DATE: April 23, 2019
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Dawan Utecht, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT: Agreement with Two Q, Inc., for Media Communications and Advertising Services
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 through June 30, 2022, which includes two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $2,350,000.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will authorize Two Q, Inc., dba JP Marketing, to assist the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) in promoting public mental health awareness and reducing stigma. JP Marketing will provide professional media marketing, advertising, and public relation services to programs throughout the Department. The recommended agreement will be funded with Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) funds, with no increase in Net County Cost.
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, which is an established media agency and better suited to leverage their position for media negotiations. The Department would also need to hire additional staff to develop, produce, make media purchases, analyze, and maintain communication and advertising services.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The maximum compensation of the recommended Agreement is $2,350,000 and will be fully funded with MHSA PEI funds as approved in the MHSA FY 2017-18 Annual Update for the DBH Communications Plan program. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in DBH’s Org 5630 FY 2018-19 Adopted Budget and will be requested in subsequent fiscal year budgets for the duration of the contract term.
DISCUSSION:
To proceed with the communications plan program, the Department seeks to create media campaigns focusing on suicide prevention, mental health awareness, reducing the stigma around mental illness, prevention of substance use disorder and access to substance use disorder services. The Department also needs assistance in the creation of a comprehensive communication plan as well as the Fresno Suicide Prevention Collaborative, which will lay the foundation for all communication and marketing efforts pertaining to public relations and internal processes.
On October 2, 2018, the Department issued RFP No. 19-021 for full-service advertising and media communication services to assist programs in the Department to educate and engage the public on mental 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 October 30, 2018. The Internal Services Department - Purchasing Division received three proposals. A five-member committee consisting of Department staff, Valley Children’s Healthcare, and First Five Fresno County 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.
The proposed agreement includes an initial three-month phase to allow JP Marketing to coordinate with Department staff and its community partners to develop the first annual comprehensive communications plan, a suicide prevention campaign, a mental health awareness campaign, and a mental health stigma reduction campaign. The agreement includes mutual indemnification.
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 mental health and well-being of County residents.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
The Behavioral Health Board was informed of the recommended agreement at its February 20, 2019 meeting.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander