Social Media Consultant - Digital Marketing MERIT Program REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Responses due by Email: 8:00am EST on May 28, 2018
CESO reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals and will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the proponents in preparing a response.
CESO (Canadian Executive Service Organization) 700 Bay Street, Suite 800 Toronto, ON M5G 1Z6
1
Assignment
CESO is seeking a Consultant/Agency to handle its social media and digital communication for the MERIT Program. The consultant must be able to work in both official languages (English and French) and must be comfortable communicating with the office in Mongolia, despite time differences.
It is preferred the agency has offices in Ontario and is able to come to Toronto for in-person meetings. Work conducted within the agreement must be performed by persons legally residing in Canada.
The agreement will be made from June 11, 2018 to March 31st, 2019. About CESO and the MERIT project
Background
As a leading international development organization working in Canada and around the world, CESO believes that developing a strong economic infrastructure lies at the heart of sustainable change and inclusive growth, including the eradication of poverty. Our volunteers drive both economic and social change by strengthening the private sector and creating an equitable environment where communities can thrive. With 50 years as an international economic development organization, we’ve seen how private sector development and strengthening governing structures drive both economic and social change at local, national and international levels. Our Volunteer Advisors (VAs) are senior-level professionals who help to catalyze local economic growth by transferring their skills and knowledge to our partners and clients around the world.
The MERIT Project (Mongolia: Enhancing Resource Management through Institutional Transformation) is a seven-year partnership between CESO (Canadian Executive Service Organization) and WUSC (World University Service of Canada), funded by Global Affairs Canada. The project’s goal is to strengthen the capacity of the public sector in responsible resource management in order to maximize its contribution to sustainable economic and social development.
Office Locations
CESO (Toronto Office) CESO (Montréal Office) MERIT
700 Bay Street, Suite 800 1001, Rue Sherbrooke Est Suite 500 3F, National Times News Tower,
Toronto, Ontario Montréal, Québec Khudaldaanii Gudamj,
M5G 1Z6 H2L 1L3 Khoroo 1 Chingeltei District,
Ulaanbaatar – 15160, Mongolia For more information about CESO and the MERIT program, please refer to www.ceso-saco.com and www.merit.mn
2
The MERIT program started two years ago. For an economic development program, two years is very young and the impact of the work accomplished on the ground is just starting to show, which MERIT is starting to leverage through digital platforms. As part of the digital marketing and communications strategy, the program has a Facebook page, and a microsite that was launched in February.
The challenge: CESO and WUSC lack the in-house resources to develop and implement a comprehensive digital campaign which would include a strong social media strategy.
The opportunity: to position MERIT online as the leader in economic development in Mongolia.
The objectives are:
1- in Canada, the main objective is to attract expert Canadians to volunteer with the MERIT program in Mongolia. The second objective will be to showcase the work accomplished on the ground in Mongolia by the MERIT program.
2- in Mongolia, the objective is to raise the profile of the MERIT program, showcase our capabilities and expertise amongst potential clients and the population. www.ceso-saco.com/merit https://mn.ceso-saco.com/merit/ www.merit.mn https://www.facebook.com/MERIT.mn/
MERIT is looking for a strategic, creative thinker who can grow and mobilize digital communities by developing and executing web, social media, and email marketing content strategies. The consultant will develop compelling digital content that motivates people to engage and take action.
Scope of Work Required
The scope of work includes account management of digital communications across paid, owned and earned target touch-points. The Consultant/Agency’s responsibilities include tasks throughout the discovery, definition, design, development, deployment, distribution, measurement and maintenance phases. There are some out of scope tasks that will be managed by The Consultant through other partners where collaboration with The Consultant is critical. The term of the contract will be for 9 1/2 months which could be renewed based on performance review and budget availability.
3
The budget for all services, technology, fees, licenses, productions will be up to 35,000 dollars for the contract period. The fee doesn’t include potential costs related to Paid Search or Paid Ads. The list of tasks required includes but is not limited to:
● Develop a comprehensive digital strategy to drive traffic to the MERIT site and increase conversion ● Create and execute MERIT editorial calendar as it relates to social media and email marketing activities/opportunities ● Manage all aspects of the social strategy, including developing organic and paid social campaigns ● Plan, design and execute all e-marketing communications, working with the Communication team in Canada and MERIT employees in Mongolia ● Edit, format and publish blog posts and campaign landing pages on the MERIT website ● Source and create digital assets for both web and social use ● Work closely with CESO Communications team to position MERIT online as the volunteer organization of choice ● Coordinate the translation of posts in Mongolian with the MERIT Office ● Support in writing and editing online publications and collateral as required ● Monitor social media mentions, and influencer activity to identify trends and recommend online strategies to capitalize on them to position our brand ● Media Planning
● Results analysis
● Marketing technology recommendations ● Training for employees
The Consultant may be asked to perform tasks including but not limited to:
Website development App development Digital display advertising (banner ads, basic and rich media) Search engine optimization for websites Search engine marketing (paid search) Online video development and distribution Mobile media Competitive insights/review
4
Content management system development/integration User experience and quality assurance Prototyping of concept/information flow/user interface
Tell us More About You/Your Agency
Positioning, Vision, Philosophy What position has your Agency taken in the competitive digital environment? Where do you see your Agency 5 years from now? What actions are being taken now to get there? What overall philosophy governs your Agency?
Strengths Describe your Agency’s area strength. How is your firm different from others? Where do you outperform your competitors? Is there anything special about your Consultant/Agency’s capabilities, experience, and expertise that we should know about? Describe up to three of your Agency’s achievements during the past three years.
History When was the company founded? Who are the current owners of your firm? What is the total revenue and number of employees for The Consultant/Agency’s entire organization as well as for the office submitting this RFP? Provide a short, one-paragraph biography of your office’s key executives and their current roles in your organization.
5
Gains and Losses List current Clients—brands, products, and services—managed by your Agency. Also, indicate if these relations are ongoing or project-based. What accounts has The Consultant/Agency acquired within the past three years, please comment on why The Agency was chosen to service these new accounts. Of the accounts lost in the past three years, explain why you feel they left or were resigned by The Agency.
Industry Associations
List any memberships in industry organizations, length of time as a member, involvement by any staff in such organizations, and any other pertinent information.
References
List 2 client references that we may contact. Please provide names, titles, company names, addresses, telephone and email addresses.
Please provide agency document examples demonstrating your account management
Creative brief Media brief Status update Budget control report Results dashboard
Remuneration What is the basis of compensation for The Consultant/Agency? Familiarity with the MERIT program
List 3 areas of improvement based on your analysis of MERIT online platforms
6
Scoring and Evaluation
The successful Consultant/Agency will be selected based on the following criteria:
Quality of proposal content Price Relevant experience Technical capabilities Agency proprietary and contracted technology Service delivery standards Presentation Compatibility
Proposal Timeline:
Deadline for submission of the proposal to CESO is May 28, 2018. It is anticipated that the selection will be completed by June 11, 2018.
The following schedule will be followed for this RFP:
RFP posted May 14, 2018
Deadline for submissions May 28, 2018
Evaluation of submissions Week of May 28, 2018
Project Kick-Off Week of June 11, 2018
7
Confidentiality:
All information, including the RFP, provided to The Consultant/Agency shall remain the exclusive property of CESO. As such, all data and information shall be kept strictly confidential and shall not be disclosed to any third party without the express written consent of CESO.
Submitted responses to this RFP become the property of CESO. We reserve the right to use any and all ideas included in any response without incurring any obligations to the responding company or committing to procurement of the proposed services.
Proposal Submission: Questions may be submitted in writing by May 28th and emailed to Olivia Goudou or Karin Seybold: [email protected] [email protected]
8