Brand and Advertising Agency of Record

WMCHealth (Westchester Medical Center Health Network) is requesting proposals for a Brand and Advertising Agency of Record to serve its nine-hospital network across the Hudson Valley, with proposals due October 9, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. EST. No incumbent has held an identical or substantially similar contract within the past five years.

The scope encompasses enterprise brand strategy development, brand launch strategy and go-to-market planning, verbal and visual brand identity evolution, multi-channel advertising campaign development and creative execution, production management for video, photography, audio and print, brand training delivery, and strategic collaboration with partner agencies. The agency will serve a 1,700-bed healthcare system serving 2.5 million residents.

WMCHealth emphasizes meaningful participation of minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE) and requires vendors to demonstrate diversity practices and supplier utilization. Vendors must maintain general liability insurance of $5 million, professional liability of $2 million, and cyber liability of $5 million, and are subject to background checks and debarment screening. All proposers must execute forms addressing conflicts of interest, debarment status, prior non-responsibility determinations, and New York State Finance Law sections 139-j and 139-k compliance.

The contract carries an initial one-year term with automatic renewal for up to four additional one-year periods, subject to termination for cause with thirty days' notice or without cause with sixty days' notice. Award will be made on a best-value basis considering quality, cost, and efficiency, including demonstrated ability to develop differentiated strategic brand positioning, multi-channel creative capabilities, staffing plan and continuity, compensation model clarity, experience with coordinated brand launches across large organizations, collaborative experience with peer agencies, and production capabilities. WMCHealth reserves the right to negotiate fees with selected proposers and may award contracts to multiple successful proposers. Proposers must submit separate fee proposals with hourly rate cards and detailed cost component analysis; production hard costs are excluded from fees and invoiced at net cost without markup. A Letter of Intent and executed Confidentiality Agreement are due September 23, 2026; RFP appendices will be issued September 24; questions are due September 30; finalists will be notified October 16 with presentations scheduled October 19–22; and contract award is anticipated October 26 with a tentative start date of November 16, 2026.