Marketing Agency Needed for Rockland Community College

Rockland Community College (RCC) has issued an RFP for developing, building, and implementing a marketing and awareness campaign for a new campus- and community-wide program.

In January 2016, RCC was awarded a one of three grants through the SUNY Community College Community Schools program intended to improve student outcomes by utilizing community college facilities to serve as hubs that would- among other services- provide:

• Child care and elder care services
• Transportation
• Health care services
• Family and/or employment counseling
• Legal aid

Over the course of the grant period, RCC will develop a scalable model that identifies the key strategies, interventions, and partners needed to build a network of accessible non-academic resources that are essential in retaining and graduating today’s students. The intended target population consists of high needs students (full-time and part-time) who are underrepresented or underprepared, including those who are English language learners, and low income, students with disabilities, first generation college goers, and veterans. These students and their families are the intended target population for the proposed initiative.

The primary goal is to increase persistence and retention of students through a campus- and community-wide approach to link students and their families with the non-academic resources needed to successfully complete their studies. This is aligned with RCC’s strategic plan in that it provides new educational opportunities and initiatives intended to increase retention and graduation rates. Indicators of success include increased awareness of resources on campus and in the community; increased utilization and connection to resources for students and their family members; growth in student achievement and increased persistence and retention rates for the target population; increased student referral by faculty and staff, and; an evaluated model that is low-cost, high-quality and scalable. This initiative will serve over 1,000 students and family members annually.

SPECIFICATIONS

Through this RFP, RCC intends to contract with an external marketing firm to develop, build, and implement a marketing and awareness campaign for this campus- and community-wide program. The contracted marketing firm will build awareness of RCC’s new program through a comprehensive marketing campaign designed to alert students and their families to the services and resources available through the Center. The marketing firm will be contracted for the period between April 2016 and March 2019 and will be required to meet specific deliverables, of which some are include below.

Required elements and products need to include:

• Facilitation of initial surveys and focus groups of students, faculty, staff and external resource providers to ensure that the program messaging is as appropriate and eye-catching as possible.
• Involve internal and external partners
• Create campus- and community-wide branding of the program
• Develop marketing materials to raise awareness of the program
• Develop an online and social media presence for the program
• Develop a marketing model that can be utilized by other institutions interested in replicating a similar project
• Other elements and products as the project develops

Proposals are due by March 15, 2016 and should be submitted to:

Rockland Community College

145 College Road

Suffern, New York 10901

Attn: Purchasing Department