Marketing RFP issued By Vermont Lottery

The purpose of this request is to obtain proposals from interested and qualified vendors to provide integrated marketing services for the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery, Division of Lottery (VL) including but not limited to marketing, advertising, promotions, media placement, digital advertising services, promotions, and public relations services on an as needed basis for Vermont Lottery instant ticket, Powerball, Mega Millions, Lucky For Life, Tri-State games for Vermont and any other games as introduced. This contract will be awarded pursuant to a competitive bid process and it is the intent of the VL to employ one vendor for the services being solicited. The services under this RFP include but are not limited to:

• Strategic advertising and creative planning, production, and execution

• Media planning and execution 

• Creation and production of point of sale and promotional materials

• Digital, website, and social media consultation, application and execution as needed

• Direct marketing planning and execution 

• Promotional events planning and execution 

• Public relations consultation and execution 

• Promotion and sponsorship evaluation, recommendation, and analysis

• Shared responsibility for cost control

Background:

Statement of Prequalification Requirement – State of Vermont, CMO All vendors on this project must be prequalified for marketing contracts in order to submit an eligible proposal and be considered for this work. Vendors who wish to become prequalified for marketing contracts may submit an application directly to the State of Vermont’s Chief Marketing Officer at any time. All requests for prequalification shall be submitted at least ten (10) business days prior to the scheduled RFP closing date for which a vendor wishes to submit a bid. All vendors must be qualified no later than August 27, 2020. Information regarding prequalification can be found at cmo.vermont.gov.

The RFP Coordinator, acting on the Vermont Lottery’s behalf is the sole contact for all matters relating to this RFP, from the date of release to notice of contract award. No direct contact or interaction is permitted between vendors, members of the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery Board or other staff members regarding this RFP. All communications concerning this RFP must be addressed in writing to the RFP Coordinator: Sylvia Buzzell Vermont Lottery 1311 US Route 302 Suite 100 Barre, VT 05641 (P) 802.479.5686 (E) Sylvia.Buzzell@vermont.gov

Scope of Work:

12.1 The Contractor will be expected to provide the following:

A. An account manager responsible for oversight of all jobs, projects, and advertising efforts administered by the vendor. This manager will be the Lottery’s key contact person and will be required to meet with the Vermont Lottery’s Director of Marketing and Sales at least once a quarter at the Vermont Lottery office in Berlin or at an alternative location previously agreed upon.

B. Recommendations for radio, television, digital and print advertising levels.

C. Assistance with short-term and long-term strategic planning for product development, positioning and sales goal achievement.

D. Development of creative for radio, print, television and digital advertising.

E. Production and placement of radio, print, television and digital advertising and a list of vendor’s preferred contractors used for printing, media (TV, radio) video and digital production.

F. Management of media schedule, media buys, media budget, media billing (media billed at net) and reconciliation.

G. Development and implementation of promotions and public relations efforts.

H. Communication and negotiation with potential advertising promotional partners.

I. Assistance with sales projections and sales analysis and the impact of advertising on produce sales.

J. Advertising recommendations based on sales analysis and advertising efforts.

K. Development of press releases and winner awareness initiatives, promoting the Lottery positively, including responsible gaming efforts.

L. Initiate, develop and manage social media marketing strategies. Assist in managing the day-to-day operations and messaging of the Lottery’s social media channels including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Leveraging these channels to strengthen marking campaigns providing detailed analysis, monitoring, tracking and reporting on performance of these channels, researching industry best practices for existing and emerging trends in social media and making recommendations for application to marketing programs 

M. Creation of images and advertisements for use on the Lottery digital platforms including but not limited to in-store player advertising displays, Lottery terminal generated tickets, the Lottery website, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

N. Planning, coordinating and/or implementation of possible research topics/projects.

O. Development and production of lottery indoor and outdoor signage, point-of-sale pieces, brochures, miscellaneous promotional items, jackpot signage, posters, out of home advertising, agent and player communication, digital elements, slides and videos for the player advertising display and advertisements to be printed on terminal generated lottery tickets.

P. Recommendations for building awareness of all draw games, instant ticket top prizes and lottery products in general.

Q. Careful and timely review of all vendor invoices prior to sending them to the Lottery, including correct coding.

R. Weekly status reports, both written and oral, of ongoing lottery projects.

12.2 The Contractor will be expected to keep the Lottery updated on all projects and media buys on a weekly basis.

12.3 The Lottery will provide Contractor with produce sales figures on a weekly basis.

12.4 Approximately six to eight times a year the Lottery may require that the Contractor send the account manager or vendor representative to a Tri-State meeting or out-of-state Lottery related function.

13.1 The Contractor agrees to keep the information related to the Lottery and all related agencies confidential. Other than the reports submitted to the Lottery, the Contractor agrees not to publish, reproduce or otherwise divulge such information in whole or in part, in any manner or form or authorize or permit others to do so. Contractor will take reasonable measures as are necessary to restrict access to the information, while in the Contractor’s possession, to those employees on his/her staff and the vendor who must have the information on a “need-to-know” basis, and (s)he agrees to immediately notify, in writing, the Lottery’s Deputy Commissioner in the event (s)he determines or has reason to suspect breach of this requirement.

H. Samples of your previous work (no more than 2 per item) and which vendors/partners were used in production including:

a. Radio 

b. Television 

c. Social media campaign including Facebook and Twitter 

d. Print collateral/brochure/direct mail 

e. Point-of-sale item 

f. Press release 

g. Marketing plan (you may black-out client if necessary)

Due Date:

August 28, 2020 at 2:00PM

Address:

Sylvia Buzzell Vermont Lottery 1311 US Route 302, Suite 100 Berlin, VT 05641

Agencies worth considering for this assignment include Edelman PR and Finn Partners.