WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN TAREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY Request for Proposals Promotional Advertising & Marketing
Solicitation No.: 0000009285
Due Date: May 04, 2023, 2023 02:00 PM
Introduction
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) wishes to secure the services of a qualified, full-service marketing agency to take a 360-degree approach to providing WMATA with strategy and techniques to educate and inform current and potential customers and stakeholders about Metro services and programs.
Background
The selected agency will assist in the development and execution of initiatives that support WMATA’s objectives including:
A. Increase ridership and revenue;
B. Identify areas of untapped ridership potential and develop strategies to address those areas;
C. Maximize visibility throughout the region and with the expansion tourist population through a comprehensive annual advertising strategy; and,
D. Build brand awareness and maintain brand integrity.
Emerging from the pandemic, safety concerns and significant rehabilitation efforts; WMATA is at a critical point and recognizes the need for more than a traditional advertising agency partner. As such, this effort seeks a one-stop shop offering a broad range of services from strategic planning, creative design, and execution to the back-end analysis of results across all communication channels.
These services may
include, but not be limited to:
• Strategy:
- Brand strategy, development and guardianship;
- Evolve, uphold and continue to develop brand guidelines
- Integrated marketing, to include digital channels and social media;
- Internal/House Content Channels:
- Web-based and email channels
- Digital signage network
- Employee hot sheets
- External channels:
- OOH static and digital inventory
- Traditional media: print and broadcast
- Social media
- TikTok
- NextDoor
- YouTube
- Content creation
- Template creation & management
- Responsible for emailing and maintaining database
- Media planning, purchasing and optimization;
- Creative development;
- Project management;
- Translation/transcreation/localization;
- Crisis communications;
- Research and analytics;
- Reporting and business analysis;
- Trends and insights; and,
- Lifecycle management.
- Execution:
- SEM and SEO;
- Content creation for all channels;
- Studio production
- Website content;
- Partnership engagement;
- Content trafficking;
- Content/creative management;
- Proofreading; and,
- Complete quality control.
- Media Relations:
- Press releases; and,
- Press briefings.
- Event Management:
- Internal and external events, and
- Street team activations.
- Passenger Information:
- Audio announcements, and
- Informational signage.
- Executive Communications:
- Presentations;
- Correspondence; and,
- Thought leadership.
- Tools:
- Digital asset management, and
- Workflow management.
- The nature of marketing public transit services requires an intimate familiarity with the service provided. As such, WMATA requires that the selected agency must have a full-service office within the WMATA service area within six (6) months (If it has not yet) upon award of the contract. Full service, In-house at a minimum must include an account service department, creative department, broadcast and print production department. The marketing agency must document in-house services offered. The agencies must have minimum capitalized billing of $50,000,000 during the prior year.
The Washington region enjoys significant tourism; local, national and international. As Metrorail serves both Washington Reagan National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport with direct connections, tourism is a key audience:
• DC welcomed a record 24.6 million total visitors in 2019.
• In 2019, there were 22.8 million domestic visitors to DC, and $8.2 billion in visitor spending for the city alone.
• Approximately 1.8 million overseas visitors traveled to DC in 2019. Top countries of origin include: China, United Kingdom, India, Germany, South Korea, France, Australia, Italy, Brazil and
Spain.
While these numbers reflect 2019, as the region recovers from the pandemic, tourists are again a big piece of the market for Metro services.
WMATA’s marketing strategies seek to increase ridership, provide transit educational resources, strengthen the agency’s brand identity to reinforce safe and reliable transit service, and to create feedback loops for information that can be used to help direct improvements in the services and programs. Further, the vendor will also, through direction of WMATA staff, develop, design and promote messages for transit facilities and vehicles, using WMATA’s in-house, Out of Home inventory, as customers have identified in system communications and social media as their primary source of news and information about WMATA. Also important to WMATA are strategies that push messages further out into local communities through nontraditional media channels to reach the broadest possible demographic targets within the region.
This contract allows the vendor(s) the creative flexibility to utilize current cutting-edge marketing strategies while taking into account the following factors:
• cost effectiveness, and
• the program goals of reaching larger numbers of existing and potential transit patron spanning
different demographic categories.
The contract includes a base performance period of five years, with three (3) one-year option periods. The Authority’s current contract expires August 30, 2023.
The marketing agency shall provide WMATA with such advice and services as WMATA requests or approves for the purpose of informing, educating, and motivating the public to use mass transit in the Washington metropolitan area. Nothing described hereunder shall limit the Authority’s right to approve all media placed, order discontinuation of media previously approved, and approve all financial commitments before they are made.
Deliverables
The marketing agency shall provide WMATA with such advice and services as WMATA requests or approves for the purpose of informing, educating, and motivating the public to use mass transit in the Washington metropolitan area. Nothing described hereunder shall limit the Authority’s right to approve all media placed, order discontinuation of media previously approved, and approve all financial commitments before they are made.
The work consists of, but is not limited to, the following specific areas of service:
a) To assist in the development of a comprehensive strategic marketing plan based on available
research and market planning for promoting the marketable services of WMATA. Such plan should include objectives, strategy, evaluation factors and budget and is subject to WMATA approval.
i. Plan must include Limited English Proficiency (LEP) audience requirements to meet and
exceed Title VI requirements. Plan should address communications in Spanish, Korean,
Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), French and Amharic.
ii. Agency shall identify targets of opportunity for paid communications to deliver information
to customers to make recommendations WMATA’s Marketing staff based upon industry best
practices and agency expertise.
b) To assist in the design and implementation of the creative strategy and rationale for WMATA’s
strategic marketing plan.
i. To develop comprehensive strategy briefs describing situation, response, tactics and
execution.
c) To provide guidance on brand equity and guardianship.
d) Subject to WMATA’s approval, to provide creative services including the design of ads and
publications, copy, ad concepts, direct mail design, logo design, slogan or themes, web page design, online ads, interactive marketing, street teams, specialty items, promotional campaigns, music, illustrations, and original artwork. This includes concept development, from rough layout and storyboards to final product.
e) To develop “mechanicals” (design, photography, audio-visuals, finished artwork, graphics, desktop publishing and camera-ready art) for any marketing/promotional material as requested.
f) To provide expert advice in the areas of media analytics and media buying strategies, selection of local, regional or national print or broadcast media, on-line channels, direct mail printing and mailing, and creation of an auditable trail of invoice verification, receipt of goods/services and billing.
g) To contract for all media as approved in advance by WMATA and to maintain all schedules, billings, and verifications, including tear sheets and air checks and to provide same to WMATA. No financial commitments will be made on behalf of WMATA without written approval.
- Agencies must have the capacity to conduct media research to determine the most efficient and effective advertising purchases on a local, regional, national and international level.
h) To provide copies of all print insertion orders and broadcast orders to WMATA within ten (10) days of execution.
i) To meet with all media representatives in a timely manner, evaluate their proposals and make
recommendations to WMATA on how, if and when each media venue should be used.
j) To provide a qualified media buying expert, acceptable to WMATA, whose workload will be
consistent with the demands of WMATA for responsive and professional work.
k) To provide WMATA, on a quarterly basis, the results of all media related research or ratings known to the agency or conducted by the agency.
l) To provide WMATA with Conference/Meeting Reports within three working days of all
creative/strategy planning, media planning and other meetings or sessions, and submit a breakdown of recommended media buys with a rationale for the recommendations.
m) To meet with WMATA representatives at WMATA headquarters or an agreed upon location, as necessary to discuss market planning, strategies and objectives.
n) To make all necessary local deliveries and pick-ups/deliveries to and from WMATA without charge.
o) To provide copies of all invoices, production estimates and bids, insertion orders, broadcast orders, conference reports, media schedules and research without charge.
p) To provide a senior, experienced account management staff person to the WMATA account. This individual will be responsible for the coordination throughout the term of the contract unless WMATA should request the replacement of a member of the account team, or if a member of the account team leaves the agency’s employment. The agency shall give WMATA ample notice of any changes to be made in the account team. WMATA reserves the right to accept or reject proposed personnel changes. Principal Officers of the firm must have had at least five (5) years previous experience in communications, advertising, publication, and graphic design.
q) To provide all invoices and monthly financial and project status reports to WMATA regarding the status of the account within 10 days of the close of the month. The reports shall include, but may not be limited to, description and status of projects, monthly status for amount committed, amount spent, remaining balance and summaries of uncommitted balances under the contract. Vendor invoices for subcontracted goods and services, as well as media, will be submitted monthly as documentation for costs billed to WMATA. The agency will also provide quarterly and annual reports which summarize the monthly reports.
Report formats will be designed by WMATA and the agency.
r) To provide accurate monthly accrual of billings not yet invoiced to WMATA on the last business
day of each month.
s) To provide such other marketing and communications support services as WMATA may from time to time request, including media/public relations support, event management and/or staffing, executive communications, and crisis communications.
t) To provide such other advertising, sales promotion and research counsel and services as WMATA may from time to time request, including concept and copy testing.
u) To submit all material produced by the agency on behalf of WMATA when requested. All materials produced under this contract will become the property of WMATA. No materials, photography, illustrations, etc. may be used by the agency or any subcontractors for any purposes other than the WMATA contract.
