MARKETING RFP ISSUED BY COLORADO MESA UNIVERSITY
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) is seeking a partner(s) who will contribute both strategically and tactically to the CMU marketing effort, be part of accelerating our growth, and create brand experience. Teamwork, collaboration, and a “can-do” attitude is important. CMU seeks to be at the forefront of transforming higher education, and partner with those who enthusiastically share the vision and will demonstrate it in high quality work on a daily basis. The university also seeks to pre-qualify firms to assist the university in marketing and advertising services including research and strategy; branding, positioning and messaging; creative development, paid media strategy and buying for online and offline media, public relations, etc. Responding firms need not specialize or offer services in all areas of the scope of work and should include a range of options and services that may be of assistance to the university in achieving goals, as well as qualifications of the firm and costs for services.
Background:
CMU is a comprehensive regional public higher education institution that provides exceptional educational opportunities on a state-of-the-art campus, including liberal arts, professional and technical programs at the master’s and bachelors levels. Associate and certificate level programs are delivered primarily by CMU’s two-year division, Western Colorado Community College. CMU serves as the primary intellectual and cultural center of western Colorado and promotes the exchange of ideas that are of regional, national and international importance. Founded in 1925, it is a dynamic university enrolling 11,000 students at the associate, baccalaureate and graduate levels. As western Colorado’s largest university, CMU serves a 14-county region in Western Colorado and operates three campuses. The Main and Bishop campuses are located in Grand Junction, Colorado, with the third campus located in Montrose, Colorado. CMU also has numerous fully online degree programs. The University’s has residential capacity for 2,500+ students. As part of a multi-year rebranding effort, the institution implemented a dynamic name change—from Mesa State College to Colorado Mesa University—in 2011. Founded in 1925, CMU has a long history of success and was ranked by the Chronicle for Higher Education as the fifth fastest growing baccalaureate institution in the U.S. from 2006-2016. Additional information can be found at http://www.coloradomesa.edu/about/facts.html and detailed enrollment data at https://www.coloradomesa.edu/institutional-research/student-profiles/index.html. At the heart of the CMU experience is an integrative and experiential approach to higher education that encourages students to think differently and empowers them to challenge assumptions. CMU brings students together with expert scholars and thinkers from different disciplines to make connections between ideas and gain the skills to solve the unstructured, complex problems they’ll encounter in life.
With a low student-to-faculty ratio, students have the opportunity to build one-on-one relationships with professors dedicated to providing tools to succeed in today’s interconnected world. An education at CMU offers value through more than 114 majors at the certificate, associate, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral level with 75 areas of concentration or emphasis and 49 minors delivered through 13 academic departments that enable students to discover and pursue their dreams. Dedication to providing the highest quality education in a student-centered environment will guide the university into the future. Learn more about CMU’s brand platform at https://www.coloradomesa.edu/marketing/brand-strategy/brand-platform.html In addition to the core teaching mission, CMU is also the entertainment and cultural hub of western Colorado: Athletics: Maverick athletics play a key role in the growth of CMU’s students and are an integral part of the university experience. CMU has 26 NCAA Division II teams and 2 additional varsity teams comprised of 700 total varsity student-athletes: varsity teams and a strong winning tradition as a member of the NCAA and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). Performing Arts: The Moss Performing Arts Center serves as the regional hub for arts and entertainment and houses two of CMU’s academic departments — music and theatre arts. The Center is home to the 620-seat Robinson Theater, a 288-seat recital hall, and the multi-purpose/150-seat Mesa Experimental Theatre (MET). In connection with its core mission of training more than 200 students majoring in the performing arts, CMU’s Departments of Music and Theatre Arts produce more than 70 events each year. Student Life: CMU offers more than 200 student clubs and organization spanning all interests including academic, athletic, cultures, professional associations and honor societies. These complement learning via academic instruction and create a valuable student experience. Additionally, the Student Life Office produces numerous large-scale activities throughout the academic year. Learn more at https://www.coloradomesa.edu/marketing/brand-strategy/editorial-style-guide.html and click on “CMU By the Numbers”.
Scope of Work:
Campaigns will:
1) drive lead generation and applications for admission for fall 2021 w/ spring 2021 as a secondary focus;
2) complement e-mail, text, and other outreach activities that nurture leads through the long buying cycle leading to enrollment in August 2021.
3) improve awareness and perception among high school students and their influencers including parents and counselors.
4) generate leads in our CRM system via online inquiry, registration to attend a visitation event, or application among high school juniors and sophomores;
III. TARGET AUDIENCES CMU:
1) Young adults/post-secondary education intenders age 16-20 living in Colorado counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Delta, Denver, Douglas, Eagle, El Paso, Elbert, Garfield, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa, Montrose, Pueblo. High schools within these counties will be provided to selected vendor(s) to offer more targeted placement of media/outreach.
2) Young adults/post-secondary education intenders age 16-20 living in select ZIP codes within AK, CA, TX, OR, WA, HI, NV, IL, MN, WI. ZIPs will be provided to selected firm(s) to provide more targeted media/outreach.
3) Influencers of primary target;
4) Young adults and post-secondary education intenders age 16-20 and influencers living in other CO counties not in primary target.
WCCC:
1) Young adults age 16-20 living in Colorado counties: Delta, Garfield, Mesa, Montrose
2) Post-secondary education intenders age 25-39 in Delta, Garfield, Mesa, Montrose
IV. BUDGET
Annual budget is based on CMU’s Fiscal Year July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. $800,000 allocated is inclusive of all agency fees, production costs and working media paid at net rate. Working media should be allocated generally as follows: 80% to CMU and 20% to WCCC.
V. SCOPE OF WORK AND TIMELINE
For pricing purposes, the following scope of work is supplied. The actual campaign assets required may change following discovery, campaign development and media strategy discussions with contracted agency. As a reminder, primary goals are:
• Generate top of funnel leads and applications for fall 2021 enrollment
• Improve brand awareness and perception
Account Support for CMU and WCCC Campaigns — July 2020 to June 2021
Strategic planning, creative development, weekly meetings (when creative is in development and/or media is in market), presentations and ongoing accounting and auditing of all campaign creative and media expenses accrued on behalf of CMU/WCCC.
Discovery and Messaging and Creative Brief for CMU — August 2020
Strategic planning session with CMU leadership to align on goals and brand strategy. Development of a messaging and creative brief to guide the expression of the brand strategy, including content priorities, creative mandatories, and design guardrails. The creative brief will be used as a guide to the ground and inspire market-facing messaging and activation of the campaign.
Campaign Concept Development for CMU — August 2020
Presentation of three (3) creative concepts to bring the brand strategy to life for selection of one (1) campaign concept for refinement. Concepts will be provided in the form of ad-like objects bolstering the revitalized brand strategy with market-facing imagery and graphic styling as well as messaging tonality.
Media Strategy and Management for CMU — August 2020
Includes development of media strategy, planning, purchasing, placement and tracking of assets, media billing and reconciliation, monthly media reports and media team participation in strategy/planning and ongoing status calls as needed. NOTE: CMU is media agnostic but firmly believes that paid investments should be tailored to the target audience. Proposals should include any tactics you recommend, and for each you must include relevant samples for CMU’s campaign. CMU agrees to keep these materials confidential and will not execute any creative ideas if a firm is not chosen/awarded work for this specific campaign. These may include tactics noted below and others proposed.
Creative Assets Production for CMU — August 2020
Based on approved creative concept and media plan, production of assets by agency, which may include and is not limited to the following. We encourage vendors to propose unique, creative and ingenious approaches to reaching goals.
– Video/Television: :15, :30, :60 or long-form spots for OTT, CTV, broadcast, cable, online, etc.
– Audio: :15, :30 or :60 audio spots for digital, broadcast, satellite radio
– Online Display: Static and/or animated banners for programmatic advertising
– Paid Social: Copy, images, animation or video for FB, IG, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, and other platforms
– Search Engine Marketing: Keywords and associated text for Google, Bing, Yahoo PPC advertising.
– OOH: Static or digital bulletins, transit ads, high school lightboards, etc.
– Print: Master ads developed to resize for print insertions throughout the year
– Collateral/Direct Mail: Mock-ups translating campaign into direct mail, etc.
– Guerilla: One-off tactics to excite and engage
Campaign Launch & Working Media for CMU —August/Sept 2020 to April 2021
CMU is open to a phased approach to mediaWorking budget for media purchasing based on approved media plan. Vendor is responsible for negotiation, purchasing, placement, tracking and payment to all media vendors. The university does not prepay for media other than escrow funds needed for SEM and social. Media billing is paid net 30 following vendor and CMU audit of affidavits, back-up.
Discovery and Messaging and Creative Brief for WCCC — September 2020
Strategic planning session with WCCC leadership to align on goals and brand strategy. Development of a messaging and creative brief to guide the expression of the brand strategy, including content priorities, creative mandatories and design guardrails. The creative brief will be used as a guide to ground and inspire marketfacing messaging and campaign activation.
Campaign Concept Development for WCCC — October 2020
Presentation of three (3) creative concepts to bring the brand strategy to life for selection of one (1) campaign concept for refinement. Concepts will be provided in the form of ad-like objects bolstering the revitalized brand strategy with market-facing imagery and graphic styling as well as messaging tonality.
Creative Assets Production for WCCC — October 2020
Based on approved creative concept and media plan, production of assets by agency, which may include but is not limited to the following: – See tactical examples noted above for CMU.
Media Strategy and Management for WCCC — October 2020 to June 2021
Includes development of media strategy, planning, purchasing, placement and tracking of assets, media billing and reconciliation, monthly media reports and media team participation in strategy/planning and ongoing status calls as needed. Campaign Launch & Working Media for WCCC —October 2020 to June 2021 Working budget for media purchasing based on approved media plan. Vendor is responsible for negotiation, purchasing, placement, tracking and payment to all media vendors. The university does not pre-pay for media other than escrow funds needed for SEM and social. Media billing is paid net 30 following vendor and CMU audit of affidavits, back-up.
Due Date:
July 24, 2020, 11:00 a.m
Address:
Suzanne Ellinwood Colorado Mesa University Purchasing Department 1260 Kennedy Avenue Grand Junction, CO 81501-3122
Relevant agencies include Ruder Finn and Finn Partners.
