Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Issues Marketing RFP
NAIT’s Marketing and Communications department is a centralized, integrated team that in all strategies and actions supports NAIT’s vision to be the most relevant and responsive post-secondary institution in Canada and a world-leading polytechnic. Reflected in our mandate are NAIT’s promises to Alberta, industry, students and staff and our polytechnic’s values of collaboration, celebration, accountability, respect and support.
Under a central framework and through our commitment to NAIT’s strategic direction, goals and outcomes, our team tracks and measures the successes we have across brand building, institutional growth, student recruitment, retention and alumni engagement, industry solutions and revenue generating activities, financial sustainability, as well as internal communications and employee engagement. In all we do, we strive for excellence, and embrace innovative thinking and an openness to change. We are consistent in the ways we reinforce NAIT’s story and elevate its brand and reputation.
As trusted partners and advisors in marketing, communications, web, digital media, design and creative services, we work together with our internal clients to effect change and deliver results. We employ strategic thinking and planning that identifies our purpose and actions to be successful. We are progressive, adopting digital strategies and data-driven campaigns, and improving the technologies we rely on to communicate with our audiences and promote our offerings and solutions.
NAIT’s guiding principles are the Vision and Promises. It identifies our vision to be the most relevant and responsive post‐secondary institution in Canada and one of the world’s leading polytechnics.
Scope of Work:
• Results-driven B2C online marketing, focused on generating prospective student leads and/or individual learners; ultimately acquiring students to our schools or continuing education programs
• Results-driven B2B online marketing directed at industry clients looking for productivity enhancement solutions for their businesses, training for their staff, or partnerships with NAIT in applied research
• Targeted digital campaigns and programmatic marketing services, with the right platforms and knowledge to conduct real time bidding to deliver highly personalized messages or ads to the right individuals or groups, taking into account demography, geography, behaviours and interests, channels and preferences, among other defining characteristics.
• Content marketing strategies, with clear talent to identify, recommend and execute content campaigns, collaborating with communications and marketing resources. Proponents should have superior knowledge of content marketing, being able to build and personalize campaigns, using multiple channels representative of the diverse number of channels used by any one audience.
• On occasion, advice or support may be sought for traditional campaigns or the marrying of traditional advertising with digital and online to get greatest impact.
• Agencies familiar with Agile and Scrum marketing are preferred. Ability to test and iterate marketing campaigns as needed.
A collaborative working relationship is desired to ensure NAIT’s internal resources work closely with the successful agencies’ staff, with knowledge transfer occurring when and where appropriate. Planning for the year will be initiated by Marketing and Communications. There will be times when unanticipated work may require quick attention.
The pre-qualified agencies will work with NAIT’s Marketing and Communications leadership and staff. It is likely they will collaborate with NAIT writers, social media publishers, designers and creative services staff to help fulfill NAIT’s internal clients’ needs as follows:
• recruitment and retention of students and individual learners,
• industry solutions, mainly business-to-business training and certification and productivity enhancement services
• campus development
Overall, the work of the agencies selected will complement and support NAIT’s brand and ongoing work by an internal Marketing and Communications department.
We estimate the support of the successful agencies being over one year, with potential to extend. The support from external sources will alleviate pressure during a time of transformative change for the Marketing and Communications department, as they work to implement improvements and plan for the future.
Due Date:
September 12, 2019
Address:
Name: Jason Silver SCMP
Purchaser, Procurement Services
Telephone: 780.378.7122
Email: jsilver@nait.ca
Relevant agencies include W2O Group and Shift Communications.
