Amendment 1.docx

SAP

State of South Carolina

Request for Proposal Amendment #1

Solicitation:

Date Issued:

Procurement Officer:

Phone:

E-Mail Address:

Mailing Address:

5400027153 08/02/2024

NAKENDRA PERRY

(803) 896-0022 nperry@mmo.sc.gov SFAA, Div. of Procurement Services 1201 Main Street, Ste 600 Columbia SC 29201-3734

DESCRIPTION: Student Search and Fulfillment Services

USING GOVERNMENTAL UNIT: College of Charleston

SUBMIT YOUR OFFER ON-LINE AT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.procurement.sc.gov

SUBMIT OFFER BY (Opening Date/Time): 08/29/2024 11:00 AM, ET (See "Deadline for Submission of Offer" provision)

QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 07/31/2024 11:00 AM, ET (See "Questions from Offerors" provision)

NUMBER OF COPIES TO BE SUBMITTED: Online Submission Preferred. One (1) Electronic Technical marked "Original", One (1) Redacted Electronic Technical Copy marked "Redacted”, One (1) Electronic Price marked “Original”, and One (1) Electronic Price Copy marked “Copy” See Section II. A “DISCLOSURE OF YOUR BID / PROPOSAL and SUBMITTING CONFIDENTIAL DATA, Section II. B “Electronic Copies- Required Media and Format” Initial here_____ if a redacted copy is NOT necessary

CONFERENCE TYPE: N/A

DATE & TIME:

(As appropriate, see "Conferences - Pre-Bid/Proposal" & "Site Visit" provisions)

LOCATION: N/A

You must submit a signed copy of this form with Your Offer. By signing, you agree to be bound by the terms of the Solicitation. You agree to hold Your Offer open for a minimum of ninety (90) calendar days after the Opening Date. (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

NAME OF OFFEROR

(Full legal name of business submitting the offer) Any award issued will be issued to, and the contract will be formed with, the entity identified as the Offeror. The entity named as the offeror must be a single and distinct legal entity. Do not use the name of a branch office or a division of a larger entity if the branch or division is not a separate legal entity, i.e., a separate corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

(Person must be authorized to submit binding offer to contract on behalf of Offeror.)

DATE SIGNED

TITLE

(Business title of person signing above)

STATE VENDOR NO.

(Register to Obtain S.C. Vendor No. at www.procurement.sc.gov )

PRINTED NAME

(Printed name of person signing above)

STATE OF INCORPORATION

(If you are a corporation, identify the state of incorporation.)

OFFEROR'S TYPE OF ENTITY: (Check one) (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

___ Sole Proprietorship ___ Partnership ___ Other_____________________________

___ Corporate entity (not tax-exempt) ___ Corporation (tax-exempt) ___ Government entity (federal, state, or local)

COVER PAGE - ON-LINE ONLY (MAR. 2015)

SAP

PAGE TWO

(Return Page Two with Your Offer) HOME OFFICE ADDRESS (Address for offeror's home office / principal place of business)

NOTICE ADDRESS (Address to which all procurement and contract related notices should be sent.) (See "Notice" clause)

_________________________________________________ Area Code - Number - Extension Facsimile

_________________________________________________ E-mail Address

PAYMENT ADDRESS (Address to which payments will be sent.) (See "Payment" clause)

____Payment Address same as Home Office Address ____Payment Address same as Notice Address (check only one) ORDER ADDRESS (Address to which purchase orders will be sent) (See "Purchase Orders and "Contract Documents" clauses)

____Order Address same as Home Office Address ____Order Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

Offerors acknowledges receipt of amendments by indicating amendment number and its date of issue. (See "Amendments to Solicitation" Provision)

DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

(See "Discount for Prompt Payment" clause)

PREFERENCES -DO NOT APPLY PER SC CONSOLIDATED PROCUREMENT CODE [11-35-1524(E)(5)]

PAGE TWO (SEP 2009)

End of PAGE TWO

AMENDMENTS TO SOLICIATION (JUN 2017)

The solicitation is amended as provided herein. Information or changes resulting from questions will be shown in a question-and-answer format. All questions received have been reprinted below. The “State’s response” should be read without reference to the questions. The questions are included solely to provide a cross-reference to the potential offeror that submitted the question. Questions do not form a part of the contract; the “state’s response” does. Any restatement of part or all of an existing provision of the solicitation in an answer does not modify the original provision except as follows: Underlined text is added to the original provision. Stricken text is deleted. [02-2A097-1]

AMENDMENTS TO SOLICITATION (JAN 2004)

The Solicitation may be amended at any time prior to opening. All actual and prospective Offerors should monitor the following web site for the issuance of Amendments: www.procurement.sc.gov (b) Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation (1) by signing and returning the amendment, (2) by identifying the amendment number and date in the space provided for this purpose on Page Two, (3) by letter, or (4) by submitting a bid that indicates in some way that the bidder received the amendment. (c) If this solicitation is amended, then all terms and conditions which are not modified remain unchanged. [02-2A005-1] The following changes have been implemented to solicitation 5400027153:

MAXIMUM CONTRACT PERIOD - ESTIMATED (JAN 2006)

Start date: 10/11/2024 End date: 10/10/2029. Dates provided are estimates only. Any resulting contract will begin on the date specified in the notice of award. See clause entitled "Term of Contract - Effective Date/Initial Contract Period". [01-1040-1]

The five (5) year maximum contract period consists of a one (1) year initial term plus four (4) additional one (1) year options to renew.

Start date: 10/11/2024 End date: 06/30/2029. Dates provided are estimates only. Any resulting contract will begin on the date specified in the notice of award. See clause entitled "Term of Contract - Effective Date/Initial Contract Period". [01-1040-1]

Responses to bidder’s questions below:

1. As a private company, we require an NDA before we can provide a copy of our audited financial statements, thus would a D&B Report suffice for this requirement to assist College of Charleston in assessing our firm’s financial health? If not, is College of Charleston willing to sign an NDA prior to the RFP submission deadline so that we may provide our audited financial statements in a protected manner?

State’s Response: A D&B report would suffice.

2. Would College of Charleston be willing to entertain different term lengths for preferential pricing?

State’s Response: Yes, but a minimum of three years and maximum of four years and eight months is our committed range. Any length of term should end on June 30, 2029.

3. Are you willing to accept an electronic signature in lieu of a wet ink signature on all forms?

State’s Response: Yes.

4. Have you used digital marketing campaigns before for undergraduate enrollment? Which strategies and channels have you found to be effective for you?

State’s Response: Yes, we have found Snapchat and Instagram the most productive. We have executed digital marketing campaigns. These have included a range of successful tactics including paid search, digital ads, video ads, streaming television, paid social media, etc. Each of these has been effective in their own way. We also use paid partnerships with college search sites to drive awareness and leads. These activities are outside of this scope of work.

5. Is there an incumbent vendor and have they been invited to participate?

State’s Response: Yes, there is an incumbent vendor and they have been invited to participate.

6. Could you provide an overall budget and media budget that you are targeting?

State’s Response: We have a significant budget committed to this project each year. The range of that commitment will depend on the capacity and capability of the partner’s delivery. Total budget including postage, search name licensing, creative, print, development, delivery, and reporting will range anywhere from $500,000 to $1,300,000 per year.

7. Is there a maximum hourly rate for marketing strategy and/or media services?

State’s Response: We desire a contract that is not billed by hours, but an all-encompassing contract that works with a partner that does all the work that is needed to deliver the results we need.

8. Is email outreach and nurture intended as part of this scope of work?

State’s Response: Email outreach is the major focus of this contract. Parallel campaigns to apply, inquire and discover (including parents) is in the scope of the work.

9. Could you tell us more about the team that we will be working with and what skill sets you have in house?

State’s Response: The College of Charleston has one of the premier teams in the country to help work in tandem with our partner. A very seasoned team in both Enrollment and University Marketing is in place. Both areas understand the creative and operational requirements necessary to deliver in this kind of partnership. The College has a separate office called the Office of Enrollment Information that leads the data portion of the partnership and flow of the data on daily basis. This partnership allows the internal teams to focus on applications to admit enrolling phases of the funnel.

10. What specific metrics would make this engagement feel successful? for example, increase out of state inquiries by x% State’s Response: Continued growth in the funnel, particularly at the inquiry and applicant stages. Applicant growth should be among students that are admissible to the College of Charleston (strong academically). Growth in inquires by ~10-15% per year. Application growth by ~10-15% per year.

11. What is the most important quality you desire in your new partner?

State’s Response: A significant portfolio of institutions that have seen strong positive results delivered year after year throughout the partnership.

12. General:

a) What percentage increase are you aiming for in non-resident suspects?

b) Is experience in higher education mandatory, or can projects of a similar scope be included in the proposal?

State’s Response:

a) Non-resident growth should occur in all levels of the funnel by double digits. Current 9th-12th grade suspects/prospect level is 400,000 plus, inquiries is 70,000 plus and applicants is 32,000.

b) Experience in American higher education is not mandatory, but highly desirable.

13. Marketing & Targeting:

a) What direct marketing services are you currently using?

b) The RFP talks about direct marketing efforts. Is there any specific awareness campaign?

c) Can you talk about what you've done in the past for direct marketing and any past paid media campaigns?

d) Do you have key target states outside of South Carolina? Which states are you currently targeting or seeing trends in?

e) From a targeting perspective, what are the traditional feeder markets as it relates to actual admissions?

State’s Response:

a) University Marketing: If this refers to advertising campaigns, we have a media agency who handles placement and optimization of our digital marketing efforts (outside of this scope of work).

b) University Marketing: See #d for efforts outside of these types of services.

c) University Marketing: See response to #d.

d) We are targeting students nationwide and seeing growing interest from all over the country. Growth is occurring in most of our primary markets, but we are also experiencing growth in the mid-west and the west.

e) Southern states, including high-levels of interest from GA and NC, mid-Atlantic states of MD, VA, DC, I-95 corridor of PA, NJ, NY, CT, MA.

14. Print & Postage:

a) How many print materials are mailed out to prospective parents and students?

b) What is your average spend on printing per year?

c) What is your average spend on postage per year?

State’s Response:

a) While we create print materials to support recruitment, University Marketing does not mail materials to prospective parents and students. The materials University Marketing participates in mailing would include the admit package and yield materials.

b) Average spending on print materials for Admissions recruiting funded by University Marketing is ~$110,000.

c) Average postage for Admissions materials funded by University Marketing is ~$30,000.

15. Digital & Web:

a) How many unique landing pages are needed? Do you create a unique/personalized page for each student/suspect?

b) What is the agency going to be hosting?

State’s Response:

a) This is up to the partner to recommend what is best.

b) The landing page or pages they recommend.

16. Internal Marketing/Design Resources:

a) Do you have an internal marketing team?

b) What is CoC doing vs. the incoming agency?

State’s Response:

a) Yes. The office of University Marketing reviews and approves all creatives for the campaigns associated with this scope of work.

b) Top of funnel is the keystone of this partnership. We expect the partner to manage parallel campaigns to push prospects to inquiry stage and prospects and inquiries to applicant stage. The apply campaign is paramount to the success of the partnership.

17. Budget:

a) What is the estimated total budget (or range) per year?

b) What is the estimated media budget (or range) per year?

State’s Response: See answer #6 for answers to these questions.

END OF AMENDMENT #1

ALL OTHER TERMS, CONDITIONS, BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS, AND SPECIFICATIONS REMAIN UNCHANGED. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR IF ANY CONFUSION OR UNCERTAINTY ARISES AS A RESULT OF THIS AMENDMENT, IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OFFEROR TO CONTACT THE PROCUREMENT OFFICER FOR CLARIFICATION. CONTACT INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE COVER PAGE OF THIS AMENDMENT. REFERENCE THE “DUTY TO INQUIRE” CLAUSE IN THE ORIGINAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL.

AP

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