Duluth picks out-of-state agency over local firms to market tourism

DULUTH – The city of Duluth hopes to award its tourism marketing contract to an out-of-state agency despite Mayor Roger Reinert’s previous claims of wanting to hire a local shop.

According to a city document obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune, Madden Media of Tucson, Ariz., was chosen from more than two dozen applicants, including six that are based in Duluth or have an office there. During Reinert’s campaign for mayor last year, he criticized incumbent Emily Larson for picking a Minneapolis-based marketing agency to replace what had long been handled in Duluth.

City spokeswoman Kelli Latuska declined to comment until the finalist is made public at a Dec. 5 City Council meeting.

At a news conference in March when he announced a task force to evaluate the partnership with the current agency, Reinert said the city had many creative people to do the work. He said he wanted more tourism tax revenue to stay in Duluth.

“I fundamentally believe — and I said this over and over again during the campaign and so walking that talk here today — that it’s hard to tell an authentic Duluth story if you’re not a Duluthian,” Reinert said at the time.

Tourism in Duluth, a city of about 87,000, is a nearly $1 billion industry.

The city issued two proposal requests for the new two-year contract. An initial request posted in late August noted the contract would be worth $3 million. A later request lowered the amount to $1.8 million, the same as the current contract. It’s not clear why that changed.

City officials said in a news release Thursday that a finalist has been chosen but didn’t identify the agency. They said applicant proposals were scored blindly and finalists made presentations to a committee of six that included Tom Werner, the Duluth Airport Authority director; Dan Hartman, director of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center; and Briana Johnson of the American Heart Association.

In the news release, Werner called the process “apolitical,” with the blind scoring process that examined experience, location and background, ensuring impartiality. Five of the 100 available points on the weighting scale went to agencies in Duluth.

Duluth-based marketing agency Aimclear, whose client credits include Uber and Venmo, was among five finalists. Founder Marty Weintraub said in a statement that the choice of an Arizona agency came after Reinert’s “repeated comments as a candidate and following election that Duluth-based agencies were more than capable and best-positioned to do the job.”

“Instead of investing in Duluth companies that hire, bank, spend and otherwise contribute, along with their employees, in their hometown, this moves those jobs to an Arizona company,” he said.

Weintraub also said Madden Media markets tourism for regional competitors Door County in Wisconsin and Traverse City, Mich., raising questions about how the agency will prioritize clients’ needs when it comes to marketing to audiences looking to visit or host conventions in the region.

Both destinations are on Lake Michigan and offer similar tourism attractions, and market to the same audiences as Duluth. Madden Media bills itself on its website as a destination marketing veteran.

Larson, intending to expand the city’s reach, recommended Edina-based Bellmont Partners in 2021 to take over tourism marketing from the city’s longstanding convention and visitors bureau, Visit Duluth. Bellmont has been awarded by state agency Explore Minnesota for its work and made marketing materials for area tourism entities more accessible by allowing free use of photos and logos.

The agency partnered with Lawrence & Schiller, a Twin Cities firm that applied for the 2025 contract. Bellmont, whose contract ends this year, did not reapply.

Bellmont partner Shelli Lissick said Friday that it chose not to reapply after city leadership indicated preference for a Duluth-based agency and after reviewing the proposal request.

“We’re extremely proud of the results we’ve achieved for Duluth over the last three years,” said Lissick, noting her agency’s efforts contributed to record tourism tax numbers and visitors reaching all parts of the city. “We look forward to continuing to visit the city as tourists ourselves.”

The City Council will vote on the contract Dec. 9.