Commonwealth of Virginia Issues Branding, Media Marketing RFP

Purpose:

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) is to seek multiple qualified vendors to provide branding, media, and experiential marketing services to the Virginia Lottery (“Lottery”).

Background:

The Lottery currently has a strong “We’re Game” brand with outstanding recognition throughout the Commonwealth. It is the intent of the Lottery to build on its brand success, improve the customer journey, and align its messaging to key audiences. Celebrating its 30th year, the Lottery is poised for growth, yet new gaming competition in Virginia is a reality. Traditional Lottery products need to continue to experience growth and soon, the Lottery will introduce new digital products that will reach new audiences. As product offerings grow, the brand needs to encompass new products and strategically address communications and marketing plans. Now contributing more than $8 billion in profits to Virginia public schools since 1999, it will be important for the Lottery to continue to evolve its “we’re game for education” sub brand in future years. The Lottery follows an agency-wide strategic plan that should inform the brand evolution.

The Lottery sponsors a wide variety of events across the Commonwealth including concerts, NASCAR, festivals, and much more. The primary objective at these events is to engage Virginia consumers with our brand by rewarding our current players and building relationships with future players – ultimately delivering a unique, one-to- one experience that only the Lottery can provide. The Lottery’s secondary objective at events is to inform Virginians that Lottery profits support local public education. In the experiential marketing space and some limited marketing tactics, the Lottery currently employs professional talent to serve as the current “We’re Game” brand personality n the Game Guy character. The Lottery sells over $2 billion annually with strong playership among adult Virginians. Offerors are encouraged to review information available about the Lottery at www.valottery.com and through our various social media outlets. The Lottery will also share existing research materials with the selected Offeror(s) to help facilitate and streamline the work contracted.

Scope of Work:

1. Branding Services
2. Offeror shall have the ability to provide strategic guidance and establish a process and develop the plan for the next evolution of the Virginia Lottery brand.
3. Offeror should complete a comprehensive brand audit incorporating our customer analytics and possibly perform any additional research of our customers, influencers and industry as needed.
4. Offeror should complete competitive analyses amongst other leisure/entertainment/gaming products.
5. Offeror shall have the ability to interview internal and external stakeholders. The Lottery assumes stakeholder interviews will be included but Offerors may propose a different approach.
6. Offeror shall have the ability to incorporate then current Lottery partners in their process for understanding and evolving the brand (advertising, public relations firms for example).
7. Offeror shall have the ability to provide a comprehensive brand architecture that will establish a multi-year plan for refresh, awareness, transition, sustenance, and evolution.
8. Offeror shall have the ability to provide strategic guidance. Areas of guidance shall include minimally the following areas:
9. Behavioral loyalty: definitions of purchasing behaviors
10. Attitudinal Attachment: determine best way to present the brand so it is personally meaningful by consumer segment
11. Active Engagement: brand loyalty
12. Sense of Community: strategy for social engagement
13. Salience:          define  and      describe           sense    of         voice    for       all communications
14. Performance: strategy for ensuring brand meets functional needs of all customers and stakeholders
15. Imagery: provide representative image definition (how does the Lottery brand look and feel)
16. Metrics: Establish performance metrics to evaluate branding efforts both short and long term, as well as metrics involving our employees, retailers, vendors, stakeholders, and players.
17. Media Buying Services
18. Offeror shall have the ability to manage complex purchasing of media for all Lottery messaging across all media platforms. The Lottery currently utilizes the following media platforms: broadcast, cable, digital, social, radio and Out of Home.
19. Offeror shall have the ability to collaborate with the Lottery when developing media plans to ensure key objectives are met.
20. Offeror shall have the ability to build partnerships with media outlets to deliver added value for every media buy.
21. Offeror shall have the ability to develop an annual media buying plan.
22. Offeror shall have the ability to provide designated staff for daily optimization of digital advertising buys in accordance with best practices.
23. Offeror shall have the ability to provide timely and relevant key performance indicators for measuring the return on investment for all media channels.
24. Offeror shall have the ability to illustrate innovation and consistently recommend new products, tools, and strategies to the Lottery. In particular, Offeror shall demonstrate the ability to support digital advertising efforts to support both existing and new digital products, including tools, techniques, and strategies that will best support the Lottery’s goals for customer acquisition, engagement, and retention.
25. Offeror shall have the demonstrated ability to collaborate with multiple internal and external partners to maximize the value for our media buying investment.
26. Offeror shall have the ability to produce and provide a dashboard, which is accessible 24/7, to allow the Lottery to review digital and social campaign efficacy in real time.
27. Offeror shall have the ability to create, manage, and execute digital campaigns to support both traditional Lottery products and new digital products anticipated to be available in market shortly after any resulting contract.
28. Offeror shall have the ability to provide appropriate technical support to work with the Lottery internal digital team to create effective digital campaign tracking, including, but not limited to, the Virginia Lottery’s Google Analytics.
29. Offeror shall have the ability to produce a post-buy analysis with key relevant and actionable recommendations for future campaigns.
30. Offeror shall have the ability to attend meetings at least quarterly with the Lottery team to review results and shape future media buys. It is the intent of the Lottery that these meetings will be held at Lottery headquarters in Richmond, VA and successful Offeror shall attend in person.
31. Offeror should expect ongoing media purchase needs on an estimated scale of six (6) to eight (8) traditional media campaigns, continual digital and social media, and continual Out of Home media, with a total budget in the range of fifteen (15) to twenty (20) million dollars annually.
32. Experiential Marketing Services
33. Lottery Event Requirements

General Requirements: Offeror shall have the ability to collaborate with the Lottery to ensure event footprint is setup and taken down in accordance with Lottery requirements. Responsibilities for setup and take down could be as follows, unless otherwise stated by the Lottery at the time of event:

1. Work closely with Lottery’s Event Managers
2. Organize, load, and unload promotional items from event trailers
3. Set up/take down tents, chairs, and tables
4. Lay and dismantle temporary event flooring
5. Assemble and disassemble signage, banners, flags, etc.
6. Set up and break down counters for Lottery terminals which allow ticket sales at events
7. Tow the Lottery’s selling trailers
8. Transport equipment and materials to and from the Lottery warehouse located in Richmond, VA to specific event sites
9. Provide proof of performance to show that event footprint meets Lottery standards as established for each event
10. Offeror shall have the ability to load either a special events trailer, selling trailer, rental box truck, pickup truck, POD, or combination thereof with a predetermined quantity of specified promotional items from the Lottery’s warehouse in Richmond and transport to event. Offeror shall be responsible for reloading and returning, to Lottery warehouse, any remaining premium items at the conclusion of each event.

Brand Ambassadors:

1. The main objective of Brand Ambassadors is to engage event attendees while being energetic and fun.
2. Brand Ambassadors shall engage event attendees, play games, set up and distribute premium giveaways, and capture content for social media (pictures, etc.).
3. Brand Ambassadors shall assist with the set-up and breakdown of the footprint as well as any basic maintenance that may be needed during an event, as described in the General Requirements above.
4. Brand Ambassadors may be tasked with selling responsibilities. Training to ensure proper brand communication and proper security clearances are required prior to a Brand Ambassador serving in this capacity.

Market Managers:

1. The main objective of Market Managers is to be present at every event and ensure that the Brand Ambassadors are performing their agreed upon job duties. The Market Manager is also expected to engage event attendees while being energetic and fun.
2. Market Managers manage Brand Ambassadors and all reporting functions.
3. Market Managers are responsible for the transportation, set-up, and breakdown of event footprint.
4. Market Managers may be tasked with selling responsibilities. Training and the proper security clearances are required prior to a Market Manager serving in this capacity.
5. Event Strategy
6. The Offeror shall have the ability to provide strategic direction on bringing the Lottery brand (currently “We’re Game”) to life through Experiential Marketing. The Lottery brand may evolve over the term of any resulting contract.
7. Offeror shall have the ability to develop strategic plans with cross- channel and promotion integration opportunities for building brand awareness to help consumers experience our brand. Plan shall be subject to change, as Lottery deems necessary.
8. Offeror shall have the ability to provide best practice guidance on consumer engagement, including event best practices as well as event-to-consumer segment fit.
9. Offeror shall have the ability to assist with the development of the Lottery’s Annual Event Plan and provide recommendations for future events to attend/sponsor.
10. Creative
11. Offeror shall have the ability to develop ideas for a new or improved footprint, including on-site signage, personae integration (currently Game Guy), games, and premiums.
12. Offeror shall have the ability to identify and provide recommendations on opportunities to connect with customers beyond the Lottery’s immediate footprint.
13. Offeror shall have the ability to develop event ideas, event engagement strategies, booth/tent space design, signage production for events, any creative and broadcast deliverables associated with events, and any additional job duties required by the Lottery.
14. Warehousing and Distribution
15. Offeror shall have the ability to receive items into a Lottery-owned warehouse located in Richmond, VA. Lottery will notify the Offeror forty-eight (48) hours prior to the need to receive shipment.
16. Offeror shall have the ability to provide staff who are certified forklift drivers to pick and pack Lottery premium goods as needed for events.
17. Offeror shall have the ability to provide a general tracking of premium items remaining in warehouse as well as inventory used at each Lottery event.
18. Offeror shall have the ability to provide transportation, with Offeror owned vehicle, of Lottery footprint (i.e. tents, signage, tables, tablecloths, etc.), games, and premiums to and from event locations and storage areas. Offeror shall have the ability to include Lottery branding on the primary proposed vehicle(s).
19. Offeror shall have the ability to drive a Lottery provided vehicle to an event. The Lottery currently utilizes an eight (8) cylinder F250 truck with towing package. In the event a Lottery-provided vehicle is not available, it may be required for the Contractor to tow the Lottery trailer with their own vehicle in which case mileage will be reimbursed at the state allowable rate. Offeror may be required to drive Lottery-provided vehicles to and from different locations where work is to be performed. All vehicles operated on behalf of the Lottery shall be operated under Federal and State Department of Transportation rules and regulations.

Due Date:

May 17th, 2018

Address:

ANies-Berger@valottery.com

Padilla is a leading PR Agency.