29FTC125R0001_AD Monitoring.pdf

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

BUREAU OF CONSUMER PROTECTION

SOCIAL MEDIA AD MONITORING PLATFORM

Request for Quote

1) Introduction

a) The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the only federal agency with jurisdiction to protect consumers and maintain competition in broad sectors of the economy. It enforces laws that prohibit business practices that are anticompetitive, deceptive, or unfair to consumers, and seeks to do so without impeding legitimate business activity. The FTC also educates consumers and businesses to encourage informed consumer choices, compliance with the law, and public understanding of the competitive process. Through enforcement, advocacy, education, and policy work, the FTC protects consumers and promotes competitive markets both in the United States and around the world.

b) In order to identify unfair or deceptive business practices, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) staff must be able to view and preserve advertising across various media platforms.

c) The Commission relies on contracts with professional services that provide access to archived advertising creatives for television, radio, mobile, magazine, and web as well as information and analysis about companies’ advertising.

d) The Commission is seeking to improve its visibility of the social media advertising market, with particular focus on providers of ad monitoring platforms, services, or databases that are dedicated to the identification, capture, and archiving of paid advertising that appears on social media networks. Given the increase in use of social media year-over-year, and the concurrent growth in marketing and ad expenditure by companies in social media, the Commission has placed a specific focus on improving its ad monitoring capability on social media as a high priority.

2) Scope

a) The FTC requires the services of a contractor that specializes in digital marketing research, specifically in the area of social media ad monitoring, and provides access to an online platform or database where users can view archived ad creatives, ad messaging, and associated metrics such as spend and impressions, for paid advertising appearing across a of variety of social media networks.

b) The contractor will perform the work detailed in the Specific Requirements outlined in this Performance Work Statement (PWS).

c) The contractor shall assign resources to effectively meet the requirements specified in this PWS.

3) Period of Performance and Place of Performance

a) The term of this contract will consist of a one (1) year base period with three (3), one (1) year option periods.

4) Performance Objectives

a) The contractor shall provide access to an online platform or service that meets the following criteria:

i) Performs digital marketing intelligence in an ethical and transparent manner, preserving the privacy of its users and without violating the terms and conditions of the entities where ads are found;

ii) Identifies, captures, and archives paid advertisements appearing on social media networks including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, in both mobile and traditional (desktop) environments, where possible;

iii) Captures paid feed posts, story posts, sponsored posts, and/or promoted posts across various social media networks, and adapts to changes affecting how and where paid advertising appears on such networks;

iv) Captures information related to the ad creative, including creative text, creative type, landing page, call-to-action, etc.;

v) Captures paid advertisements that target non-English speakers; identifies and captures paid advertisements regardless of the language appearing in the ad;

vi) Maintains an archive of at least five (5) years of historical ad data;

vii) Provides users with the ability to download ad creatives;

viii) Provides detailed analysis of ad creative performance, including ad spend, impressions, duration of appearance, first- and last-seen dates, creative message, keyword use, and other metadata;

ix) Is transparent as to the methodology used to generate data estimations, including the use of statistical sampling, user panels, and data aggregators;

x) Utilizes a robust classification protocol to differentiate ads by brand, advertiser, and product category;

xi) Allows users to search by company, advertiser, ad campaign, product, or to filter by industry category, product type, or advertising keyword(s); and

xii) Provides users with up-to-date information through daily updates.

b) The contractor shall provide ten (10) licenses for simultaneous use by FTC staff.

c) The contractor shall provide online or telephonic product support and assistance to FTC users as needed.

d) The contractor shall provide formal training opportunities to FTC staff at least once per annual contract cycle, and FTC staff has the ability to request that such training is tailored to their specific needs.

e) Contractor shall provide an expert witness in depositions or trials to explain how the tool works or provide pricing for this service.

5) Contract Deliverables and Schedule

Number Deliverable Due

1 Consultation with COR and BCP stakeholders 2 weeks after contract award and within 2 weeks after the start of each option period.

Number Deliverable Due

Account creation and product overview for BCP Investigative staff, including account holders from Division and Regional offices

As requested by FTC.

3 Formal training opportunity for FTC staff As requested by FTC.

5) Performance Requirements Summary:

Performance Objective

Standard Performance Threshold

Method of Surveillance

PRS # 1

Access to an online platform or service that allows the identification, analysis, and archiving of social media advertising in all languages.

Continuous and seamless access to the system.

Access to the system should be continuous and seamless.

Government Inspection

PRS # 2

Access to ten (10) licenses for simultaneous use by FTC staff

All 10 licenses should be able to login in simultaneously.

Access to the system should be continuous and seamless.

Government Inspection

PRS # 3

Online or telephonic product support and assistance to FTC users

Communication and support for FTC staff should be timely and thorough

Support for FTC staff should be in real time.

Government Inspection

PRS #4

Formal customized training opportunities for FTC staff at least once per annual contract cycle

Service Provider should reach out to FTC POC at beginning of annual contract cycle to schedule training.

As requested by the

FTC

Government Inspection

PRS #5

Contractor shall provide an expert witness in depositions or trials to explain how the tool works or provide pricing for this service.

Contractor explains how the toll works in a deposition or trial.

As requested by the

FTC

Government Inspection

2.0 – CONSTRAINTS AND REQUIREMENTS

INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

3.0 – PERIOD AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

3.1 – Period of Performance The FTC anticipates awarding a one-year (12-month) base contract with four, one-year (12month) option periods. The anticipated start date is:

Base June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025

Option Year 1 June 1, 2025, to May 31, 2026

Option Year 2 June 1, 2026, to May 31, 2027

Option Year 3 June 1, 2027, to May 31, 2028

Option Year 4 June 1, 2028, to May 31, 2029

3.2 – Place of Performance The places of performance will be:

FTC – Headquarters (HQ) 600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington DC 20580

FTC – Constitution Center (CC) 400 7th Street, SW Washington DC 20024

The FTC’s lease at the Constitution Center is set to expire 2024 with a subsequent move to another location in Washington, DC possible during that calendar year. Tasks associated with the FTC Constitution Center shall be applicable to any new location. Any such changes will be communicated in advance to the contractor by the contracting officer’s representative or other authorized FTC personnel.

4.0 – TYPE OF CONTRACT

The FTC anticipates awarding a labor hour and time & materials contract.

5.0 – INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION

5.1 – Questions from Offerors Submit any questions regarding this solicitation via email to Erika Crawford at ecrawford@ftc.gov and Willie Lindsey at wlindsey@ftc.gov with subject line “Social Media Ad Monitoring - Questions” no later than Friday, May 17, 2024, at 12:00 PM (ET). If a response applies to all potential offerors, the government will provide a response to all in a manner that does not identify the source.

The government reserves the right not to provide an answer for any requests or questions received after the date stated above. If, however, the government determines that a late request raises an issue of significant importance, the government will respond.

All government responses will be provided electronically and, depending upon the nature, may be via an amendment to the solicitation.

5.2 – Submission Due Date All submissions shall be submitted via email to Erika Crawford at ecrawford@ftc.gov and Willie Lindsey at wlindsey@ftc.gov no later than Friday, May 24, 2024 12:00 PM (ET). The email shall include the subject line “Social Media Ad Monitoring – Quote Submission.” If submissions require multiple emails, please indicate count and total number of emails in the subject line (i.e., Social Media Ad Monitoring – Quote Submission, Email 1 of 3). Quotes submitted in response to this solicitation shall be submitted in electronic form, which is readable using MS Office 2016 or Adobe Acrobat 2017.

5.3 – Submission Format All submissions shall include a transmittal letter to include the following:

• Solicitation;

• Name of offeror with at least two points of contacts to include email addresses and phone numbers;

• Business mailing address of offeror;

• Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov (UEI);

• Cage Code;

• Tax Identification Number (TIN);

• Business Size and Socioeconomic Representation; and

• A list of all material(s) that are included as part of the offeror’s submission (i.e., Volume 1, Volume 2, resumes, pricing, and certifications).

The offeror shall submit two separate volumes, (1) Technical and (2) Cost/Price. When submitting offers via email, each volume should be attached as a discrete, separate file. The electronic submission must be compatible with Microsoft Office 2016, or as an Adobe Acrobat file; pricing tables should be submitted as an Excel document. All electronic files should be searchable. The offeror’s submission shall be formatted as follows:

• Text – a minimum of 12-point font and single-spaced

• Margins – a minimum of one-inch all around

• Page number – noted at bottom of page and numbered consecutively

• Page count – Volume 1 not to exceed 30 pages; Volume 2 not to exceed 10 pages

The transmittal letter, table of contents, title pages, past performance questionnaires, certificates, resumes, and pricing tables are not included in the page count.

1. 6.0 – SUBMISSION CONTENT

6.1 – Volume One Volume one includes:

1) Executive Summary

2) Technical Approach

3) Past Experience

6.1.1 – Executive Summary

In the Executive Summary, the offeror should summarize its grasp of the unique requirements and opportunities of this solicitation. While the solicitation includes traditional operations and maintenance activities, the primary focus is on the offeror’s ability not simply to conduct business as usual, but to apply their particular skills and experience to increase efficiencies and streamline processes. The FTC will use the Executive Summary as context for the overall submission.

6.1.2 – Technical Approach

The FTC will evaluate the technical approach based on the following considerations:

1) The effectiveness with which the offeror’s technical submission outlines in detail the offeror’s methodology in achieving the goals of the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

2) The effectiveness with which the offeror’s technical submission addresses how it will enhance quality and services, as well as spur innovation in achieving the goals of the PWS.

3) The degree to which the technical submission demonstrates an effective and efficient method of fully managing and executing the complete and specific requirements of the award.

4) The extent to which the offeror demonstrates that its technical approach is flexible and adaptable to changes in FTC priorities, changes in technology, and changes in marketplace conditions.

6.1.4 – Past Experience

The past experience and performance evaluation will examine the offeror’s recent experience, within the past three years of work similar in size, scope, and complexity of the requirements detailed in the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. Therefore, failure of the offeror to provide a minimum of three reference checks may result in the offeror being rated as "neutral" on the past performance factor.

The Government is not required to conduct or complete reference checks on more than the three required.

In addition to contacting references provided by the offeror, the Government may solicit other sources to find references for other relevant work performed by the offeror.

6.1.5.1 – Past Experience Narrative

The FTC will evaluate the offeror’s past experience based on the following considerations:

1) Prior contracts (“reference contracts”) where the offeror served in the role of a prime contractor that will demonstrate the offeror’s ability to perform the activities specified in the PWS; the offeror should provide no less than three and no more than five reference contacts where the offeror served as the prime contractor.

2) Type, size and complexity of its previous experience compared to the type, size and complexity of the requirements specified in the PWS.

6.1.5.2 – Past Experience Questionnaire

N/A

6.2 – Volume Two Offerors are required to submit pricing for all four years; out-year pricing can be expressed as a percentage escalation.

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s price for fairness and reasonableness. The price evaluation may employ any price analysis or comparison methodology necessary.

The FTC will evaluate quotes for award purposes by adding the total price of all options to the total price of the base period requirement. Evaluation of options will not obligate the FTC to exercise the options. The FTC may reject a quote as non-responsive if it is materially unbalanced as to cost for the base year requirement in relationship to the option years. A quote is unbalanced when it is based on costs significantly less for some work and significantly overstated for other work, or the costs do not reflect market value.

The offeror shall submit pricing, including all optional CLINs, using the CLIN structure as detailed in Attachment 9.3, Pricing Schedule; the offeror shall complete all tabs. For the government to determine reasonableness of the price quoted.

7.0 – BASIS FOR AWARD

The basis for the resulting award will be “best value.” The FTC will make an award to the responsible offeror whose offer conforms to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the FTC (i.e., represents the best value to the FTC), price and other factors considered.

7.1 – General Criteria To be considered eligible for award, submissions shall meet the following general conditions:

1) The offeror's submission is determined to be minimally "acceptable";

2) The offeror's quoted unit prices are determined to be “fair and reasonable”;

3) The offeror's submission complies with the requirements of law, regulation and conditions set forth in the PWS, RFQ, or otherwise required by law; and

4) The offeror is determined to be "responsible" as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Subpart 9.1, meets all standards contained therein, and is otherwise eligible for receiving award.

The technical aspects of the offer as contained in the quoted technical volume will be evaluated for soundness, quality, and feasibility as defined below for achieving the performance objectives found in the Performance Work Statement.

1) Soundness - The submission will be evaluated based upon the extent to which the technical approach demonstrates a clear understanding of the steps and capabilities necessary to accomplish the performance objectives to include problem solving, flexibility, and capacity to address and overcome uncertainties.

2) Quality - The submission will be evaluated based upon the extent to which successful performance will employ proven methods and techniques, and the government is able to determine that the methods and approaches will result in successful completion of the tasks and technical requirements within required deadlines.

3) Feasibility - The submission will be evaluated based upon the extent to which requirements have been addressed.

7.2 – Technical Volume Ratings Each factor and sub-factor of the technical volume will be evaluated independently (see Section 7.5 for reference chart). The FTC will assign an adjectival rating (as noted below) for each factor and sub-factor and document any strengths, weaknesses, and deficiencies identified during the evaluation process.

Rating Definition

Significant Strength

An aspect of the submission that appreciably increases the likelihood of successful performance

Strength An aspect of the submission which has a positive impact on successful performance

Weakness A flaw in the submission that increases the risk of unsuccessful order performance; will have some negative impact on the accomplishment of the objectives and requirements

Significant Weakness

A flaw in the submission that appreciably increases the likelihood of unsuccessful order performance; will have a severe negative impact on the accomplishment of the objectives and requirements

Deficiency A material failure of the submission to meet a requirement or a combination of significant weaknesses in the submission that greatly increases the risk of unsuccessful and unacceptable performance

7.3 – Past Experience and Performance Ratings Past experience and performance will be assigned an adjectival rating (as noted below) and document any strengths, weaknesses, and deficiencies identified during the evaluation process.

Rating Definition

Exceptional The offeror’s past performance record leads to an extremely strong expectation of successful performance.

Good The offeror’s past performance record leads to a strong expectation of successful performance.

Rating Definition

Acceptable The offeror’s past performance record leads to an expectation of successful performance.

Neutral The offeror lacks a record of relevant or available past performance history. There is no expectation of either successful or unsuccessful performance based on the offeror’s past performance record.

Marginal The offeror’s past performance record leads to an expectation that successful performance might be difficult to achieve or that it can occur only with increased levels of Government management and oversight.

7.4 – Overall Submission Ratings Submissions will be assigned an overall rating based on their cumulative factor ratings. Ratings for evaluation of the overall submission are as follows:

Rating Definition

Exceptional The submission demonstrates the offeror’s complete understanding of all of the requirements and quotes innovative approaches or solutions that will significantly exceed FTC’s requirements using standard industry practices, technologies, methodologies, and processes. Submissions evaluated with exceptional ratings possess several significant strengths, no deficiencies or significant weaknesses and the performance is considered to have virtually no risk of disruption of cost, schedule or performance. There may be correctable weaknesses. The offeror’s technical submission, when implemented, is expected to result in superior achievement of the government’s objectives with minimal risk.

Very Good The offeror’s quoted approach exceeds the minimum requirements in the solicitation in a way that is beneficial to the government. There are strengths and no deficiencies or significant weaknesses. There may be correctable weaknesses and performance is considered low risk of disruption of cost, schedule or performance.

Satisfactory The offeror’s quoted approach meets the minimum requirements in the solicitation. There are a few strengths and no deficiencies, there may be correctable weaknesses or significant weaknesses, and performance is considered average risk of disruption of cost, schedule or performance

Unsatisfactory The offeror’s quoted approach does not meet the requirements in the solicitation.

There are few or no strengths and there may be deficiencies and/or uncorrectable significant weaknesses. Performance is considered to have high risk of disruption of cost, schedule or performance. An unsatisfactory submission is one in which an unacceptable risk of performance failure exists.

7.5 – Order of Importance of Evaluation Factors Evaluation factors in order of descending importance are:

Factor 1: Technical Approach

• Executive Summary

• Technical Approach

Factor 2: Past Experience

• Past Experience Narrative Factor 3: Pricing

• Pricing Schedule

Evaluation Factor One (Technical Approach) is more important than Evaluation Factor Two (Past Experience). Evaluation Factor Two (Past Experience) is more important than Evaluation Factor Three (Price). The combination of Evaluation Factor One (Technical Approach) and Evaluation Factor Two (Past Experience) is more important than Evaluation Factor Three (Price).

8.0 – CLAUSES

8.1 – Federal Acquisition Regulation Clauses 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this website:

https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far

Article Number

Reference Text

52.202-1 Definitions

52.203-5 Covenant Against Contingent Fees

52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government

52.203-7 Anti-Kickback Procedure

52.203-13 Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct

52.203-16 Preventing Personal Conflicts of Interest

52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement To Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights

52.204-2 Security Requirements

52.204-3 Taxpayer Identification

52.204-6 Unique Entity Identifier

Article Number

Reference Text

52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance

52.204-19 Incorporation by Reference or Representation and Certifications

52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items

52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far

52.215-1 Contract Award

52.217-5 Evaluation of Options

52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons

52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving

52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification

52.225-2 Privacy Act

52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases

52.232-39 Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations

52.233.3 Protest After Award

52.237-3 Continuity of Services

52.239-1 Privacy or Security Safeguards

52.243-1 Changes - Fixed-Price

52.243-3 Changes – Time-and-material or Labor Hours

52.245-1 Government Property

52.245-9 Use and Charges

8.2 – Federal Trade Commission Clauses Please see Federal Trade Commission Clauses for full text of FTC specific clauses applicable to this requirement.

Article Number

Reference Text

1152.201-90 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

1152.203-90 FTC Non-Disclosure

1152.203-91 Organizational and Individual Conflicts of Interest

1152.204-90 Contractor Personnel Security Requirements

1152.205-90 Release of Information

1152.211-90 FTC Observance of Legal Holidays - Facility Closures

1152.224-90 Special Protections for Sensitive Information – Experts and Consultants

1152.224-91 Safeguarding Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information & Sensitive Health Information

1152.224-92 Handling of Third-Party Requests for Access to Records

1152.224-93 Data Incidents and Breaches

1152.231-90 FTC Contractor Travel Reimbursement Guidelines

1152.232-91 Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements

1152.232-92 Limitation of Funds

1152.242-91 Inspection and Acceptance

1152.245-90 Government-Furnished Property (GFP)

9.0 ATTACHMENTS

9.1 – Performance Work Statement

9.2 – Pricing Schedule

6.2 – Volume Two

9.0 Attachments