Front Range Community College

Front Range Community College is seeking a strategic media planning and buying agency to work with FRCC’s Marketing and Communications Department which directs the advertising and media placement for its three campuses and one center including Westminster Campus, Boulder County Campus in Longmont, Larimer Campus in Fort Collins and Brighton Center. FRCC is looking for an agency with proven expertise in the higher education market and a strong skill set in dealing with both general media, social media and specifically with paid search (Pay‐Per‐Click). Regarding general media, the agency will prepare a strategic media plan, place media, handle the media buy maintenance, handle trafficking, provide reporting and performance evaluation and vendor billing. FRCC conducts two enrollment campaigns per year: spring enrollment and summer combined with fall enrollment (as these enrollment periods overlap). Creative will not be a part of this RFP as FRCC has a full design and production team. In addition, the agency will need to provide expertise in paid search (Pay‐Per‐Click) including strategy, campaign set‐up, execution and maintenance and reporting.

The anticipated start date for the contract is July 1, 2021

Scope of Work:

This RFP contains instructions governing the proposal to be submitted and identifies material to be included therein, mandatory requirements that must be met to be eligible for consideration, and other requirements to be met by each vendor.

1.  General media planning and buying:
2. Based on generating a media plan and placement for two enrollment campaigns per year, estimate the hours you would spend on the following activities.  Each campaign would run for a period of 4 months.
3. Strategy and planning
4. Media placement
5. Buy maintenance (all media)
6. Trafficking
7. Reporting & performance evaluation
8. Vendor billing
9. Provide an example of a media plan that was developed for a higher education client.  Please delineate the time spent in working with the client to gather information before the plan was generated and in all of the activities listed in #1.
10. Explain and provide samples of all documents you provide for a media plan recommendation.
11. How do you bill the client for your planning and buying services?
12. If revisions are needed to change start dates for the campaign, would there be additional charges for that work?

Account maintenance:

1. How many reviews of media proposals and opportunities are included as part of your standard service?  This would include vendor calls and requests that FRCC receives that would be passed for you to provide a review and recommendation.
2. How do you currently work with the creative teams of your clients?
3. How do you communicate the requirements of the media buy, such as mechanical specification and deadline information, with the creative team?
4. How do you approach trafficking and tracking online creative?  Be specific about the process you go through to ensure that creative runs correctly and explain how performance is evaluated.
5. For display online, what kind of reporting do you provide?  Please provide a sample.
6. What is the frequency of display online reporting that you would typically provide?
7. Explain your performance management and reporting to demonstrate website traffic or conversion statistics.

Billing and reconciliation:

• Explain your procedure for checking invoices for accuracy and how you provide proof of performance for each media type.

2.  Paid Search (Pay-Per-Click):
3.  Do you handle pay-per-click campaigns in-house or through a 3rd party vendor?  If a 3rd party vendor is involved, with whom do you work?
4. What strategy would you use for a PPC campaign?  Please provide an example used with one of your clients. 
5. Explain how much time was spent on a client’s PPC campaign which would include all the maintenance and reporting.  How much money was spent on a monthly basis by the client?
6. What is the frequency of your PPC reporting?  What is the format that you currently use?  Please provide an example.
7. What is your approach regarding optimization and establishing useful metrics to track and evaluate?
8. What compensation model would you use for the PPC portion of the overall campaign for a client?

Due Date:

June 1, 2021 2:00 PM M.D.T.

Address:

Front Range Community College

3645 West 112^th Avenue

Fiscal Office, Room C2030 Office closed

Westminster, Colorado 80031-2105

Relevant agencies to consider include Magrino PR and Zeno Group.