DATE: May 8, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: David Pomaville, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Media Communications and Advertising Consultant Agreement
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with Two Q, Inc., for media communication and advertising services, effective upon execution, not to exceed five years and two months consecutively, which includes a two-month planning and implementation phase followed by a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $3,750,000.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will authorize JP Marketing, a division of Two Q, Inc., selected following a Request for Proposal (RFP) process, to assist the Department of Public Health in increasing public awareness of health topics. JP Marketing will provide professional media marketing, advertising, and public relation services to programs throughout the Department for an initial two-month planning and implementation phase, followed by a three-year base contract. The recommended agreement will be funded with grant, Health Realignment, and Special Revenue Funds, with no increase in Net County Cost. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended agreement, the Department’s ability to create and place professional-quality advertisements and public service announcements would be limited. The Department would spend more to place an equivalent number of advertisements than JP Marketing, an established media agency, due to the Department’s significantly lower buying power.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The maximum compensation is $950,000 in the two-month planning and implementation phase and the first year of the base contract (May 8, 2018-June 30, 2019), and $700,000 annually thereafter, for a five-year and two-month total not to exceed $3,750,000. The majority of the costs will be directed to the production and placement of advertisements in various media outlets. Expenses related to JP Marketing’s personnel time will be billed at contractual rates. The recommended agreement will be funded with grant, Health Realignment, and Special Revenue Funds. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5620 FY 2017-18 Adopted Budget and will be included in budget requests for the duration of the term.
DISCUSSION:
On January 8, 2018, the Department issued RFP No. 18-020 for full-service advertising and media communication services to assist programs in the Department to educate and engage the public on health topics. The RFP required bidders to demonstrate their capabilities, quality of work, and cost effectiveness through their overall response to the RFP scope of work, creative samples, personnel rate schedule, and a three-month, $50,000 mock communications plan.
The RFP notice was distributed to 35 identified vendors and published on the County’s Public Purchase system. The RFP closed on February 13, 2018. The Internal Services Department - Purchasing Division received nine proposals. A four-member committee consisting of Department staff and a California State University, Fresno Department of Media, Communications and Journalism representative reviewed and evaluated each bidder’s capability and qualifications, management plan, cost proposal, past performance, and interview responses. The committee reached a consensus and recommended JP Marketing based on their superior capabilities, comprehensive management plan, and cost-effective cost proposal.
JP Marketing demonstrated extensive local knowledge and experience with influential behavior change campaigns, as well as the unique challenges and opportunities the County faces. They demonstrated a deep understanding of the Department’s needs and developed appropriate objectives and recommendations covering the entire media communications process: initial planning, assessing and improving the Department’s current brand and materials, negotiating high-value media buys, leveraging earned media, integrating and cross-promoting messages between the Department’s programs and community partners, and evaluating campaign outcomes. JP Marketing was also the most cost-effective as demonstrated through the mock communications plan budget, with the highest percentage of funds directed to end-result advertising placement. In addition, the Department has used JP Marketing in the past for a small-scale, targeted campaign with excellent outcomes.
The proposed agreement includes an initial two-month planning and implementation phase to allow JP Marketing to coordinate with Department staff and its community partners to develop the first annual comprehensive communications plan.
With your Board’s approval, the recommended action allow the Department to utilize JP Marketing for education and engagement campaigns and to influence positive changes in the health and well-being of County residents.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Two Q, Inc.
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa