ABLE01-25_-_Responses_to_Questions_(5-20-2025).pdf

CALIFORNIA ACHIEVING A BETTER LIFE EXPERIENCE ACT BOARD

Achieving a Better Life Experience (“ABLE”) Act Board

Request for Proposals No. ABLE01-25 Marketing Services

ANSWERS TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS SUBMITTED

May 20, 2025

The following information is provided in response to questions received by the ABLE Act Board regarding RFP No. ABLE01-25 for Marketing Services.

1. Are these qualifications mandatory for submission and evaluation, or are they preferred but not required?

Answer: In Section 2 Minimum Qualifications for Firms, all applicants must meet the minimum qualifications. The Desirable Qualifications are not required.

Applicants who meet the desired qualifications in Sections 3.3.2 and 3.3.3 will be awarded the additional points.

2. Market Research Expectations: Will the Board provide access to any existing market research, accountholder data, or demographic analytics, or is the Contractor expected to collect all primary data independently?

Answer: CalABLE will provide available existing information to the selected Contractor. The Contractor will be expected to conduct additional market research necessary to best support marketing the program.

3. Data Access for Conversion Tracking: Will the Contractor have access to backend data or systems to track conversions and new funded accounts for campaign effectiveness analysis, or will CalABLE staff provide that data?

Answer: CalABLE will provide this information to the selected Contractor, either directly or via the contracted Program Administrator.

4. Ambassador Campaign Clarification: Can the Board clarify the expectations for the 2026 Ambassador campaign (e.g., number of ambassadors, expected deliverables, or content types)? Is there a defined selection process for ambassadors or should the Contractor propose one?

Answer: CalABLE will select the Ambassadors. The Contractor will support marketing efforts involving the Ambassadors after selection.

5. Influencer Campaign Guidelines: Are there any guidelines or restrictions on the types of influencers used for the awareness campaign (e.g., prior approval process, conflict of interest standards)?

Answer: The Influencer Campaign is part of the overall marketing budget, the selected Contractor should include this as part of the proposal. CalABLE will work with the selected Contractor to fully develop guidelines, preferences, and goals, which will be in line with CalABLE’s marketing strategy.

6. Approval Workflow: What is the anticipated turnaround time for approval of campaign materials submitted to the Board or CalABLE staff?

Answer: CalABLE staff typically approves the approval of campaign materials within 5 to 7 days. It depends on what is included in the request. In rare instances, formal board approval may occur at board meetings, which occur approximately every quarter.

7. Branding Elements: Will existing brand assets (logos, fonts, style guides, prior campaigns) be provided to the selected firm, or should the firm anticipate refreshing or redesigning all elements?

Answer: CalABLE has a current style which will be provided to the selected Contractor. The firm should anticipate refreshing or redesigning elements as stated in the RFP, Section 1) Scope of Work, Section c) Marketing Services item vi.

8. Media Plan Coordination: Is there an existing media plan in place with pre-secured media placements that the marketing strategy should integrate with, or will the media plan be developed in alignment with the selected firm’s strategy?

Answer: CalABLE currently uses the social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. A media plan should be included in the selected firm’s strategy.

9. Translation Expectations: Will there be a need for marketing items to be translated into California top-tier languages (eg. Spanish, Korean, Chinese), as well as American Sign Language?

Answer: CalABLE currently has fact sheets in 11 languages (located at www.calable.ca.gov/overview), and the enrollment application is available in Spanish, French, Mandarin, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russia and Korean. The CalABLE website and marketing materials are available in English and Spanish.

As part of connecting with under-represented audiences, the Contractor may work http://www.calable.ca.gov/overview with CalABLE to identify materials appropriate for further translation. Additionally, CalABLE follows the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), in addition to Sections 7405, 11135, and 11546.7 of the California Government Code, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1.

10. Section 3.3.2(j), p. 11 – The portfolio requirement refers to “other demographics that are comparably under-represented and hard to reach.” Could the Board confirm whether past campaigns targeting, for example, Black/Latino communities, unhoused populations, or rural Californians would satisfy this criterion?

Answer: Those would be appropriate examples. Per Section 3.3.2, the firm should identify relevant under-represented and hard-to-reach populations as part of detailing their qualifications, as well as what uniquely tailored marketing campaigns were developed to reach them. A demographic that did not require a tailored marketing campaign would not be responsive.

11. Section 2(a), p. 8 – For a proposal submitted by a joint-venture prime contractor, must each JV member meet the three-year experience threshold individually, or is it sufficient that the venture collectively meets the requirement?

Answer: Section 2(a), p. 8 the prime contractor must have three years’ experience, this does not apply to the subcontractor as excluded under minimum qualifications 2(a). The current RFP is not structured for a joint venture and follows the prime/sub relationship.

12. Section 2, Desirable Qualifications (b-c), p. 8 – If ABLE/529A or disability-marketing experience resides with a named subcontractor or key staff member rather than the prime firm, will the proposal receive the full preference points available under Desirable Qualifications?

13. Answer: The Contractor would not receive preference points for Section 2 Desirable Qualifications (b), as this only considers the experience of the Contractor’s firm. However, Section 2 Desirable Qualifications (c) does consider staff and subcontractors, and therefore some preference points may be awarded.Section 1.4 (Term & Budget), p. 7 and Exhibit B, p. 63 – Does the stated $250,000 per-year contract cap include paid-media expenditures, or will CalABLE treat media buys as pass-through costs outside that ceiling?

Answer: The marketing contract includes paid-media expenditures in the proposed budget. Some additional funding for paid media may be available as CalABLE’s budget permits, but this funding is not guaranteed, would be paid directly to the paid media entity, and would not be paid to or through the Contractor.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=7405.&lawCode=GOV https://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wiki/WCAG_2.1_QA_Checklist https://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wiki/WCAG_2.1_QA_Checklist

14. Exhibit A, § 1.3(c)(ii), p. 57 – What enrollment-level data (e.g., unique URLs, UTM parameters, referral codes) will CalABLE provide so the contractor can satisfy the attribution and reporting requirements for funded-account growth?

Answer: CalABLE contracts with Vestwell State Savings as the Program Administrator and will provide the enrollment-level data to the selected Contractor.

Additionally, CalABLE will work with the selected Contractor to identify additional strategies for capturing this information.

15. Exhibit A, § 1.3(a)(v-vi), p. 56 – Aside from the quarterly Board meetings in Sacramento, are other in-person events mandatory and therefore subject to the annual $10,000 travel cap?

Answer: Travel is capped at $10,000 and applies to all travel costs incurred during the fiscal year. Attending events that necessitate travel will be agreed upon between CalABLE and the selected Contractor, and may include Board meetings and community events. Travel moneys are nontransferable to other line items.

16. Exhibit A, § 1.3(c), p. 57 – Which languages are currently prioritized for outreach materials, and should translation services be budgeted inside the $250,000 annual limit?

Answer: Some translation services should be contemplated as part of the budget.

CalABLE already has some materials translated (see the response to Question 9 above). Some additional funding for translation services may be available as CalABLE’s budget permits, but this funding is not guaranteed, would be paid directly to the translation service, and would not be paid to or through the Contractor.

17. Attachment 6 guidance (Section 6, p. 38) – If independent consultants will be paid through GLG and listed under Key Personnel, should they be treated as staff rather than subcontractors for Attachment 6 purposes? May their individual résumés be cited toward Desirable Qualifications even if GLG, as the corporate entity, has fewer than five years of disability-marketing history?

Answer: CalABLE is unable to respond to specific firms’ scenarios. Generally, however, whether an individual is listed as staff or a subcontractor depends on the relationship to the Contractor. A subcontractor is any person, firm, corporation, or organization contracting to perform part of the prime’s contract. If the individual is contracted, rather than employed, then the individual is likely a subcontractor and should be listed in Attachment 6. In this case, their experience would not be counted as part of the minimum or desirable qualifications in Section 2, as those qualifications are specific to the Contractor.