Solicitation #: 5400027593
Ad Start Date: December 12, 2024
Bid/Submittal Due Date: January 31, 2025 – 11:00am
Contact: KAYLA MIDDLETON, kmiddleton@mmo.sc.gov
SCOPE OF WORK
In South Carolina, we understand that thriving companies build vibrant communities. This understanding makes us allies of innovation, dedicated to business success from Launch to Legacy. Our collaborative approach and responsive communication attract leaders in life sciences, electric vehicles and advanced energy to the Palmetto State. Working where you love is a distinctive South Carolina advantage, contributing to continued success of companies such as Boeing, BMW, Nephron Pharmaceuticals and Volvo.
Our new brand symbolizes our commitment to moving companies forward. Progressive. Collaborative. Connected. As illustrated in our new logo, S.C. Commerce is dedicated to propelling our state forward. Our new brand roots us in our heritage while exemplifying the tech evolution happening in our state.
S.C. Commerce has primary responsibility for recruiting business investment and expansion in South Carolina and providing real-time support to ensure those investments are successful. Its mission is to create economic opportunities to increase choices for all South Carolinians, and the vision is to embrace the future to ensure South Carolina’s sustainable advantage.
S.C. Commerce competes with other domestic and international sites in its recruiting of jobs and investment for South Carolina. Our leadership works closely with our state’s elected leaders to offer attractive incentives and conditions for investment. With our prime geographic location, robust infrastructure assets and strong partnerships, South Carolina offers unparalleled opportunities for companies, and investors are taking notice. S.C. Commerce recently experienced back-to-back record-breaking years for capital investment in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, S.C. Commerce secured 81 new projects, worth $9.22 billion, creating 14,120 new jobs. The announced capital investment of $9.22 billion includes major investments in the state’s two leading industry sectors by total investment, Automotive, Electric Vehicles (EV) and EV Batteries with $4.3 billion investment, and Alternative Energy and Fuels with $1.56 billion investment. Notably, in 2023, there were three announcements with investments of $1 billion or more — the highest such year in state history: Scout Motors, Albemarle Corporation, and QTS Data Centers.
Economic development is a fiercely competitive arena, and our competitors in other states and other countries have their eyes on us and on our successes. What has set South Carolina apart is our ability to collaborate with investors and to do what it takes to make them successful in our state.
Our foreign and domestic partners should know that South Carolina is open for business of all kinds, and S.C. Commerce is nimble and resilient enough to be a productive partner to all who are interested in investing here. Further, South Carolina is investing in its infrastructure and workforce to ensure the state is work-ready on Day One.
With our new brand now developed and deployed, we are poised to continue our Launch to Legacy campaign to promote South Carolina as the best place for the new era. Our target audiences are diverse. International and domestic, businesses large and small, rural and urban, high tech and agricultural and educational are all welcome in South Carolina. Our brand reflects our care for the businesses already here, for our workforce and for our communities. We are creating a sustainable future for our citizens. We want to further promote and expand our new branding campaign to show that South Carolina is a partner for the entire life cycle of a business – from launch to legacy. (S.C. Commerce anticipates research and recommendations, campaign creation and paid media strategy/deployment to be launched no later than March 1, 2025).
Research / Recommendations
- The Contractor will provide comprehensive qualitative and quantitative in-depth research to identify states and international countries with demographics, economic conditions, and business environments that align with the goals and strengths of South Carolina and evaluate those locations for targeted messaging related to S.C. Commerce’s strategic framework sectors (advanced energy, biotech/life sciences, headquarters relocation, and research/development).
- The Contractor will analyze data to determine key factors influencing C-suite decision makers to relocate or expand, such as tax incentives, infrastructure, workforce availability, regulatory environment, and quality of life.
- The Contractor will assess competitors’ strategies and messaging to identify opportunities for differentiation and positioning of South Carolina.
- The Contractor will evaluate metrics from Phase I of the Launch to Legacy media campaign and provide recommendations based on research findings for messaging content, channels, and targeting criteria for Phase II of the Launch to Legacy media campaign.
Campaign Creation and Paid Media Strategy/Deployment
- The Contractor will design and produce a multi-media campaign to continue and expand the reach of the initial Launch to Legacy media campaign and increase engagement metrics. Elements of the campaign will complement the initial Launch to Legacy campaign, creating a seamless introduction of the next media campaign.
- The Contractor will develop and implement a comprehensive paid media strategy and multi-media campaign tailored to C-suite decision makers in the identified target states and international countries with messaging related to S.C. Commerce’s strategic framework sectors (advanced energy, biotech/life sciences, headquarters relocation, and research/development) to achieve specific, measurable goals and to reach key stakeholders and target audiences. The agreed upon elements, including but not limited to traditional (TV, radio, print, etc.), digital (streaming, OTT, geofence, display, SEO, etc.), and social media advertising, will be implemented and managed by the Contractor. Media placement costs should be 50% of total contract costs.
- The Contractor will be responsible for the production of compelling ad creatives and messaging (with S.C. Commerce’s prior approval), including but not limited to – graphic design, illustration, animation, video and audio production, etc., that effectively communicate the advantages of South Carolina as a business destination. These production costs must be capped at 50% of total contract costs.
- The Contractor must feature at minimum three (3) South Carolina businesses in the campaign and deliver campaign assets for each business.
- The Contractor will identify measurable goals and benchmarks to gauge success and will implement tracking and analytics to measure the effectiveness of the campaign, including key performance indicators such as reach, engagement, click-through rates, and conversion rates.
- The Contractor will optimize campaign performance based on real-time monitoring, analysis and insights, adjusting tactics as necessary to maximize ROI based on performance metrics.
