SNOW COLLEGE RFP – Full-Service Marketing Agency RFP #SNOC22231084
Thursday, June 26th, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. MT/MDT.
COLLEGE BACKGROUND AND ENVIRONMENT
A. College Background
Snow College is a two-year public college, and in January 2020, The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Snow College #1 in the nation for student success in two-year colleges. Located in the heart of Utah, at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, Snow College is one of the oldest comprehensive two-year colleges in the Western United States.
The College was established in 1888; excellence continues to be the hallmark of all our work and activities. We are the preferred choice of approximately 5,000+ students who want a small College experience filled with various activities, events, and performances. With campuses located in
Ephraim, Richfield, and online, students complete degrees in Associate of Arts, Science, or Applied Science with numerous specialized, short-term vocational training certificates and diplomas, including a few Bachelor’s degrees.
The College recently adopted the following aspirational statement, “Students graduate debt-free, gain work experience, and develop a plan for the future. Those who find Snow College will find themselves.”
Besides serving the student population, the programs also serve the larger counties and high school activities.
III. GENERAL OVERVIEW
A. This Request for Proposals (RFP) aims to solicit proposals to enter into a contract with a qualified vendor to provide a comprehensive and strategic marketing service. The College is looking to expand general brand awareness and increase
its enrollment while targeting four target audiences, each of which may be broken down into smaller segments. 1) Prospective college students within the College’s service region. 2) Other prospective college students within the state of Utah and surrounding states. 3)The parents of prospective students.
4)The general population of the state of Utah, specifically stakeholders tied to funding, including the Utah State Legislature.
Snow College is looking to run several campaigns leveraging a variety of marketing channels as directed by the winning proposals. The vendor selected will provide a comprehensive institutional marketing plan that will show where they see the college in 3-5 years and the metrics they will use to measure the success of the campaigns and strategies. This proposal must be tailored to the needs of the College. The vendor must provide flexibility as we move through the contract period to meet the changing demands of the College and target audiences.
Snow College is seeking information regarding your company’s ability to provide a comprehensive service for the specifications listed in this RFP.
Snow College invites interested parties to submit a proposal to provide this service and expects to acquire these services. All responses to the RFP should reflect this functionality.
This document constitutes a Request for Proposal (RFP), via competitive sealed proposals from qualified individuals or organizations to perform the Scope of Work set forth herein. This request may result in an offer by Snow College to purchase, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this RFP, the services and/or products proposed by the successful firm. Firms are strongly encouraged to read the entire request for proposal carefully.
B. The vendor is to provide and includes ALL costs, such as software, licenses, equipment, training, implementation, labor, all materials, all types of fees, and all travel expenses associated with bringing the services(s) to completion as approved by the College (See Section VIII). All costs/fees must only be supplied in a separately submitted file and labeled “cost proposal” for the proposal to be accepted. If cost is found anywhere in the RFP, the RFP will be eliminated from further consideration.
C. Contract Period for this RFP
1. The College wishes to establish a contract with the selected vendor for three (3) years, with two (2) – one (1) year renewable options. The contract can be canceled upon 60-day written notice. Contract starting at bid award, contract signing, implementation to be done, and contract software to start as soon as possible.
2. The expected start date for the contract is August 2023.
IV. SCOPE OF WORK / REQUIREMENTS
A. The scope of these projects and marketing partnership is a 3–5-year opportunity to partner with the college in developing and implementing a comprehensive marketing strategy that will increase brand awareness, enrollment, and strategic messaging to identified groups within the region. Using social media, ad campaigns, and other methods identified by the college and the winning bid, the college will become a recognized opportunity for those in Utah to meet their educational goals. The college will become the destination for students to begin or complete their educational journey.
The anticipated work/services for the following requirements should be worked into an overall annual fee (Do NOT share the cost of that fee in the non-price criteria proposal). It is anticipated by the College that other projects and strategies that are appendages to this scope of work/requirements will stem from this overall comprehensive marketing strategy, to which blended hourly rates will apply. See section IX.
B. Requirements
1. The ideal agency should have a tool to measure performance, preferably one that can be accessed on demand. The awarded firm needs to be able to consult on strategy, audience identification, marketing channels, and structure and provide tracking and insights into structure and growth opportunities.
Preferably, the awarded firm would perform all work in-house and not outsource services to third parties (please note that sub-contract and thirdparty/sub-contracting involvement may include payment bonding to ensure proper management of college liabilities).
2. Provide strategic direction in the following areas:
a. Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy with the college that aligns with the college’s mission, goals, and objectives.
(1) Provide a sample of a comprehensive marketing plan tailored to the College and its mission.
b. Advice, create, and implement effective advertising campaigns across various channels, including online and offline, such as the following:
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(1) Social Media – Strong social media functions and analytics. Flexible and nimble according to trends.
(2) The college has multiple social media accounts, including multiple accounts on certain platforms.
Advise, consult, and develop a comprehensive social media plan that optimizes social media marketing.
(3) Website – Develop a clear plan for the website and its role within the comprehensive marketing plan.
(4) Publication and brochures
(5) Marketing materials
(6) Search Engine Optimization
c. Analyze campaign performance and provide ongoing reports on key metrics.
(1) Demonstrate how performance and reports therein are delivered to the college.
d. Provide expertise with marketing segmentation and messaging for all audiences, including but not limited to the following:
(1) Alumni
(2) Various demographics of prospective and current students
(3) Inquiry, prospective, and admitted students (funnel management)
(4) Non-traditional students
(5) Government agencies, especially those who provide funding.
(6) College stakeholders, especially those who provide funding.
(7) Industry partners
e. Consult and advise on all marketing channels, both internal and external, and provide guidance on how to best utilize and prioritize these channels for optimal usage.
f. Marketing outreach must be flexible, nimble, and according to trend
(1) Explain your marketing outreach objectives and how those objectives align with Snow College.
contracted with the college.
(1) The College currently has marketing consults/vendors contracted to target prospective students in addition to the college’s in-house marketing staff. This proposal suggests a much broader and more comprehensive marketing initiative; the winning offer is anticipated to unify all marketing initiatives, whether they are internally or externally generated.
3. Responsiveness and Accountability
a. It is imperative to the college that there is effective and strong communication with the awarded marketing agency. Must provide the following:
(1) Have a team of skilled professionals with expertise in various aspects of marketing.
i. Provide a list of skilled professionals that will work directly and indirectly with the college.
(2) Ability to have set weekly meetings and ongoing communication with the college.
i. Provide a list of personnel who would be involved in those meetings.
(3) Be committed and responsible to timelines and marketing goals.
b. Set annual marketing goals with the college and work as a partner of the college to accomplish those goals.
(1) Propose and share what annual marketing goals could be set with the college and how you would work with the college to accomplish them.
V. RESEARCH / BRANDING / CREATIVITY
A. Share the company’s successful research, brand, and creative work with higher education clients, if applicable.
B. Research
1. Conduct market research to understand our target audiences and their needs better.
2. Explain how research is conducted, its processes and procedures, and how it will enable the college to meet its goals and fulfill its mission.
3. Explain the college’s involvement during research phases and market analyses.
4. Provide what types/components of research are delivered to the college and what information is available to the college.
C. Branding
1. Share and provide branding capabilities and how the Snow College Brand will build awareness within the market and target audiences.
2. Demonstrate how the Snow College Brand will grow and build awareness with different market segmentation.
D. Creativity
1. Demonstrate creativity, flexibility, and nimbleness within all marketing strategies
2. Provide a portfolio of past projects demonstrating your ability to deliver comprehensive marketing solutions and drive sales.
VI. REPORTING / TIMELINE
A. Reporting
1. Possess excellent communication and project management skills to ensure seamless collaboration with the college.
2. Develop strong ongoing reporting avenues for the college.
a. Explain how ongoing reporting/communication will be delivered to the college.
3. Measuring strategy and campaign performances
a. Explain how the performance of marketing strategies will be measured and reported to the college.
4. Daily access to dedicated personnel, marketing data, analytics, reporting, etc.
a. Provide what marketing analytics and their capabilities will be visible to the college.
b. Provide additional or optional services related to reporting, such as analytics, measuring displays, dashboards, etc.
B. Timeline
1. Regarding budget and timeline constraints, we are looking for a marketing agency to work within our allocated budget and deliver results within the agreed-upon timeline. We understand that marketing can be a significant investment, and we want to ensure that we are getting the most value for our money. Additionally, we have specific deadlines that we need to meet, so timely delivery of services is crucial.
a. Share how your agency has adapted to budget and timeline constraints and prove your ability to be adaptable.
