Request for Proposal For Integrated Marketing Services

RFP RESPONSES DUE BY: May 21, 2024, at 2:00 pm EST

MAIL or DELIVER TO:

John Caffelle, Director of Administrative Services

Massasoit Community College

One Massasoit Blvd.

Brockton, MA 02302

The questions must be submitted, by email, and received by John Caffelle, Director of Administrative Services atjcaffelle1@massasoit.mass.edu

SCOPE OF SERVICES

Massasoit Community College seeks to identify a vendor/agency who can collaborate with Massasoit to develop and execute a digital integrated marketing and advertising program that elevates and promotes the College to support enrollment and community engagement.

The College will evaluate agency’s recommendations that demonstrate an understanding of the higher education enrollment marketing, community college mission, updated marketing best-practices, and responsible utilization of the allocated budget.

Massasoit’s marketing and enrollment goals include:

 Increase institutional brand awareness.

 Increase inquiries, applications, and enrollment of target students across

core markets in and adjacent to our service area, and, including but not

limited to several demographics identified by the College like traditional college-aged students, older/non-traditional students, non-credit students, and English language learners.

 Generate leads that convert to applications and enrollments.

 Increase awareness among those who influence traditional students’ college choice, including parents and families.

 Increase retention rates among existing students.

Vendor/Agency shall maintain consistent working relationships with the College and designate a dedicated representative available to meet with the Executive

Director of Communications and Marketing and/or their designee on a regular or as-needed basis to provide customer service, offer suggestions to improve program and service, review accounts, answer questions, resolve problems, etc.

Agency principle, partners, and/or senior executives should be available to meet (in-person or virtually) with the Executive Director on a bi-annual basis to discuss contract progress and expectations.

Contacts for the College will be led by the Executive Director or a designee.

Coordination may include work with employees from across the College, including Enrollment Management, Student Services, and Information Technology Services.

The vendor/agency will provide an array of integrated marketing services, including:

1. Marketing/enrollment management strategy development and implementation.

2. Digital media planning and buying.

3. Assessment.

1. Marketing/Enrollment Management Strategy Development and Implementation

The vendor/agency will work closely with College contacts to develop plans/strategies and execute tactics for the College’s enrollment and awareness campaigns.

 Campaigns should encompass a mix of digital advertising platforms to include social media, remarketing, list targeted, paid search and display, and geofencing.

 Work should include quarterly SEO and UI/UX optimization reports for the College website, with implementation support and guidance for College staff.

 Work should include support of email-based marketing tactics, including guidance on Constant Contact, and the execution of Marketing Cloud engagement tactics.

 Work may include support developing, high-level marketing language and taglines to align with digital campaigns.

 Work will include limited creative development in collaboration with the College’s graphic designer.

2. Digital Media Planning and Buying

The vendor/agency will be responsible for developing and preparing a digital media plan for FY25, for comprehensive enrollment campaigns designed to meet the College’s stated marketing and enrollment goals.

 Utilize research and market insights to develop strategic recommendations for budget allocation, market prioritization, and channel mix.

 Provide Massasoit with insights on emerging trends and new media to continually evolve and reach identified target markets.

 Execute media plans with strategic and cost-effective planning, buying, and audits.

o Execution includes placement, optimization, cancellations, auditing, payment to vendors, and billing.

 Work will not include traditional advertising – radio, television, billboards, transit, print, etc. – and the College reserves the right to place additional digital advertising outside of this contract.

3. Assessment

The development of benchmarks and defined measures of success should be included within the broad scope of the engagement and within specific campaigns, strategies, and media plans.

It is expected that the vendor/agency will provide continual reporting on campaign and brand continuity program performance utilizing expertise, agency tools, data, partnership, and other resources to manage program efficiency and performance.

 Monthly engagement reports – to be submitted to the Executive Director for submission in writing to the College Board of Trustees – that track digital engagement, including web traffic, RFIs, applications, advertising clickthrough’s, social media advertising clickthrough rates, social media advertising clickthrough/engagement rates, among other measures.

 Quarterly contract reports – to be submitted to the Executive Director – noting and explaining key inputs and outputs, quantitative and qualitative results, professional insights, and high-level recommendations for discussion with College leadership.

A. Quality Requirements

To be considered, the selected vendor/agency shall:

1. Provide a representative sampling of three or more media plans and media buys that have been produced for higher education clients. These samples should demonstrate the bidder’s strategic thought process behind developing cost-efficient buys and the integration of video advertising, as well as the multimedia channels utilized, including video, digital and analog television, video on demand, streaming audio, online display, geolocation (geofencing), social media, programmatic display, targeting and retargeting.

2. Provide information concerning data tracking/reporting, and impressions delivered that maximized the return on investment for three or more higher education clients that demonstrated success in strengthening brand awareness and provided evidence in regard to increases in student enrollment and student retention.

3. Describe their experience in producing media plans and executing media buys for higher education clients with a defined project budget.

4. Describe their experience in producing annual media plans for diverse audiences while maintaining institutional branding and visual identity standards.

5. Describe their experience producing and executing integrated marketing strategies and tactics, including those on client’s websites and utilizing email marketing platforms.

6. Describe their experience in producing quick-response media plans aimed at targeting currently enrolled students with the purpose of increasing student retention.

7. Provide five (5) current or former business references. At least three (3) shall be higher education business references.

8. Provide a company profile, length of time in business, core competencies and bios of key personnel who will be assigned to the College. Bidder should have ten (10) or more years’ experience in digital media buying services that highlights previous relevant experience in higher education and demonstrates success with integrated digital campaign building and expertise in digital mediums.

9. Provide their approach to tracking the success of college campaigns. Does the bidder provide comprehensive reports with campaign statistics and does the bidder recommend shifts in strategy mid-campaign based on outcomes?

B. Agency Fees and Budgeting

Budget for this contract is pending board approval.

Please consider a total, annual budget of $225,000.

Vendor/Agency must submit a breakdown of a proposed budget, and denote the allocation of funds to meet the scope of services. This breakdown should include all costs, including the agency commission fee the College would be beholden to

for all projects. Because the College will be using the services of the digital media

buying services partner for external campaigns throughout the year, the agency

commission fee must be consistent for all digital media plans.

The selected vendor/agency will be working directly with Massasoit Community

College’s Communications and Marketing team for all campaign planning for:

1. Fall, Fall Accelerated Session, Winter Session, Spring, Spring Accelerated

Session, and Summer recruitment campaigns.

2. Fall, Fall Accelerated Session, Winter Session, Spring, Spring Accelerated

Session, and Summer retention campaigns.

3. Campaigns to support Non-Credit and Workforce Development efforts.

4. Short-term, low-cost campaigns to promote specific College programs and/or events.

5. Evergreen academic-pathway based campaigns to promote career-and-goal oriented recruitment and retention.

Please note that Massasoit Community College operates on a fiscal year, which runs from July 1 – June 30.