ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY MARKETING SERVICES ADDENDUM NO. ONE The Proposal Opening date of March 1, 20011 WILL NOT change as a result of This Addendum No. One. CLARIFICATION: 1. How does MnSCU branding and awareness drive/dictate St. Cloud State's branding and messaging? MnSCU policy requires that we use that logo on all publications, including billboards. Otherwise, they do not drive institutional branding. 2. Does MnSCU have brand and visual identity guidelines that need to be followed? Also, are there guidelines for design, brand, writing, etc for St. Cloud State? See above. Yes, we have an institutional identity guide and are working on a more inclusive graphic standards manual. 3. Is there a document that exists outlining admission/recruitment strategy? Who is the target audience and prospect student that St. Cloud State is trying to reach? There is a comprehensive enrollment management plan in the development stages. We are a traditional-aged institution with growing numbers of non-traditional students and we enroll the largest number of veterans in the MnSCU system (area a Yellow Ribbon campus and recognized by GI Job Magazine as military friendly). We annually enroll about 2,400 new entering freshmen and 1,300 new entering transfer students. A sizable number of our students work 20 or more hours a week which extends their graduation dates. 4. What have been St. Cloud State¹s advertising media efforts and specific allocation of dollars and fees in the past two years (2010, 2009)? In 2009, our marketing budget was about $250,000; in the current fiscal year, we are about $150,000. In times of budget reductions, the theory is to focus, so we have opted to sustain hardto-acquire outdoor advertising and have limited print advertising. We have also targeted theatres in the NW suburbs of the Twin Cities where we have a substantive admissions draw and a large alumni population. There are other traditional marketing efforts in the immediate area. We are currently using St. Cloud PROUD campaign with variety of subjects. 5. What is the desired advertising allocation (media types) for the future? At one point in the last five years, we have had a marketing budget of $400,000. The reason for the range in the RFP is that this economy will improve and we will poise for strategic investment. 6. For the 'various admission publications', how many pages is each? It will be difficult to respond without seeing the current publications and samples of advertising. Will you provide samples? The view book is 20 pages (8.5 x 9), and the first-contact piece is a 4-panel fold out with response card. It also has an outcomes piece.
7. What is the average yearly budget? Can you all provide us with some guidance as to what you see the budget to be yearly going forward? See above. I anticipate that the marketing budget for FY 12 will be about $130,000 plus about $100,000 for elements related to recruiting (including printed undergraduate and graduate catalogs, view book, etc.) 8. Unless I am missing something it looks as though the only requirement for submission is the pricing for each service provided, is this correct? We need some idea of what your charges are, inclusive. Know that because we are a state institution, all printing must be handled by the institution and goes out for bid. a. If this is correct is an hourly rate sufficient? Since we do not know what types of projects are going to be needed it is hard to determine costs for creative services etc. Most firms give us a rate based on specific projects. An hourly rate doesn t work nor does a range nor does a not to exceed. 9. Please confirm if the budget for this project has increased from $250,000 to $400,000. If yes, please detail how the scope of the deliverables has changed to entail this increase. The current budget for the initial branding is in excess of $100,000 (plus as-yet unallocated funds for Web site development) and there is some flexibility to go some higher. Anticipated deliverables will be new major admission publications, new tag line, new look and feel templates, new Web site. We know that additional resources will be needed to accomplish this and those funds will be allocated. 10. The revised proposal states contract terms to be from March 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011. Please clarify your expectations regarding the project timeline in view of the fact that proposals are due on the same day as the start of the project. 3.3 CONTRACT TERM: This multiple-year contract for marketing services may be with one or more vendors and will run from March 1, 2011 through June 30 of 2016. The initial contract term will be March 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. The renewals will consist of an annual fiscal year commitment, contingent on funding and by mutual written agreement. Once a vendor is selected, a specific contract date will be determined. 11. What brought about this initiative? See RFP we are engaged in a huge reorganization effort and we know that rebranding is required as we emerge from this effort. There will be substantive academic reorganization into fewer colleges, more schools and institutes. We have determined 4 pillars of a St. Cloud State education and we need to focus our tag line on preparing graduates for life and work in the 21 st Century. 12. What is the nature of the extensive 2011 University reorganization? Can the University provide more detail? See above. The reorganization would have been initiated regardless of budget issues; but, urgency of the budget drove parts of this.
13. Do you anticipate that the reorganization will have significant impact on the current marketing services work? Yes 14. Is there a St. Cloud State project team? If yes, who's on it? The project team is still in development. Securing a marketing partner is among initial stages. 15. What key leadership and groups should we plan to engage with at key points during our work together? Related to that, are there key faculty, staff and/or Trustee meetings where progress reports or results will be shared? Are there key dates that we should consider? President, VPs, University Communications, Web Team, Admissions, Alumni, Advancement. We are gearing for a roll out at the start of the school year which is the week of Aug. 15. 16. How does the University define success for this initiative? Our ability to convey our message to our various audiences. 17. Who does the University identify as their key audiences? Internal (students, faculty, staff), alumni, community, Central Minnesota, State of Minnesota 18. Section 1:1 requests approaches and strategies to gather data as well as a cohesive and continued vision for 2011 to 2016. Is the University in need of recommendations for a strategic plan? If so, could the University provide more information about the process for its last strategic plan? Does St. Cloud State have a steering committee? The Strategic Planning Committee is in place, active and has led the reorganization efforts. We are looking for strategic communications assistance and direction. Specifics of what is needed cannot be determined until a marketing partner is in place that can ascertain the climate and help guide us through what they think needs to be accomplished. 19. Does the University leadership have an articulated vision for the University moving forward? Four pillars of a St. Cloud State education spelled out in RFP 20. What is the University referring to when it asks for the deliverable: Setting long-term strategic direction? (Section 4:2) In terms of communication, marketing 21. Would building the strategic plan for the University need to fit within the marketing budget Saint Cloud State has outlined in Section 4.4? No 22. Will the 2011 reorganization invalidate any of the previously conducted research? No 23. The RFP suggests that the University has research that was conducted in 2005 and 2006 to support current campaigns. What type of research has already been conducted? The research surveyed internal constituents plus alumni, both quanitative and qualitative. More than 200 people on campus were interviewed. The documents can be shared.
24. The RFP asks for a review of current research and for completion of additional necessary research. What research does the University feel is missing? What audiences will need research? After 5 years, additional research should be undertaken to see if we ve moved the needle of perception of our internal and external audiences. That said, full scale research may not be warranted because of the dramatic reorganization. We will see input and advice from the marketing partner to develop a plan. 25. Does the University have email and or phone lists available to support research of these audiences? Is the University willing to offer incentives for participation in research? Email and phone lists, yes. Perhaps on incentives. 26. Upon the commencement of the brand development work, will the University require a brand guide? Probably, but again, a decision would be made in partnership with the vendor. 27. Will the selected partner be responsible for all content development? Yes 28. Will the University handle any of the production of materials or will it all be handled by the selected vendor? University must put printing jobs up for bids and thus once a project is ready for print, it is turned over to the university. 29. Would the University like print management included in the proposals? It depends on what the definition of print management is. 30. Section 4:4 asks for the selected firm to enhance SCS s student recruitment. Could the University elaborate on this? What specific areas need help (e.g., collateral, funnel optimization, search strategies, yield)? Our freshman class in fall 2010 was smaller than in 2009, but our number of transfer students was up. There may be opportunity for involvement with admissions in the planning efforts to assure a stable enrollment pattern. 31. According to the RFP, total enrollment has increased, but what are the trends with new students (both freshman and transfers)? See above. Yes, for the last four years, we have had steady increases in enrollment. Transfer numbers have increased along with new entering freshmen until last fall. 32. What is prompting and driving the total enrollment increase? Partly the economy. We believe in the reputation for being able to get a good education at a reasonable cost. International numbers have been up. Retention has improved. 33. What is the University s staffing structure for the implementation for the marketing plan? Does the University have funds dedicated to/available for the marketing plan s implementation? If so, what range should we be projecting?
Staffing structure in University Communications includes AVP for marketing and communications, director of web communications, director of internal communications, director of media relations and publications, 2 full time designers, 2 graduate assistants (one writer and one for new media) and students. With reorganization, printing services will eventually report through this office; the campus radio station already reports through here as does athletic media relations (3 staff and a graduate student). 34. Does the University have a PR/media relations staff? See above 35. Could the University be more specific about the development of a media plan and buying? Who are the key audiences and what are the objectives with paid advertising? In the past, we have done mostly image advertising because we have not had resources to specifically target the 16-18 market. I believe that will continue. The objective is the general perception of the institution. 36. What type of media is the University currently using? What is the range of St. Cloud State s media budget and how is it broken out by media? See above 37. Does the University see the media budget changing and evolving moving forward? It will grow in the past we have used firms to assist in media planning and buying. As the budgets have declined, we have tended to do that ourselves. 38. Is the interactive work proposed purely consultative in nature? Does St. Cloud State expect deliverables such as information architecture, a navigation plan, etc? Will the selected agency be involved with the implementation of modifications? If history can be a guide, we will look to the outside vendor for guidance in architecture and navigation. We know that we do not have the internal resources, mostly because of timing, to accomplish this without outside resources. The specific role of the vendor will be developed in consultation. 39. What CMS is the University currently using? We are transitioning to Hannon Hill s Cascade Server The above ADDENDUM Number One shall be attached to and become part of the bid. Lisa Sparks Director of Purchasing Dated this 18 st day of February, 2011. END OF ADDENDUM NO. ONE