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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFP - 8060 TRANSFORT MARKETING & COMMUNICATION SERVICESRFP Page 1 of 2 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 8060 TRANSFORT MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES The City of Fort Collins is requesting proposals from qualified firms to provide public relations and marketing services for Transfort, the City of Fort Collins transit provider. As part of the City’s commitment to Sustainable Purchasing, proposals submission via email is preferred. Proposals shall be submitted in a single Microsoft Word or PDF file under 20MB and e-mailed to: purchasing@fcgov.com. If electing to submit hard copy proposals instead, four (4) copies, will be received at the City of Fort Collins' Purchasing Division, 215 North Mason St., 2nd floor, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524. Proposals must be received before 3:00 p.m. (our clock), February 20, 2015 and referenced as Proposal No. 8060. If delivered, they are to be sent to 215 North Mason Street, 2nd Floor, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524. If mailed, the address is P.O. Box 580, Fort Collins, 80522-0580. Please note, additional time is required for bids mailed to the PO Box to be received at the Purchasing Office. The City encourages all Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) to submit proposals in response to all requests for proposals. No individual or business will be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, sex, or national origin. It is the City’s policy to create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete fairly and to ensure nondiscrimination in the award and administration of all contracts. Questions concerning the scope of the bid should be directed to Timothy Wilder, Project Manager at (970) 416-2113 or twilder@fcgov.com. Questions regarding bid submittal or process should be directed to Ed Bonnette, CPPB, CPM, Senior Buyer at (970) 416-2247 or ebonnette@fcgov.com. All questions must be submitted in writing via email to Timothy Wilder, Project Manager , with a copy to Ed Bonnette, no later than 5:00 PM our clock on Friday, February 6, 2015. Questions received after this deadline will not be answered. A copy of the RFP may be obtained at www.rockymountainbidsystem.com. The City of Fort Collins is subject to public information laws, which permit access to most records and documents. Proprietary information in your response must be clearly identified and will be protected to the extent legally permissible. Proposals may not be marked ‘Proprietary’ in their entirety. All provisions of any contract resulting from this request for proposal will be public information. New Vendors: The City requires new vendors receiving awards from the City to fill out and submit an IRS form W-9 and to register for Direct Deposit (Electronic) payment. If needed, the W-9 form and the Vendor Direct Deposit Authorization Form can be found on the City’s Purchasing website at www.fcgov.com/purchasing under Vendor Reference Documents. Financial Services Purchasing Division 215 N. Mason St. 2nd Floor PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6775 970.221.6707 fcgov.com/purchasing RFP Page 2 of 2 Sales Prohibited/Conflict of Interest: No officer, employee, or member of City Council, shall have a financial interest in the sale to the City of any real or personal property, equipment, material, supplies or services where such officer or employee exercises directly or indirectly any decision- making authority concerning such sale or any supervisory authority over the services to be rendered. This rule also applies to subcontracts with the City. Soliciting or accepting any gift, gratuity favor, entertainment, kickback or any items of monetary value from any person who has or is seeking to do business with the City of Fort Collins is prohibited. Collusive or sham proposals: Any proposal deemed to be collusive or a sham proposal will be rejected and reported to authorities as such. Your authorized signature of this proposal assures that such proposal is genuine and is not a collusive or sham proposal. The City of Fort Collins reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive any irregularities or informalities. Utilization of Award by Other Agencies: The City of Fort Collins reserves the right to allow other state and local governmental agencies, political subdivisions, and/or school districts to utilize the resulting award under all terms and conditions specified and upon agreement by all parties. Usage by any other entity shall not have a negative impact on the City of Fort Collins in the current term or in any future terms. Sustainability: Consulting firms/teams participating in the proposal are to provide an overview of the organization’s philosophy and approach to Sustainability. In no more than two (2) pages please describe how your organization strives to be sustainable in the use of materials, equipment, vehicles, fuel, recycling, office practices, etc. The City of Fort Collins incorporates the Triple Bottom Line into our decision process by including economic (or financial), environmental, and social factors in our evaluation. The selected Service Provider shall be expected to sign the City’s standard Agreement without revision prior to commencing Services (see sample attached to this Proposal). Sincerely, Gerry S. Paul Director of Purchasing & Risk Management Addendum 1 – 8060 Transfort Marketing & Communication Services Page 1 of 5 ADDENDUM NO. 1 SPECIFICATIONS AND CONTRACT DOCUMENTS Description of BID RFP 8060: TRANSFORT MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES OPENING DATE: 3:00 PM (Our Clock) February 20, 2015 To all prospective bidders under the specifications and contract documents described above, the following changes/additions are hereby made and detailed in the following sections of this addendum: Exhibit 1 – Questions & Answers Please contact Ed Bonnette, CPPB, CPM, Senior Buyer at (970) 416-2247 with any questions regarding this addendum. RECEIPT OF THIS ADDENDUM MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED BY A WRITTEN STATEMENT ENCLOSED WITH THE BID/QUOTE STATING THAT THIS ADDENDUM HAS BEEN RECEIVED. Financial Services Purchasing Division 215 N. Mason St. 2nd Floor PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6775 970.221.6707 fcgov.com/purchasing Addendum 1 – 8060 Transfort Marketing & Communication Services Page 2 of 5 EXHIBIT 1 – QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 1) How do you define success around the growth of brand awareness? Answer: The ultimate indicator of success of brand awareness is the growth in Transfort ridership. Awareness will also be measured through community and passenger surveys, and the interest in the community (including businesses) to partner with Transfort on various cooperative activities. 2) Does the client (City) have internal tracking to measure the campaign(s) efficacy? Answer: When generating a campaign strategy, Transfort asks the consultant to provide information on the target market for each campaign and the marketing metrics appropriate to that campaign, such as reach, impressions, value, etc. 3) Have you worked with outside agencies on transportation initiatives? Answer: Transfort works extensively with other entities on transit-related initiatives. One major partnership is with Colorado State University related to services in and around the campus. Other examples include cities and counties in the region for FLEX and CDOT with a new interregional bus service. 4) Can you please provide clarification of your budget? (Note: the budget for Year 1 given in the RFP shall not exceed $90,000 and all work orders are subject to funding approval). Is there a specific amount earmarked for agency fees vs. paid media/events/promotions/etc.? Answer: The budget shown in the RFP is primarily for marketing labor and incidental costs; Transfort has a separate budget allocated for significant advertising, promotions, print/reproduction, and events which may show up as consultant pass-through expenses. 5) We are interested in the RFP. We are based in Albuquerque, NM with an office in Durango, CO. In the Scope of Services it says that the contractor must be available for twice monthly meetings. Would we be able to participate in some of those by phone or Skype or must they all be in person? Answer: Phone or Skype could work although we have had difficulty using Skype in our offices (sound quality has not been great). It is most helpful to have a local person for many of the “on call” types of needs we encounter daily. Given the considerable amount of back and forth between Transfort and the awarded firm, the proposer will need to include in their proposal how this is best done. 6) Regarding the requirement for commercial insurance covering errors and omissions: Is it acceptable to submit an RFP proposal without currently having coverage in that amount with the caveat that said coverage would be obtained upon bid award? Answer: Yes. You do not have to worry about updating your coverage to submit a proposal; but you will need to submit that should you be selected for contract award, when you sign the Professional Services Agreement-Work Order Type (see Sample Agreement, included in the RFP). 7) Relevant to Section II. Scope of Work D. Research in the RFP; can you summarize the kind of “relevant research” that has been conducted? Addendum 1 – 8060 Transfort Marketing & Communication Services Page 3 of 5 Answer: Recent research including a SWOT analysis and an effort to identify targeted audiences was conducted as part of the Transfort Marketing Plan. Ongoing research should include identification of effective and innovative marketing strategies that may or may not be specific to the transit industry, such as new methods of marketing to millennials. 8) What communication tools did you feel were most successful in launching MAX, and what has worked best for Transfort? Answer: Transfort utilized an extensive array of tools, both conventional and innovative, to launch MAX. The campaign was implemented over years of effort. Perhaps the most effective tools involved building partnerships with community entities and individuals, enabling the message to be leveraged into wider areas of the community. Currently, Transfort is able to use its new technology (real-time bus arrival information and alerts) to rapidly communicate with its passengers through email, SMS texts, LCD screens, LED signs, and other media. 9) Any areas/people you think could be better communicated with? Answer: An audience that has great potential is the business community, particularly businesses along MAX and routes with frequent service, including Downtown. 10) How are your MAX ridership numbers compared to their goals so that we can understand if Transfort is on track and just wanting to freshen the look and feel or if they need significant help improving the numbers? Answer: Transfort staff believes that MAX ridership is on-track to meet the two year projections. Transit services typically take two years to mature to full ridership, and MAX will probably need to continue to be marketed in order to establish widespread awareness of the service. 11) Can you provide demographic information for current riders? Also, peak times? (Days, weekends, evenings, etc.) Answer: Transfort collects ongoing data about the types of fare payment (e.g., adult, youth, CSU, senior, etc.) and the boardings and alightings. However, this is not a complete picture of the ridership demographic. In order to provide more information on passengers, Transfort will be conducting an onboard survey in the spring. 12) Seems like PR is a pretty big component of this. Do you have someone who can do that in Fort Collins? Answer: The City of Fort Collins has its Office of Communications and Public Involvement with staff that assists with PR work. 13) In addition to the media that the RFP suggests, it seems like online, radio, bus shelter, etc… could be effective. Would the City of Fort Collins be open to using those outlets? Answer: Transfort currently utilizes these sources and has found them to be effective tools for communication. 14) What research do you currently have and when was it conducted? Answer: See response to #7 above. Addendum 1 – 8060 Transfort Marketing & Communication Services Page 4 of 5 15) If additional research is needed, does that cost come out of the budget that is determined in Section II. Scope of Work F. Additional Information in the RFP? Answer: It is expected that any additional research proposed by the consultant be included within the budget specified, unless Transfort is able to perform such research internally. 16) Is there a media budget that you can share or are you asking us to make a recommendation before you set the number? Answer: The budget is currently proposed for $45,000 per year. 17) Is there an incumbent firm who did phase 1 of the work and will you share their name? Answer: It is public record that the prior contractor is Slate Communications of Fort Collins. Slate’s prior contract for 7551 Transfort Branding & Marketing Services expired 12/31/14. It was not known back in 2013 when the prior contract was awarded that the need for these services (as described in this subsequent RFP 8060 Transfort Marketing and Communication Services) would continue past 12/31/14 and be ongoing past the introductory phase of the MAX BRT service; which turned out to be the case. 18) Given your commitment to sustainability and efficiency, will preference or additional consideration be given to northern Colorado firms? Or firms in close proximity to Fort Collins? Answer: The City of Fort Collins does not have a local preference that awards additional points to Fort Collins or northern Colorado firms. That said, because of the collaborative nature of the work (see response to #5, above) having a local presence is helpful. Given the considerable amount of back and forth between Transfort and the awarded firm, the proposer will need to include in their proposal how this is best done. In other words, how do you plan to deal with it. As far as Sustainability is concerned in your Scope of Work and day-to-day business operating processes and procedures; we are not so much interested here in whether or not you are local or not, but more in how you factor in Sustainability (environmental, economic, and social) into the way you operate as a business. 19) Regarding some of the mentioned Pertinent Documents, how can those be accessed prior to submission of our proposal? Specifically the following ones: a. Transfort Marketing Plan (2014) b. Transfort Brand Management Guidelines (2014) Answer: These documents may be downloaded at http://www.ridetransfort.com/abouttransfort/documents-and-forms/marketing 20) In the Introduction section of the RFP, the following is mentioned: “While a large segment of community is now aware of MAX, many do not associate this service with the rest of the Transfort system.” Is this based on surveys or other qualitative/quantitative analysis with ridership? If so, would Transfort be able to clarify what mechanism helped identify that disconnect and where possible could we review that documentation prior to submission of our proposal? Addendum 1 – 8060 Transfort Marketing & Communication Services Page 5 of 5 Answer: This statement is based on anecdotal information gleamed from regular communication between Transfort employees (including bus operators and customer service representatives) and passengers. There may be opportunities to survey the community and passengers in the future to evaluate whether or not there is an established association between MAX and other Transfort services. 21) Is this a new project or a continuation of a prior contract? Answer: See #17, above. 22) If a continuation, who is the incumbent? Answer: See #17, above. 23) Please confirm that the City intends to conduct in-person interviews during the period specified. How much advance notice can short-listed firms expect to receive regarding the interview date, given the two-week span? Answer: The City is selecting a qualified professional marketing firm to provide Transfort Marketing and Communication Services for up to the next five years. In a case such as this, the City will usually opt to conduct oral interviews with the top three (3) scoring firms based on the scoring of the written proposals. How long it takes to complete the scoring of the written proposals received depends largely on how many responses we receive. Normally this takes about two weeks to complete. It is helpful to the evaluation team to ask you to tell us what your availability looks like in advance, in your proposal. We find it helps both sides when we can give you a two-week window (depending on the timetable of the project, we cannot always do this).So the answer is, assuming we proceed to oral interviews, the City tries to provide a minimum of a one- week notice when setting the interview schedule. 24) Who prepared the 2014 Marketing Plan? Is it available online, or can it be made available to proposers? Answer: See #17 and #19 above. 25) Who prepared the Transfort Brand Management Guidelines (2014)? Is it or can it be made available for review? Answer: See #17 and #19 above. 26) Who assisted the City with the launch of BRT marketing? Answer: See #17, above. 27) Will the twice-monthly meetings require on-site participation by the selected consultant? Is travel to the meetings considered an eligible expense? Answer: See #5 above. Meetings would be an eligible expense.