Request for Proposal 221303
Advertising and Communications Agency for Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives
Addendum 4
November13, 2012
Please note the following answers to questions that were asked prior to the deadline for inquiries date of November 13, 2012.
Q. We noted that the investment is 27.5M over 5 years. What is the marketing/communications operating budget expected to be? We are hoping to understand the scale of your aspirations.
A. We haven’t determined this yet; we are just starting out and need help in formulating budget numbers.
Q. Are there high priority countries or regions that you would like to target for international media relations?
A. Right now we are only operating in Hong Kong and the Netherlands, so those would be our immediate targets. We will be opening a center in Latin America in the near future.
Q. Is the scope of the “event planning” intended to include fund-raising?
A. No fund-raising involved.
Q. Does WSSI envision all eight initiatives having distinct campaign plans that include a mix of media relations, social media, events and recruiting and advertising?
A. Yes.
Q. Can you prioritize the key target audiences? Educators, donors, students, media, sustainability thought leaders, government at the state level? alumni, etc.?
A. Sorry – it is different for each initiative. But the audiences include aimed at businesses, educators, thought leaders, communities, NGO’s, students, local and regional governments.
Q. If relationships with green media is mentioned as a plus, are traditional education reporters core to your current media efforts?
A. Traditional education reporters are not a primary focus, although they would be one group of reporters we’d be interested in.
Q. The RFP states that WSSI will be self-sustaining by 2016. Is fundraising communications on behalf of WSSI a part of the future program?
A. Not at this time.
Q: Are there examples of the successful media campaigns – including traditional and social media -- that we can access?
A. No – we are new, so we don’t have previous campaigns to reference.
Q: How do you define success?
A. We have different metrics for each initiative, but success in a broad sense will come from accomplishing real solutions to specific sustainability challenges. The goal for our media efforts would be to find the “clients” that we can collaborate with to solve these challenges.
Q: With the priority as WSSI, how much of the effort should focus on garnering visibility and recognition of GIOS and ASU as well?
A. Visibility for GIOS and ASU is only important as a byproduct of our WSSI efforts.
Q: What do you envision as the ultimate goal of the campaign in terms of the ranking of priorities: Fundraising? Alumni engagement? Reputation building to increase student enrollment? Academic excellence recognition? State funding and state relations? Attracting out-of-state high caliber students? Building partnerships and connections with third-party partners such as other foundations, corporations, environmental groups and civil society?
A. The most important goal is the last one – building partnerships and connections with third parties. State funding and state relations would be the least of it. Attracting students to our sustainability programs is important as they are a key factor in finding solutions. Fundraising, alumni engagement are the lowest priorities of the ones you mention.
Q: Do you have a specific budget allocated for this effort (including annual retainer
A. No. In order to provide an “apples to apples” comparison, we suggest you arrive at a range for monthly retainer fees, based on scope of work and your hourly rates for copywriting, design, account services, etc. The retainer rate you quote will not be the only criterion for selecting an agency – the agencies who get through this proposal process will be asked to come in for a capabilities presentation
Q: Understanding that you are not asking for us to create a campaign or deliver a strategy, what level of detail do you expect regarding a RFP response under the description of deliverables for scope of work? For example, how much detail are you looking for in terms of media relations – an approach? specific tactics?
A. We’re only asking you to give examples of prior work that is similar to what you might be doing for us, and to introduce us to your team and their expertise in media relations. If you feel you have an approach that sets you apart from others, by all means share that information. But no specific tactics are expected.
Q: How much of the effort should be based in the US versus internationally?
A. The majority of the work is in the U.S. However, the Global Sustainability Solutions Centers are starting up in Hong Kong and the Netherlands, and we have students who will be working in the UK, Dubai, Ecuador and western Europe.
Q: How much leeway is there to overhaul the current website? Or, will the work only entail utilizing the site as it stands and fitting recommended strategies into the existing website?
A. Our internal Communications Team is responsible for the website, so the agency could recommend strategies that would utilize the existing site; or recommend alterations to the existing site which would be performed by the Comm Team.
If you have additional questions please contact or 480-965-4370.
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