Indiana University of Pennsylvania Seeks Non-Digital Advertising Agency

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Indiana University of Pennsylvania seeks a non-digital advertising agency to provide strategic advertising opportunities and appropriate advertising placements.

Scope of Work:

The successful supplier will be able to secure special discount opportunities that are above and beyond the advertising budget and special opportunities for advertising and media placement that are unable to be secured by the University without the work of the successful supplier.

The successful supplier must:

  • Have access to media buys at discount (agency) rates, which extend and increase the efficiency of the advertising dollars available to advertise and market the University.

Be authorized to meet and discuss advertising opportunities with all media and media sales representatives on behalf of the Executive Director of Communications and Media Relations or others as designed by the University.

  • Obtain approval from the Executive Director of Communications and Media or others as designed by the University before finalizing advertising purchases.
  • Reserve advertising space and opportunities at discount (agency) rates and submit invoices for those purchases to the University for payment.
  • Have business relationships which will assist in the placement of news and other positive feature stories for the University in these media outlets.
  • Have experience in the advertising placement and buying business that includes buying outdoor, print and television advertising, and must have a demonstrated longstanding relationship with these advertising and media companies.
  • Have opportunities for purchase of media buys during programming specific to particular viewing audiences in the Pittsburgh Demographic Marketing Area, including on network programming (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) and on other strategic outlets in demographic marketing areas or geographic regions as requested by the University.
  • Agree that the authorized University representatives will have the right to negotiate, purchase and place advertising for the University if the University representative so desires to do so and agrees that the University is not required to work through the successful bidder for all advertising purchases and placement.
  • Provide client list and selected client testimonials about their service.
  • Value added services to include: Once schedules have been placed, Contractor will monitor them very closely. Contractor will review pre-logs (which provide a preliminary view of the time that each commercial will air) from every station each week. If there are spots scheduled at the wrong time or not scheduled to air, the Contractor addresses it immediately. By doing this, the Contractor’s schedules are more likely to run as ordered. The Contractor will also review post logs (which provide actual air times for each commercial that ran the previous week). Because the Contractor is so proactive, this will often lead to added value opportunities. Another area of added value comes from the Contractor’s knowledge of the market. When the Contractor negotiates schedules for many different clients, the Contractor learns the areas where media providers have more flexibility and areas and times when they have less. There may be more inventory available at the beginning of the month, so the Contractor can secure more added value at that time. The Contractor has a finger on the pulse of the market and will always work to take advantage of efficiencies. Other added value opportunities are presented to the Contractor because of the deep relationships with media. Media providers may have last minute cancellations or unsold inventory. They reach out to the Contractor first and offer below market value last minute deals. This helps them place unsold inventory while providing the Contractor with a deep discount rather than taking a loss. Not only do clients receive deep discounts on otherwise expensive programming, but they can also receive bonus schedules with these special deals.

Another differentiator that provides value to the University is the Contractor’s availability or access. The Contractor understands that we live in a dynamic world where unanticipated events can affect a public institution at any time. The Contractor will be available evenings and weekends as needed and will check email communications during those “non-work” times. The Contractor will provide cell phone numbers to key University personnel so they can be reached after hours if necessary.

Requirements:

The successful supplier will purchase and place advertising valued at approximately $2.5 million on an annual basis. It is expected that the successful supplier will be available to the University contact(s) on a daily basis and will be able to meet advertising deadlines that could be less than 24 hours, but also plan strategically for long-term advertising placement (up to four months or longer in scope).

Tasks:

It is expected that the successful supplier will create a written, comprehensive four-month advertising placement plan at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the start of the advertising cycle (defining the advertising cycles as January-February-March-April; May-June-July August; and September-October-November- December.)

Reports and Project Control.

a. Task Plan

The successful supplier will create a written, comprehensive four-month advertising placement plan at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the start of the advertising cycle (defining the advertising cycles as January-February-March-April; May-June-July August; and September-October-November- December) after being provided with a budget by the University. This written plan will contain demographic, reach, frequency, rating points and cost per point, as appropriate for each media being proposed for advertising. The plan will also contain an executive summary of funds to be spent and breakout of the areas (types of media) where the funds will be allocated.

b. Status Report.

The successful supplier will produce, at the end of each four-month advertising period (as outlined above) a report that details the special advertising and media opportunities that the successful bidder has generated for the University (ie, cost saving on advertisements, additional advertisements gained as a result of relationships with the media companies).

  • Problem Identification Report.  The successful supplier will produce reports identifying problems and the impact on the overall project and on each affected task, along with possible courses of action with advantages and disadvantages of each, and include recommendations with supporting rationale.

c. Final Report

The successful supplier will produce, at the end of each calendar year, report that details the special advertising and media opportunities that the successful bidder has generated for the University (ie, cost saving on advertisements, additional advertisements gained as a result of relationships with the media companies) and a documentation showing that the approved advertisements and placements did take place as described. This documentation can be provided in digital format or printed format, as agreed upon by the University.

Due Date:

November 3rd

Address:

Kathy Lucas Purchasing Agent I
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Robertshaw Building
650 South 13th Street
Indiana, PA 15705-1087

Agencies with academic experience include Cohn & Wolfe and APCO Worldwide.

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