Public Relations Firm Needed By State of South Carolina
Lou Hammond Group has a South Carolina office!
The objective of this statement of work (SOW) is to have a Contractor create a public relations program and create a advertising plan. Then assist the museum in the execution of this plan in a creative fashion- in designing of print ads, outdoor boards and other applicable types of advertising media formats. The goal of this project is to increase membership in the museum by 50% and visitors to the museum by over 33% during the term(s) of the contract. Some past events which have proven to be successful for the museum are: lunch and learn sessions, the Halloween event- ‘Gore and Folklore’, and other exhibit launches and special programs. The museums intent is to establish a partnership with a public relations and advertising firm, to accomplish its long term objectives.
Background:
The Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum is a client Agency of the South Carolina (State) Department of Administration (Admin). This Museum is the oldest midlands museum and history museum in South Carolina, since its founding in 1896. Since 1999, the museum has been positioning itself as the State’s premier history museum. The SC Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum had seven straight years of increasing attendance, peaking at close to 30,000, following a relocation and renovation at the beginning of the century. It lost a quarter of its budget and a quarter of its attendance due to the Recession, then began rebuilding, with five straight years of increasing attendance again. Attendance dropped again in 2015 due to the controversy surrounding the State House Confederate battle flag and a proposal (since dismissed) to relocate the museum to Charleston. Visitation has held steady but is expected to increase following the resolution of SC Confederate battle flag issue, the major exhibit on SC in the Vietnam War, and the museum focusing on a more program-centered operation to attract repeat visitation.
Task 1. Project Kick-off
The contractor shall meet with the Government to review SOW tasks. Attendees must include the contractor’s designated primary and alternate project managers.
Deliverable 1.1. Within five (5) working days of award notification, the contractor shall coordinate and hold a project kick-off meeting.
Deliverable 1.2. Within six (6) working days of award notification, the contractor shall provide minutes in the form of a summary of meeting discussion, and list of assigned action items.
Deliverable 1.3 Meet monthly with the States staff of the museum.
Task 2. Project Management
The contractor shall conduct overall management of the tasks under this SOW.
Deliverable 2.1. Within five (5) working days of award notification, the contractor shall designate in writing, and provide to the museum, the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of a central primary and secondary point of contact (POC) for all matters relating to the execution and performance of the tasks and deliverables under this SOW.
Deliverable 2.2. Within the first thirty (30) working days of award notification, the contractor shall submit to the museum for comment, a preliminary draft project plan including task activity schedules, and milestone completion dates.
Deliverable 2.3. The contractor shall submit monthly progress reports via email to the State designated POC by the fifth (5th) working day of each month for the duration of the period of performance. The progress reports shall describe the previous month’s progress against the project plan applicable project delay mitigation, the status of each task, and indicate any issues impacting project schedule, project cost, or work product quality. At the discretion of the Government, these updates may also require a teleconference or in person meeting to discuss issues of concern.
Task 3. Discovery phase
The contractor shall work with the museum to establish mutually agreed upon meetings to acquaint themselves with the goals, personnel and operations of the museum.
Deliverable 3.1- The Contractor shall work with the museum develop a project plan to identify target audiences/areas for opportunities to enhance growth in membership and visits to the museum.
Deliverable 3.2- The Contractor shall work with designed museum staff to develop key messages for target audiences and growth in membership and visits.
The outcomes of this phase of the project shall be agreed upon messages, story boards and defined targets to be achieved by the key messages and planned growth for membership and visits.
Task 4. Project plan-Consulting and Support
The Contractor shall plan that will include marketing recommendations, a marketing calendar tactics, and measurement processes. The museums existing strategies include:
4.1 Digital advertising (such as search engine marketing, keyword search retargeting, etc.). The chosen Contractor will design ads, place and monitor campaign.
4.2 Print placement. The Contractor shall create plan and place media, but the museum’s freelance designer may provide ad designs.
4.3 Outdoor. The Contractor shall create plan and place media, but the museum’s freelance designer may provide outdoor designs.
4.4 Social Media planning, coordination and advertising. The Contractor shall be responsible for writing 3 posts weekly, as well as placing and monitoring ads.
4.5 Email marketing. The Contractor shall design, write and send monthly, using the museum’s template in Mailchimp.
4.6 Public relations. Write and distribute approximately eighteen (18) articles per year. Some articles are distributed locally, while others require a broader audience. Articles about monthly Lunch & Learns, for example, are written and distributed to local media, while our upcoming major exhibit on SC in the Vietnam War, will need to be promoted to regional media.
Task 5. Additional duties
5.1 The Contractor, as required, shall support the museum in annual large promotions, feature exhibits, such as a planned 2018 exhibit about the Vietnam War. (any budget for this promotion is included within the original contracted price).
5.2 The Contractor shall create a style guide to include color palette, recommended fonts for the museums freelance designer to utilize for any print or outdoor design.
5.3 The Contractor shall work in conjunction with the State’s web development office to ensure a creative look and that key messages are incorporated into any existing or new website.
Task 6. Ongoing support
6.1 Additionally, over the course of the contract, the selected Contractor will: (respondents usually provide an hourly rate, when not knowing a specific time commitment)
- Meet monthly with museum staff to discuss attendance and measurable campaign tactics
- Provide recommendations to modify tactics, based on outcomes
C Provide other consulting and creative services as the need arises over the course of the contract
- Provide media relations support
- Assist with crisis management messaging as the need arises
- Assist with Membership promotion
6.2 The Contractor shall function as a partner to the museum. In this role, the following support is anticipated:
- Meet monthly with museum staff to discuss attendance and measurable campaign tactics
- Provide recommendations to modify tactics, based on outcomes
- Provide other consulting and creative services as the need arises over the course of the contract
- Provide media relations support
- Assist with crisis management messaging as the need arises
- Assist with Membership promotion
Due Date:
March 26th
Address:
Department of Administration
Administrative Services – Procurement
1200 Senate Street, Suite 408
Columbia, SC. 29201
