SS_M ESS_B.doc

DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY (DHA) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)/SOURCES SOUGHT (SS) Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services

RFI, Capabilities & SS for Defense Health Agency (DHA), Communications Division, Marketing and Education Support Services General Information:

Notice Number: RFI-16-006 Issue Date: Tuesday, 10 November 2015 Response Due: Tuesday, 17 November 2015, 2:30pm EST

Product Service Code (PSC):

R- Professional, administrative, and management support services North American Industry Classification System (NAICS):

541820 Public Relations Agencies Issued By:

This Request for Information (RFI) is being issued by the Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency, Contracting Operations Division-Falls Church (COD-FC) for the Communications Division Defense Health Agency.

Response / Submission Method:

Primary Point of Contact: Stephanie Marsh, Contract Specialist, Stephanie.l.marsh6.civ@mail.mil 703-681-4958 Contracting Officer: Robert E. Leblanc, Contracting Officer, Robert.e.leblanc6.civ@mail.mil 703-681-1790.

All responses will be in electronic format and emailed to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist. All responses must be received no later than Tuesday, 17 November 2015, 2:30pm EST Eastern Standard Time. Submissions shall be in Microsoft Word or Adobe.

Please ensure that your e-mail response contains “ RFI-16-006, Marketing and Education Support Services” in the subject line.

RFI/SS Purpose:

This RFI/SS is seeking written responses with information to help identify potential sources that are interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. This RFI/SS requests responses from qualified firms. The period of performance will be 1 March 2016 through 31 August 2016.

Submission Information:

All potential sources with the capability to provide the requirements referenced in this RFI/SS are invited to submit, in writing, sufficient information. This information must demonstrate the responder’s ability to fulfill the requirements and be responsive to the questions and tasks in this RFI/SS as indicated below.

Questions and Requirements/Tasks Responses to this RFI must address the following questions and tasks:

1. A Cover Sheet which includes

a. RFI Title

b. Vendor Company Name and address

c. Point of Contact (POC)

d. POC E-Mail address

e. POC Phone Number

f. Vendor DUNS Number

g. Vendor CAGE Code

h. Company business size and socioeconomic status (i.e., Large Business, Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Woman-Owned Small Business), the number of years in business, affiliate information: parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners, if applicable.

i. List of all North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes as identified in the vendor’s Online Representations and Certifications Applications (System for Award Management-SAM)

j. If applicable, vendor’s GSA and relevant SIN or other available Government-side contract vehicle that is within the scope of this requirement.

2. Describe your experience and ability to perform the following Specific Tasks. In your response, please identify each task specifically:

Basic Services.

SCOPE: The marketing and education media program serves the worldwide TRICARE population of approximately 9.6 million beneficiaries, as well as Military Health System (MHS) staff and providers. All media produced under this program will present a uniform TRICARE message and provide a positive TRICARE image. Work performed on this order may range from the design and development of marketing and education media to support an entire campaign, to the design and production of a single marketing and education product. With input and guidance provided by both the DHA Communications Division and the TRICARE Regional Offices

(TROs), the Marketing and Education contractor will develop a coordinated suite of marketing and education media, ensuring accuracy and consistency in the presentation of TRICARE program information and uniformity of message and image throughout the program. The Government shall neither supervise employees nor control the method by which the contractor performs the required tasks. The contractor shall successfully integrate and coordinate all activity needed to execute the requirement. The contractor shall manage the timeliness, completeness, and quality of problem identification. The contractor shall provide corrective action plans, proposal submittals, timely identification of issues, and effective management of subcontractors. The contractor shall seek to ensure customer satisfaction and professional and ethical behavior of all contractor personnel.

SPECIFIC TASKS:

The Marketing and Education contractor shall perform the following types of marketing and education related activities. The contractor shall:

1 Assist the DHA Communications Division and TRICARE contractors in accomplishing their marketing and education goals by providing and maintaining a comprehensive national suite of marketing and educational media to be used to inform and educate TRICARE beneficiaries and providers worldwide regarding all aspects of the TRICARE benefit, policies, and programs.

Communications are not limited to traditional media. Electronic versions of all printed media will be posted as directed on the TRICARE website.

1.1 Create and design the national suite of TRICARE marketing and educational media required to support the marketing and educational efforts of TRICARE contractors.

1.2. Develop marketing and educational products and programs that result in beneficiary and

MHS staff and provider awareness that TRICARE is a fully integrated health care delivery and financing system for all TRICARE and MHS beneficiaries, and a premier health care program.

1.3. Provide onsite expertise in marketing, design and development of health care educational media and programs.

1.4. Provide the creative design and development of marketing and education media to include all phases of production from strategic goals and objectives, concept, design and implementation.

1.5. Develop multilingual/multicultural communications marketing and educational media and programs that conform to the language, cultural context, and mindset of the diverse TRICARE audiences. The contractor shall develop and provide linguistically and culturally appropriate information on the TRICARE Program, benefits and policies primarily in English and may also be called upon to deliver selected media products in Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Tagalog.

1.6. Have internet and other social media capabilities that enable the contractor to achieve communications goals through use of the World Wide Web. Develop web marketing and educational media and programs that provide accurate information and are easy to understand.

1.7. Provide highly trained and professional staff capable of providing consistent, accurate, timely, and responsive marketing and education products and services, as required.

1.8. Provide DHA, with electronic (to include video and other media) and paper copies of design and development specifications of all TRICARE Marketing and Education media.

1.9. Use the TRICARE logo on all marketing media; see TRICARE Brand Style Guide, at http://www.tricare.mil/About/Trademark.aspx. TRICARE must be spelled in capital letters without hyphenation in all instances for media developed by the contractor. File names and printed uniform resource locators (URLs) developed by the contractor shall follow the same format for the use of TRICARE on media developed by the contractor.

1.10. Submit media and programs developed for new TRICARE programs, benefits and/or policy changes in accordance with the time frames identified on the production schedule.

1.11. Submit marketing and education media for approval to COR, Marketing and Education, DHA Communications Division.

1.12. Ensure that all marketing and education media are designed to provide TRICARE

Program information without discriminating against any person on the basis of health status, age, race, religion, ethnicity, sex, family size, sponsor status, or sponsor rank. Furthermore, the

Contractor shall comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d).

1.13. Provide all designated marketing and education print media in an electronic template format readily available for downloading to afford easy access, customization with local, regional or Service-specific information, and reproduction at the local level by Government personnel or representatives on an as needed basis.

2 BRANDING TASKS

2.1. ASSESS AND EVALUATE BRANDING TASK ELEMENTS. The Contractor shall assess and evaluate the current state of DHA brand awareness following the conversion from the

TRICARE Management Activity to the Defense Health Agency, through stakeholder interviews, materials collection and analysis, and comprehensive communications messaging and tactics review. The Contractor shall collect, assess, and analyze communications materials and visual products associated with DHA to evaluate branding efforts and current level of engagement.

2.2. COMPARE AND CONTRAST BRANDING TASK ELEMENTS. The Contractor shall compare and contrast current DHA rebranding efforts with similar efforts following the creation of TRICARE from the former Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services

(CHAMPUS), and with other federal agencies conducting rebranding efforts of similar size and scope, through comprehensive research and analysis of case studies, external document review, and stakeholder interviews. The Contractor shall compare and contrast overall DHA branding efforts with established industry best practices as applied by various public relations, marketing, and advertising organizations, highlighting any best practices that would be precluded from federal use due to legal restrictions for government or Department of Defense agencies.

2.3. DESIGN AND DRAFT BRANDING TASK ELEMENTS. The Contractor shall design and draft a recommended strategy for DHA branding efforts, guided and informed by the comprehensive research efforts above. The Contractor shall design and draft high-level tactical recommendations for implementation of recommended strategy by DHA Communications Office.

2.4. DELIVERABLES

• Initial Concept Working Document

• Draft Final Executive Summary (4 pages)

• Draft Final Branding Report (20 pages)

• Final Executive Summary (4 pages)

• Final Branding Report (20 pages)

• Short-form presentation of findings and recommendations, with logos and graphics

• Long-form presentation of findings and recommendations, with logos and graphics

• Appendix I: Recommended Tactics and Tools

• Appendix II: Bibliography and Sources of Input

• Appendix III: Collected Reference Materials Additional Information:

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation or obligation on the part of the Government. Neither unsolicited proposals nor any other kinds of offers will be considered in response to this RFI. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement and/or any follow-up information requests.

All information received in response to this RFI that is marked "Proprietary" will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. An electronic acknowledgement of the Vendor's RFI response submission will be provided. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within one work day, please notify the acquisition point of contacts listed in this RFI to ensure successful delivery.