University of North Carolina Issues RFP For Affordable Education/NCPROMISE Awareness Campaign

The University of North Carolina System seeks to partner with a qualified Vendor that will manage all aspects of a statewide promotional campaign. Responsibilities of the Vendor will include the overall management of the campaign, creative design, production, media buys/placement, and assessment of awareness.

Background:

Higher education is the key to a better, more prosperous future and more North Carolinians than ever need access to our state’s world-class university system. Our constitution calls for the state to provide access to higher education that is “as free as practicable.” Recently, the NC General Assembly approved two actions that provide greater access to an affordable college education: the four-year guaranteed tuition rates for in-state students who are continuously enrolled at any of the UNC System institutions and the NC Promise Tuition Plan, which drastically reduces tuition costs to $500/semester for in-state students at Elizabeth City State University, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Western Carolina University. NC Promise is the result of a bold, ambitious investment of $51 million by the NC General Assembly, which will begin in fall 2018. Through the guaranteed tuition rate policy and the NC Promise Tuition plan, more North Carolinians will have access to a low-cost, high-quality education and will graduate with less debt, prepared for a successful future and contributing to the growth of our economy.

Scope of Work:

By promoting the guaranteed tuition rate and the NC Promise Tuition Plan, this statewide awareness campaign will raise awareness of the NC General Assembly’s investment in providing NC citizens with greater access to an affordable college education. This unified, targeted communications plan will inform citizens of the lowered costs and increased access opportunities, in turn driving more talented students to our institutions. The statewide awareness campaign will promote the guaranteed tuition rate and the NC Promise Tuition Plan to key audiences through TV, radio, and online advertising; effective PR strategy; earned media opportunities; and a robust digital promotional plan, within an accelerated timeline (September – November 2018). A successful campaign will increase general awareness and knowledge of the state’s commitment to providing a high-quality, affordable college education which is now available to all North Carolinians through the guaranteed tuition rate and the NC Promise Tuition plan.

Key Messages:

• Legislative investment underscores the state’s commitment to higher education
• Investment promotes the educational quality at all 16 universities
• Through NC Promise and the guaranteed tuition rate policy, more North Carolinians now have access to an affordable high-quality, four-year degree
• Through the commitment of the state and the UNC System, NC Promise and the guaranteed tuition rate moves the state’s economy forward by generating more highly qualified graduates who can rise to the challenges of a rapidly changing job market

Strategies:

• Promote a unified message focused on access to an affordable college education within the   UNC System through the four-year guaranteed tuition rate and the NC Promise Tuition Plan.
• Utilize paid advertisement to support the campaign awareness message on digital and traditional platforms
• Coordinated media opportunities to maximize the support of third-party validators, UNC System stakeholders
• Story generation for local, state, national and trade news outlets
• Web stories, newsletters, one-pagers, etc.
• Enhance website presence on northcarolina.edu and ncpromise.com
• Promote statewide events and messaging in key media markets (Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, Greenville-New Bern- Washington/Northeastern, Asheville/Western region, Robeson County)

The Vendor shall create, manage and execute a comprehensive, statewide awareness campaign that promotes the state’s guaranteed tuition rate policy and NC Promise Tuition Plan within an accelerated timeline. Data indicates that video, paid search, and social media advertisement performs best and should be complemented with TV and radio for added value opportunities. Vendor should provide the production schedule that best meets this requirement as part of Vendor’s submitted response to this RFP.

TASKS/DELIVERABLES

The Vendor must complete the following tasks and deliverables. Vendor’s proposal response must outline, in narrative form, how Vendor will complete the following tasks and deliverables to complete a Marketing Campaign:

1. Full project team to meet with UNC communications team last week in August to establish detailed plan for execution of the promotional campaign.
2. Identify key messages to communicate to targeted audiences
3. Manage timeline and deliverables
4. Meet weekly with UNC System communications team for approvals, updates and review of timeline
5. Produce a 30-second TV commercial including script development, actors, and production that will air in approximately 7 markets for 12 weeks on networks approved by the UNC System (Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, Greenville-New Bern-Washington/Northeastern, Asheville/Western region, Robeson County)
6. Produce three (3) 15-second videos, including script development, actors, and production for paid promotion on social media platforms (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google) and on websites (northcarolina.edu and ncpromise.edu).
7. Produce one (1) 30-second commercial for radio, including script development, actors, and production
8. Design and print collateral for distribution (up to 10,000 copies, i.e. postcard, one-pager, or leave-behind, will not include mailing)
9. Secure media buys for all TV, radio, and digital in traditional and online markets that will run for 12 weeks
10. Develop PR and earned media strategy
11. Plan, promote and manage media events in 5 of the media markets
12. Provide analytics to measure success (to include level of awareness, web analytics, advertising/promotion reach)

Due Date:

August 3rd

Address:

PROPOSAL NUMBER: 68-NCPR0718

ATTN: Bob Myers

140 Friday Center Drive, Room 241

Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Agencies with educational experience includes Zeno Partners and Edelman PR.