HomeMy WebLinkAboutQuestions and Responses for Bond Education RFP• If selected, who will we be working with from the City on this project?
Your team will be working with a main point of contact (Melody Mileur, Communications Coordinator)
as well as a larger project team including representatives from Fire, Parks and Rec, Finance, Housing,
and City Management.
o Will we have access to City staff and subject matter experts?
Yes, you will have access to the City’s main point of contact as well as individual staff members
or the project team as needed for background information.
o What is the approval process for messaging, materials etc? Who approves/gives feedback?
The main point of contact will be the final decision maker for messaging and materials however
the project team will weigh in and provide feedback on general messaging at the beginning of
the project. Once general messaging is finalized there may not always be the need for feedback
from the larger team.
o Do you have a timeline for roll out—or is that something we will develop with you?
The items identified in the RFP will be out for a vote on November 2, 2021. The City expects to
begin education efforts as soon as possible with a goal of beginning by late July/early August.
This timeline can be discussed with the selected consultant.
o We have walked the line between education and persuasion previously. Who from the City
will guide us for this project?
The City’s project team includes several staff members who have worked on similar projects
that have clearly shown the “bright line” of education. You will have assistance from those team
members including the City Attorney’s Office, City Management, and Finance.
• Can you give me a sense of what you consider “similar projects.”
This might include similar work in large scale public education efforts, education on ballot related issues,
education projects in the Bozeman area, and specific work with the City of Bozeman.
• If we do not have a lot of experience with similar projects, as you define them, but have significant
experience with brand development and strategic communication, how much are you likely to
penalize us in the scoring.
Proposals will be scored based on the criteria defined in the RFP. How this will be reflected in the scoring
may be subjective so it is difficult to define how much this may impact a consultant’s final score.
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
[5 points] Executive Summary
[50 points] Qualifications of the Firm for Scope of Services; Cost
[30 points] Related Experience with Similar Projects
[10 points] Present and Projected Workloads
[5 points] Recent and current work for the City of Bozeman
• Please describe your expectation for brand development. We have provided very detailed brand
and brand books for some clients and very simple brands—amounting largely to positioning
statements—for others. What are you looking for?
The City expects the brand development to be simple so that consultants can focus their time and
resources on other deliverables.
• With the logo, are you also expecting graphic standards?
No.
• Do you expect funds for media planning and buying contained to come out of the $36,000 budget?
Yes. We acknowledge that every budget presents limitations and expect the consultant to find help
prioritize deliverables for the most efficient, effective outcomes.
• Do you have a website for this project?
The City is required to develop a webpage for this project that will live on the City’s website
www.bozeman.net. A shortened URL to direct to the page will be created.
• This RFP calls for an estimated budget for media buys and printing costs. It is difficult to estimate
these costs having not developed the brand for communication strategy. This gives rise to two
questions:
o Do you have a budget for media buys and printing costs?
The budget for media buys and printing costs should be considered a part of the overall budget.
Based on the final scope with the selected consultant a more clear budget will be identified.
o Do you have a budget to boost social media?
Within the final scope and budget a consultant may propose budget to boost for social media.
This is a common practice for the City of Bozeman.
o Will we be penalized in the scoring if we note that the costs are hard to estimate and leave
it at that?
The goal of this question is for the consultant to demonstrate an understanding of the media
market of the area as well as experience finding efficiencies for different media/marketing buys.
Demonstration of this skill is more important than the defined costs.
• Are the educational video(s) supposed to come out of the $36,000 budget? Or do you have a
separate budget for TV/Film production.
If education videos are a deliverable that is identified in the scope of services with the winning
consultant this will come out of the $36,000 budget.