Schaumburg selecting consultant firm Tuesday for upcoming regional marketing campaign

Schaumburg staff are recommending a Lombard-based growth consultancy firm from among 24 applicants to help the village develop a regional marketing campaign for 2026.

If approved by the village board Tuesday night, administrators would negotiate a contract with Red Caffeine which has already been marketing Schaumburg’s 90 North redevelopment around the intersection of Interstate 90 and Meacham Road since June 2024.

The $260,000 budget for such a contract would be funded by allocations from both the economic development and communications & outreach departments of the village.

Half the firms that applied and all three that were considered finalists are located in the Chicago area, Communications Director Kassondra Schref said.

“I think they have a strong knowledge base of the village and an understanding of the area,” she added. “The team was very happy with the work that they’ve done.”

Red Caffeine’s proposal identifies a nine-month timeline to plan and implement a marketing campaign. The public’s perception of what village staff and the consultants came up with would probably begin early in the new year, Schref said.

Much of the data they’ll be working from was collected through a regional survey recently conducted by Florida-based North Star Place Branding + Marketing.

The 391-page study explored what people throughout the region understood or didn’t know about Schaumburg as a place to live and visit.

While the survey largely reflected a level of success in the village’s achievement of its goals, Mayor Tom Dailly and Village Manager Brian Townsend identified areas where a marketing campaign may work.

Dailly was concerned about the general perception of the village’s expensiveness, especially its housing stock. He suggested a component about livability.

For Townsend, the survey showed people didn’t know enough about how the village has been evolving and redeveloping in recent years.

The 90 North area alone consists of the Veridian development’s mixed-use repurposing of the former Motorola campus on the west side of Meacham Road and creation of an entertainment district anchored by Andretti Indoor Karting & Games to complement the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel on the east side.