releases themselves will often be posted online, driving
relevant search traffic and awareness. Equally important, consistently distributed news releases over time will
familiarize media with the Village of Batavia, which could drive future interest. Finally, we recommend a dedicated
Blog page on the website to function separately from the Newsletters & Documents page.
2. Create and publish compelling and keyword-rich content in various forms, such as success stories (e.g., businesses
that have moved to the Village and grown, families that have moved to Batavia and prospered, etc.), on your website,
shared via your social media channels, and pitched to and/or shared in targeted mainstream and community
publications.
Tactically, O’Keeffe recommends an ongoing campaign that could comprise several specific elements outlined below. These
efforts would be agreed upon by the Village and O’Keeffe PR and will depend on the number of hours available per month.
• Key Audience Identification
o O’Keeffe will work with the Village of Batavia to further outline the Village’s key audiences and whom (i.e., media,
Village residents, Township residents, influencers, businesses, etc.) within these audiences to target.
• Key Messaging and Strategic Content Development
o This could include case studies, long form content or blog posts, and testimonials, among other deliverables.
• Social Media Strategy & Execution
o Enhanced and concerted campaign via Facebook, Instagram and potentially others
o Establish a LinkedIn account for the Village and a targeted content and awareness strategy
o Explore a LinkedIn Newsletter
February 12, 2025 Village of Batavia Proposal—Confidential Copyright © 2025 by O’Keeffe PR - 2
• Website Enhancements
o Search Engine Optimization supported by carefully crafted content in line with the Village’s strategic keywords (if
keywords are unknown, we can work with the Village to identify them).
o Add dedicated Blog page (to be done internally or with O’Keeffe assistance)
• Possible Newsletter or Email Marketing Enhancements
• Pay Per Click/Digital Marketing campaign designed to drive immediate attention to the Village’s messaging via its website
and/or online landing pages
o NOTE: Pay Per Click/Digital Marketing (or Google Ads) campaigns would be a separate monthly fee, and would be
estimated separately.
NOTE: O’Keeffe PR has provided The Village of Batavia with two estimate options: one that is more limited and focused on
core public relations and content efforts, and one that enables a greater breadth of direction and support designed to achieve
the Village’s objectives within the Village’s limited window of time.
Key Message & Strategic Content Development
One measure of success of a content marketing initiative is how effectively we can articulate our message in a credible,
convincing and storytelling way, and how frequently we can deliver that message. Also, all recommended strategies should
be supported by the development of key messages. Key messages communicate the unique qualities of your organization
and compel your target audiences to act. Finally, key messaging must be incorporated into both the organization’s branded
and informational content, where possible. Consistently published, distributed and propagated content is critical to increasing
awareness in today’s electronic marketing landscape.
Deliverables and Recommendations could include:
• Develop key messages related to why existing Village residents should get more involved with the Village and support the
Village’s initiatives and messaging campaign.
• Identify initiatives and topics to support these key messages and create content pieces (including but not limited to story
pitches, blog posts, case studies, etc.)
o E.g., What traits or characteristics of the Village make it unique among its surrounding communities?
o E.g., What businesses within the Village are uniquely different?
o E.g., Does the Village house any notable landmarks or residents (e.g., famous authors within a particular genre)
that can be highlighted?
• Content and public relations calendar
o Identify and plan out (as much as possible) news announcements, story ideas, and content to promote.
• Identify subject matter experts to assist in content development for chosen topics and make available for interviews and
speaking opportunities.
• Story identification and pitching
• News release distribution regarding significant news about the Village.
Public Relations & Influencer Relations
Key critical components of successful content marketing initiatives are public relations and influencer relations. Traditional
public relations is a powerful way to present a story that will be consumed by an audience and build credibility through a
third party. Of course, it’s about more than a conversation. When public relations strategies and efforts are implemented
properly, they tie into your digital and traditional properties in ways that help you connect with your prospects and other
audiences in diverse ways. O’Keeffe will work with the Village of Batavia to ensure that all public/influencer relations efforts
are integrated and aligned with its overall brand and go-to-market strategy.
● Public Relations
o Local & Regional Media
▪ Can include all media locally, regionally, statewide and some national that focus on villages like
Batavia that have much to offer and are overcoming challenging odds.
February 12, 2025 Village of Batavia Proposal—Confidential Copyright © 2025 by O’Keeffe PR - 3
▪ Submit story ideas and/or articles for publication based on editorial calendars or timely topics that
are trending within your core geographic market and verticals.
▪ Traditional news distribution and pitches (where desired and recommended) to print, online,
podcast (where it might make sense), video, etc.
▪ Explore increasing video content (video exceeds reach by more than 5x any other form of content)
● Frequency to be determined based on content and budget
● Production and use of professional videography outside of smartphone and internal
resources would be separate and are to be estimated separately.
o Webinar / Speaking & Recognition Opportunities
▪ Consider hosting a webinar that explains the Village’s economic development plans
● We can promote via PR, content, social, email, newsletter, etc.
▪ Explore speaking opportunities, regional podcasts, etc.
● If we can identify what makes Batavia unique and what’s enabling the Village to overcome
its challenges, then others may want to hear from you.
▪ Submit the Village and/or its businesses, community organizations, etc. for community and
professional awards and recognition.
● The more accolades you have, the more news you can share, and the more reason for
your audiences to pay attention to you and support your efforts.
o Story/Content Opportunities
▪ Regular releases (optimally, one per month)
▪ Case Studies
▪ Awards
▪ Highlight key initiatives and partnerships.
● Influencer Relations
o Identify community (and possibly national) influencers with significant online followings who could carry
the Village’s message(s) to their followers
▪ NOTE: May demand additional budget.
Social Strategy
Our goal is to enhance awareness, engagement, and brand recognition. The Village’s social strategy will complement the
other content generation tactics (i.e., public relations, influencer relations, messaging and content).
Recommendation
Overall, the Village is not leveraging social media as it should and could be doing. The Village has a Facebook page, but does
not allow comments for fear of the toxicity of the community permeating that channel. While this is a valid fear, it also is
preventing the Village from having a voice and soliciting support from the community. To achieve its objectives, the Village
must engage with its residents, its businesses, its advocates, and its surrounding communities. Out of the gate, we will
devise and implement a deliberate social media strategy supported by compelling content and calls to action. The Village
will want to consider creating and promoting additional channels, such as Instagram and YouTube. We also encourage the
Village to start a LinkedIn account and presence to begin generating advocates among the professional and business
community. The overall social media strategy can include repurposing key content for maximum effect and inviting
advocates to post on the Village’s pages, among other tactics.
In general, we recommend a content schedule that is balanced between audiences but allows space to prioritize campaigns
that are geared towards a specific service, program or event. This will allow you to engage multiple audiences while also
providing seamless flexibility to adapt to the Village’s changing needs and priorities. The Village also should consider paid
social in circumstances where there is special content deserving of either a wider or a more targeted audience. Depending
on channel, paid social budgets can be nominal (e.g., $25 to $50 per post) to expensive ($600 or more per post/campaign).
One critical factor for the Village to consider is that it is essentially starting from scratch and has a limited window of time in
which it can pursue its objectives. Targeted paid social can help expedite the Village’s efforts at growing its community and
its engagement.
February 12, 2025 Village of Batavia Proposal—Confidential Copyright © 2025 by O’Keeffe PR - 4
Community Engagement / Grassroots Marketing
The Village has already been on the receiving end of negative grassroots marketing efforts, such as flyers handed out
throughout town, town hall meetings, direct mail, etc. You should consider employing similar tactics with messaging designed
with calls to action that go to achieve your objectives. Such efforts could include:
● Community Flyers
o Promote events, upcoming initiatives, and other messaging that drives residents to act in some way that
favors your objectives
o NOTE: Flyers and other marketing collateral will involve outside design and production costs, to be estimated
separately, per the Village’s request.
● Pop-up Events
o Work with local businesses to throw one-time events and activations, such as art shows, arts and crafts
fairs, ice cream socials, coffee gatherings, wine tastings, beer gardens, etc.
o NOTE: O’Keeffe can consult on and project manage some activations, but there likely will be outside costs;
such costs will be estimated separately, per the Village’s request.
● Direct Mail
o Given the size of both the Village and the Township, you could execute a targeted direct mail campaign
relatively inexpensively that conveys key messaging around specific calls to action
o NOTE: Direct mail will involve outside design and distribution costs, to be estimated separately, per request.
OPTIONAL: Web/SEO Audit
One additional effort for the Village to consider is to conduct a search engine optimization (SEO) audit of its website to determine
which pages and content are working well and which are not. Like any other organization, the Village’s website is the central
repository for all its information, news, initiatives, etc. The audit’s findings will provide recommendations for better leveraging the
Village’s existing website assets and improving on other assets to make the most of the Village’s SEO opportunities. SEO is what
drives website traffic. And again, the website is your central repository for most, if not all, of your information.
Working with O’Keeffe
Discovery
We'll begin by meeting with the Village’s leadership and marketing team as a working session to develop our key messages, as well as
to identify topics for the content calendar and the key persons within the Village who will be our day-to-day contacts and who will
approve our ongoing work.
Ideation
Following Discovery, we’ll generate a working plan for achieving the Village’s goals and objectives. The plan could also include
initial thoughts on content to curate, create and publish, as well as other awareness activities for consideration and execution.
Execution
In this stage, we activate our strategic plan to leverage our ideas and creativity to meet your strategic goals.
Roles & Responsibilities
The specific O’Keeffe roles and responsibilities will be finalized following Discovery. To be successful and to ensure consistent
service delivery in alignment with established client expectations, we recommend a monthly or bi-weekly (every two weeks)
meeting or call schedule.
The final details of engagement will depend on additional discovery with The Village of Batavia before plan development and
implementation. O'Keeffe reserves the right to revise the proposal based on any changes in scope or direction.
February 12, 2025 Village of Batavia Proposal—Confidential Copyright © 2025 by O’Keeffe PR - 5
Budget Estimate
The recommended budget is estimated based on information gathered from The Village of Batavia representatives thus far and on
the marketing and awareness components we believe are merited based on the objectives shared by the Village. The budget is
scalable and adjustable based on the Village’s final needs and agreed-upon objectives and expectations. The following options are
designed to provide choice in how the Village chooses to proceed and to prioritize what objectives and efforts are most important
to its goals. Options are open to further discussion, and tactics and efforts can scale or change as needed within each option.
Option A:
Public Relations & Content Marketing– ($4,375/month—not to exceed 25 hours/month)
• Messaging and Content Strategy/Creation
o Create brand voice and direction
o Message development
o Limited (within allotted monthly hours) written content development (blog posts, case studies, etc.)
o Newsletter support (e.g., content, direction, distribution) to enhance overall consumption (e.g., shorten
and tighten articles) and trackability (within allotted monthly hours)
o Explore and implement guest blog opportunities, where appropriate
• Targeted Public Relations Strategy and Execution
o Identify and pitch stories to select target media that would 1) drive Village awareness, and 2) increase
support for Village initiatives
▪ Up to 2 stories per quarter
o Manage all opportunities that arise from strategic media outreach and organic story opportunities
o News release distribution
▪ Target one release every 4 to 6 weeks
▪ Media list development and customization
▪ Drives general awareness and SEO
▪ News wire distribution (if needed) fees are separate from retainer estimate
o Targeted influencer relations
▪ Identify and connect with community influencers to engage Village of Batavia leaders, residents,
and small businesses, among others
o Explore and pitch to alternative media, such as local and regional podcasts and YouTube channels, that
focus on communities like Batavia
• Social Media Direction
o Direct Village of Batavia staff on how to create and optimize social media platforms for better engagement
o Advise Village on social media strategy
▪ Execution not included
o Recommend LinkedIn account and strategy
▪ Engage with professionals, business owners, etc. who live and/or work within the Village, the
Township and surrounding communities
▪ Explore LinkedIn Newsletter
▪ Execution not included
o NOTE: Paid social media placement may be recommended at times. If paid social is employed, pricing will
be estimated for the Client separately from this agreement.
February 12, 2025 Village of Batavia Proposal—Confidential Copyright © 2025 by O’Keeffe PR - 6
Option B:
Public Relations, Content, Social Media & Community Engagement – ($5,800/month—not to exceed 35 hours/month)
• Messaging and Content Strategy/Creation
o Create brand voice and direction
o Message development
o Strategic written content development (blog posts, long-form content, case studies, etc.)
o Newsletter support (e.g., content, limited graphics, direction, distribution) to enhance overall consumption
(e.g., shorten and tighten articles) and trackability (within allotted monthly hours)
o Explore and implement guest blog opportunities
• Targeted Public/Influencer Relations Strategy and Execution
o Identify and pitch stories to select target media that would 1) drive Village awareness, and 2) increase
support for Village initiatives
▪ Up to 3 stories per quarter
o Manage all opportunities that arise from strategic media outreach and organic story opportunities
o News release distribution
▪ Target one release every 4 to 6 weeks
▪ Media list development and customization
▪ Drives general awareness and SEO
▪ News wire distribution (if needed) fees are separate from retainer estimate
o Targeted influencer relations
▪ Identify and connect with community influencers, where possible, to engage Village of Batavia
leaders, residents, and small businesses, among others
o Explore and pitch to alternative media, such as local and regional podcasts and YouTube channels, that
focus on communities like Batavia
• Social Media Strategy & Execution
o Direct Village of Batavia staff on how to optimize social media platforms for better engagement
o Create and launch social media accounts and channels, where needed
▪ Recommend LinkedIn account and strategy
• Engage with professionals, business owners, etc. who live and/or work within the Village,
the Township and surrounding communities
▪ Explore LinkedIn Newsletter
o Curate and create select content, which could include videos and third-party content
o Performance analysis
o NOTE: Paid social media placement may be recommended at times. If paid social is employed, pricing will
be estimated for the Client separately from this agreement. Any video that requires production would be
estimated separately.
• Community Engagement / Grassroots Marketing
o Work with the Village to explore and develop community events and engagements efforts
▪ E.g., Pop-up art shows, crafts fairs, ice cream socials, coffee meetups, wine tastings
▪ Outside activation costs to be estimated separately for Client
o Promote key messaging and community engagement efforts
▪ E.g., Flyers, direct mail
OPTIONAL: Website/SEO Audit – ($2,500 one-time cost) Check to Accept:
• The Village of Batavia’s central and potentially most effective marketing and awareness asset should be and could
be its website. By conducting a comprehensive audit of its website, the Village will learn where its current website
is driving awareness, expertise, and engagement, and…perhaps more importantly…where it is potentially damaging
the Village’s exposure and viability.
February 12, 2025 Village of Batavia Proposal—Confidential Copyright © 2025 by O’Keeffe PR - 7
OPTIONAL: Digital/Pay Per Click Google Ads (To Be Determined)
The Village of Batavia may also choose to incorporate targeted pay per click ad campaigns on Google, Facebook, and/or other
platforms that leverage the Village’s identified keywords to drive traffic to its website and specified landing pages. Such campaigns
can be priced/estimated as recommended and/or requested.
Each of the above estimate options (A and B) is based on a not-to-exceed amount of hours per month. Should more time during
any one month be required or should services be requested by Client that are deemed out of scope, with approval by client,
O’Keeffe will charge client $175 per hour for additional hours. O’Keeffe recommends a minimum engagement of six (6) months,
to be evaluated regularly and then continue in recurring six-month intervals. Scope and budget will be adjusted as needed. Pricing
for any other needs beyond the specified scope of work can be negotiated separately. Any out-of-pocket expenses, such as
news wire fees, influencer fees, paid social, podcast and video production, travel, etc., are over and above the estimate
provided and will be estimated for Client’s approval beforehand. Any outside graphic design required will be considered out of
scope, can be estimated separately, and will be invoiced to Client accordingly. O'Keeffe accepts payment via credit card. O'Keeffe
will waive credit card fee (approximately 3%) for all payments made within 10 days of invoice date.
Terms
The invoice for the first month's retainer will be submitted upon signing of this agreement, with payment upon receipt.
Following retainers will be billed within the first part of the month. Terms are net 30 days.
Proprietary Information
O'Keeffe PR has developed information, processes, and procedures unique to our industry, and to our firm specifically. These
processes, procedures, and the confidential information so associated are exclusively the proprietary property of O’Keeffe
PR and include media lists and contacts. This information is not to be considered work product and will not be shared.
Acceptance of Proposal
By signing here, The Village of Batavia accepts and agrees to the partnership as explained in this document. Either party may
cancel this contract at any time after the initial six (6) month engagement, with 60-days’ notice provided in writing, and fees
for all services rendered and any outstanding costs are paid according to the terms of this agreement. Please place an X next
to the desired option.
Option A: ____ Option B: ____
The Village of Batavia Date
O’Keeffe Communications, Inc. Date
(dba O’Keeffe PR; O’Keeffe PR & Marketing Solutions)
February 12, 2025 Village of Batavia Proposal—Confidential Copyright © 2025 by O’Keeffe PR - 8
