Questions_and_Answers_7_12_18_to_Combied_Synosis.docx

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO COMBINED SYNOPSIS SOLICITATION NO. 140F0918Q00051

7/121/18

The following questions highlighted in blue font were received from interested vendors. The applicable responses are highlighted in black font.

1. What are the steps to evaluating the RFP? Will there be a follow up (via call or in-person) between the teams before the final selection is made?

The Government intends to award a contract without discussion or requesting final proposal revisions with respective offerors. The Government, however, reserves the right to conduct discussions (via call) and request final proposal revisions if deemed in the best interest of the Government.

The Government reserves the right to award to the offeror(s) determined to be in the best interest of the Government, which may be other than the lowest priced offeror(s), or other than the highest technically rated offeror(s).

Reference Section M of the Combined Synopsis; Past Performance, General Capabilities and Technical will be evaluated.

2. What is the team/team structure of the marketing/NWRS brand team that we’d be working with on the project?

This rebrand effort has been coordinated by the National Wildlife Refuge System Branch Chief of Communications and Digital Services. As part of this effort we have assembled a group of creative staff people at all levels of the organization to assist with honing ideas and deploying tactics.

Additionally, as part of this on-going process to rebrand the National Wildlife Refuge System we have been working with an external branding expert who has assisted with the overall external process, and facilitation contractors assisting with the internal roll-out and leadership alignment.

3. Are the eight markets referred to in the Statement of Work already defined, or would there need to be a market prioritization?

These were roughly determined based on the geographic regions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but would need to be honed in follow up discussions with the chosen vendor.

4. Has the research firm already mapped the 16 audiences to the various refuges or is that additional audience work that would need to be completed by the agency? For example, which segments apply more or less to each of the wildlife refuges and geographic areas of focus.

These audiences have been extensively researched and mapped. We have also determined which refuges may best serve these various audiences.

5. Where do we stand against each stage of the waterfall (Awareness, Education, Perception, Change)? What is our biggest challenge/what is getting in our way?

We haven’t done extensive research plotting where our audiences are on each stage of this waterfall, but anetdotally we have a small passionate group of active supporters typified in through our grassroots Friends groups and young interns and volunteers. Conversely, more generally we lack any sense of larger brand awareness and we are often confused with the National Park Service or state wildlife agencies and parks.

6. Is there either a budget range or set of KPI’s that we can use for estimating the media spend? The investment will vary depending on what level of awareness and engagement is desired. (for example, is the goal to gain 5 points in awareness and/or increase public engagements by 1%) The media spend plan is one of the deliverables for this contract. Through this process we would hope to determine realistic KPI’s for various undetermined budget levels.

7. What do results mean to you? What goals are you trying to achieve? What constitutes measurable success for this project?

Generally, increased public engagement in our volunteer and internship programs. Broader local brand awareness about the role of wildlife refuges take in improving people’s lives.

8. The pitch requirements document referenced a “Past Performance Questionnaire” but we did not see it in the included materials?

The Past Performance Questionnaire is attached in FedBizopps

9. In section V, 3. There is reference to the NASA graphics brand standards doc, but it is not included in the materials. Can we review this to get an understanding of what the expected deliverable looks like from a scale standpoint? Or should we benchmark from the 2001 brand standards example?

We are looking for something more extensive than the 2001 FWS brand standard example. These were merely publications standards we are interested more broadly in voice, tone related to the iconic direction we would like to take the brand. See other answers related to creative suite assets in previous question and answer postings specifically question 20, 22.

10. For the new USFW website that is being developed, what is the content framework for that site and how closely will the NWRS brand team be able to integrate with content management and distribution through that medium? What is the timeline for the development of that site?

The new CMS is being built in Drupal. The site is set to launch in June of 2019. The basic style sheet for the site is fixed (colors, fonts, icons), but we would like to incorporate other elements generated through this process.

11. Have strategic elements such as messaging hierarchy, brand values, pillars and/or a manifesto been drawn out of the research work yet or would that step be included in this phase of the project if that was our recommended approach to deliver on the objective?3. Has any work been done to identify the specific deliverables of the toolkit referenced, or to identify the challenges of adoption among staff, volunteers or partners in utilizing that kit? Or would defining and shaping that also be part of the assignment?

Through some of our internal work we have honed in on a core social purpose, brand pillars (nearby nature, iconic wildlife spectacles, wildlife recreation, and solo and social benefits) summarized in the Statement of work. We have also done some internal work at honing brand valued, but messaging hierarchy, honed manifesto are only conceptual at this point. All previous work will be presented to the chosen calendar at a face to face meeting after the contract has been awarded.

As for toolkit items this question was answered in previous submissions 20 and 22

12. Will there be opportunity to continue the relationship after November 30th into campaign management / optimization?

Depending on funding availability and private public partnerships we anticipate continuing into phase 2 which would include campaign management and optimization.

13. Do you see the final deliverables as a master template for individuals to execute locally (similar to the brand standards from 2001) or is there a general number of assets we can assume creating for the SOW? Ex: 2 per refuge?

See answers from previous question 20 and 22

14. How would you rank each region based on ad spend or are they all equal? Ranking each region, which has the most frequented visitors?

Ad spending priorities would could shift or change based on the recommendations of the chosen vendor, after a more complete conversation about our needs.

15. Can you expand more on what the Nature Connection Movement is? Has the NWRS started to implement this movement yet?

Through our extensive visioning work that included broad market research and more specifically the recommendations articulated in the Nature of Americans study, we assert that more and more people are turning to nature/outdoors to realize social, environmental, health, and academic benefits. This general trend is what we are calling the “Nature/Outdoor Connection Movement.”

16. What are the 12 brand story pathways that you mentioned will help compliment the creative process as part of the creative brief?

This will be described in detail at the face to face meeting with he chosen vendor.

17. With all our clients we like to start off by understanding the bigger picture. Why this RFP, and why now? What is driving the urgency of this RFP?

This process is the result of a multi-year visioning and strategic planning process called Conserving the Future: Wildlife and the Next Generation. This internal effort rallied our partners and employees around what we need to change about how we do business to ensure that we meet the ever-growing conservation challenges amid vast disruptions in technology and demographics. This document and the implementation plans that were rolled out as a result have help up move toward some much needed paradigm shifts across the organization. The National Wildlife Refuge System Communication Strategy and subsequent need to rebrand the organization was one product of this effort.

18. From the context evidenced in the brief, there seems to be a huge appetite to galvanize a bigger cross-section of Americans. What are the key challenges you are facing as a service/organization right now? Challenges with engaging Americans?

As evidenced by the Nature of Americans study- people value what we have to offer, but don’t have the time to integrate its benefits into their daily lives. Our key challenges is meeting people where they are and offering experiences tailored how they spend their time.

From an organizational perspective -we are chronically understaffed, especially in commnications personnel, educators and visitor services staff. We have more units in more places than the Park Service, but people are unaware of what we have to offer.

19. Would you expect to see the majority of the work to be spent on the campaign development vs. the rebrand? How extensive are you expecting the rebrand to be?

Many elements of the rebrand especially visual elements are contstrained by the broader U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service brand management, so this aspect may be just updating a few items. So, the majority of work would be spent in campaign development.

20. Our understanding is that you are not expecting to see initial creative in this submission, is this correct?

Correct, just a proposal about why you are the right vendor for this task.

21. What is off-limits or cannot be touched when it comes to the re-brand and/or campaign?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service logo is not being overhauled (right), but the sub brand of the “Blue Goose” (left) which is the logo of the National Wildlife Refuge System can be considered for redesign. With the understanding that the blue goose is on many entrance signs and boundary signs, so it’s important to maintain some continuity. (Same answer as 7/29/18 Response)

22. From a vision and language stand point, is there space to challenge or even change the evidenced vision/tagline statements (e.g. “To establish National Wildlife Refuges as the ‘Best Places in America for Wildlife and People to Thrive’)?

This is not a tagline. We would hope it would be challenged, this is what our creative team from across the organization honed in on is an organizational core purpose. This is why we exist, and how we think about all aspects of our work, not an outward expression.

23. Does this project work alongside other fellow government agencies and services (i.e. Department of Interior)? And if so, how will they interplay?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Wildlife Refuge System are a part of the Department of Interior, and we collaborate with other bureaus where our missions overlap for example on Recreation.gov, but this project is to help illustrate to the American public the imporantance of this set of public lands in contrast to the more well known aspects of the Department of Interior.

24. Could you please clarify what you mean by the response (Question 13 in SYNOPSIS Q&A SOLICITATION NO. 140F0918Q0051) “we are restricted from paid channels”? In the SOW, you write that you are looking for the campaign launch plan to outline “channels, such as television and radio spots, print ads…”. Are there any restrictions in the types of channels that can be leveraged?

No, restrictions. The launch plan hopes to leverage public/private partnerships to explore channels that are unavailable through federal government acquisition.

25. We are a creative agency and do not do media buying. We would recommend two approaches to complete the ‘Future Media Buying Recommendations’ deliverable. Could you give us guidance on which one is preferred?

1. Create a strategic communication plan that would also outline channel recommendations and recommended creative assets

2. Subcontract a media buying partner as part of this submission to complete the media buying plan in more detail (e.g. inclusive of costs, audience reach, specific channels etc.)

Option #1

26. Are there any organizational milestones you are working towards that would affect the process/timing of rebrand and/or campaign launch? Are there key items that are driving project timings?

No, we have already celebrated our century anniversary in 2003 through a large campaign titled “America’s Best Kept Secret” we would like to break away from chronological milestones to elevate the brand to something the public thinks about more regularly.

27. Who are the key decision makers internally? What should we know about your internal review and sign off process that we should consider in our process?

Our core creative team which is comprised of a core team including representatives from the Divsion of Communications and Visitor Services, a Human Dimension representative, and the Division Of Marketing and Digital Strategy for the USFWS will make all day to day decisions. The core team will regularly consult an internal creative team of about 30 staff representing regional and field staff who will we will strategically engage a few key decision points. All final products will need to be signed off on by the Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System and other key Service leadership. The core team will work to ensure leadership engagement throughout the process.

28. Is there a set date for the campaign to go live?

The prospective date is April 2019

29. Section E seems to be missing from the instructions to address items in the contractor’s response to the RFQ (Combined Synopsis/Solicitation pg. 37). Please advise if there is missing information.

Typo…..There is no missing information the letters should be A - H

30. Roman numeral IV is missing in the Statement of Work. Please advise if there is missing information.

IV. s/b OBJECTIVES (See attached SOW)

31. Is the requirement to provide the Two Case Studies the same as Past Performance?

The past performance should be Related Experience in outdoor or nature sector and Engagement of stakeholders.

32. Per the verbiage in the SOW, page 3 (towards the bottom of the page) “We have designed 16 CORE PROFILES to help us best capture the 2.5% of the population who self-identify as the most inspired nature and wildlife enthusiasts.” What are the 16 core profiles?

This will be shared with the selected vendor at the kick off meeting as part of larger creative brief.

33. What is the Government’s estimate for the page count for the graphics brand standards document? A 5-page manual will cost much lower than a 100 page manual.

We are looking at the short end of the spectrum 5- 10 pages. We are looking for more broad shifts in the brand, if need be we would use a shorter overall brand standards document to inform other needs down the road.

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