Marketing and Advertising Services - UPDATED

The State of Tennessee Department of Tourist Development has issued RFP #32601-26001 for comprehensive Marketing and Advertising Services through Amendment #1 and Release #2, seeking a prime contractor to develop and execute integrated marketing campaigns designed to increase domestic and international visitation to Tennessee. The procurement encompasses brand development and management, strategic planning, creative concepting and production, media buying and planning, public relations services, website content management, social media management, research and analytics, database management, email marketing, and co-op marketing programs. Qualified respondents must demonstrate annual billing of at least $20,000,000, maintain a $1,000,000 line of credit, possess experience managing annual marketing budgets of at least $20,000,000, and hold a business address in Tennessee with personnel available for in-person meetings at the State's central office. Additional mandatory requirements include specific information technology security certifications (FIPS 140-2/140-3 encryption, ISO/IEC 27001, FedRAMP, SOC 2 Type II, or NIST compliance), annual penetration testing and vulnerability assessments, and prior experience with both domestic and international media placement and large-scale media campaigns of $1,000,000 and above. The evaluation will be based on general qualifications and experience (20 points), technical qualifications, experience, and approach (60 points), oral presentation performance, and cost proposal (20 points), for a total of 100 possible points, with the award going to the responsive and responsible respondent offering the best combination of attributes rather than necessarily the lowest cost. Key dates include a Pre-response Conference on January 14, 2026, a Written Questions & Comments deadline of January 21, 2026, a Response Deadline of February 25, 2026, mandatory two-hour Oral Presentations scheduled for March 24-27, 2026 (limited to the top three technical scorers), a Notice of Intent to Award on April 13, 2026, a protest period ending April 20, 2026, and a contractor signature deadline of April 24, 2026. The contract term is five years, anticipated to begin July 1, 2026, with a three-month transition period from the incumbent contractor.

The RFP contains no specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises or restrictions limiting organizational types from responding. The incumbent contractor is WPP Group USA INC dba VML LLC, which has held the contract since January 29, 2014, and generated $13.27 million in media spend and $5.33 million in contractor fees during Fiscal Year 2024-2025. The awarded contractor will receive access to the State's extensive existing technology ecosystem at no additional cost, including over 40 systems and platforms such as an Acquia-hosted Drupal CMS for TNVacation.com, analytics platforms (Placer.ai, Adara, Arrivalist, AirDNA, Zartico, SMARI, GA4), social media management tools (Meta Business Suite, Sprout Social), digital asset management systems, customer relationship management platforms, email marketing systems (Mailchimp), and creative design resources (Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva). The contractor will assume management responsibilities for website content maintenance, digital asset management, and integration across these existing platforms while ensuring all State Data and derivative works are stored exclusively in the continental United States and accessed only by U.S.-based resources. The estimated annual spend ranges from $25,000,000 to $30,000,000, with public relations services estimated at $500,000 annually, bringing the total contract value to approximately $125,000,000 to $150,000,000 over the five-year term. Cost proposals will be evaluated based on core team hourly rate cards (6 points maximum), media buy percentages against an annual estimated investment of $12,000,000 (13 points maximum), and public relations services pricing (1 point maximum).