COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO RFQ 12553 ADVERTISING MEDIA SERVICES
Due Date: June 8th, 2023
1. SCOPE OF WORK/PURPOSE
The County of San Diego [“County”] seeks a qualified, full-service advertising, marketing, and media agency to provide creative and effective multimedia products and services to the County Office of Supervisor Joel Anderson [“Supervisor”].
Multimedia services will be requested on an as-needed basis throughout the contract period for consulting services, project management and implementation, media purchasing and placement, reporting, creative development of ads and public service announcements, graphic design and implementation, text message operations, and/or video creation in support of projects needed by the Supervisor.
Services may include various forms of multimedia such as text, audio, graphics, photography, video, and interactive content. It is anticipated that items and/or services will be requested mostly for digital advertising avenues, such as social media, but could include print, radio, outdoor, internet/web, SMS text messaging, and/or television broadcast.
Projects that may require multimedia services range from SMS text messaging operations to social media (Facebook/Meta) advertising, and more. The goal is to reach as many people as possible within the Supervisor’s district to educate and solicit their feedback on issues facing the County, so that the Supervisor can best represent them.
Work will be issue based. Work will relate only to legislative or governmental purposes to communicate with the public and not any campaign purposes that would support or oppose the approval or rejection of a ballot measure, or the election or defeat of a candidate. All services rendered shall be in a nonpartisan, informational manner.
2. TARGET POPULATION
The contractor shall develop strategies and create media messages related to legislative or governmental initiatives that reach District 2’s ethnic and diverse communities, various target groups, as well as the general population by employing marketing strategies that reflect the cultural values, beliefs, and norms of a targeted audience.
3. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
3.1. The contractor shall use market research and community engagement practices when needed or requested to inform strategies.
3.2. The contractor shall develop strategies and media messages that target audiences most likely to engage with the content. The County Contracting Officers Representative (COR) may provide organic content to the contractors which may be used, with written COR approval, for advertising purposes by the contractor specific to performance under this agreement.
3.3. The contractor shall provide all services using professional, certified, efficient, and experienced staff or subcontractors to work on all aspects of the project. The contractor personnel (including subcontractor personnel if applicable) shall be assigned to each project and shall be subject to pre-approved by the COR.
Assigned contractor personnel shall for each project not be replaced or changed without the prior written approved of the COR.
3.4. All responses to communications from the County to the contractor made during the standard business hours of Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM, local San Diego time, shall be returned within one (1) business day of initial contact.
3.5. The contractor shall have a main point of contact for ordering services, billing, and logistics that is available to the COR during the standard business hours of Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM local San Diego time.
3.6. The contractor shall develop, implement, manage, advise, and disseminate multimedia projects that align with County legislative or governmental goals and initiatives, and the County’s brand. A style guide for communications will be provided to the contractor by the representative which includes preferred colors and fonts for any assets created by the contractor.
3.7. The contractor shall coordinate with COR to plan, design, develop, implement, disseminate, manage, and evaluate multimedia products, services, and projects to increase public awareness related to legislative or governmental goals and initiatives; services and offerings provided and under consideration by the County; and the promotion of upcoming community events, and/or constituent engagements with opinion surveys related to County legislative or governmental initiatives.
3.8. The contractor shall provide multimedia services in various forms of multimedia such as text, audio, image, video, and interactive content, and shall be requested for all different media outlets including, but not limited to, print, radio, outdoor, internet/web, social media, and/or television broadcast.
3.9. The contractor shall buy and place advertisements on behalf of the County. This includes but is not limited to, vendor contract management, invoice management, reconciliation, and handling creative assets to vendors/subcontractors.
3.10. The contractor shall coordinate with the COR on the development and distribution plan of promotional materials, announcements, letters, mailers, posters, banners, and/or ads as it relates to the relevance in the community and/or timing of upcoming events related to legislative or governmental initiatives hosted by the Supervisor and in compliance with Mass Mailing Regulations.
3.11. The contractor shall be committed to specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely (SMART) goals to ensure objectives are met and results achieved.
3.12. The contractor shall coordinate with the COR to provide deliverables on multimedia projects within the timeframe designated by the County.
3.13. The contractor shall obtain approval from the COR before implementation of or modification to the media plan, product, or service.
3.14. The contractor shall develop, create, and produce as-needed culturally and linguistically appropriate media messages in languages specific to the County’s federal, state, and/or County covered languages, and develop materials with accessibility standards in mind for dissemination to the media.
3.15. The contractor shall produce, design, and implement all multimedia products and services in the County’s covered languages as requested by COR. If needed, the County may provide the written/oral translations.
3.16. The process for contacting the contractor for services shall be governed through a task order process.
Upon request for services by the COR, contractor shall respond to the request with the scope of work and proposal within the timeframe designated by the COR. The COR will review the response and determine (at the County’s sole discretion) whether the response meets expectations.
4. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
4.1. Consulting Services
4.1.1.The contractor shall coordinate with the COR to conceptualize a project and help to define project goals, marketing strategies, deliverables, and objectives.
4.1.2.The contractor shall conduct market research supporting projects as needed when requested by the COR.
4.1.3.The contractor shall conduct research and propose additional communications and outreach methods beyond those included in the Statement of Work to increase engagement with target and/or hard-to reach audiences.
4.1.4.The contractor shall create and submit a proof of concept and draft content for all projects documenting the scope and materials needed to the COR for review with the COR having final approval before implementation.
4.1.5.The contractor shall schedule a meeting with the COR and other County personnel when requested to discuss objectives, proposed plans, outcomes, and more as it relates to a project.
4.1.6.The County encourages the contractor to identify opportunities to reduce total costs and recommends continuous improvement efforts consisting of various marketing ideas to enhance business efficiencies by assessing its media advertising and marketing activities, and its purchase of advertising and marketing opportunities.
4.2. Project Management
4.2.1.The contractor shall provide Project Management, which includes business and administrative planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and approving actions designed to accomplish overall program objectives from conceptualization to fulfillment.
4.2.2.The contractor Project Manager shall be responsible for the day-to-day management and delivery of services and shall be accessible to the County by telephone and by email during standard business hours, Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM, local San Diego time.
4.2.3.The contractor shall coordinate with the COR regarding any personnel change in the Project Manager position. The COR shall approve changes to this position in writing before implementing the change.
4.3. Media Purchasing and Placement
4.3.1.The contractor shall broker airtime and negotiate media purchases, sponsor segments, and ad space for County communication materials using its experience and past high-volume buying power to leverage the best deal for the County.
4.3.2.The contractor shall determine the most effective advertising outlets and channels (programming, locations, digital channels, etc.) based on County-provided information regarding the target market.
4.3.2.1. The contractor may be required to broker airtime with all major San Diego channels/stations including, but not limited to Univision, COX, The CW, FOX 5, KUSI, ABC 10, NBC 7, CBS 8, and/or Telemundo.
4.3.3.The contractor shall have knowledge of advertisement policies around elections and campaign activities, and shall ensure advertisements are placed in a nonpartisan, informational manner compliant with all election-related laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the California Elections Code, the Political Reform Act, Government Code Section 54964, and the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) regulations, and advertising platform’s guidelines.
4.3.4.The contractor shall traffic creative assets and monitor media purchases to verify correct messages and placements. The contractor shall correct discrepancies as soon as administratively possible and report all discrepancies to the COR.
4.3.5.The contractor shall provide a pre-buy report to the COR for each project. All proposed purchases and ad placements shall be reviewed and approved in advance collaboratively with the COR.
4.3.6.The contractor shall utilize strategic communications when deploying project messages and tactics to the target population.
4.4. Development of Multimedia Ads and Public Service Announcements
4.4.1.The contractor shall collaborate with the COR to determine the goals, objectives, and “Calls to Action” of any given media project.
4.4.2.The contractor shall create multimedia ads and public service announcements to inform the public about the County’s services and offerings, including but not limited to connecting them with County resources, helping them resolve an issue with a County Department, the Supervisor’s legislative internship program, motivating constituents to take an opinion survey, and/or promoting upcoming public events hosted or co-hosted by the Supervisor related to legislative or governmental initiatives.
4.4.3.The contractor shall coordinate with the County to provide voiceover talent for audio recordings in the County-covered languages, if needed.
4.4.4.The contractor shall ensure video media meets accessibility requirements, including ASL, captions, transcript, careful use of color, text, and flashes or animation.
4.4.5.The contractor shall create media messages that may include but are not limited to:
4.4.5.1. Print and alternative advertising. Examples include but are not limited to fact sheets, newsletters, brochures, posters, billboards, and movie theater ads.
4.4.5.2. Enduring written materials. Examples include but are not limited to tip sheets, newsletters, brochures, direct mail, refrigerator magnets, and other collateral materials. Printing of materials shall be done through the County unless otherwise specified.
4.4.5.3. Radio, television, and video production. Examples include but are not limited to videos, television, and radio public service announcements on TV, cable TV, streaming TV services, streaming radio services, interstitials, and commercials.
4.4.5.4. Social Media/Digital. Examples include but are not limited to email, video streaming, and the use of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, SMS text message operations, and/or other social media tools as they become popular. The COR will discuss with the contractor any additional digital tools to be used.
4.5. Graphic Design
4.5.1. The contractor may be required to provide graphic design and creative support from concept to completion for projects.
4.5.2.The contractor may be required to use existing designs and conceptualize new designs for the County for, but not limited to, print and digital outreach materials, logos, promotional pieces, advertisements, interactive graphics, brochure and newsletter development, annual reports, fact sheets, infographics, large and small format posters, digital uses including social media and website, and any other collateral material.
4.5.3.The contractor may be required to create a hard or digital copy of drawings, mock-ups, sketches, and prototypes with the COR providing all text for collateral materials.
4.5.4.The County shall have the right to review all mock-ups, sketches, and prototypes with the COR having final approval over all text, content, graphics, layout, and related artwork.
4.6. Video Creation
4.6.1.If video creation is necessary to complete the deliverables:
4.6.1.1. The contractor shall provide all equipment, materials, editing software, etc. needed for the design, recording, editing, and production of various video projects for the County.
4.6.1.2. The contractor shall coordinate with the COR to develop the concept, conduct video shoots, and edit playback.
4.6.1.3. The contractor shall have the capacity to live-stream specific events or messages as deemed necessary by the County.
4.6.1.4. The contractor may be required to work with the County to review raw cuts, develop the sequence of video clips, and identify gaps in footage for additional filming, at the discretion of the COR.
4.6.1.5. The contractor shall prepare the on-site location for filming and audio recording. Preparations may include but are not limited to scouting the location before filming, altering the physical location, and adapting the filming approach to ensure minimal disruption to participants.
4.6.1.6. The contractor shall coordinate with the County to provide voiceover talent for audio recordings in the County-covered languages.
4.6.1.7. The contractor shall ensure video media meets accessibility requirements including ASL, captions, transcripts, careful use of color, text, and flashes or animation.
4.6.1.8. The final, edited version shall be provided to the COR in a standard digital file format. The contractor shall ensure that all edited copies are of professional grade and quality with attention to detail on all video, graphic, and sound elements.
4.7. Performance Management
4.7.1.The contractor shall provide metrics and analytics for all projects completed within this contract.
4.7.2.The contractor shall coordinate with the COR to create an evaluation plan whereupon metrics, reporting mechanisms, and reporting frequency will be agreed upon before the start of each project.
4.7.3.The contractor shall conduct ongoing evaluations to measure the effectiveness of the work products and services, providing adjustments, revisions, and updates as required by the COR.
4.7.4.In the event of a media project, the contractor shall assess the success of each marketing and outreach effort at mid-project and at the first appropriate time for each new or modified project as agreed upon before the start of the project.
4.7.4.1. Based on the assessment, the contractor and County shall determine whether the project is successful or needs to be modified.
4.7.4.2. At the end of each project, the contractor shall assess the impact of the project’s reach and influence, specifically measuring the awareness of the different target markets and ethnic groups reached.
4.7.5.The contractor shall submit a final report with a summary documenting the results upon completion of any multimedia project. Depending on the medium, reports may include the following:
4.7.5.1. Detailed performance audits, rating data, discrepancy reports, and statistical summary data;
4.7.5.2. Detailed performance results that are broken down by spending, vendor, tactic, audience, ethnicity, language, and message;
4.7.5.3. Analytics for online and digital activity;
4.7.5.4. Updates on the media exposure value-to-date;
4.7.5.5. Project/timelines accomplished; 4.7.5.6. Proof of placement/performance report (ex. Digital and hard copies of media placements)
4.7.5.7. Partner involvement
