PRF70 RFR~1.docx

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

OPERATIONAL SERVICES DIVISION

Request for Response (RFR

Document Title: Advertising, Marketing & Event Planning Services

Agency Document Number: PRF70

COMMBUYS Bid#: BD-20-1080-OSD03-OSD03-50290

June 15, 2020

Please Note: This is a single document associated with a complete Bid (also referred to as Solicitation) that can be found on www.COMMBUYS.com. Bidders are responsible for reviewing and complying with all Bid requirements. Bidders may contact the OSD Help Desk at COMMBUYS@mass.gov or at 1-888-MA-STATE for technical assistance with COMMBUYS. The Help Desk is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern time, as applicable, except on federal and state holidays.

Bidders with disabilities or hardships that seek reasonable accommodation, which may include the receipt of RFR information in an alternative format, must communicate such requests in writing to the contact person. Requests for accommodation will be addressed on a case by case basis. A Bidder requesting accommodation must submit a written statement which describes the Bidder’s disability and the requested accommodation to the contact person for the RFR. The SST reserves the right to reject unreasonable requests.

REQUEST FOR RESPONSE <Insert Title>

Document Sensitivity Level: High during development; Low once published. Template v 3.0.0

REQUEST FOR RESPONSE Advertising, Marketing and Event Planning Services

Table of Contents Page iv

1. INTRODUCTION AND BID OVERVIEW

Summary Description of Procurement The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the PRF70 RFR Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) are soliciting Bidders for the acquisition of Professional Services for Advertising, Marketing & Event Planning Services. The resulting Contract will serve as the primary Statewide Contract used by Executive Agencies of the Commonwealth for the services covered by the Contract. The resulting Contract will also replace Statewide Contract # PRF60. The Contract will be available for use by other Eligible Entities.

It is the intention of the PRF70 RFR Sourcing team to develop a list of pre-qualified vendors who will provide services under the awarded Statewide Contract for Advertising, Marketing & Event Planning Services. Qualified bidders who meet the evaluation criteria of this bid may receive an award for one or more categories under the contract.

1.2 Estimated Procurement Calendar

Training for Online Submission – Contractors that have not previously submitted electronic quotes via COMMBUYS are strongly encouraged to attend training Details of training will be posted at a later date.

Dates and Times Available: TBA

YouTube Video:

How to Find Bids (Solicitations) and Submit Quotes (Respond) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG7XDNk4-U0

Online Webinar:

Late bids will not be considered.

*See Appendix 3, “Instructions for Vendors Responding to Bids Electronically through COMMBUYS” for instructions on how to register for live webinar and additional trainings that may be helpful to prospective bidders.

Visit https://www.mass.gov/doc/vendor-schedule/download for additional Instructor-Led Training and Webinar dates.

Times are Eastern Time (US), as displayed on the COMMBUYS system clock after logging in. If there is a conflict between the dates in this Procurement Calendar and dates in the Bid’s Header, the dates in the Bid’s Header on COMMBUYS shall prevail. Bidders are responsible for checking the Bid record, including Bid Q & A, on COMMBUYS for Procurement Calendar updates.

0. Submission of Bid Questions The “Bid Q & A” function in COMMBUYS allows Bidders to ask written questions and receive written answers regarding this Bid. To locate the Bid Q & A, log into COMMBUYS, locate the Bid, acknowledge receipt of the Bid, and scroll down to the bottom of the Bid Header page. The “Bid Q & A” button allows Bidders access to the Bid Q & A page.

All questions must be submitted through the Bid Q & A page. Questions must be asked prior to the Deadline stated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar. The Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) reserves the right not to respond to late questions. Bidders are responsible for verifying that their questions are recorded in COMMBUYS and appear on the Bid Q & A page.

Questions submitted to the SST outside of COMMBUYS will not be answered.

Content entered must be suitable for public viewing. Bidders must not include inappropriate content, including but not limited to, information that could be considered personal, security sensitive, inflammatory, incorrect, or collusory. The SST reserves the right to edit or delete any inappropriate content.

All answers are final when posted. Any subsequent revisions to previously provided answers will be dated.

1.4 Bid Amendment Deadline

The SST reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication. It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for any amendments, addenda or modifications to this Bid, and any Bid Q & A records related to this Bid. The SST and the Commonwealth accept no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

At the SST’s discretion, the Bid Amendment Deadline may be extended. Should this occur, the “Deadline for Quotes/Responses” shall be extended as well. As stated above, it is the responsibility of the bidder for checking the Bid record in COMMBUYS for revisions and updates.

0. Pre-bid Conference The Pre-bid Conference is a physical, web or telephone conference conducted by the SST for the purpose of informing prospective Bidders about general Bid information and answering questions from prospective Bidders. In this instance it will either be a virtual or telephone conference. Attendance is optional but strongly recommended. Please refer to the Pre-bid Conference section of the Header Information for this Bid in COMMBUYS for any updated information, including the location, time and date of the Bidders’ Conference.

0. Oral Presentations/Product Demonstrations Selected Bidders who are asked to participate in Oral Presentations / Product Demonstrations will be expected to prioritize this in their schedules. The SST will make every effort to find a mutually convenient time for the Bidder and the SST. However, failure to appear at the scheduled time of the presentation/demonstration may result in disqualification, reduction of points or other action that the SST deems appropriate.

1.7 Late Bids will not be Considered

Bid responses must be received in full by the bid opening date and time shown on COMMBUYS ("Bid Opening Date/Time", i.e., the Deadline for Quotes/Bid Responses). Proposals received after the deadline will be ineligible for consideration and deemed non-responsive. Each bidder/offeror must submit all required bid response forms electronically through COMMBUYS. When submitting a quote electronically through COMMBUYS, please allow sufficient time to complete any online forms and upload documents. If you are in the middle of uploading your proposal when the deadline is reached, the system will stop the process and you will be unable to submit your Quote. It is recommended that Quotes be submitted as far in advance as possible before the deadline to allow time to obtain assistance from the OSD Help Desk if needed.

0. Debriefing The SST will conduct debriefings for unsuccessful Bidders, if requested within 14 calendar days of notification that your Quote has not been selected for an award. Debriefing guidelines will be provided in advance prior to the debriefing.

0. Anticipated Contract Duration:

The initial term of this Contract is five (5) year(s). This Contract has no options to renew so the maximum possible Contract duration is five (5) years.

0. Performance and payment time frames which exceed Contract duration All agreements for services entered into during the duration of this Contract and whose performance and payment time frames extend beyond the duration of this Contract shall remain in effect for performance and payment purposes only for a maximum time of six (6) (calendar months) beyond the final termination date inclusive of renewals and extensions. No new engagements for services under this Statewide Contract may be executed after the final termination date of this Contract. (Any contractor entering into new engagements with eligible entities after contract expiration will be subject to remedial measures, which may include but are not limited to mandatory point deduction for future bid submissions and suspension of other contracts with OSD.

0. Estimated Value of the Contract The estimated value of purchase(s) resulting from this Bid is $35,739,641.43 for the four-year period 2015-2019. The Commonwealth makes no guarantee that any commodities or services will be purchased from any Contract resulting from this Bid. Any estimates or past procurement volumes referenced in this Bid are included only for the convenience of Bidders and are not to be relied upon as any indication of future purchase levels.

0. Estimated Number of Awards There is no target maximum number of Contractors being targeted under this contract. The SST may award more, or fewer contracts then presently exists, if it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth to do so.

0. Adding Contractors after initial Contract Award If, over the life of the Contract, the SST determines that additional Contractors should be added in order to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth, these may first be drawn from qualified companies which responded to this Bid but were not awarded contracts and/or the Bid may be reopened to obtain additional Quotes.

0. Acquisition Method(s):

0. Entities Eligible to Use the Resulting Contract Any Contract(s) resulting from this Bid will be open for use by the following entities:

· Cities, towns, districts, counties and other political subdivisions;

· Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches, including all Departments and elected offices therein;

· Independent public authorities, commissions and quasi-public agencies;

· Local public libraries, public school districts and charter schools;

· Public hospitals owned by the Commonwealth;

· Public institutions of higher education;

· Public purchasing cooperatives;

· Non-profit organizations that are doing business with the Commonwealth;

· Other states and territories with no prior approval by the State Purchasing Agent; and

· Other entities when designated in writing by the State Purchasing Agent.

Each eligible entity is responsible for executing its own purchase orders and paying its own invoices services acquired from this Contract. Contractors will be responsible for marketing their services to Commonwealth Agencies and other eligible entities.

0. Procurement Scope/PRF70 Categories This is a full-service contract that is grouped into five categories that represent the broad service needs of the Commonwealth in the Advertising, Marketing and Event Planning Services area. SEE ALSO Appendix 5, which further defines these categories and contains additional bid submission requirements. The five (5) categories covered under this Professional Services RFR include:

Category I-Web-Based, Social & Emerging Media Services Category II- Creative Services Category III-Marketing Services Category IV-Event Planning & Support Services Category V- Integrated Marketing Services In general, the PRF70 Categories include the following Services:

Category I-Web-Based, Social & Emerging Media Services includes:

Category II- Creative Services includes:

Category III-Marketing Services includes:

Category IV-Event Planning & Event Support Services includes:

Category V- Integrated Marketing Services includes:

◦ Must include services offered under Categories I-IV, above. The Integrated Marketing Services Category is broad in scope so that departments can develop scopes of work that may require a variety of services offered under this contract.

On a project-by-project basis, additional and Related Services offered through one or more of the 5 Categories under the awarded contract for PRF70 RFR include, but are not limited to, the following:

· Strategic planning assistance in establishing goals and strategies and help to structure on-going marketing programs;

· Production design services for several media formats including reviewing proofs and monitoring delivery;

· Creative development and production;

· Media Planning, buying and monitoring;

· Translate advertising goals and strategies into effective media buys, which may include television, radio, newspaper, on-line and out-of-home advertising;

· Provide a regular schedule of media buys for approval by the hiring entity prior to any media buy actually occurring;

· Develop and implement a post media buy evaluation and reporting methodology in order to provide the hiring entity the success level for each buy;

· Promotion development and implementation assistance;

· Campaign web-design;

· Direct marketing and social media marketing;

· Earned media, graphic design and copy editing;

· Development of marketing research and strategies;

· Situational Analysis;

· Market summary and analysis of critical issues;

· Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis;

· Financial analysis including budgets and forecasts;

· Control mechanisms with implementation milestones, organization and contingency plans;

· Develop Public Service Announcements;

· Coordinating, organizing, producing and executing events and functions;

· Securing Services needed to conduct a campaign or convention type of event, such as photographers and/ or videographers, decorating services and electrical services.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON PROCUREMENT SCOPE

Procurement Exclusions The intent of the PRF70 statewide contract is to enable Eligible Entities to procure the Professional Services for Advertising, Marketing & Event Planning as specified in this RFR. While some overlap with other existing statewide contracts is permitted (e.g., products bundled as part of a system purchase), items that are offered on Statewide Contracts (and any of the successor statewide contracts) with the primary use as listed below will be excluded unless identified in this RFR and any attachments.

The lists of products and services that are NOT allowed under this contract include, but are not limited to, the following:

· Any OSD Statewide Contracts that have a primary focus upon Information Technology (“IT”) products and/or services, including the following OSD Contract Categories:

· ITC – Information Technology – Hardware ITS—Information Technology – Software And Services

· ITT – Information Technology – Telecommunications

3.0 Bidder Qualifications

Bidders are required to submit a one-page business profile outlining the bidder’s overall operations, related to providing the services offered under this bid. Relevant business history, local affiliations may be included here. Business profile will be posted in COMMBUYS as an attachment to any contract awarded per this RFR.

3.1 Company experience

3.1.1 Business Background

Bidders must describe their experience in working with engagements that depend upon strategic positioning and developing/ growing brands.

Bidders must describe their experience in working with engagements for defined and/ or specialized target markets.

As required under RFR section 3.2.3 Product Evaluations, Bidders must provide a sample of landmark work that focuses on its full and in-house capabilities for their applicable bid categories. These samples must be dated and of work that have been performed within the last three (3) years.

Bidder must identify the number of contractual agreements in place, the length of each of the relationships, as well as previous contracts with governmental entities or other entities of similar size as the Commonwealth.

Bidders must also state the relevant services provided to each of the three largest customers identified above (i.e. marketing, advertising, event planning, creative services, etc.)

3.2 Category Expertise

Bidders must describe their specialized service(s) and provide detailed information on their expertise and core competencies for each applicable category of their bid response.

Core Competencies should include the following detailed information for each applicable category of the bid response:

· Information on company resources available in-house.

· Information on the strategic and/ or account planning process

· Explanation of the bidder’s process for planning direct marketing

· Explanation of the bidder’s process for creative development

· Explanation of how the firm develops a media plan for a client, including how it establishes goals, spending, allocations, buying parameters and defines target audiences

· Explanation of how the bidder will ensure that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts receives the maximum value for its media dollar, include, any bonus capabilities for media buys.

Bidders should provide details about procedures/checkpoints employed to ensure cost efficiency and cost effectiveness in areas such as: Media Buying, Creative Planning and Development, Advertising Production, Research etc.

3.3 Years in the Industry of the Bid

Bidders must have been in the business of providing advertising, marketing and/or event planning services for at least the two most recent consecutive years prior to the RFR submission deadline (See RFR Section 1.2, Estimated Procurement Calendar).

In the case of companies formed fewer than two years prior to this date via merger, acquisition or some other means, the SST may consider the experience of all companies involved in the merger or acquisition.

Bidders must have the minimum required number of years’ experience in each category to which they will be applying. This is whether or not Bidders intend to employ the services of subcontractors for the performance of the services in any category. In the event that subcontractors will be employed, the subcontractors will need to satisfy the minimum two years’ experience requirement. This is in addition to the bidder’s own experience in ether performing services under that category or experience in managing subcontractors in that category.

3.4 Employee and/or business technical/business experience, certifications, licenses Bidders are asked to identify all certifications and professional affiliations associated with the company and key individuals within the company.

Bidders should identify how their company is presently organized. A description of the current ownership, incorporation, business size, must be included.

Each Bidder must submit a copy of their Organizational Chart identifying staff by name (or initials), position title and responsibilities.

Bidders must indicate the person to be the Contract Account Manager. The Account Manager must have a minimum of 24 months of experience in Advertising, Marketing and Event Planning Services for the bid categories they are submitting a quote for, as well as experience with billing issues/ negotiation experience with contracts for Advertising, Marketing and Event Planning Services.

3.5 Background/CORI check requirements

If required prior to any work engagement by the Hiring Entity, the awarded Contractor should be prepared to obtain a Publicly Accessible Massachusetts CORI check on any and all individual employees who are to enter public offices of the Commonwealth, or provide services to any Hiring Entity of the Commonwealth. Any associated costs are the responsibility of the Contractor. Results of the Publicly Accessible Massachusetts CORI check are to be revealed to the Hiring Entity before any work is engaged. The Hiring Entity shall be responsible for requesting CORI checks. Eligible Entities should use a CORI as required by Executive Order 495 and in a manner consistent with their own applicable rules, regulations and policies. Hiring Entities are to utilize a uniform process for requesting CORI checks in order to maintain fairness and should be prepared to document their criteria for requiring CORI checks, if requested.

3.6 Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)

Bidders should indicate whether there is a written Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) that describes how the company will continue to do business in case of an emergency. Bidders should include this COOP where it is available.

Bidders should indicate their company’s dependency on foreign countries for products or services that would prevent them from fulfilling their contractual obligations in situations of local or international crisis for example during a pandemic. Indicate what percentage of your company’s resources (supplies & services) are domestic and what percentage is locally derived.

3.7 Emergency Response Capabilities

In a declared state of emergency where the safety and wellbeing of Commonwealth citizens are at risk, contractors may be asked to supply the Commonwealth with the services under this Statewide Contract on a priority basis. The Bidder’s Quote should include a list of emergency contact information including name, position/title, phone, email and cell phone.

3.8 Financial stability including, bankruptcy, litigation and contract defaults Bidders must identify their financial business model that will be able to support and fund their daily business under any contract awarded from this RFR. Bidders may be disqualified if any financial constraint or litigation poses an adverse effect on their ability to provide services under this contract.

Bidders must provide a list of any outstanding contingencies, such as lawsuits or other claims or charges, against the Bidder related to performance of the services sought under this RFR.

3.8.1 Financial information

Bidders are required to submit the following:

· A Document of tax compliance (Certificate of Good Standing from the Department of Revenue) or if unable to submit a Certificate of Good Standing, bidder must provide an explanation. Additional documentation may be requested on a case-by-case basis.

· Gross Annual Revenue for most recently completed fiscal year. In the event that Bidder’s most current FY end date is between February 29,2020 and June 30, 2020, bidder may provide Gross Annual Revenues for prior FY end date as well as current FY Gross Annual Revenue.”

3.9 References and reference information and/or requirements

Bidders are required to submit three (3) business references from customers with whom there is a current standing relationship of one (1) year or greater duration. References are due by the RFR due date as published herein or updated on COMMBUYS, whichever is later. References must include:

· Three Largest Customers in MA if available

· Largest State Government Customers if available

Note: References cannot include members of the Strategic Source Team who will identify themselves when contacted.

3.10 Geographic coverage

Vendors under PRF70 must have the capacity to provide the required services to all geographic areas of the Commonwealth.

4.0 Commodity Specifications

4.1 Brand name or equal

Unless otherwise specified in this Bid, any reference to a particular trademark, trade name, patent, design, type, specification, producer or supplier is not intended to restrict this Bid to any manufacturer or proprietor or to constitute an endorsement of any commodity or service, and the department may consider clearly identified offers of substantially equivalent commodities and services submitted in response to such reference.

The Awarded Contractors cannot discuss, distribute or present marketing materials that are in process or are finished being developed without expressed authorization from the Hiring Entity that requested the materials. These marketing materials include but are not limited to: any component being developed or produced as part of a marketing or communications campaign which can include branding such as slogans, colors, characters, layout, and storyboards.

4.2 Ownership and copyright provisions of marketing materials designed under this Statewide Contract:

All marketing materials (any component being developed or produced as part of a marketing or communications campaign which may include but is not limited to: music, lyrics, pictures, slogans, colors, characters, layout, and storyboards) designed under PRF70 belong to the Hiring Entity that purchased such materials.

4.3 Ownership and rights of copyrighted marketing materials

The Awarded Contractors may be responsible for copyrighting or registering trademarks, logos and commercials as directed and approved by the Hiring Entity. All marketing materials developed through PRF70 RFR are owned exclusively by the Hiring Entity that paid for these materials and the Hiring Entity is able to share and distribute these materials at no additional cost and at any given moment without consent from the company that developed such Materials.

4.4 Ordering and Quotes

Responding to Buyer’s quote requests is a requirement of this contract. Contractors choosing not to bid must respond to COMMBUYS quote requests with a “no bid” by selecting the “Is No Bid” checkbox on the General tab of the quote. Similarly, Contractors choosing not to bid on quote requests received outside of COMMBUYS must respond with a “no bid”.

Contractors must provide a quote that clearly identifies all commodities, materials, services and/or requirements which may incur costs for the Eligible Entity. All quotes must be for only services that Contractor is awarded to sell under this Statewide Contract. Furthermore, Contractors may not bill Eligible Entities for costs not identified in the quote, accepted by the SST, and agreed to by the Eligible Entity unless otherwise specified.

5.0 Environmental Specifications

In 2009, Executive Order 515, establishing an Environmental Purchasing Policy for Executive Departments, was signed. View the Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs) Procurement Program General Information, Requirements and Guidance for detailed information about the program at https://www.mass.gov/doc/epp-general-information-requirements-and-guidance/download.

5.1 Environmental Benefit Claims/Labeling

Environmental benefit claims concerning products or services must be consistent with the Federal Trade Commissions’ Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Terms. Product environmental claims are to include the industry standard the product meets and certifier. Vendors must agree to offer and clearly label products with sustainability certifications and attributes, when available, within specific product categories. Documentation of the certification claimed by the vendor must be supplied upon request if it is not publicly available for verification (on either the vendor’s or certifier’s website).

Vendors claiming environmental benefits of their products shall list the appropriate benefits or industry standard it meets in the quarterly sales reports, if applicable, or on separate annual reports.

5.2 Bidder Current Environmental Practices Form

Bidders must complete the Environmental Practices Form in the Bidders’ Response Document and submit it with their Quote. The form allows Bidders to communicate existing business practices that foster a sustainable approach to conducting their operations and reduce environment or public health impacts. Bidders will receive points in the evaluation phase of the RFR for the environmental initiatives they identify, however, bidders must substantiate all answers in order to receive additional points.

The SST is seeking to award this contract to vendors who are practicing and can provide sustainable Marketing, Advertising and Events Planning services that takes into consideration environmental and climate impacts.

5.3 Environmental plan

Awarded Bidders must agree to work with OSD and the SST to examine the feasibility of implementing an environmental plan throughout the life of the contract. Such a plan may include, but not be limited to, implementing energy initiatives, adopting and implementing sustainability policies or third-party standards and/or certifications, or publicizing their environmental initiatives. The objective of this requirement is to actively encourage suppliers to incorporate sustainable practices throughout their business operations and further market such practices to Contract users.

6.0 Compensation Structure/Pricing

The compensation structure for PRF70 RFR is according to individual projects as described and agreed to in the SoW and the accepted bidder response. Awarded vendors are required to provide specific and transparent prices in all responses to bid quotation requests.

Compensation will be based solely on the pricing submitted by the Bidder and accepted by the SST. Pricing must be submitted for all services to be provided on this Statewide Contract. Pricing will be published on COMMBUYS.

6.1 Cost tables

Costs under PRF70 must be determined through project-based compensation. Bid response must include an up-to ceiling rate for each job classification under the contract (see examples of job classifications in the table below).

Most engagements will not be bid at the ceiling rate. Eligible entities will determine the format in which quotations for their specific project will be collected. Bidders are expected to be competitive with each project and must provide a detailed and transparent budget related to the scope of services to be completed.

Eligible entities and awarded PRF70 RFR vendors may negotiate project rates as part of the bid process. Negotiated project rates may be published by the eligible entities as part of the bid records in COMMBUYS.

JOB CLASSIFICATION UNDER THE PRF70 RFR CATEGORIES

President

Account Executive

Material Production Manager

IT Support Coordinator

On-Site Support Coordinator

Project Manager

Advertising Manager

Public Relations Manager

Graphic Designer

Event Support

Event Planner

Photographer

Videographer

Creative Director

Editor

Technical Director

Other (bidder must provide title/ explanation)

6.2 Cost Plus

Bidders must describe how cost plus is determined and whether a percentage or amount is to be added to the cost as a markup, overhead, indirect cost, fixed cost, etc.

6.3 Discounts

Bidders are asked to list all discounts associated with pricing such as volume purchase discounts, tiered discounts or any other added-value/ bonus services.

Bidders are asked to indicate if it is able to provide special discounts or opportunities to the Commonwealth through its certifications and affiliations within the industry.

6.4 Prompt Pay Discount

All Bidders must agree to offer discounts through participation in the Commonwealth Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) initiative for receiving early and/or on-time payments, unless the Bidder can provide compelling proof that it would be unduly burdensome.

Bidders must submit agreeable terms on the Prompt Payment Discount Form, included on the Bid, unless otherwise specified by the SST. The SST will review, negotiate or reject the offering as deemed in the best interest of the Commonwealth.

The requirement to offer a PPD may be waived by the SST on a case-by-case basis if participation in the program would be unduly burdensome on the Bidder. If a Bidder is claiming that this requirement is a hardship or unduly burdensome, the specific reason must be documented in the Bidder’s Quote.

6.5 Authorized Price Changes

Vendor agreed ceiling rates under this contract may not be revised upwards without the written approval of the OSD.

7.0 SUPPLIER DIVERSITY PLAN (SDP)

Massachusetts Executive Order 565 reaffirmed and expanded the Commonwealth’s policy to promote the award of state contracts in a manner that develops and strengthens certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), Women Business Enterprises (WBEs), Minority and Women Nonprofit Organizations (M/WNPOs), Veteran Business Enterprises (VBEs), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprises (SDVOBEs), Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs), and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Business Enterprises (LGBTBEs).

All bidders are required to make a significant financial commitment to partner with certified M/WBEs, M/WNPOs, VBEs, and/or SDVOBEs, DOBEs and/or LGBTBEs certified or verified by the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO). Bidders must identify a commitment in the form of a specific percentage of sales made under the resulting contract that will be spent with an SDP Partner(s) on a Massachusetts fiscal year basis, using SDP Plan Form #1 – SDP Plan Commitment. This percentage commitment will extend for the life of any resulting contract.

This requirement extends to all bidders regardless of their certification status, and no bidder will be awarded a Contract unless and until the above requirement is met. In planning their SDP commitment, Bidders certified by SDO must note that the commitment cannot be met by making expenditures within their own company or with parent or wholly owned subsidiary companies. Therefore, Bidders may not list themselves or affiliates as SDP Partners. In order to ensure compliance with this section and encourage bidder participation, SDP Plans submitted by bidders will be evaluated by the SST at 10% or more of the total available 100% evaluation points. Note: this does not mean that the bidder must commit 10% of sales. Questions concerning how the SDP works may be directed to the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) or bidders may view a description of the SDP on the SDO webpage at https://www.mass.gov/supplier-diversity-office.

8.0 EVALUATION CRITERIA

Contractors must submit responses that meet all the submission requirements of the RFR. Only responsive proposals that meet the submission requirements will be evaluated, scored and ranked by the evaluation team according to the evaluation criteria. Additional information may be requested for evaluation purposes.

Any submission which fails to meet the submission requirements of the RFR will be found non-responsive without further evaluation unless the evaluation team, at its discretion, determines that the non-compliance is insubstantial and can be corrected. In these cases, the evaluation team may allow the contractor to make minor corrections to the submission.

Bidder scores will be used to rank Bidders and will determine which Bidders will proceed to subsequent stages of the evaluation and/or enter into negotiations with the Commonwealth to receive a Contract award.

8.1 Mandatory Requirements

Bidders who do not meet all mandatory requirements may be disqualified. The SST may determine if non-compliance with a mandatory requirement is insignificant or can be corrected or clarified.

Bid terms that include language such as: “must”, “shall”, “will” and “required” are “mandatory.”

8.2 Alternatives

Unless otherwise specified, Bidders may submit Quotes proposing alternatives which provide equivalent, better or more cost-effective performance than achievable under the stated Bid specifications. These alternatives may include related commodities or services that may be available to enhance performance during the period of the Contract. The Quote must describe how any alternative achieves substantially equivalent or better performance to that of the Bid specifications.

The SST will determine if a proposed alternative method of performance achieves substantially equivalent or better performance.

8.3 Evaluation Components

The following components will be some of the criteria considered by the team when evaluating each Quote:

· Financial Stability

· Business Experience

· Business Capacity & Qualifications (this includes employee requirements, capacity plan, resources and infrastructure)

· Product Evaluation (samples)

· Pricing and Compensation Structure (including volume discounts, PPD)

· Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Plan (10% weight of the total available 100% evaluation points)

· Professional References

8.4 Price

Please note that price will carry a significant weight in the evaluation process.

The following price components will be evaluated:

· Cost plus

· Prompt Payment Discounts (PPD)

· Volume and industry discounts

8.5 Product Evaluation: All bidders must provide the following product samples as part of the RFR response.

Bidders must provide samples for their applicable categories of the PRF70 RFR. Under the Product Evaluation section of the bid, bidders must submit a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 samples for each of the categories that they are bidding on.

8.5.1 Product Evaluation Sample # 1

This sample must be of a project completed by the bidders for one of the largest customers in section 3.1.

8.5.2 Product Evaluation Sample # 2

This sample must be of a project completed by the bidders for one of the largest customers that includes services related to Diversity and Inclusion in section 3.1. Bidders should indicate if this is the same sample as for sample #1

8.5.3 All Other Product Evaluation Samples

Samples for evaluation must include some of the following areas of expertise with documented results:

Repositioning of a product Marketing to a specific market Developing and launching new products Issue or cause related marketing Strategic planning for the public sector Direct marketing as part of an advertising campaign Database management Direct television Placement A complete multi-media campaign based on a new strategic direction (not an extension of an existing campaign) developed through finished production.

A new product introduction campaign that included multiple elements and executions An image campaign that also included retail executions (TV/radio, TV/Print, etc.)

Provide the firm’s best low budget television commercial with cost Planning and purchasing all media, including television, radio, print, out-of-home, etc.

A creative unexpected form of media An impactful low budget media plan.

A promotion negotiated by your firm that was executed through a media buy.

Examples of expertise in the category of Creative Services, Arts & graphic design, commercial photography and/ or video production, such as logo or package design and collateral materials, etc.

Examples of expertise in the category of Event Planning & Event Support to include the planning of virtual events.

While Bidders are not expected to include all of the areas of expertise listed above, Bidders are expected to indicate which areas of expertise relate to which sample.

All product samples must be uploaded as bid documents in COMMBUYS. Please note that COMMBUYS will upload files irrespective of the size. The speed of the upload will depend on the size of the file as well as the Bidders own internet speed. Bidders are cautioned to allow enough time for upload of larger files as there will be no extension to the bid closing time as a result of files that were incomplete in their uploads for whatever reason.

The SST reserves the right to determine whether product samples submitted by bidders are acceptable and suitable.

No bid will be evaluated without the submission of product samples. The absence of product samples will cause the bid to be automatically rejected.

8.6 Best Value Selection and Negotiation

The SST may select the bids which demonstrate the best value overall, including, but not limited to, proposed alternatives, that will achieve the goals of the procurement. The SST and a selected Bidder may negotiate a change in any element of Contract performance or cost identified in the original RFR or the selected Bidder’s proposal which results in lower costs or a more cost effective or better value than was presented in the selected Bidder’s original proposal.

9.0 INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES

The Commonwealth will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by Bidders responding to this RFR. Responses must be sent via the “Create Quote” functionality contained in COMMBUYS. For instructions concerning how to submit a Quote, please see Appendix 3.

9.1 Electronic Signatures

Quotes submitted via COMMBUYS must be signed electronically by the Bidder or the Bidder’s Agent by accepting the terms and conditions of the bid on the “Terms & Conditions” tab of the Bid in COMMBUYS. By selecting “Save & Continue” on the “Terms and Conditions” tab after accepting the terms and conditions of the bid, the submitter attests that s/he is an agent of the Bidder with authority to sign on the Bidder’s behalf, and that s/he has read and assented to each document’s terms.

9.2 Limits and Restrictions

Limits on the number of characters that are allowed for each submission will be indicated in the Bidder’s Response Form. Bidders will not be able to enter more characters than those that each section permits. Bidders are encouraged to provide only relevant information for each section’s response.

9.3 File Format Restrictions

All scanned documents must be in .pdf or .gif format and must be scanned in such a way that they can be read on a computer monitor and printed on 81/2” x 11” paper, unless otherwise specified. Forms provided for the Bidder to complete, except for the forms requiring ink signatures, must be completed and submitted in their original formats, NOT scanned and submitted as PDF or other file types.

9.4 File Naming Conventions

Files submitted via COMMBUYS must follow the file naming convention specified below. The Description entered during the file upload process ensures each file is readily identified by Company Name and content. The File Name assigned by the Bidder as stored on their computer or network must be structured such that each file can be processed by the upload tool. The upload tool will reject any file name that includes spaces or symbols, like the brackets [] some systems apply when files are downloaded from the Internet. Below see examples of the naming file conventions. Please note that while this list is not exhaustive, all Bidders are responsible for ensuring that all required documents are uploaded as per the requirements of this RFR.

Enter in COMMBUYS during upload File Name Assign when creating files

Company Name Product Sample2 CompanyName_ProdSamp1.doc CompanyName_ProdSamp2.doc

CompanyName_BusProf.pdf

Bid specifications for service delivery, billing and payment will prevail over any proposed Bidder terms entered as part of the Quote, unless otherwise specified in the Bid or agreed in past bid negotiations between the bidder and the Commonwealth.

9.5.2 Non-Collusion

By submitting a Quote, the Bidder certifies that the Quote has been arrived at independently and has been submitted without any communication, collaboration, or without any agreement, understanding or planned common course or action with, any other Bidder of the services described in the RFR.

9.5.3 Multiple Quotes

Unless otherwise instructed by the RFR, Bidders may not submit Multiple Quotes in response to a Bid. If a Bidder submits multiple quotes in response to an RFR that does not authorize multiple responses, only the latest dated quote submitted prior to the bid opening date will be evaluated.

9.5.4 Minimum Quote Duration

Bidders’ Quotes to this RFR must remain in effect for at least 180 days from the date of Quote submission.

9.5.5 Bidder’s Contact Information

It is the Bidder’s responsibility to monitor the email address provided in the Quote for the Bidder’s contact person. The SST may need to contact the Bidder’s contact person with clarification requests or for other reasons. The SST and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a Bidder’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the Bidder’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP), cause e-mail communications between the Bidder and the SST to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

9.5.6 Ownership of Submitted Quotes

OSD and the SST shall be under no obligation to return any Quotes or materials submitted by a Bidder in response to this RFR. All materials submitted by Bidders become the property of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and will not be returned to the Bidder. The Commonwealth reserves the right to use any ideas, concepts, or configurations that are presented in a Bidder’s Quote, whether or not the Quote is selected for Contract award.

Quotes stored on COMMBUYS in the encrypted lockbox are the file of record. Bidders retain access to a read-only copy of this submission via their COMMBUYS account, as long as their account is active.

9.5.7 Prohibitions

Bidders are prohibited from communicating directly with any employee of the procuring Department or any member of the SST regarding this RFR except as specified in this RFR, and no other individual Commonwealth employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any question or inquiry concerning this RFR. Bidders may contact the contact person using the contact information provided in the Header Information this Bid if this RFR is incomplete or information is missing. Bidders experiencing technical problems accessing information or attachments stored on COMMBUYS should contact the OSD Help Desk (see the document cover page for contact information).

9.5.8 Public Records Law

All Quotes and information submitted in response to this RFR are subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L.,…