Final_RFI_415_2500000005_2_SO_FORM.PDF

Document ID: RFI 415 2500000005 Page: 1

Commonwealth of Kentucky

SOLICITATION MODIFICATION

Modification: Yes Version #: 2

TITLE: Futuriti - Digital Marketing

Date Issued:

07/29/2025 Record Date:

07/24/2025

Solicitation Closes Date:

08/15/2025 Time:

14:00

Solicitation No:

RFI 415 2500000005

Reason for Modification

ADDENDUM #1

This addendum is essential to answer vendor related questions and to extend the closing date to August 15, 2025.

Online Bidding Prohibited: No For Information Call:

Claudette Tracy 502-782-3018

Bid Receiving Location:

Council on Postsecondary Education Kara Couch 100 Airport Road, 2nd Floor

Frankfort KY 40601

Vendor Customer Number:

Vendor Name:

Phone Number:

Fax Number:

Email Address:

Ordering

Address:

City, State, Zip:

Contact Name:

Contact Email:

Contact Phone Number:

Payment

Address:

City, State, Zip:

Contact Name:

Contact Email:

Contact Phone Number:

Ownership Type

__ Sole Proprietorship __ Partnership __ Corporation __ Other_________________________

SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED AGENT IS REQUIRED UNLESS RESPONSE

IS SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY. FAILURE TO SIGN SHALL RENDER

THE BID INVALID.

Signature X_________________________________________ FEIN#____________________ Date____________

All offers subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation.

Document ID: RFI 415 2500000005 Page: 2

Line Items

Commodity Group: Default

Line CL Description Quantity UOM Unit Cost Line Total or Contract Amnt

1 Futuriti Digital Marketing

Comm Code Comm Description Manufacturer Model # Manuf Part #

96153 Marketing Services (Incl. Distribution, Research, Sales Prom

Extended Description

4 Futuriti Digital Marketing

91876 Marketing Consulting

5 Futuriti Digital Marketing

96179 Trade Services (Facilitation, Information, Marketing, Promot

Shipping Information Council on Postsecondary Education

100 Airport Road, 2nd Floor

Frankfort KY 40601

Billing Information Council on Postsecondary Education

100 Airport Road, 2nd Floor

Frankfort KY 40601

Document ID: RFI 415 2500000005 Page: 3

Submission Checklist

The following items will be required to be submitted with bid:

Item

Request for Information (RFI)

MODIFICATION #1 July 17, 2025

This addendum is essential to post vendor related questions and answers. The closing date has been extended to August 15, 2025.

Q1. How do you want website to engage on futuriti.org?

A1. Futuriti features many landing pages designed to meet the needs of various audiences seeking education and employment opportunities. CPE will want those audiences – middle schoolers, high schoolers, adults, educators – to be able to access the content they need quickly, and then also come back to the site once their needs change.

Q2. What site actions do you measure?

A2. CPE uses Google analytics to view counts of individual views, time spent on site, return views and clicks.

Q3. What are your goals for the site?

A3. CPE wants the data and content on the site to inspire action to enroll in postsecondary education and attain employment with sustainable living wages, ultimately increasing Kentucky’s educational attainment and labor force participation rates so they meet or exceed the national average.

Q4. What constitutes a conversion?

A4. Spending more than two (2) minutes exploring the site.

Q5. How do you measure ROI?

A5. CPE would like to see the paid campaign reach high school students and working age adults looking to increase educational attainment to meet career goals. A good return for CPE would to be able to verify CPE is reaching those audiences and seeing sustained activity (more than 2-minute visits) on the site.

Q6. What would constitute a win for you for this project -- 30 days in, 60 days in, 90 days in, a year in?

A6. Thirty (30) days in, CPE would like to see more traffic. Sixty (60) and ninety (90) days in, CPE would like to see repeat traffic from visitors. A year in, CPE would like to see evidence (as measured by internal CPE indicators) of increased college enrollment.

Q7. Can you share any campaign history and performance to date?

A7. See attached for report from Feb-April paid campaign.

Q8. What is your target budget for digital marketing efforts?

A8. Funding is not finalized yet as we are still looking at availability of potential vendors/bidders.

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2500000005 Final Futuriti - Digital Marketing Total Pages: 10

Q9. What creative assets do you have developed? How are these developed? Will we have access to branding assets? Which other assets are produced in-house? (example: video, infographics, banner ads, etc.)

A9. Yes, CPE develops our assets in house. We have video, banner ads, and can custom design web pages for specific targeted campaigns.

Q10. How are you currently tracking website data and engagement? What tools or platforms do you use?

A10. Google Analytics

Q11. What support or plans do you have in other channels (example: SEO, social media, etc.)

A11. CPE has Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and Facebook Accounts. Also, YouTube.

Q12. For your target demographic, are you looking to provide languages other than English, such as Spanish?

A12. Just English, however, we would like for text to be able to be translated via Google Translate to any language.

Q13. Is this opportunity open to firms outside the state of Kentucky?

A13. Yes

Q14. What is the allocated budget? If an allocated budget is not available, would you be able to provide an estimate? This would help us build out a sample plan.

A14. Refer to question 8.

Q15. Are there any specific locations across the state of Kentucky that you would prefer to target with this campaign?

A15. Rural Kentucky, particularly Eastern and Western, where education attainment is the lowest.

CPE has data that will help identify counties with the most need.

Q16. What kind of creative production should we anticipate for the opportunity? Will CPE be responsible for providing creative or should we anticipate that an awarded firm would be responsible?

A16. CPE can provide creative; however, we are open to input on best practices or allow the awarded firm to assist.

Q17. Does CPE have any preliminary budget parameters we should consider for planning purposes?

A17. Refer to question 8.

Q18. Should proposed media budgets account for agency fees and reporting tools?

A18. Yes

Q19. CPE notes that creative will be provided — will there be an opportunity to collaborate on messaging and strategy prior to asset development?

A19. Yes, we'd be happy to take guidance or feedback from the agency.

Q20. Are there companies or government entities that support the target audience outlined in the RFI? If so, would CPE be open to targeting those organizations or personnel as part of the campaign?

A20. Yes, however, CPE would prefer to target individuals who will benefit from the platform, but recommendations would be considered.

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Q21. When referring to “Kentucky-based audiences,” is targeting limited strictly to Kentucky residents, or would individuals in surrounding states also be eligible? Does residency in Kentucky determine applicability?

A21. Anyone can use the site, but Kentuckians seeking employment or education in Kentucky will benefit from it most as the data and information contained within is Kentucky specific.

Q22. How does CPE define meaningful engagement with Futuriti.org?

A22. CPE wants the data and content on the site to inspire action to enroll in postsecondary education and attain employment with sustainable living wages, ultimately increasing Kentucky’s educational attainment and labor force participation rates so they meet or exceed the national average. Meaningful engagement means spending more than 2 minutes exploring the site.

Q23. What audience data or targeting tools are currently available to CPE (e.g., email lists, geographic filters, or relevant databases such as Medicaid recipients)?

A23. As we do not have a student-based email list, we are using geographic filters and working with institutions to get Futuriti in school setting. CPE’s hope is to reach Medicaid recipients if we can build a partnership with state agencies to support that strategy.

Q24. What key success metrics would CPE like to track (e.g., sessions, time on page, credential inquiry clicks, return visits)?

A24. We would like to see our paid campaign reach audiences with low education levels (no high school or no college diploma). A good return would be to be able to verify we are reaching those audiences and seeing sustained activity (more than 2-minute visits) on the site and return visits.

Q25. Will access to Futuriti.org’s analytics backend (e.g., Google Analytics) be provided to support conversion tracking.

A25. Yes, Google Analytics data will be shared.

Q26. Does the cover page count as part of the five (5) pages?

A26. No.

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SECTION A: INTRODUCTION

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) Student Access and Success Unit is soliciting informational proposals from qualified parties in accordance with the terms of this Request for Information (RFI).

CPE seeks information and suggestions for solicitation documents and procurement process related to the execution of an online digital campaign aimed at driving website traffic from specific Kentucky-based audiences (as defined below) to the college and career navigation website, Futuriti.org. As funding is made available, CPE intends to procure a vendor to employ digital marketing strategies to reach households in the state where at least one of the following demographics or conditions exist:

- Adults with no high school diploma

- No college credential

- Prior incarceration

- Some college experience but no degree

- Receiving unemployment benefits

- Receiving Medicaid or other public benefits

- Median household income below $25,000 per year

- Search engine history of employment opportunities

- Search engine history of college opportunities

Responding vendors should have the technology and data to identify these households and the means to reach them through various digital strategies. CPE will provide marketing visuals including images, text, and videos to the marketing agency which will develop and execute a strategy to deliver the ads via web pages, search engines, online streaming services and other visual mediums. CPE reserves the right to require the agency to target specific geographic regions where an above average percentage of median household incomes are below the state average.

This is a Request for Information (RFI). No award will be made because of this solicitation.

Instructions and Notifications to Offerors:

• CPE invites feedback from the industry on any questions or requirements posed in this RFI.

Please note it is not a requirement to answer all questions.

• All costs associated with developing or submitting responses to this RFI, or to provide oral or written clarification of its content shall be borne by the vendor. CPE assumes no responsibility for any costs.

• Responding to this RFI is not a pre-requisite to participating in a future procurement process. A respondent may choose to not respond to this RFI and still participate in any subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP) process for the Project. Respondents choosing to respond to this RFI will not, merely by virtue of submitting such a response, be deemed to be “bidders” or “proposers” on the Project in any sense, and no such respondent will have any preference, special designation, advantage or disadvantage whatsoever in any subsequent procurement process for the Project.

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Project Overview:

By 2031, 63% of Kentucky careers, or 1.3 million jobs, will require training or education after high school. Right now, only 55% of people in the state have a certificate or degree. Futuriti was created to help Kentuckians find opportunities to get these credentials. The website, futuriti.org, provides a space where Kentuckians can find information about careers, education, financial aid, and job opportunities—all in one place.

The site includes job descriptions and wages for more than 700 careers; Highlights of in-demand Kentucky careers; Cost, completion and debt information on all public and private universities, community colleges, and technical schools in the Commonwealth; A listing of the majors offered at Kentucky public and private universities; All career pathways offered at each high school and technical center.

Futuriti’s mission is to inspire Kentuckians to become trained and credentialed, with increased earnings. Kentucky’s current working-age population is more than 2.7 million people. Futuriti’s target audience is the 1.4 million working-age Kentuckians without credentials. If just 5% of those

1.4 million are inspired by Futuriti, 55,000 working-age Kentuckians could have a credential or be working towards one this time next year.

The goal of this marketing campaign will be to drive traffic of the working-age audience described above to Futuriti.org and for those audience members to meaningfully engage with the website contents.

SECTION B: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

This RFI outlines the type of information being solicited and response structure requested from potential respondents.

Scope and Objectives

CPE is seeking input from digital marketing agencies on costs, timelines, and success rates of similar campaigns to reach the audiences described above through digital means, which could include internet, streaming television, mobile phones and other digital devices.

To that end, CPE is issuing this RFI to gather ideas, costs to include in budget requests, and recommendations on how to proceed with delivering the Project.

Information Requested

In responding to the items below, please include details and/or example projects in your responses for clarification, as applicable. Please skip questions that do not apply to your organization.

1. Firm Information

Provide your name, contact information, and the firm you represent.

2. Prior Experience

Please provide a summary of your firm’s experience with projects of similar size and scope.

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3. Cost

Can you estimate the total cost for a year-long campaign? If so, how much could CPE expect to spend from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027?

4. Technology Strategies

Can you describe the technological strategies you will employ to reach the audiences outlined in the introduction?

5. Alternative Methods

Based on the mission of Futuriti as described in the Project Overview, would you propose any alternative methods to reach the intended audiences? If so, please describe.

6.Other

a. Are there any other considerations or factors you believe should be considered to ensure the success of this project?

b. Confirm if your organization is interested in participating in a potential one-on-one meeting to further explore and explain your responses to this RFI.

SECTION C: SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DUE DATE

Respondents are asked to provide, by August 07 15, 2025, written responses to the questions posed above in a concise format. Responses shall be no longer than five (5) pages in PDF format.

Responses shall be submitted by email no later than 2:00 PM EST on August 07 15, 2025, and marked as follows:

To: Claudette Tracy

Claudette.Tracy@ky.gov

Subject: RFI #1 Futuriti Digital Marketing Strategies

SECTION D: POTENTIAL IN-PERSON CLARIFICATION MEETING

In the event CPE would like to seek clarification on any responses provided, responders may be invited to participate in an in-person meeting with representatives from CPE. Contact to schedule the meeting will be made following the closing date for submissions under this RFI. If a meeting is held, the content of the meeting shall be restricted to clarifications of the provided responses and responders will not be allowed to ask questions regarding the planned solicitation of procurement documents.

Any costs associated with the in-person meeting shall be borne by the Respondent, and CPE will not reimburse participating responders for their attendance and participation in the meeting.

Disclaimer

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This Request for Information is solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal. All information received in response to the RFI and marked as “Proprietary” will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No award will be made because of this solicitation, and because no award will be made, proposals WILL NOT be in the public domain. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with replying to this RFI.

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