Tender Specifications

INTRODUCTION

The EU Delegation to India was established in 1983. Except for the consular function, the Delegation functions as a diplomatic mission representing the European Union (EU). It performs a variety of tasks aimed at enhancing relations between the EU and India.

About the European Union (EU): The EU, which consists of 28 countries, has the world's largest economy and its third largest population, after China and India. Though richly diverse, the countries that make up the EU (its 'Member States') are all committed to the same basic values: peace, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. They have set up common institutions so that decisions on matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level. By creating a frontier-free single market and a single currency (the euro) which has been adopted by 19 Member States, the EU has given a significant boost to trade and employment. It is also at the forefront of policies on sustainability. http://europa.eu/european-union/index_en

EU-India relations For Over 50 years the EU and India have worked together to reduce poverty, prevent disasters, expand trade, and promote joint research in energy, health, agriculture and many other fields of mutual interest. Summit level meetings provide strategic direction to dialogue and cooperation initiatives.

More information at: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india (EU Delegation website) https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india/670/india-and-eu_en; https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india/3538/eu-india-summit-new-momentum-eu-india- strategic-partnership_en

Current situation In spite of the congruence of views between the EU and India on major principles (democracy, human rights, individual freedom, market economy and inclusive development), as well as strong economic complementarities, mutual awareness and cooperation between the two sides have not lived up to potential.

A low level of understanding of what the EU is and what it does with India is both a cause and a consequence of the low level of awareness.

In turn, the low level of awareness, or poor brand recognition, may be due equally to the absence of a strong public diplomacy campaign through events, traditional media and, in recent years, through social media. Social Media: Current Presence Currently, we are present in the following social media platforms:  Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EUinIndia/) o 15,626 Page Likes  Twitter (https://twitter.com/EU_in_India) o Followers: 3692 || Profile visits in 2016: 15498  You tube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePqrT3- F1ZPRNmncO555Rw) o 25 Videos uploaded || 19 followers  Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/143932044@N06/) o 359 views collectively  Instagram (for our project Indian Diaspora in the EU) https://www.instagram.com/indians_in_eu/) o 214 posts || 87 followers

Of these, the Delegation is most active on Facebook and Twitter. Last year, they were used extensively to promote various EU-related issues/visits/events. However, current content is more on the lines of news updates with one-way communication, eliciting a low level of engagement and reach.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. Objectives The EU Delegation in India hereby seeks to contract a social media and digital marketing agency to achieve the following communication objectives:

 Building the EU as a brand: o Increasing awareness and recognition of the EU and its various institutions and its leadership along with its values o increasing understanding, visibility and appreciation of the role of the EU as a global political and security actor, and as a major player in the promotion of free trade  Highlighting EU-India relations & cooperation: as a partner for India across policy areas and priorities.  Showcasing and projecting the EU and India as natural allies and partners in the areas of geopolitics and security, trade, investment and innovation and sustainability.

2. Rationale and context of the assignment The Digital Agency is responsible for creating and crafting compelling digital content, with a particular focus on visual content, which engages audiences in a dynamic, interactive and meaningful way and sparks conversations around issues related to EU's mandate. It will play a key role in developing and managing EU's India presence on a wide range of social media platforms. The agency will also develop in consultation with the EU Delegation the creation and coordination of social media strategies and campaigns, digital marketing, monitoring, measurement and analysis, and moderation of platforms.

3. Responsibilities:  Create compelling social media content for digital platforms and systematically grow EUD's digital community and deepen engagement across all platforms.  Coordinate the creation of engaging audio, visual content which performs well on various social media channels  Manage EUD's presence on social media on a day to day basis (with prior approvals), continually optimising the channel and increasing subscribers  To drive traffic to our website (https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india_en and make it a frequently consulted point of reference for target audiences.  Regularly come up with ideas for engaging social media content and campaigns, working with relevant colleagues to assess feasibility and create.  Help develop and implement informed, cross-platform social media and digital marketing strategies and support management to make informed decisions regarding digital strategy.  Monitor and moderate social media channels, flagging risk and opportunities to deepen engagement.  Identify new digital tools and best practices and how these can be most effectively applied to deepen engagement with supporters.  Keep track of efforts and activities of EU global accounts, EU Member states, partners and similar organizations and leverage them to enhance online presence and reach  Coordinate social media projects and campaigns as required, working closely with EUD's communications colleagues and other teams, wherever relevant  To increase the reach and engagement with target audiences through the use of social media tools and achieve the objectives stated above. Twitter / Facebook are the main channels. Other social media channels can be added based on the advice of the agency and approval by EUDEL.  Measure and report on social media efforts.  Training of EUD staff members on leveraging social media, as required  An increased level of understanding and appreciation of the European Union, its relations with India and its activities in India by the target audience.  Development of a trusted set of influencers/online community who further help to raise awareness about the EU.

4. Scope of Work for the agency (indicative) a) Social Media Strategy & Planning

● Development of an overall social media strategy  Development and management of the Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels of the Contracting Authority (with its prior approval on all content). Other channels could be added following discussion with and prior approval of the Delegation.

● Production of annual, quarterly and monthly plans with the approval of EUDEL (Quarterly checks of the social media strategy and corrective action as required)

● Development and implementation of social media and if required digital marketing campaigns for: o Big events, announcements, and major issues: 5 per year in number (such as the EU –India summit/ key visits / key days like Girl child, etc.). In addition, there will be European Union Film Festival programme (in 10 cities including 4 metros.) o Other events (smaller events for a day): o To cover 8 in Delhi & 4 outside of Delhi o Besides this there might be regular updates, visits etc. to be covered

Supporting events / campaigns would include social media corners at the event / developing the content in advance (eg. articles/tweet packs), during and after the event, producing GIFs, animated videos. The agency will be required to develop the messaging and content, cover the event and post content with the EUDEL's approval.

Regularly monitor online efforts and activities of EU headquarters accounts, EU delegations from SAARC countries, from EU projects in India (website + social media), EU Member states in India, partners and similar organizations and identify opportunities for cross posting and sharing content etc. b) Developing & implementing Influencer programme ● Influencer mapping and relationship management ● Influencer strategy/plans ● Influencer concept creation and closures ● Campaign execution ● Analysis and Reporting

The key influencers will be: think tanks, academicians, media and government, chambers & commerce and NGOs c) Content generation and uploads ● Create compelling social media content for digital platforms as well as adapt content received from the Contracting Authority. This. should include:

o Animated/ static videos/GIFs/slide share including conceptualization, scripting, shooting, editing and voiceover o Infographics for specific sectors & campaigns in consultation with the Delegation o Social media campaigns on identified themes including contests / promotions / twitter chats o Cover Skins & Profile Pictures for Social Channels o YouTube uploads based on the videos received or created o Facebook posts and twitter packs

Content will be published daily on the social media channels based on timelines agreed with the EUDEL d) Measurement, Analysis, Reporting

● Overall targets and Campaign-specific achievements based on analytics following campaign completion

Parameters for measuring the result of the social media campaign. For instance,

% increase in reach of the posts (likes, comments, shares on Facebook; like retweets, responses on twitter etc)

% increase in engagement with our target groups

% increase in traffic to website

No of likes / followers on Facebook/ Twitter/ You tube

e) Search ability of the social media content

● The content uploaded on social media platforms should be searchable by theme or subject. Please suggest a methodology.

5. Profile of agency / staffing who qualify to participate in the tender ● Annual turnover: Over 50 lakhs ● Number of staff: 20+ ● Number of years of experience: Minimum 5 years ● Number of accounts: Minimum 20 in the last 5 years ● Core Team: Please provide the CVs of the team who will be working on the account. The core team should ideally have: o Key Account Manager/ Coordinator o Content writer/ Blogger o Graphic Designer o Video Editor o Social media planner Please note that any change in staff assigned to this contract would need an approval of the EUD (before the project starts or during the period of the contract). The new member CV should be shared and the new person should be inducted only after EUD approval on the CV.

● The key account coordinator should have: o 5+ years’ experience working on social media, digital marketing. o Strong track record of success in the creation of engaging video/visual content o Experience in developing and implementing social media or digital marketing strategies. o Proven ability to write flawless copy on tight deadlines. o Proven copy editing skills. o Adept at using a wide range of social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest. o Knowledge of social media monitoring technology and can use social media measurement and listening tools o Experience in reporting on quantitative and qualitative analytics. o Proven ability to present and communicate new projects to a varied audience. o Proven ability to manage multiple priorities within specified timeframes. o Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas as well as transfer knowledge and skills. o Experience in working on accounts of the International NGOs or global organisations a plus.

6. Time period for the contract: Maximum of 4 years, to be renewed every year basis agreement by both parties.

7. Deadline for Submission of the proposals: 18 th May, 2017

APPLICATION AND EVALUATION

The application should be made in 2 parts: technical and financial:

A. Technical

The technical part should specify the overall approach to the execution of the contract; the services to be provided; the experience of the applicant in similar assignments. (Technical Award Criteria table Mentioned below to be filled) A minimum of 36 points will be required to pass the Technical quality check.

TECHNICAL AWARD CRITERIA

No Criteria Max numberComments of points

1 Organisation Background10 The tenderer should provide information on: & Experience including profiles of staff who would ● Annual turnover ● Number of staff be working on the account ● Number of years of experience ● Number of accounts ● Core Team members and their CVs/qualifications (see terms of reference point 5) . Any other point, if relevant can be added. Please also add what will be the time commitment from each of the core member for the account. 2 Experience: Recent and10 The tenderer should provide list of clients, services current portfolio provided and testimonials if relevant Please also include samples of work/campaigns done.

3 Quality of proposal 40 The tenderer should provide a proposal for the social media strategy. Besides the overall strategy, please include detailed plans for managing these campaigns as examples:

 European Union Film Festival (EUFF) (locations: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Goa, Pune, Coimbatore, Puducherry, and Arunachal Pradesh). We would like to leverage it across the social media to generate visibility. Delhi inauguration will be the key one. Please present your ideas keeping in mind that the cost has to be minimal. (You can also include innovative ideas on how to cover it without someone travelling to the location.)

Brief: Organized by the Delegation of the European Union and Embassies of EU Member States in partnership with Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the festival will screen 22 recent award winning European movies from 22 European countries. The main inaugural will be in Delhi. This is the 22nd edition of the EUFF in India. It will start from Delhi (in June'17) and will move to different cities. In Delhi it is likely to be inaugurated by a Minister (yet to be decided who) along with the Ambassador of the EU Delegation in India at Siri Fort. Inauguration at other locations are usually done by an EU Member state Ambassador / counsellor.

 EU as the guest partner for World Book Fair 2018: Jan 6-14, 2018

Brief: The New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) is organised by the National Book Trust (NBT) with the objective of promoting reading and publishing. The National Book Trust is a public body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. In 2017, the Fair occupied approximately 33,000 sq. m, saw participation of 1800 publishers, and was visited by 1.4 million visitors. It has been a high profile event, inaugurated in the past by Presidents and Prime Ministers from India and Ministers from partner countries. The 2018 edition will be held from 6-14 January to take advantage of school and university holidays. The themes for this event will be Environment and Climate Change as well as Books from Europe. The EUD will be the Guest Partner to the event. As Guest Country/Partner, the European Union and the EU Member states (atleast 10 EUMS along with participation by other Member states) would put up a combined pavilion, and bring delegation of authors, experts and support the participation of publishers. Member states will also host a number of side events at the stall (author talk etc), wherein we will try to pull in the audience. We would like to leverage this event to raise awareness about the EU and also highlight the people-to-people linkages between two regions with shared values.

B. Financial

The financial offer of only those agencies scoring 36 or above on technical quality will be opened and evaluated. The cost sheet comprising the financial offer should be filled in on the agency letterhead and sent in a separate envelope.

This offer will be in two parts: 1. Social Media Retainer: this will cover those services for which a fixed monthly fee will be payable each month (please mention what additional, if any, will be covered under the retainer). Please see the 1. Social media retainer: FIXED COST/MONTHLY RETAINER table below which needs to be filled) 2. Variable Cost: Paid promotional activity and add-on costs not foreseen: this will be on an ad hoc basis and any other additional cost that you forsee (please see the 2. VARIABLE COST table below)

To allow for comparison, assessment and selection of a vendor, applicants are asked to fill in the cost sheet mentioned below indicating 'nil' or 'no charge' for items which they subsume under the retainership.

Financial Sheet to be filled and sent in separate envelope: 1. Social Media Retainer: FIXED COST/MONTHLY RETAINER Services covered by Retainer Amount payable (INR) per month Overall strategy & Campaign strategies. General scope of work as per point 4 (scope of work for the agency). In addition please specify the numbers of the following included in your total cost. Facebook posts (maximum number to be specified) Twitter posts (maximum number to be specified) Videos: conceptualisation, production and uploading (maximum number to be specified)  In Delhi: 3 min & 5 min  Outside Delhi: 3 min and 5 min GIFs : conceptualisation and production (maximum number to be specified)

Infographics: conceptualisation, production and uploading (maximum number to be specified)

Please mention other tools (like twitter chats etc) that will be part of the campaign (indicative list with the maximum number, wherever relevant)

2. VARIABLE COST Additional Services and promotion over and Duration Cost rate above mentioned under point 1 of the (estimated no of per item Financial sheet - Social Media Retainer man days)

a) Paid Promotion Activity (third party payments to Google, Facebook etc. will be reimbursed on actuals)

b) NCR events for social media coverage

 1 day in Delhi

c) Non-NCR events for social media coverage

 2 days Mumbai

 2 days Chennai

d) Influencer strategy and outreach (for 30- 40 influencers) e) Others

 Video (location: Delhi): 5 min duration  Video (location: Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai); duration: 7 min  Production of Infographics  Twitter chats (on a specific topic)  Production of GIF  Covering a day's event (location: Delhi)  Covering a day's event (location: Mumbai) Please add any further tools which you deem fit.

Evaluation: Calculation of the most advantageous offer

The evaluation will be done by a committee.

The technical score will be added to the financial score to obtain the combined score. The agency with the highest combined score will be selected. Applicants might be asked to present their proposals and provide clarifications.

Applicants will be informed of their selection and non-selection but scores and other details of the evaluation committee will remain confidential.

Evaluation The selection of the vendor will be based on both technical quality and cost. The technical quality of proposals will have 60% weightage and only those applicants scoring 36 will have the financial envelope opened and assessed. Quality criteria will include previous experience, and staff assigned to contract.

Calculation of the overall score

The tender chosen will be that which offers the best value for money among the technically compliant tenders, namely the tender obtaining the best overall score Pi calculated as follows where the weighting is 60% for the quality and 40% for the price:

Pi = Ti * 0.60 + Fi * 0.40

Ti = (technical quality score for the tender under consideration / score for the best technical quality tender ) * 100

Fi = (cheapest total price for the scenario / price for the scenario of the tender under consideration) * 100

Please note – The Delegation may ask for the presentation from the shortlisted candidates before awarding the contract. The presentation is no way binding on the contracting authority.