Digital Marketing RFP Issued by Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University (University) invites qualified providers to submit a proposal in response to this Request for Proposal (RFP) for Digital Marketing Services for Strategic Enrollment. The successful Service Provider shall demonstrate their ability to furnish and provide the services as described in this RFP.
Background:
Service Provider must meet all the requirements stated below in order for the University to consider their proposal.
2.1 Meet Qualifications and able to provide service as described in Section 3 of the RFP.
2.2 Must be higher-education focused with a minimum of five (5) active regionallyaccredited university or college clients.
2.3 Must be able to execute all strategies by their in-house team and not rely on third party vendors.
2.4 Must be a Google Premier Partner 2.5 Must align inbound and outbound digital efforts with the existing university platforms, including its web content management systems and Liaison CRM.
2.5 Must offer live, real-time reporting for all aspects of the campaign.
2.6 Must have in-house staff, technical, logistical, and other resources to support the launch, implementation, assessment, return on investment, and ongoing management of an overall ad buy in the range of $50,000 to $60,000 for FY20-21. While this figure may increase, it is not expected to decrease. The University does not guarantee a minimum spend and the figures listed are estimates only.
2.7 Must provide at minimum one monthly one-hour long call for analysis and review of strategy and outcomes.
2.8 Must provide at least three references (organization name, contact name and phone number, range of dates served, as well as one sentence to describe work provided).
2.9 Provide electronic delivery of reports as required.
2.10 Provide initial and ongoing training with Sonoma State University staff, as it relates to campaign implementation, evaluation and revision.
Scope of Work:
Sonoma State University is seeking a Service Provider to establish and build a digital marketing program that will elevate the University’s use of digital outreach resulting in measurable goals related to application and enrollment, engagement and perception. Using University data to inform target demographic/geographic audiences. University hopes to increase the interest, engagement and ultimate enrollment yield from first time freshman and transfer students, with specific focus on programs and colleges to be determined by university priorities. Additionally, the university’s measurable objectives also include increased brand awareness, understanding of key messages and strategies, and engagement by alumni and other target constituencies. The University expects to meet with offices, departments and others within the university to learn program-specific audience demographics and needs, as multiple programs will be included in this contract and managed by Strategic Enrollment. Additionally, as the service provider selected to provide holistic digital marketing services, the service provider may meet with and understand diverse offices, campaigns and marketing needs across the entire university, and may include micro-campaigns to help departments and programs reach specific goals. Since this is a university-wide, rolling contract, implementation should be considered an evolving, multi-contact, multi-goal and fluid process. The selected service provider must be able to integrate with multiple initiatives, budgets, and requirements across various colleges, divisions and office within the university.
3.2 Implementation/Integration
Sonoma State University requests a Service Provider to implement campaigns and focus university- advertising initiatives to a digital marketing space. The university is not expecting to have any on-campus software or hardware implementation needs, but instead would like to leverage and improve upon existing and emerging enterprise-wide systems such as CRM/Liaison, among others. The university expects the service provider to meet with offices, departments and others within the university to learn program-specific audience demographics and needs, as multiple programs will be included in this contract and managed by Strategic Enrollment. Additionally, as the service provider selected to provide holistic digital marketing services, the service provider may meet with and understand diverse offices, campaigns and marketing needs across the entire university, and may include micro-campaigns to help departments and programs reach specific goals. Since this is a university-wide, rolling contract, implementation should be considered an evolving, multi-contact, multi-goal and fluid process. The selected service provider must be able to integrate with multiple initiatives, budgets, and requirements across various colleges, divisions and offices within the university.
3.3 Support
The successful service provider must conduct full training of various university staff prior to going live with campaigns. Ongoing trainings to ensure all university staff are up-to-date with technological capabilities are required. Professional development to ensure university personnel are fully informed of emerging, best, and effective practices in both digital campaigns and higher education is required. Provide training on best practices following the assessment of existing digital outreach.
3.4 Reporting/Performance
The successful service provider must have established reporting protocols. Minimum reporting requirements include: A live dashboard to report analytics; campaign progress toward goal; historical trends; emerging trends; dashboard view of progress toward goal(s), specifically as they relate to measurable goals as defined by the university; outcomes targets (leads, impressions, etc.); regularly scheduled, comprehensive strategy and performance reports; ongoing, regularly scheduled phone calls or virtual meetings or other means toward collaborative discussions; budget performance and ROI on campaigns and other initiatives; outlined review period and, as needed, action plan(s) for change and improvement; clear timelines for strategy development, campaign creative production, implementation, assessment, accountability, and ongoing revision: breakdown fees, media buys, and other detailed expenses
Due Date:
September 21, 2020 by 11:00 am PST
Address:
Relevant agencies to consider include Shift Communications and Headline Media.
