ESBD_558674_1789155896942_THC Proprietary Justification Memo.pdf

MEMORANDUM TO FILE

JUSTIFICATION FOR PROPRIETARY PURCHASES

TO: JOSEPH BELL

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

FROM: PIE/COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION

DATE: 9/9/2026

REQUISITION NO : R270031

RE: DIGITAL MEDIA PLACEMENT AND TRAVELER INTELLIGENCE DATA AGREEMENT

CLASS/ITEM: 915-03 / 918-76

Pursuant to Texas Government Code § 2155.067 and applicable Texas Historical Commission (THC) procurement requirements, THC has determined that the specific integrated digital media placement and traveler intelligence solution described in this memorandum contains proprietary components and is available from AJR Media Group, LLC. The proprietary determination is based on AJR Media Group, LLC’s ownership and publishing control of TourTexas.com, its stated exclusive authorization to provide the specified Datafy analytics access to Texas state entities, and the technical integration of those components with the media placement and attribution methodology required by THC.

THC requires an integrated solution that combines native TourTexas.com content placement, digital advertising delivery, and visitor intelligence analytics in a single measurement environment. The required solution must allow THC to connect campaign exposure and engagement with physical visitation, visitor origin, spending, destination traffic, and length-of-stay information for THC historic sites. The procurement is therefore based on the proprietary capabilities and integration required to accomplish THC’s statewide heritage-tourism marketing and measurement objectives, rather than on a preference for a particular vendor.

A. Describe the product or service the agency proposes to purchase and provide a statement regarding the agency's business needs and planned use.

The Texas Historical Commission proposes to purchase an integrated digital media placement and traveler intelligence package from AJR Media Group, LLC. The package includes digital advertising flights across the Google Display Network, Google Paid Search, and Programmatic Retargeting; a native TourTexas.com Custom Content Plan; and access to the Datafy Essential Analytics Dashboard.

THC will use the package to plan, execute, optimize, and measure statewide tourism campaigns during the Fall, Spring, and Summer travel seasons. The business requirement is not merely the purchase of individual advertising placements. THC requires the placements to operate as part of an integrated campaign and attribution environment that includes proprietary TourTexas.com publishing access and the specified Datafy visitor intelligence capabilities. This integration enables THC to evaluate whether advertising activity is associated with visitation to historic sites and to analyze visitor origin, spending, localized destination traffic, and length-of-stay information.

B. Explain why the agency specifications for the product or service are written as they are, and why those specifications are necessary to accomplish the agency's goal for the procurement.

The specifications are based on THC’s operational requirement for an integrated media and visitor-attribution solution capable of connecting digital campaign activity with physical visitation and traveler intelligence. The specifications identify the functionality necessary to accomplish that requirement, including native publication within TourTexas.com, access to the specified Datafy analytics environment, and coordinated digital media delivery that can be measured within the same campaign methodology.

The proprietary basis is the required combination of platform access, publishing rights, analytics access, and technical integration. TourTexas.com content cannot be treated as a generic advertising placement because the requested native content is published within the TourTexas.com platform controlled by AJR Media Group, LLC. Likewise, the Datafy Essential Analytics Dashboard is identified as a proprietary analytics platform for the visitor intelligence data required by THC. The Google Display, Google Paid Search, and Programmatic Retargeting components are included because they are to be planned and delivered as components of the same integrated campaign and attribution methodology. Separating those media components from the proprietary TourTexas.com and Datafy components would fragment campaign administration and the measurement environment THC is procuring and would not provide the same integrated solution described in this justification.

C. State the reason that no other competing products or services will satisfy the need of the agency and provide examples of the technical, practical, or operational risks that would occur if competing products or services are selected.

AJR Media Group, LLC is identified as the parent company and sole legal owner, operator, and publisher of the TourTexas.com platform and domain. As a result, AJR Media Group, LLC is the contracting entity able to provide the requested native TourTexas.com placement as part of this procurement. In addition, AJR Media Group, LLC is identified as the exclusive regional partner authorized to distribute the specified Datafy subscriptions to Texas state entities. These proprietary rights and authorizations are material requirements of THC’s procurement because both components are necessary to the integrated campaign and visitor-attribution solution.

• TourTexas.com Proprietary Publishing Rights: The required “Custom Drop-Down Content

Package” is a native feature of TourTexas.com and is delivered through the platform’s proprietary domain infrastructure. AJR Media Group, LLC owns, operates, and publishes TourTexas.com and controls the publishing rights necessary to place the requested native content within that network. A competing advertising agency or media broker that does not possess those publishing rights cannot independently provide the same TourTexas.com native placement.

• Datafy Analytics Access: The Datafy Essential Analytics Dashboard is a proprietary software platform used to provide the mobile-device geolocation and merchant-category spending information required for THC’s traveler intelligence analysis. AJR Media Group, LLC is identified as the exclusive regional partner authorized to distribute the specified Datafy subscriptions to Texas state entities. Accordingly, the required Datafy access is not interchangeable with a generic analytics dashboard when THC’s requirement is for the specific visitor intelligence environment described in this procurement.

Operational and Technical Risks:

Awarding separate or substitute services would not provide THC with the same integrated combination of TourTexas.com native publishing access, the specified Datafy analytics environment, and coordinated campaign attribution. Fragmenting the procurement could require THC to manage separate media and analytics environments, interrupt the intended connection between campaign activity and visitor intelligence, and prevent THC from obtaining the same closed-loop measurement methodology. The resulting risks include loss of consistent geolocation visitation tracking, inability to associate campaign activity with local historical-site spending information, reduced comparability of seasonal campaign results, and inability to map advertising delivery to the physical visitor information generated through the specified solution. For these reasons, another product or service that merely provides digital advertising, media buying, or a different analytics platform would not satisfy THC’s complete stated requirement.

Based on the proprietary publishing rights, analytics access, and integrated functionality described above, THC has determined that AJR Media Group, LLC is the source capable of providing the complete solution as specified. The total cost of AJR Media Group, LLC services is $80,566.00. The estimated period of service is October 1, 2026, through August 31, 2027. Documentation supporting the proprietary ownership, publishing rights, and applicable Datafy distribution authorization should be maintained in the procurement file.

Approved By: _____________________________ Date: ___________________ Joseph Bell, Executive Director

Joseph Bell (Sep 9, 2026 10:58:01 CDT) Joseph Bell 09/09/2026

FY27 THC Proprietary Justification Memo-AJR Media Final Audit Report 2026-09-09

Created: 2026-09-09

By: Christi Duve (christi.duve@thc.texas.gov)

Status: Signed

Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAAIQaIY6vumG6J-Cg8bBquyVL8BC1tOxEB

"FY27 THC Proprietary Justification Memo-AJR Media" History Document created by Christi Duve (christi.duve@thc.texas.gov)

2026-09-09 - 2:41:55 PM GMT

Document emailed to Joseph Bell (joseph.bell@thc.texas.gov) for signature

2026-09-09 - 2:41:59 PM GMT

Email viewed by Joseph Bell (joseph.bell@thc.texas.gov)

2026-09-09 - 3:57:35 PM GMT

Document e-signed by Joseph Bell (joseph.bell@thc.texas.gov) Signature Date: 2026-09-09 - 3:58:01 PM GMT - Time Source: server - Signature Appearance Selected: TYPE

Agreement completed.

2026-09-09 - 3:58:01 PM GMT