Renton Technical College Issues Marketing and Branding RFP
Renton Technical College is seeking to hire an agency for a marketing and branding campaign. Renton Technical College is one of 34 Washington state-owned community and technical colleges.
The College serves the southern King County area from its main campus in Renton, and enrolls approximately 16,000 full and part time students yearly. The College’s Construction Center of Excellence (“CCE”) serves as the state’s resource hub for education and industry in the Construction Sector. The CCE has received funding from the Federal Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Initiative for System Expansion in Washington (“RAISE”) grant to expand apprenticeship in the state of Washington. This is now prompting the creation of a statewide marketing and branding campaign promoting the expansion of apprenticeship.
Scope of Work:
A. Marketing Campaign Strategy Development
Contractor shall coordinate with the CCE Project Manager and RAISE Marketing Subcommittee to develop a marketing campaign strategy including the following elements:
1. Target Audience Research: Build profiles on each of the campaign’s following target audiences:
• Prospective Apprentices (e.g. adult job seekers, graduating high school students, women/minorities, and veterans)
• Industry Employers (those with and those without current apprenticeship programs)
• Education/Training Programs (those with and those without current apprenticeship programs)
2. Campaign Strategy Development: Develop a campaign strategy based on findings from the target audience research.
3. Messaging Strategy Development: Prepare a messaging plan identifying key messages that will resonate best with each target audience.
B. Creative Concept Preparation/Review: Develop three (3) creative concepts for evaluation including the campaign name, tagline, identity system, image library and thematic elements to be used to guide the look and feel of all campaign materials for each. CCE and the RAISE Marketing Subcommittee will review concepts, gather additional feedback from stakeholders provide revisions and select the final concept for execution.
C. Final Concept Implementation:
1. Prepare an implementation plan for the final concept’s presentation that outlines everything from blog posts and infographics to email copy and video shoots for each of the target audiences. Identify images for selected website(s) to introduce the campaign and feature associated benefits and messages. Integrate interactive/email capture opportunities on the website to facilitate user action.
2. Return on Investment (ROI) Tracking: Prepare a comprehensive plan for tracking ROI for the final concept’s implementation. This would include a description and strategy for using developed materials in a way that enables tracking their usefulness.
D. Prepare Marketing Campaign Media:
1. Online Ad Copy: Prepare online ad creative and copy for display ads on popular social networks, community news sites and blogs, as well as search engine results pages based on the approved media plan.
2. Email Newsletter Design: Prepare at least one e-mail newsletter design for each target audience.
3. Email Course Creation:
• For employers, an automated email tutorial to guide them through creating an apprenticeship program.
• For job seekers, an automated email tutorial to help them take basic steps to prepare for apprenticeship.
4. Social Media Campaign Creation, designed to interact with target audiences as determined by audience focus groups.
5. Video Production: Video optimized for online viewing to support overall content development for social media, and selected website(s). Develop three (3) videos, each no longer than 3-4 minutes total with the following messages:
• Campaign Theme Video: general messaging in support of the value of apprenticeship and success stories for both job seekers and employers
• Job Seekers Getting Started Video
• Employers Getting Started Video
6. Pop-up Display Production: (approx. 33” x 78”)
7. Printed Materials Finished Artwork, consisting of camera-ready art (300 dpi or higher), with hardcopy and PDF proofs, for not less than each of the following:
• Promotional 4×6 Color Postcard (2 sided)
• Poster (approx. 20×30 color)
• Flyer (8.5×11 2-sided, trifold, color)
Proposal due on June 5 to:
Perry Culwell
Purchasing Department
Renton Technical College
Fax 425-235-2387
Allison & Partners and Weber Shandwick are leading PR firms in Washington State.
