Attachment C Written Response Template FINAL 101326~1.docx

ATTACHMENT C – WRITTEN RESPONSE TEMPLATE

IDFPR Cannabis Media Campaign RFP Open Market Bid 26-440DFPR-SECRE-B-53922 This document serves as a basic template for Offerors to utilize or replicate for their proposals to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s (“IDFPR”) Cannabis Media Campaign Request for Proposal (“RFP”). However, in order to ensure responsiveness, Offerors shall adhere to the requirements outlined below when submitting proposal responses to Sections F.1 through F.3 of the RFP:

· No more than 50 one-sided pages, no less than Narrow Margins (0.5” on all boundaries), typical font styles (i.e., Tahoma, Calibri, Times New Roman, Aptos, or Arial), and no less than 9-size font on all response text. This template is currently formatted with Narrow Margins and 9-size font using the Tahoma font.

· Supplemental documentation such as resumes, biographies, or work samples from creative portfolio are not subject to this requirement.

· The creative portfolio may also include a summary that provides short descriptions and campaign results.

· Discuss the Offeror’s experience as it relates specifically to the Selection Criteria. Do not look at the criteria headings and do not submit generic information on each one. Provide specific examples of what the Offeror has done for clients that address the criteria. Mini-case history format works best to illustrate the Offeror’s experience.

F.1. Contract Requirements: Please read each contract requirement carefully in F.1. These contract requirements shall be included in any contract resulting from this solicitation.

· Monthly project status reports detailing status of all projects (ongoing, completed, next steps, etc.).

· Additional reports or information regarding performance under this contract as may be reasonably required by IDFPR.

☐ Agree

· All source documentation and records of all campaign materials placed, and integrated services contracted, including verification that the current campaign ran.

· All time billing documents for all services provided under this contract.

☐ Agree

F.2. Mandatory Requirements with Evidence: Please check “Met” to each of the mandatory requirements for the proposed solution. An Offeror that does not provide substantiating evidence for each requirement will be disqualified and the rest of the proposal will not be scored. These Mandatory Requirements shall be included in any contract resulting from this solicitation. Please provide substantiating evidence in your Proposed Technical Solution. Use the column on the right to indicate the section and page number where your evidence/response to each item may be found. The State will evaluate Offeror’s evidence/response to verify the mandatory requirement is met.

Expand these blank spaces to provide your evidence to the Mandatory Requirement. You may reformat, combine spaces, and reference supplemental documents when providing the required evidence. IDFPR recommends evidence be submitted in the order of the mandatory requirements as written. This better ensures all applicable information is considered when evaluating proposals.

· Column A: Budget Range (i.e., $0-$1,000,000 and $1,000,000+. You do not need to provide exact dollar amounts).

· Column B: Client Name.

· Column C: Year the client was acquired.

· Column D: Brief description of campaigns assigned (1 sentence will suffice).

· Column E: Whether the client is a government entity or a private business.

☐ Met

PROPOSED TECHNICAL SOLUTION – DESIRABLE ELEMENTS

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE: Offeror should have significant consumer experience where media campaigns support giving customers evidence-based data and resources information (e.g., increase in knowledge, support, or inquiries). A general understanding of the public sector is necessary and experience in education and tourism is preferred. Offeror’s proposal should highlight where the Offeror has helped differentiate a brand in a highly complex and nuanced industry/market. Offeror’s proposal should highlight the Offeror’s experience creating effective marketing partnerships as a way to maximize the client’s budget are of interest but not required. Subcontractors are allowed and, where relevant, Offeror’s proposal should demonstrate their ability to manage relationships with subcontractors on behalf of the client. IDFPR prefers experiences connected to the client list provided in F.2.3. Mandatory Requirements with Evidence.

Expand these blank spaces to provide your proposal response. You may reformat, combine spaces, and reference supplemental documents to respond to multiple desirable elements. IDFPR recommends content be submitted in the order of the desirable elements as written. This better ensures all applicable information is considered when evaluating proposals.

MEDIA PLANNING AND BUYING: Offeror should provide full-service media planning and buying capabilities as required, either in-house or seamlessly integrated with an outside firm with which the Offeror has/or will have an established relationship. Offeror should demonstrate in their proposal previous successful and aggressive negotiation of price and sponsorships.

DIGITAL CAPABILITIES/INTEGRATION: Offeror’s services include design and maintenance of websites, creating and maintaining databases, creating and executing online marketing campaigns, creating e-Newsletters, and search functionality, optimization and integration. Offeror’s proposal should demonstrate successful use of search engine optimization to achieve results for a client. Also of interest are examples showing digital integration across website, search and online campaigns that provided positive and measurable results. Offeror should have the ability to maintain and manage the existing content management system. This support includes ensuring the content management system is operating properly and to full capacity, troubleshooting and initiating periodic improvements/ enhancements as needed. It is important to demonstrate capability to host, manage, and maintain both the image library, videos, and the content management system database.

STRATEGIC MARKETING: Offeror should demonstrate the ability to oversee research projects on behalf of IDFPR while translating large amounts of consumer research and data into effective marketing strategies and campaigns that deliver positive, measurable results. Offeror should have account planning experience. It is important to take into consideration the consumer’s interests and marketing trends, that include an annual advertising schedule, target markets, and budget allocation.

DESIGN (ONLINE AND OFFLINE): Offeror should provide in-house design services or have an existing partnership to provide seamless and timely design services (e.g. Out of Home, digital and print publications). At a minimum, the Offeror must have the ability to establish strategic partnerships to provide design services. Offeror’s proposal should demonstrate how design elements are effectively integrated into overall advertising campaigns.

1. Offeror’s creative portfolio should show that the Vendor has the ability to develop creative campaigns that are integrated across multiple mediums.

2. Offeror should submit examples that provided compelling, iconic and persuasive, spanning a range of styles and tones.

3. Offeror’s submission should show positive and measurable results.

PROJECT RESOURCES: The Vendor should submit an informative and entertaining team biography to give the Department the opportunity to learn about the team members, their experience, and to give a sense of the culture of the Vendor and how they would be of benefit to IDFPR. This is an opportunity for the evaluation team to be introduced to the Offeror’s media campaign team.

PROJECT PLANNING: Offeror’s proposal should demonstrate understanding of what is being requested for this media campaign(s). Offeror should have the ability to provide project management services, such as scheduling, developing and implementing timelines, status meetings and reports, identifying and resolving campaign risks and issues, and maintaining all project materials. Offeror should provide their ability to develop and refine campaign messaging, creative content, target audience, partners and messengers, as well as mediums of outreach. Offeror should display their distributing and promoting efforts of media content. Offeror should provide continued improvements through the life cycle of campaigns.

· Benefits of the legal Illinois cannabis market.

· Risks of the illicit market.

· Responsible use and consumption.

· Available resources for cannabis consumers and medical patients in Illinois.

PHASED APPROACH: Offeror’s proposal should explain how they will use a phased approach, with milestones and checkpoints to ensure alignment on content, messaging, and strategy throughout rollout of the media campaign(s). The proposal should suggest how the phases inter-relate or overlap and how they will assist in ensuring all deliverables are provided during the campaign and completed by the end of the initial contract term. The phases are currently:

Phase I: Research & Concept Development Phase II: Creative Content Development and Message Testing Phase III: Execution and Campaign Rollout Phase IV: Ongoing Review of Campaign Impact and Metrics Phase V: Campaign Impact Report, State Training, and Hand-Off