Radio, TV, Digital and Print Advertisements

State of Maine Procurement Justification Form PJF Page 1 of 3 Rev. 1/29/2020 This form must accompany all contract requests and sole source requisitions (RQS) over $5,000 submitted to the Division of Procurement Services. INSTRUCTIONS: Please provide the requested information in the white spaces below. All responses (except signatures) must be typed; no hand-written forms will be accepted. See the guidance document posted with this form on the Division of Procurement Services website (Forms page) for additional instructions. PART I: OVERVIEW Department Office/Division/Program: DACF/ARD Department Contract Administrator or Grant Coordinator: Leigh Hallett (If applicable) Department Reference #: Amount: (Contract/Amendment/Grant) $12,000.00 Advantage CT / RQS #: RQS: 20210526*1113 CONTRACT Proposed Start Date: 5/24/2021 Proposed End Date: 9/15/2021 AMENDMENT Original Start Date: Effective Date: Previous End Date: New End Date: GRANT Project Start Date: Grant Start Date: Project End

Date: Grant End Date: Vendor/Provider/Grantee Name, City, State: Maine Public Lewiston, Maine Brief Description of Goods/Services/Grant: Radio, TV, Digital and Print advertisements as part of the Real Maine rebranding campaign PART II: JUSTIFICATION FOR VENDOR SELECTION Mark an “X” before the justification(s) that applies to this request. (Check all that apply.) A. Competitive Process G. Grant B. Amendment H. State Statute/Agency Directed X C. Single Source/Unique Vendor I. Federal Agency Directed D. Proprietary/Copyright/Patents J. Willing and Qualified E. Emergency K. Client Choice F. University Cooperative Project L. Other Authorization PART III: SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION Please respond to ALL of the following: 1. Provide a more detailed description and explain the need for the goods, services or grant to supplement the response in Part I. DocuSign Envelope ID: FC6A9EB4-BA66-4170-B754-8E6ACA50513A State of Maine Procurement Justification Form PJF Page 2 of 3 Rev. 1/29/2020 PART III: SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION The Division of Agricultural Resource Development manages an agricultural marketing program called “Real Maine.” Any Maine agricultural producer can participate at no charge, and the DACF operates the program to promote all Maine ag products, and to engage and educate consumers in Maine ag. In order to appeal to consumers, we use a variety of promotional efforts. Television and radio have proven particularly effective. The “Summer Breeze” campaign is a contest being conducted by Maine Public. By sponsoring the campaign, Real Maine will receive extensive radio, television, and print promotion. Because it is a contest with sporting goods as the grant prize, the campaign will attract attention for Real Maine from people who might otherwise not participate. Therefore Summer Breeze is an ideal marketing opportunity. Furthermore, the campaign is a fun, family-friendly event. To enter the contest, participants need to take a selfie photo at participating sites. There are 84 sites statewide; 10 of them are Real Maine members. ARD does not have the capacity to conduct a state-wide contest with appeal to consumers, but by sponsoring the Summer Breeze campaign, Real Maine is a part of such a contest. It’s a fun promotional event that will attract positive attention, and provide Real Maine with social media material all summer. DACF will also contribute to the prize package, including 10 Maine State Park day passes, for promotion of the BPL. The Summer Breeze campaign is well aligned with ARD’s goals to promote Real Maine, secure regular advertising, engage and educate the public, and encourage the public to explore the back roads of Maine to find Maine agricultural products. 2. Provide a brief justification for the selected vendor to supplement the response in Part II. ARD has worked with Maine Public for several years to promote the Real Maine brand. Maine Public is without peer in the state in terms of the nature of the organization, its affordability, and particularly its coverage of the state via multiple media. It is the only statewide broadcaster that is free to the public and broadcast across so many platforms. Maine Public has radio broadcast towers statewide, multiple TV stations that are available free in every region of the state, a strong social media presence, plus web and print media. The Create It campaign offers comprehensive access to all of Maine Public’s platforms. Additionally, Maine Public agreed to be flexible in planning the Real Maine underwriting messages, allowing us to change our content multiple times as the rebranding proceeded. 3. Explain how the negotiated costs or rates are fair and reasonable; or how the funding was allocated to grantee. The cost of the underwriting includes promotion of Real Maine on all of Maine Public’s platforms, including 34 radio spots, 150 TV spots, articles in their print magazine (Experience), social media promotion, email promotion, and mention on their website. We have compared the cost of advertising on other radio and TV stations (none of which offer the statewide reach of Maine Public) and found that the price available through this package is highly competitive. Additionally, we have purchased other advertising from Maine Public, and it has proven to be very effective for outreach. 4. Describe the plan for future competition for the goods or services. DACF does put marketing projects out to bid from time to time. DocuSign Envelope ID: FC6A9EB4-BA66-4170-B754-8E6ACA50513A State of Maine Procurement Justification Form PJF Page 3 of 3 Rev. 1/29/2020 PART IV: APPROVALS Signature of requesting Department’s Commissioner (or designee): By signing below, I signify that I approve of this procurement request. Printed Name: Date: Signature of DAFS Procurement Official: Printed Name: Date: DocuSign Envelope ID: FC6A9EB4-BA66-4170-B754-8E6ACA50513A Amanda E. Beal 6/7/2021 6/7/2021Amanda E. Beal 6/11/2021Justin Franzose