McDaniels Marketing Communications to Develop New Website for City of Pekin, Illinois

PEKIN, Ill., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- During their January 11 meeting, the Pekin City Council voted unanimously to hire McDaniels Marketing Communications to design and develop the city's new website. The contract was awarded after the city received and reviewed four proposals, with the final decision based on a combination of price and value.

"This site meets all of the current objectives as stated by the City of Pekin," Randall McDaniels, president of the marketing firm, said. "More than that, it paves the way to meet future objectives."

The new site, which will utilize a patented Content Management System (CMS), will enable city staff members to make changes and publish new pages, photos and videos in a matter of minutes – which means that the most up-to-date information will be easily accessed by the user. What's more, the site's CMS will require no programming skills and enables easy upgrades in the future.

Meeting and Exceeding Objectives

"The City of Pekin's current website debuted in 1999, with the most recent update in 2004," McDaniels continued. "Obviously, there have been many technological changes since then and – as the city has discovered – many people and organizations gain their first impression based on a website. If visitors are left with unanswered questions or an inability to navigate a site easily, they will leave and go elsewhere. We want this site to be an accurate reflection of all that the City of Pekin offers so that current and potential residents, businesses and tourists will go to the website for current, accurate information and walk away impressed."

According to City Manager Dennis Kief, the approved new site not only meets the objectives as stated in the RFP, but also offers more value for the price. As part of the design, the city clerk's web page will provide visitors with an easy way to gather information and access necessary documents. Kief indicated that residents need to be able to download forms, codes and applicable information about the community, and the new site will enable them to do that more easily. Also as a part of the design, the city's Economic Development opportunities will be highlighted.

What Users Can Expect

The new site will be easier to navigate and will feature information about Pekin that will encompass history, news, frequently asked questions and public reminders. In addition, more interactivity will be available, including testimonials, a calendar of events, links to YouTube videos, a blog and other sites of interest, downloadable documents, and a variety of maps. The new site will also enable staff members to easily add videos, slide shows and virtual tours.

McDaniels has already begun the process of creating a design template and custom modules and will develop the site further in the coming months. Currently, the first phase of the $29,925 site is slated to launch at the end of April, followed by the second phase – a proposed "new movers" microsite – to launch later in the year. The second phase is intended to entice potential new residents to relocate to Pekin.

"Our team will train the city's staff to add new content to the website," McDaniels said. "After training and all approvals have been made, the site will be transferred over to the server hosted and owned by the city."

McDaniels Marketing Communications draws on over 43 years of experience to help strategically plan and execute marketing tactics for healthcare facilities throughout the Midwest. McDaniels also has client service offices in Rockford, IL and the Quad Cities. ie-media, the company's interactive division, specializes in developing websites, animation, CDs/DVDs, e-surveys, kiosks, ecommerce and search engine optimization to fit a variety of budgets.

SOURCE McDaniels Marketing Communications