Advertising Services for the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation

Page 1 of 13 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Request for Proposal Advertising Services for the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation RFP 2022-VR-01 The New Hampshire Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, national/ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, or disability in its programs, activities and employment practices. This statement is a reflection of the Department of Education and refers to, but is not limited to, the provisions of the following laws: Title IV, VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964-race color, national origin, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX)-sex, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)-disability, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)-disability, and NH Law against discrimination (RSA 354-A). Auxiliary aids and services are available upon

request to individuals with disabilities Page 2 of 13 Section 1 – Overview and Schedule A. Executive Summary The New Hampshire Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is seeking proposals for professional services to contract with a vendor to develop an advertising campaign, which expands on recently updated marketing materials, to include the following: a video series, public service announcements, radio announcements, print advertisements, and possible commercials. The goal of this RFP is to highlight VR services and the value our customers have in the workforce as well as target primary audiences including individuals with disabilities, students with disabilities and businesses. B. Schedule The following table provides a Schedule of Events for this RFP through contract finalization and approval. The Agency reserves the right to amend this Schedule at its sole discretion and at any time through a published Addendum. EVENT DATE LOCAL TIME RFP Released to Proposers (Advertisement) 12/17/21 Proposer Inquiry Period Ends 1/7/22 4:00 pm Final Agency Responses to Proposer Inquiries 1/12/22 4:00 pm Proposers Submit Proposals 1/26/22 4:00 pm Estimated Notification of Selection and Begin Contract Negotiations 2/2/22 The State reserves the right to alter this schedule at any time by posting an addendum to the same web site that contains this RFP. The State will not attempt to contact bidders regarding the posting of schedule changes. It is the responsibility of each bidder to visit the RFP web site regularly to obtain any alterations. Page 3 of 13 Section 2 - Description of Agency/Program Issuing the Request for Proposals New Hampshire Vocational Rehabilitation (NHVR) is a state agency that receives federal and state funding to provide rehabilitation services to assist individuals with disabilities in obtaining and maintaining employment as a part of the larger workforce system. Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors provide guidance and counseling to guide participants through the VR process. The program can assist individuals obtain assessments, training, job development and placement and many purchased services to enhance career pathway employment opportunities. In addition, the program works with business partners to fulfill their hiring needs and develop new collaborations to advance the hiring, training and retaining of individuals with disabilities. The agency has approximately 75 staff members and has five regional offices around the state. Staff also work at the American Job Centers offices around the state. Section 3 – Proposed Scope of Work VR seeks to contract with a marketing and advertising partner to collaborate with and develop a plan that increases brand awareness and engagement for our participants, with the goal of highlighting NH Vocational Rehabilitation services and the value our customers provide in the workforce as well as target primary audiences and special programs including individuals with disabilities, students with disabilities and businesses. This scope of work is to include: 1. Develop a video series that explain the VR process, increases brand awareness, and helps increase engagement, likeability and reach, as well as understand VR’s goals and processes. VR is looking to develop a minimum of eight (8) videos highlighting VR services, to include three (3) audience-focused videos and five (5) program-focused videos. This would include all pre-production, in-production and post-production activities. All videos will need to meet 508 Accessibility guidelines. a. The three audience-focused videos would target individuals with disabilities, students with disabilities and businesses. b. The five program-focused videos would highlight the following programs: services for blind and vision-impaired, program for deaf and hard of hearing, independent living program, school transition services, and community rehabilitation programs. c. Video series can be part of the larger advertising plan/campaign and the videos can be used in a variety of settings. 2. Develop and implement an advertising plan/campaign that would promote our services, increase engagement, likability, and reach, so businesses recognize the value of individuals with disabilities in the workforce. The proposal would include, but not be limited to, radio advertising, digital marketing, social media campaign, public service announcements, and possibly commercials. a. Determine and develop advertising opportunities or possible VR campaign that targets our identified audiences and fits within the budget. b. Create a timeline and execute a paid ad plan as well as implement two-year advertising/campaign deliverables to include the video series and components Page 4 of 13 described above. c. Seek opportunities for earned media. 3. Conduct analysis of advertising components that sets goals, which includes performance outcomes that show the effectiveness of each component. Section 4 – Process for Submitting a Proposal A. Proposal Submission, Deadline, and Location Instructions Proposals submitted in response to this RFP must be received by the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, no later than the time and date specified in the Schedule section, herein. Proposals may be submitted via Email to: lisa.k.hatz@doe.nh.gov and cc stacey.a.macstravic1@doe.nh.gov Proposals must be clearly marked as follows: STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE RESPONSE TO RFP 2022-VR-1 Advertising Services for the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation Unless waived as a non-material deviation in accordance with Section 6B, late submissions will not be accepted and will be returned to the proposers unopened. Delivery of the Proposals shall be at the Proposer’s expense. The time of receipt shall be considered when a Proposal has been officially documented by the Agency, in accordance with its established policies, as having been received at the location designated above. The Agency accepts no responsibility for mislabeled mail or mail that is not delivered or undeliverable for whatever reason. Any damage that may occur due to shipping shall be the Proposer’s responsibility. All Proposals submitted in response to this RFP must consist of at least: One (1) original electronic submission of the Proposal, including all required attachments contained on digital media. Proposers who are ineligible to bid on proposals, bids or quotes issued by the Department of Administrative Services, Division of Procurement and Support Services pursuant to the provisions of RSA 21-I:11-c shall not be considered eligible for an award under this proposal. B. Proposal Inquiries All inquiries concerning this RFP, including but not limited to, requests for mailto:lisa.k.hatz@doe.nh.gov mailto:stacey.a.macstravic1@doe.nh.gov Page 5 of 13 clarifications, questions, and any changes to the RFP, shall be submitted via email to the following RFP designated Points of Contact: TO: Lisa Hinson-Hatz at Lisa.k.hatz@doe.nh.gov CC: Stacey MacStravic at Stacey.a.macstravic1@doe.nh.gov Inquiries must be received by the Agency’s RFP Points of Contact no later than the conclusion of the Proposer Inquiry Period (see Schedule of Events section, herein). Inquiries received later than the conclusion of the Proposer Inquiry Period shall not be considered properly submitted and may not be considered. The Agency intends to issue official responses to properly submitted inquiries on or before the date specified in the Schedule section, herein; however, this date is subject to change at the Agency’s discretion. The Agency may consolidate and/or paraphrase questions for sufficiency and clarity. The Agency may, at its discretion, amend this RFP on its own initiative or in response to issues raised by inquiries, as it deems appropriate. Oral statements, representations, clarifications, or modifications concerning the RFP shall not be binding upon the Agency. Official responses by the Agency will be made only in writing by the process described above. Vendors shall be responsible for reviewing the most updated information related to this RFP before submitting a proposal. C. Restriction of Contact with Agency Employees From the date of release of this RFP until an award is made and announced regarding the selection of a Proposer, all communication with personnel employed by or under contract with the Agency regarding this RFP is forbidden unless first approved by the RFP Points of Contact listed in the Proposal Inquiries section, herein. Agency employees have been directed not to hold conferences and/or discussions concerning this RFP with any potential contractor during the selection process, unless otherwise authorized by the RFP Points of Contact. Proposers may be disqualified for violating this restriction on communications. D. Validity of Proposal Proposals must be valid for one hundred and eighty (180) days following the deadline for submission of Proposals in Schedule of Events, or until the Effective Date of any resulting Contract, whichever is later. mailto:Lisa.k.hatz@doe.nh.gov mailto:Stacey.a.macstravic1@doe.nh.gov Page 6 of 13 Section 5 - Content and Requirements for a Proposal Proposal shall follow the below format and provide the required information set forth below: 1. Table of Contents. A table of contents will allow the Selection Committee to easily access different information within the document. 2. Glossary of Common Terms. The glossary will share technical terms and acronyms. 3. Company Profile/Background. Please share an overview of the company including number of years in business, number of employees, location(s), expertise, local presence, etc. 4. Work Plan with Timelines. 5. Key Personnel. Please share resumes of key personnel that would be working on this project. 6. References. Please share three references that the agency can utilize to determine the satisfaction of previous, similar work. VR agencies from other states would be preferred. 7. Comprehensive budget sent in a separate document. Section 6 – Evaluation of Proposals A. Criteria for Evaluation and Scoring Each responsive Proposal will be evaluated and considered with regard to the following criteria: If the Agency, determines to make an award, the Agency will issue an “intent to negotiate” notice to a Proposer based on these evaluations. Should the Agency be unable to reach agreement with the selected Proposer during Contract discussions, the Agency may then undertake Contract discussions with the second preferred Proposer and so on, or the Agency may reject all proposals, cancel this RFP, or solicit new Proposals under a new acquisition process. VII. PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SCORING: Advertising Services for the Bureau of VR: The purpose of this proposal is for a professional services to contract with a vendor to develop an advertising campaign, which expands on the updated marketing materials, to include some of the following but not limited to: a video series, public service announcements, radio announcements, print advertisements, and possible commercials. The goal of this RFP is to highlight the NH Vocational Rehabilitation services, increase engagement, and demonstrate the value that VR customers bring to the workforce as well as target primary audiences and special programs including individuals with disabilities, students with disabilities and businesses. Evaluation Criteria Possible Points Completeness of Proposal – proposal includes the following: 20 points Project Summary, Budget, and Timeline New Hampshire Secretary of State Registration (or applicable state)