MARKETING / COMMUNICATION SERVICES NEEDED FOR KIDS

Purpose:

COLLABORATIVE FOR CHILDREN seeks a strategic communications consultancy with proven experience working with non-profit organizations and specializing in early childhood education. The firm will serve as an extension of Collaborative for Children’s internal communications department and will perform tasks including but not limited to:

• Promote awareness of Collaborative for Children and its programs throughout the 13 counties of the greater Houston area
• Provide graphic design services at the request and direction of Collaborative for Children
• Support the development of communications and organizational strategy for brand awareness and specific marketing and programmatic needs
• Provide or support strategic advertising services, including campaign creation or support, creative design, copywriting, media negotiations and placement
• Provide or support public relations services, to include event support and event management as necessary
• Provide the media relations function for Collaborative for Children
• Support or lead change management initiatives
• Provide consultation services to aid in the identification and discovery of Collaborative for Children’s unique culture and stated core values
• Support the communications department’s internal communications efforts
• Provide or support digital communications efforts, including website support, SEO/SEM and social media

Background:

The mission of the nonprofit Collaborative for Children is to meaningfully improve the quality of early childhood education and care for Greater Houston’s children through those who are most influential in their lives. The Collaborative for Children staff works every day toward the goal of strengthening families, improving the quality of child care programs, and educating the community about the importance of the early years in a child’s life.

Since its founding in 1987 as Initiatives for Children, we have helped parents in the Houston area find child care for their children through our resource and referral service, now online at www.FindChildCareNow.org. Additionally, to ensure that more young children have the secure, stimulating home environments they need to develop, we provide families with parenting education and home visitation services.

For child care providers, we offer a variety of quality improvement initiatives and professional development opportunities designed to improve the quality of child care environments. We bridge the gap in resources and standards by providing child care professionals with hands-on training and leadership development, curriculum development, one-on-one coaching/mentoring, classroom materials and equipment, and scholarships for continued education in the field of early childhood. As a result, thousands of young children throughout our community are in the care of higher-quality child care programs and teachers with the resources to ignite an early love of learning.

Knowledge fuels action, which is why we are committed to educating the community about the critical importance of a child’s development during the years between birth and five. We also work closely with our partners to advocate for state and national policies that raise standards and increase resources for early care and education in our community.

Scope of Work:

The selected Firm will be expected to service the comprehensive strategic marketing and communications needs of Collaborative for Children.

Scope of Work may include:

Promote Awareness:

• Represent Collaborative for Children in relevant networking opportunities
• Pitch media or create media materials including releases, lists and kits at the direction of Collaborative for Children communications staff
• Create or support coordinated advertising campaigns (print, broadcast, digital, online, email, etc.) to include written plan, including objectives, audience description, strategies, tactics and budgets
• Work with Collaborative for Children communications staff to develop and execute strategic communications plans

Graphic Design:

Provide graphic design services with sometimes quick (same day or next day) turnaround on projects including:

o Slide presentations

o Fliers

o Ads: print, digital, outdoor, etc.

o Booth displays

o Collateral

o Logo design

o Annual Reports, Strategic Plans, etc.

Communications and Organizational Strategy:

• Provide strategic consultation on communications and marketing issues on an ad-hoc basis, including weekly calls and periodic meetings
• Participate in annual communications planning retreat
• Work with Collaborative for Children communications staff in developing strategic plans and identifying strategic priorities
• Provide consultation services to aid in the identification and discovery of Collaborative for Children’s strategic marketing and communications initiatives

Advertising Services:

• Brainstorm campaigns with or without Collaborative for Children communications staff
• Pitch campaigns
• Create all campaign assets
• Research and document targets, channels, messages and budgets
• Negotiate, manage and place media buys
• Provide regular campaign reporting

Public Relations:

• Brainstorm campaigns or activities with or without Collaborative for Children communications staff
• Connect Collaborative for Children to relevant and valuable strategic partnerships
• Create messaging to drive interaction and build excitement for Collaborative for Children
• Support communications efforts as needed
• Represent Collaborative for Children with community partners
• Lead or participate in major event planning, to include creation and management of scheduling, script writing, video or slide presentations, staffing, media relations, and run-of-show duties

Media Relations:

• Utilize media software to monitor media for mentions of Collaborative for Children
• Maintain and provide media lists as requested
• Lead the agency’s media relations efforts, to include pitching and reporter contact
• Draft and issue press releases and advisories
• Make follow up phone calls to the media
• Coordinate interviews and press conferences

Change Management:

• Work with Collaborative for Children senior staff and communications team to advise and support major internal change management initiatives
• Lead or support major staffing and leadership changes, such as CEO and senior team transitions
• Lead or support crisis communications

Core Values:

• Lead visioning exercises with leadership and staff to identify or discover Collaborative for Children’s core values
• Lead or participate in activities designed to illustrate behaviors associated with core values
• Lead or participate in activities and workshops to define and leverage the unique Collaborative for Children culture, and assist the agency in incorporating values and culture into all programmatic and operational initiatives

Internal Communications:

• Support Collaborative for Children communications staff in internal communications, including strategy and execution
• Manage internal intranet, including content creation and posts
• Work with Collaborative for Children senior staff and communications team to advise and support major internal change management initiatives

Digital Communications:

• Support communications staff in designing and executing digital communications strategy
• Provide assets as requested by communications staff or website development vendor
• Research and provide best practices guidance relevant to UI / UX, with the understanding that Collaborative for Children retains an external website vendor who is the lead agency on the Collaborative for Children website
• Research and develop social media strategy for Collaborative for Children, including position statements on relevant channels, sample posts and timelines
• Manage social media posts
• Create social media content with approval of communications department
• Research and provide best practices guidance on SEM and develop, implement and manage SEM campaigns accordingly

Senior-Level Consultancy:

• Act as an extension of Collaborative for Children staff by providing as-needed consultancy to director of communications and president/CEO as needed
• Participate in weekly hour-long phone calls to discuss status and emerging needs, or more frequently if needed
• Serve as on-call support for communications staff
• Support communication efforts as needed with writing or design

Due Date:

April 6th, 2018

Address:

1111 N Loop W,

Houston, TX 77008

PR firms with Kids experience includes Ruder Finn and Coyne PR.