B-46748 QandA 4-1-25~1.docx

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Request for Proposal Tourism Public Relations Firm RFP BidBuy Bid Number – B-46748 Vendor Q&A – Published 4/1/25 *** Questions are due no later than 4/2/2025 at 5:00 pm CST. Final Proposal are now due no later than 4/11/2025 at 10:00 am CST.*** Vendor Questions

1. Will the incumbent agency be participating in the RFP?

A: Any Vendor who meets the requirements within the RFP is allowed to submit proposals in response to the solicitation. The contract will be awarded to the Vendor with the highest awarded points as outlined in the RFP. DCEO does not have information on any bidders until the Bid opening date.

2. President Trump recently signed an executive order terminating “all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees.” Can you please confirm if all the elements of this RFP related to diversity, equity and inclusion must still be completed and submitted or if there are any related amendments that will be made? This includes but is not limited to the BEP goal of 22% and completion of the State of Illinois Commitment to Diversity Vendor Answer Sheet V.24.4.

A: Yes, all the elements of this RFP related to diversity, equity and inclusion must still be completed and the BEP goal is a minimum of 22% of domestic spend. Requirements for BEP are found in Section C.9. Vendors must complete a BEP Utilization Plan and submit with their proposal. Requirements for Commitment to Diversity are found in Section D.4 and F.5. Vendors must complete a Commitment to Diversity Vendor Answer Form and submit with their proposal.

3. What does success look like with a new agency partner?

A: The scope of services desired under the contract that will be awarded is outlined in the RFP document. The Overview and Purpose and the Desired Outcomes of the Project are addressed in Section A.1 and A.2 of the RFP Document.

4. What percentage of the scope of work will be dedicated to the U.S. market versus international markets?

A: The percentage of work will be determined annually by a mutually agreed upon work plan and will be based on the needs of DCEO/IOT.

5. Can you please clarify the international markets that are a priority for media relations? Some that are mentioned in the RFP were not mentioned on the pre-bid call and vice versa.

A: Per RFP, Vendor will assess the Offices needs and identify any new international markets.

Currently:

· Established markets: Germany/Austria/Switzerland, Mexico, United Kingdom/Ireland

· New active markets: Australia/New Zealand, Canada, France, India

· Watch markets: China, Japan, South Korea

6. Can you please clarify the international markets that are a priority for travel trade relations? Some that are mentioned in the RFP were not mentioned on the pre-bid call and vice versa.

A: Per RFP Vendor will assess the Office's needs and identify any new international markets.

Currently:

· Established markets: Germany/Austria/Switzerland, Mexico, United Kingdom/Ireland

· New active markets: Australia/New Zealand, Canada, France, India

· Watch markets: China, Japan, South Korea

7. What U.S. and international trade shows does IOT attend?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT on an annual basis.

8. Due to business objectives, are there additional U.S. and international trade shows that you are looking to attend?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT on an annual basis.

9. What is the ideal split of secured U.S. consumer media coverage versus international media coverage?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT when a contract is in place.

10. What is the ideal split of leisure travel versus business travel programming and results?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT when a contract is in place, but historically leisure travel accounts for most of the work produced under this contract.

11. Do you do your social media content creation in house or do you have an outside agency?

A: Social Media Management is currently handled by an outside agency. These services are requested under this RFP Per F.1.10 and F.4.11.

12. What social media influencer services are required under this RFP?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT on an annual basis.

13. Does the Office of Tourism have a crisis communications plan? If so, when was it written?

A: DCEO/IOT does not currently have a crisis communications plan.

14. Do you have a target number of individual media visits you seek to achieve annually? What are those targets for each country of focus?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT on an annual basis.

15. Does your office typically cover all costs for travel, lodging meals and attractions for the visiting journalists it agrees to host?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT on an annual basis. Expenses for the actual contract will be handled according to F.1.16 and F.6.3 of the RFP.

16. Are there any restrictions on what travel-related expenses IOT is allowed to cover for visiting journalists?

A: Yes, and will be discussed/outlined when a contract is in place. Expenses for the actual contract will be handled according to F.1.16 and F.6.3 of the RFP.

17. What is your overall annual budget for public relations services and expenses?

A: DCEO has provided the estimated budget for each year of the contract in the BidBuy Item Information. Please refer to the BB Items under B-46748.

18. What portion of the budget should be allocated to Agency Fees?

A: DCEO has provided the estimated budget for each year of the contract in the BidBuy Item Information. Please refer to the BB Items under B-46748. Agency fees are also discussed in Sections F.1.16 an F.6.1.2 of the RFP document.

19. Would the PR agency be responsible for organizing broadcast integrations or does this fall under your marketing or advertising agency?

A: DCEO is unclear on this question and cannot reply as written.

20. What portion of the budget should be allotted to paid influencer partnerships?

A: If recommended by Vendor, then budget to be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT on an annual basis.

21. Should the agency include all expenses related to executing this contract in the budget estimate (e.g., travel to events, trade shows, press trips, agency travel to client meetings)

A: Vendors are not providing estimated budgets with their proposals. DCEO has provided estimated annual costs for each year. Vendors are providing their blended hourly rates for domestic and international services in BidBuy. Expenses for the actual contract will be handled according to F.1.16 and F.6.3 of the RFP.

22. Are there any new hotels or attractions and major events in the destination opening in 2025 or 2026 that we should be aware of?

A: DCEO has reviewed this question and determined it is not relevant to the solicitation.

23. Can you provide details on any major marketing initiatives or campaigns you have planned to celebrate Route 66’s 100th anniversary? What are your PR priorities and objectives related to the anniversary?

A: DCEO has reviewed this question and determined it is not relevant to the solicitation.

24. What do you perceive as the state’s biggest obstacles to overcome in attracting tourists?

A: We will look to our Vendor to help us determine our obstacles—some of which are competition from other states/countries, and limited awareness and funding-- as well as ways to address through services that fall under this contract.

25. What is the file limit size for documents that must be uploaded to BidBuy?

A: BidBuy can accept documents up to 400 mb however to avoid system issues it is recommended to keep documents between 100-200 mb.

26. Is an Adobe PDF an acceptable format for the written proposal?

A: Yes

27. Is the agency’s annual fee budget required to remain the same for all five years?

A: As indicated in BidBuy Item Information, Vendors will provide costs for each year of the contract. It is the Vendor’s discretion as to the rates they provide for each year. Please refer to the BB Items under B-46748.

28. Does IOT pay for an international media monitoring service and provide access to the Agency?

A: No

29. Should we include the cost of an international media monitoring service in our budget proposal?

A: Vendors are not providing estimated budgets with their proposals. DCEO has provided estimated annual costs for each year. Vendors are providing their blended hourly rates for domestic and international services in BidBuy as discussed in Section F.6.1. of the RFP.

If an international media monitoring service is needed, then Vendor would be responsible for covering under the contract, but could be billed to DCEO. Expenses for the actual contract will be handled according to F.1.16 and F.6.3 of the RFP.

30. Do you require a locally-based team in other countries to physically staff trade events or can we use staff from anywhere in the company to staff these trade events?

A: Staffing requirements depend on the event, this will be determined between the Vendor and DCEO/IOT.

31. Can you confirm the solicitation contains a goal that 0% of the value of the contract will be performed by Veteran Business Program (VBP) certified vendors as defined by CEI?

A: Correct, there is No Veteran Business Program (VBP) goal on this solicitation.

32. This question is regarding C.8. Are you required to purchase from only qualified Illinois small businesses for this RFP? If we were asked to do project work, such as a brand activation would this Small Business Set-Aside rule apply?

A: No, Section C.8 “Small Business Set-Aside” does not apply to this solicitation.

33. What specific metrics will be used to evaluate the success of the public relations campaigns?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT on an annual basis.

34. Are there any key performance indicators (KPIs) that the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) prioritizes?

A: KPIs will be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT on an annual basis.

35. How frequently will performance reports be required, and what format should they be in? Are there any specific tools or platforms that DCEO prefers for tracking and reporting metrics?

A: Reporting status and Monitoring is addressed in Section F.1.13. of the RFP. Reports are due quarterly at a minimum however this may change based on agreements between the awarded vendor the Department.

36. What does success look like to the DCEO from a short-term (1-year) and long-term perspective (5-year)? Please quantify and specify where possible.

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT upon contract award.

37. Can you provide more details on the expected media relations efforts, particularly in terms of regional, national, and international outreach? Are there specific media outlets or types of media that DCEO prefers?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT on an annual basis.

38. Do you have a target domestic and international market list that you could share with offerors at this time?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT upon contract award. Please see Q. 5 and 6 above for additional information on international markets.

39. What are current perceptions of Illinois as a business and leisure destination? What is the largest obstacle in their minds preventing Illinois from being that?

A: DCEO/IOT is in search of a vendor to assess perceptions of Illinois as a business and leisure destination and assist in creating positive messaging to remove such obstacles. F.4.7 asks that the Vendor demonstrates abilities to develop public relations plans designed to promote the State of Illinois as a premier business and leisure tourism destination.

40. What are the primary social media platforms that DCEO focuses on for tourism promotion? Are there any specific goals or metrics for social media engagement?

A: DCEO/IOT currently has a presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest. DCEO/IOT would work with the Vendor to identify goals and metrics.

41. Which social media tactics and channels have contributed to the DCEO’s success to date?

A: DCEO has reviewed this question and determined it is not relevant to a Vendor’s ability to submit a proposal based on the scope outlined in the RFP.

42. Are there any guidelines or preferences for working with influencers? Does DCEO have a list of preferred influencers or criteria for selecting influencers?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT upon contract award.

43. Can you specify what services/deliverables would be expected for social media management?

Çontent strategy, influencer engagement, community management, paid social, etc.?

A: To be determined by Vendor and DCEO/IOT upon contract award, but Vendor may be responsible for managing all aspects of DCEO/IOT’s social media efforts as defined in Sections F.1.10 and F.4.11 of the RFP.

44. What is the process for submitting invoices and receiving payments? Are there any specific requirements for documentation or approval?

A: Please refer Sections F.1.16 and F.6. of the RFP for Invoicing and payments information.

45. Are there specific gaps in your current PR and social efforts that you hope this new agency will address?

A: The desired outcomes are articulated in the RFP in Sections A and F of the RFP.

46. What qualities are most important to you in selecting a PR partner?

A: Please refer to Section F.2 and F.3 of the RFP which list the Mandatory Requirements of all Vendors. Please refer to Section F.4 of the RFP for the Desirable Elements and the maximum point values that will be scored during evaluation.

47. Are there any specific challenges or opportunities that DCEO has identified for promoting Illinois as a tourism destination? How can we address these in our proposal?

A: Section F.4.7 of the RFP asks that the Vendor demonstrates abilities to develop public relations plans designed to promote the State of Illinois as a premier business and leisure tourism destination.

48. What are the expectations for crisis communications and reputation management? Are there any specific scenarios or examples that DCEO has encountered in the past?

A: Section F.1.10 of the RFP states – Vendor will be responsible for crisis communications and brand and reputation management to support efforts to promote Illinois as a tourism destination. Examples do not pertain to procurement. DCEO/IOT determined providing examples is not relevant to a Vendor’s ability to submit a proposal based on the scope outlined in the RFP.

49. Does the DCEO foresee any potential challenges in the next two years that have the capacity to turn into a crisis situation?

A: DCEO has reviewed this question and determined it is not relevant to a Vendor’s ability to submit a proposal based on the scope outlined in the RFP.

50. Could you provide an example of crisis situations in prior years and how the DCEO responded to it?

A: DCEO has reviewed this question and determined it is not relevant to a Vendor’s ability to submit a proposal based on the scope outlined in the RFP.

51. What is the DCEO’s preferred cadence of status meetings?

A: Please refer to Section F.1.15 “The Vendor shall be available as needed, and at least once a month, for in-person meetings and events at a location determined by the department. Otherwise, meetings will be held via video platforms.” Additional status meetings will be determined between the awarded Vendor and DCEO/IOT.