REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) DEDICATED PR & COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) DEDICATED PR & COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY Released: Tuesday 14 April 2015 Submissions close: Tuesday 12 May 2015 at 12h00 All responses to be hand delivered and to include the following; x3 printed copies of the your response document x1 electronic version on a Compact Disc or Flash Stick Responses to: NICOLE BIONDI Strategic Communications & Content Manager Telephone: nicole@capetown.travel Delivery Address: Cape Town Tourism Head Office 1 st Floor, The Pinnacle Building Cnr Burg & Castle Streets Cape Town

2 1. Overview The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals from experienced PR and Communications agencies and enter into a long term agreement (LTA) with successful bidder/s for an initial one year period, to be extended for an extra 1 (one) year subject to acceptable performance and a re-evaluation of the suppliers before extending. The LTA holder will be requested to provide specific PR and Communications services as specified in this RFP, based on an agreed monthly retainer rate during the contract period. The appointment of the supplier will be made by no later than 1 July The successful supplier will be based on the following criteria: Characteristics of the Bidder: STATUS: The provider shall be a public institution, agency, company or NGO operating in the field of PR and Communications, with proven expertise in the development and execution of strategic PR and Communications strategies and activities. No particular accreditation/s required. EXPERIENCE: Proven experience in the following areas, but not limited to: strategic communications strategies for tourism/hospitality clients; existing relationships with a wide range of traditional and online media; innovative PR campaigns; understanding of the tourism sector; reputation management; effective media monitoring of print, broadcast and online channels; media coaching; using social media for PR; writing of opinion pieces; writing of speeches; writing press multi-media presentations; the use of video in PR and corporate communications; coordinating press briefings; crisis communication. Media contacts in the greater SA and SADC regions are essential; and reach into international markets is an advantage. LOGISTICAL CAPACITY: The successful bidder is expected to work off-site, but must be available to attend a bi-weekly (every second week) two-hourly meeting at Cape Town Tourism offices with the Strategic Content and Communications Manager; meetings with the CEO and Executive Management team on request and other ad hoc meetings. The bidder will also be expected to perform duties after hours and over weekends from time to time. OTHER: Must submit a BEE certificate Must be a registered member of Cape Town Tourism. To enquire on membership opportunities, kindly contact Fuad Peters / Chelene Wiggett on (021) Note that shortlisted candidates may be invited for an information session with our management team. These meetings will take place prior to the announcement of a successful candidate.

3 2. Background of Organisation Cape Town Tourism is the official tourism agency for Cape Town, responsible for visitor information, industry services and tourism marketing. Cape Town Tourism is the heart of the Mother City; its storyteller and connector. We go to great lengths to unlock the magic of the Mother City, so that our visitors experience the holiday of a lifetime and that the tourism industry is unified and connected. In essence we the Mother City s ultimate tourism hosts. Our Vision: To be recognised globally as an innovative customer centric tourism marketing association that excels at seamlessly connecting all aspects of the tourism industry in Cape Town by What do we offer? Industry Services: Currently one of the leading tourism membership organisations in the world, Cape Town Tourism serves an industry base of close to 1200 businesses. We provide our valued members with a range of benefits including accreditation, networking sessions, access to market insights, brochure display space in our visitor centres and marketing and promotional opportunities. We work closely with our members to make tourism a more inclusive space. Visitor Services: Our team are the Mother City s ultimate ambassadors. We aim to help our visitors uncover the best of Cape Town from the moment they start dreaming of visiting to the point at which they are ready to make their booking. Our Visitor Information Centres are set up to meet the visitor where they are, with 7 Visitor Information Centres situated at strategic locations as well as a mobile information centre. Each Visitor Information Centre is fully equipped to offer excellent local and regional information. We also provide booking services for accommodation, tours and transport, South African National Parks and Computicket, as well as selling Cape Town maps, postcards, local crafts and more. Tourism Marketing: Our marketing services team works tirelessly, creating fresh ideas that position Cape Town as a fantastic value-for-money destination to visit all year-round. We focus not only on promoting the city s iconic attractions and offerings, but also shine a spotlight on the unexpected, lesser-explored side of the Mother City, to both the domestic and international market. 3. WORK SCOPE KEY REQUIREMENTS: The successful bidder will be required to perform a variety of PR and Communications services, which includes but not subjected to; Writing and distributing press releases following a brief from the PR and Communications Manager; Marketing executive and/or CEO on topics related to Destinations Communications and Corporate Communications. Maintaining and expanding media lists for local, national, SADC and international media. Monthly targeted pitches to local, national, SADC and international media. Managing and sourcing media contacts and strategising with CTT s PR manager and/or CEO on creative ways of engaging media and building 1-on-1 relationships with members of the press.

4 Attending meetings at CTT and / or partners that support campaigns, partnerships and collaboration. Scanning and analyzing the media landscape for contextual information pertaining to tourism and thought leadership in tourism. Report on reach of media coverage (cost of media monitoring covered by CTT) and contribute to setting out new measurement standards for media tracking both for Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town as a tourism destination. Writing and placing opinion pieces and letters based on though leadership themes identified by CTT. Writing stakeholder and membership communications positioning CTT as a leader in the tourism industry from time to time. Drafting responses and assisting media with requests. Timeous response to media requests and input on media queries. Inviting, hosting and conducting media at events and press conferences. Identifying and matching relevant media to events and conferences act as interface with CTT where appropriate. Creating content for use in campaigns, at trade fairs, in print, radio and online where needed. Support trade shows with content, talking points and media releases. Contributing to and initiating social media conversations. Writing speeches and contributions in support of CTT positioning as thought-leader in the CT tourism industry. FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENTS: Based on the agreed rate, the selected bidder(s) and Cape Town Tourism will agree upon a monthly retainer cost. Please note that Cape Town Tourism works on a 30 day payment policy, from time of receipt of invoice. 4. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS: Bidder(s) should follow the instructions set forth below in the submission of their proposal to Cape Town Tourism. Completed bid submission by no later than 12 May 2015, with the following information therein: 4.1. Supply Chain Management Due consideration must be given to the following; Statutory legislation and acts governing Cape Town Tourism Reliability and integrity of the current Infrastructure Independent and objective assistance Sustainability and cost management

5 Submission Requirements Your proposal must be set out clearly in no more than 15 A4 pages and the cover page should clearly show; Company name Physical address Key contact name Key contact Key contact mobile phone number Please consider the following submission requirements: a. Executive summary: Including a summary of why your company best meets the requirements b. Response to requirements, including proposed business plan c. A technical proposal must include the following sections; Understanding of the requirements for services, including assumptions Proposed approach, methodology, timing and outputs: Any comments or suggestions where necessary, as well as the bidder s detailed description of the manner in which it would respond to the technical specifications. Proposed Project Team Members: The curriculum vitae of the senior professional members of the team including their specific responsibilities on the project/s, relevant experience and qualifications. Sample Portfolio: A significant number of points is assigned to evaluate the portfolio of the bidder with regards to the relevancy to the type of work that Cape Town Tourism will require, its diversity and how it matches Cape Town Tourism s style. The bidder must submit samples that allow technical scoring. Commentary on Cape Town Tourism s current media profile & identify opportunities: An overview of Cape Town Tourism s perceived current strength and weaknesses from a PR perspective. Identify some key opportunities for how Cape Town Tourism can use the media to raise the profile of the organisation & the CEO in order to create greater relevance within the broader tourism industry. c. A financial proposal must be accompanied by a cover letter signed by a duly authorized representative of the bidder, confirming the following: The price; and The period of validity of the bid In addition, the financial proposal must cover all the goods or services to be provided and must itemize the following costs; Personnel costs for meetings Miscellaneous costs, if any (indicating nature and breakdown) A proposed submission of offers that indicates an all-inclusive average standard HOURLY rate by category of personnel performing the services, their fees per hour separately, as per table below: Description of Activity/Item Rate (R/Hour) 1. Professional personnel

6 1.1 Senior PR strategist 1.2 Mid-level PR Consultant 1.3 Junior level consultant 1.4 Other (Please describe) Total estimated monthly cost (excluding VAT) d. Capacity statement which should cover; A statement regarding the availability of sufficient capacity. Information regarding number of current contracts. e. Company information which should include; The management structure Ownership details; including BEE Certificate. (If relevant) progress against Employment Equity plan targets (in tabular format listing at least the following: date of establishment, current staff profile and progress against targets.) (If relevant) your South African VAT number and an original, valid tax clearance certificate f. References which should include; A list of recent work undertaken in similar/related fields. Name, designation, company name, phone and addresses of two contactable references. g. Please include any other considerations relevant to CTTs consideration and evaluation of your proposal Cost of Proposal: The bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the proposal, including but not limited to the possible cost of discussing the proposal with Cape Town Tourism, making a presentation, negotiating a contract and any related travel. Cape Town Tourism will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome the selection process Contents of the Proposal: Proposals must offer services for the total requirement. Proposals offering only part of the requirement may be rejected. The bidder is expected to examine all corresponding instructions, forms, terms and specifications contained in this RFP Failure to follow the instructions provided, terms and specifications requested will be at the bidder s risk and may affect the evaluation of the proposal. 5. ADJUDICATION OF BIDS A two-stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the proposals, with technical evaluation of the proposal being completed prior to any evaluation of the Financial Proposal. The technical evaluation of the proposals will be accomplished by a selection panel. The selection panel will evaluate all proposals which have passed the preliminary examination of proposals according to:

7 The creativity, innovative nature and style employed, the diversity of outputs, and the results of past PR and Communication campaigns/activities completed evidence report (20 Points) Commentary on Cape Town Tourism s current media profile & identify opportunities (10 points) The proposed work methodology, service level proposed and quality assurance mechanisms (15 Points); The experience of the firm in carrying out related projects (15 Points); The qualifications and competence of the personnel proposed for the assignment (30 Points); BEE scoring of company (10 Points); The obtainable number of points specified for each evaluation criterion indicates the relative significance or weight of the item in the overall evaluation process. The points allocated to the technical proposal correspond to 60% of the total obtainable points. The financial proposal will only be evaluated if the technical proposal achieves a minimum of 70% of the total allocable points for the technical evaluation. Proposals failing to obtain this minimum threshold will not be legible for further consideration. The maximum number of points for the price component is 40% of the total obtainable points. The maximum number of points will be allocated to the lowest price proposal, in descending order. Total obtainable points of bidder = technical score + financial score 6. TENDER EVALUATION PROCESS & TIMELINES RFP ISSUED 14 April 2015 DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS 12 May 2015 SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES NOTIFIED 14 May 2015 SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES TO MEET WITH EVALUATION COMMITTEE 2 June 2015 (IF REQUIRED) AWARDING OF CONTRACT 1 July 2015