Marine Corps Recruiting Command Issues Advertising RFP
To implement effective advertising strategies to encourage qualified prospects to engage with Marine Corps recruiters and, ultimately, become Marines. The purpose of this contract is to provide full-service advertising agency support to furnish supplies and services to enhance the USMC’s recruiting efforts. The Contractor must execute an Advertising Strategy that aligns with the USMC’s Campaign Plan (see Attachment J-1) and includes a full range of services from the development of a tactical advertising strategy to the production of a wide range of advertising formats (e.g., TV, radio, print media, internet, and direct marketing). The Contractor must plan and execute advertising, promotional, and publicity programs to support the following recruiting missions:
• Active Marine Enlisted
• Special Missions:
o Special Forces
o Marine Judge Advocate General (JAG)
o Musician Enlistment Option Program (MEOP)
o Female Recruitment Missions
o Non-Prospects (e.g., Parents, Influencers)
Background:
The Marine Corps Recruiting Command is responsible for the recruitment of approximately 40,000 personnel per year to fill vacancies in regular Enlisted and Officer, United States Marine Corps (USMC) Reserve Enlisted and Officer, and prior service programs. It supports 48 Recruiting Stations (RS) within six (6) Marine Corps Districts (MCD) that are organized into two (2) regions: the Eastern Recruiting Region (ERR) and the Western Recruiting Region (WRR). The USMC’s advertising approach spans a wide variety of channels including an expanded online and social media presence, an array of awareness media options, an effective lead generation program, a nationwide support team providing advertising assistance through local event activation, and the development of recruiter sales support materials. By providing recruiters with sales support materials, generating leads, building relevant brand awareness, and weaving diversity into the fabric of the Marine Corps, MCRC is focused on delivering an integrated and consistent message to reinforce the brand’s positioning among all key prospects.
Scope of Work:
The Contractor must execute a comprehensive national marketing plan and Advertising Strategy that aligns with the Marine Corps’ Campaign Plans. The Contractor must provide the following supplies and services:
A) Account Program Management
The Contractor must provide MCRC with responsive, thorough, comprehensive, complete, and timely Account Program Management services, which includes the following:
1) Kick-Off Meeting – The Contractor must schedule, coordinate, and host a Kick-Off Meeting within ten (10) days after the start of performance. The Government will provide the Contractor with the Meeting Agenda. The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) will ensure all identified participants are notified in advance of the meeting. The Contractor must develop and, after Government approval, distribute the Kick-Off Meeting minutes (see Exhibit J-A).
2) Bi-Weekly Progress Meetings – Telephonic Progress Meetings are scheduled and conducted by the Government to evaluate current and prospective marketing, advertising, and recruitment efforts. The Contractor must attend all Progress Meetings to provide insights, recommendations, and pertinent information that support meeting objectives. The Contractor must develop and, after Government approval, distribute Progress Meeting minutes (see Exhibit J-B).
3) Quarterly Progress Report – The Contractor must develop a Quarterly Progress Report (see Exhibit J-C).
4) Quality Control Plan (QCP) – There have been significant changes in the wants and needs of America’s youth over the history of the USMC. The numbers and quality of personnel required for each of the USMC’s programs can vary in response to factors such as economic fluctuations, unemployment rates, and world events, past shortfalls in recruiting, the internal reenlistment rate, and personnel ceilings established by Congress. With consideration of these variables, the Contractor must develop and maintain a QCP (see Exhibit J-D) that includes annual goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Copies of inspection documentation must be retained by the Contractor for the duration of this contract and must be available upon request by the COR or Contracting Officer (KO). Subsequent changes to the QCP shall be submitted to the COR no later than ten (10) business days prior to the effective date of change.
5) Material and Data Management
MCRC has access to a multitude of assets to support its advertising and marketing strategies. MCRC will provide the Contractor access to these resources in support of this contract.
a) The Contractor must comply with the requirements and information security standards provided under Section X, XVI, and XVIII.
b) Advertising Information Technology System (AITS) Maintenance – AITS is the Marine Corps’ Defense Business System (DBS) that provides digital and database marketing, leads management, and recruiter fulfillment services across all recruiting locations. The Senior Information Security Officer (SISO) that oversees MCRC’s AITS is the Chief, Cybersecurity Division, Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) C4, which established information technology requirements for AITS (see Attachment J-2). The Contractor must develop remediation plans, perform vulnerability scans, and submit vulnerability scan reports in accordance with the AITS Security Controls (see Attachment J-3). The Contractor must maintain an Authorization to Operate (ATO) for AITS and ensure all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is secured in accordance with all applicable Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of the Navy (DoN) regulations and the ATO.
c) MCRC Assets Library – The Contractor must store, organize, and catalog all advertising material (e.g., photographs, videos, print ads, etc.) created during the performance of this contract. The Contractor must store all advertising material in a temperature and humidity controlled facility with 24-hour monitored security and colorless and environmentally-friendly fire suppression system (e.g., FM-200). The Contractor must develop and maintain an Assets Library (see Exhibit J-E). The Assets Library shall be available to the COR and and Government officials designated by the COR. The Contractor must ensure that all records abide by the intellectual property rights under this contract and remains searchable, compatible with MCRC systems, and transferrable. The Contractor must maintain the original copies of all releases and licenses within the record. The Contractor must develop and maintain a digital Image and Video Content Rights Audit Sheet listing all such signed releases and licenses indexed to the products.
d) Inventory Management System – MCRC’s advertising and marketing inventory is comprised of collateral, recruiter support, promotional, and incentive items, which will be provided to the Contractor after award (see Attachment J-4). The Contractor must store all items provided and created during the performance of this contract in a temperature and humidity controlled facility with 24-hour monitored security and colorless and environmentally-friendly fire suppression system (e.g., FM-200). The Contractor must maintain a full-time, self-service Inventory Management System to facilitate warehousing and distribution for all items (see Exhibit J-F). This function is currently provided by the Collateral and Recruiter Support Items subpage (see Lead Generation below).
B) Advertising Strategy Execution
The Contractor must execute and maintain an Advertising Strategy to support existing Campaign Plans (e.g., Battles Won). The Advertising Strategy must include a detailed description of the work to be performed to include tasks, materials, dates, and subcontractors. The Advertising Strategy must address the following elements for all services, as applicable:
1) Lead Generation – prospect identification, lead development, and influencer strategies;
2) Awareness – public events and promotional programs that promote USMC awareness;
3) Recruiter Support and Materials – support services and products for Marine Corp recruiters;
4) Call Center Support – short and long range communication efforts and objectives; and
5) Media and Advertisement Support – creative development, media mix, paid media, and the respective KPIs.
The intent of the Advertising Strategy is to document the services that the Contractor shall perform in support of MCRC’s Campaign Plan objectives and initiatives. The Contractor must continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the Advertising Strategy as initiatives are completed and as the Marine Corps’ Campaign Plan evolves. The Contractor must:
1) Develop and provide timely recommendations to improve MCRC’s Campaign Plans. Recommendations may include: creative concepts, alternative media plans, direct response programs, product positioning, short and long range communication objectives, and account planning.
2) Attend Operational Planning Group (OPG) meetings to evaluate MCRC’s marketing and advertising efforts. The OPG convenes at least once a year in the May/June timeframe.
3) Provide advertising support to the MCRC field within the ERR, WRR, and MCDs. The Contractor’s Advertising Strategy must be broad enough to accommodate the nuances and challenges of regions and districts, but maintain a consistent message.
4) Develop and deliver presentations that summarize current advertising efforts and objectives. Presentations may be in person, via conference call, or through video teleconference (VTC) and shall be used to brief MCRC leadership and stakeholders in a concise manner.
5) Contact the KO to coordinate trademark reviews with the Marine Corps’ Trademark Counsel for any new slogan, logo, or other indicator.
6) Advertising Strategy Assessment – The Contractor must develop and provide an Advertising Strategy Assessment (see Exhibit J-H).
C) Lead Generation
The Contractor shall develop and execute procedures to generate Qualified Leads for recruitment. Qualified Leads are defined as age and education qualified prospects asking for more information and agreeing to meet with a recruiter. The USMC’s goals are based on conversion rates, which are a function of Qualified Leads to contracts (i.e., enlistments). Historically, between 200,000 to 300,000 unique qualified leads are required to meet the USMC’s annual recruitment goals and 20%, or 8,000, of new recruits can be attributed to advertising efforts. NOTE: Recruiting is an inherently governmental function; therefore, the Contractor is not required or expected to perform direct recruiting functions.
Under this task, the Contractor must:
1) Develop targeted lead generation products that encourage Qualified Leads to meet with recruiters.
2) Develop and execute direct response activities at the national, Regional, District, RS, to-action for prospects to seek immediate feedback from recruiters.
3) Operate, maintain, and upgrade the USMC’s recruitment page, https://www.Marines.com. This site collects requests for recruitment information and is the USMC’s public facing portal. The intent of this website is to be appealing and useful to the primary target audience, influencers of such targets, and diversity targets. The COR or the Government official(s) designated by the COR will provide final approval for all content changes. The USMC retains all rights to this site including, but not limited to, all intellectual property rights related to, or associated with, the site.
4) Operate, maintain, and upgrade the USMC Advertising Portal (Ad Portal) and its subpages at https://adportal.marines.com.
5) Operate and maintain the Marine Corps’ social media accounts
6) Exploit emerging technologies, innovations, and new advertising opportunities to ensure MCRC remains at the forefront of recruitment advertising. The Contractor must establish efficient and effective means for recruiters to respond to prospects quickly in order to maximize qualified lead identification.
7) Develop and execute marketing and advertising programs to include the procurement of media in the multi-cultural markets.
8) The Contractor must compile all potential qualified lead information and provide lists of these leads to the respective RS via the ePPC and oPPC subpages of Ad Portal (see Attachment J-5). The Contractor must extract potential qualified lead information from AITS and provide it to recruiters no later than 5am Eastern Standard Time (EST), Monday to Friday.
D) Awareness
The Contractor must develop and execute public events and promotional programs that promote USMC awareness. These programs must create useful opportunities for recruiters to interact with prospects and their adult influencers. The Contractor must execute and maintain a public relations campaign that includes developing and disseminating PSAs and executing promotional and image-building initiatives through free media channels. The intent of this task is to enhance the USMC’s image amongst prospects and leads, promote public awareness of the Marine Corps, and support USMC recruiters.
Due Date:
June 28th, 2019.
Address:
701 S Courthouse Rd
Arlington, Virginia 22204-2461
United States
Agencies with relevant experience includes Zeno Group and Coyne PR.
