Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Professional Services for Market Research Marketing and Communication Planning Execution of Marketing Campaign Request for Information RFI 2012-01 October 1, 2012 1
I. Introduction and Overview The Colorado Health Benefit Exchange (COHBE or the Exchange) is a public, non-profit entity established by Senate Bill 11-200, a state law passed by the Colorado General Assembly in May 2011. The Exchange is governed by a Board of Directors with additional direction from a panel of state legislators called the Legislative Implementation Review Committee. The mission of the Exchange is to increase access, affordability, and choice for individuals and small employers purchasing health insurance in Colorado. The Exchange is building a new health insurance marketplace, scheduled to open for business in October 2013, where individuals, families and small employers can shop for and buy health insurance based on quality and price. Customers will shop primarily through a website and will be able to access assistance by phone and in person through a new customer support network. The Exchange will also provide eligible Coloradans with access to financial assistance to reduce the cost of premiums. Customers are expected to begin purchasing health plans through the Exchange in October 2013, with plans taking effect on Jan. 1, 2014. The development of the Exchange is funded by federal grants. The Exchange must be self-financing in 2015. More information about the Exchange is available at www.getcoveredco.org. II. Purpose of Solicitation The Exchange is seeking information from experienced marketing and communications firms to assist with developing and executing a comprehensive and innovative marketing and communication campaign to educate Coloradans about the new health insurance marketplace and to maximize the number of Coloradans and small businesses who use the marketplace to obtain health insurance. The Exchange s goal is to identify qualified firms that can provide three areas of work: market research, marketing and communication planning, and execution of the marketing campaign. Qualified respondents will submit answers to questions about one, two or all three components. Agencies may partner with other agencies or subcontractors to submit proposals. III. Current Marketing Situation The Exchange is a technology and public service organization that is building a new health insurance with a small staff and limited capacity to plan and implement a comprehensive marketing campaign. The Exchange has actively engaged a wide range of stakeholder groups across the state since early 2011. Therefore, knowledge of the Exchange is fairly high among stakeholder groups, including consumer advocates, business organizations, brokers, insurance companies and health care providers. However, the general public is largely uninformed about the Exchange and there is misinformation about how the Exchange will work. Our goal is to successfully attract hundreds of thousands of Coloradans and small businesses, including in rural communities, to use the marketplace in the initial phase of operation. The marketing and communication campaign must be comprehensive, coordinated, creative and flexible. It must also be implemented under a tight schedule. 2
IV. Scope of Services The Exchange is seeking to partner with energetic, creative, experienced and flexible contractor(s) that will provide the necessary support to plan and to implement a successful marketing and communication campaign that will attract hundreds of thousands of Coloradans to the new state health insurance marketplace. Preference will be given to contractors with experience in health care-related marketing campaigns at a statewide or broader level to multiple target groups. Contractors must demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of Colorado communities, politics, purchasing behaviors and effective media strategies. In close collaboration with Exchange staff and partners, selected contractor(s) will provide services that will meet the following schedule (subject to change): Section 1 (Market Research) December 31, 2012: Completion of detailed market research for the following groups in Colorado: Coloradans who purchase health insurance through the individual market Employers and workers who purchase health insurance through the small group market Coloradans who earn between 133% and 400% of the federal poverty level Coloradans who are uninsured Young Coloradans up to age 30 The market report should include, but not be limited to, detailed statistics and information about the above populations, ages, geographic representation, racial and ethnic populations, income, level of technology use, attitudes about health insurance, decision-drivers, purchasing behaviors, and best methods for communicating to them. The market report may be compiled using focus groups if necessary. Section 2 (Marketing and Communications Plan) January 25, 2013: Completion of a detailed and comprehensive marketing and advertising plan, integrated with the Exchange s current and future public education and outreach initiatives, for 2013 and 2014. If possible, this plan will be developed concurrently with market research activities. The plan will also be informed by branding research and decisions currently underway and the unique political, rural, and cultural circumstances in Colorado. The plan will include targeted messaging to a range of audiences, outreach activities conducted by staff and partners and public relations activities to maintain positive relationships across Colorado. The plan will integrate all marketing and communication activities through the end of 2014 and a schedule of the various phases of the plan. The plan will include but not be limited to: Website development Mobile/text/social/viral media campaigns Production and distribution of videos Production of print and digital promotional materials Earned media activities Direct mail and telephone campaigns Traditional and non-traditional paid media and out-of-home advertising Strategic partnerships and sponsorships 3
Promotional events Feedback methods and ways to measure campaign impact Crisis management response Section 3 (Execution of Marketing Plan) March 1, 2013: Complete production of first phase of media materials (videos, commercials, print brochures, etc) and launch first phase of marketing and communication plan in close collaboration with Exchange staff and partners. The marketing and communication campaign will continue throughout 2013 and 2014. Marketing and education activities will continue in another phase after open enrollment period ends in March 2014 through the remainder of 2014. V. Response Preparation and Schedule Firms are required to submit 6 hard copies of responses, including one with original signatures and one electronic copy by email. Qualified contractors may submit responses for sections 1, 2 or 3 or all of them in the format outlined in this section. Responses must be received on or before 5:00pm mountain time, October 15, 2012. Late responses will not be accepted. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure that the response is received by COHBE on or before the stated deadline. Contractors shall send hard copies to Myung Oak Kim, COHBE, 3773 Cherry Creek North Drive, Suite 1025, Denver CO 80209 and email their response to Myung Oak Kim at mkim@cohbe.org. A confirmation email will be returned to verify receipt. The required format for responses is as follows: Response Section 1: Background and General Qualifications of Contractor Provide information in a narrative form about: 1. Which section(s) of work you are interesting in providing 2. History of firm, organizational structure, biographies of key principles, key contacts, total number of employees, office locations, annual billings and preferred compensation structure 3. Number of employees estimated to be assigned to COHBE project 4. Experience with health care marketing campaigns regardless of location and any experience in the Colorado market o Experience reaching out to target audiences including individuals, small businesses, rural, and diverse communities 5. Description of what differentiates your firm from competitors 6. Largest and smallest current accounts 7. List of contracts that were terminated early in the past 5 years and the reason for the termination 4
Response Section 2: Approach to COHBE Project and Related Experience Provide information in a narrative form about: If you are interested in providing services for Section 1 (Market Research): 1. Describe your understanding of COHBE s opportunities and challenges 2. Describe 2 or 3 recent clients who received market research from your firm and the impact of those services 3. Describe what information you already have access to and what information you need to collect 4. Describe how you plan to obtain the market information and the schedule for submitting that information to the COHBE 5. Describe the types of information you feel are key for COHBE to obtain If you are interested in providing services for Section 2 (Marketing and Communication Plan) 1. Describe your understanding of COHBE s opportunities and challenges. 2. Describe 2 or 3 recent clients who received marketing and communication plans from your firm and the impact of those services. 3. Describe how you would approach building a marketing and communication plan. Please include a discussion of the phases you envision given the implementation schedule, integration with outreach efforts and the merits and weaknesses of traditional advertising methods (newspaper, television, radio) and newer social and digital media techniques as they relate to COHBE s goals. 4. Describe the level of targeted and/or direct marketing you feel is necessary to reach COHBE s goals. 5. Describe one or two marketing campaigns that you feel are most similar to what COHBE should employ and their impact and lessons learned (not necessarily ones that you worked on). 6. Describe how you would measure success and what metrics you would use to assess the effectiveness of this campaign. If you are interested in providing services for Section 3 (Execution of Marketing and Advertising Plan) 1. Describe your understanding of COHBE s opportunities and challenges. 2. Describe 2 or 3 recent clients for whom you executed a marketing campaign. 3. Describe your experience with producing media materials and media buys and how much of that you handle in-house vs. through an outside agency. 4. Describe how you would approach implementing COHBE s marketing and advertising and provide a general schedule for implementation. 5. Describe what differentiates your firm from others in executing this aspect of the project. 6. Describe one or two statewide marketing campaigns that you feel are most similar to what COHBE should employ and their impact and lessons learned (not necessarily ones that you worked on). 5
If you are interested in providing services for all 3 sections of work, there is no need to repeat information for each section. Response Section 3: Relevant references Provide names and contact information (phone and email) for three clients, current or recently served, with a description of the services you provided and their impact. Evaluation and Interview Schedule Prospective contractors may make inquiries concerning this RFI to obtain clarification of information requested by October 8, 2012. Inquiries should be directed to Myung Oak Kim at mkim@cohbe.org, 720-496-2531. COHBE staff will review responses and schedule interviews between October 16 and 24, 2012 at the COHBE offices in Denver, CO at the contractor s expense. VI. COHBE Procurement Policy Requirements a) COHBE will not discriminate against any person offering professional services because of race, religion, color, sex, physical handicap unrelated to such person s ability to engage in the particular work, national origin, ancestry, or sexual orientation. b) Procurement from small, minority, women-owned, and Colorado-based businesses is encouraged. c) Procurement and administration of all related contracts will be conducted in a consistent, fair and equitable manner and without a real or apparent conflict of interest between the parties. d) Consultants act as independent contractors and nothing contained in their consultant services contracts with COHBE will create an employer-employee relationship, including the requirement that they accept and follow COHBE s Workforce Member Policies & Procedures. e) Contracts shall be made only with responsible contractors who have the demonstrated ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of the proposed procurement. Consideration shall be given to such matters as contractor integrity, record of past performance, financial and technical resources or accessibility to other necessary resources. VII. CONFIDENTIAL/PROPRIETARY INFORMATION The Colorado Health Benefit Exchange is a nonprofit, unincorporated public entity subject to the Colorado Open Records Act, found at C.R.S. Section 24-72-201 et seq. Contractors responding to this RFI may request restrictions on the public inspection of material contained in the 6
proposal pursuant to C.R.S. Section 24-72-204(3)(a)(IV) in a letter included with the proposal, subject to the following conditions: Confidential/proprietary information must be readily identified, marked and separated/packaged from the rest of the proposal. Co-mingling of confidential/proprietary and other information is NOT acceptable. Neither a proposal, in its entirety, nor proposal price information will be considered confidential and proprietary. Any information that will be included in any resulting contract cannot be considered confidential. The Colorado Health Benefit Exchange will maintain the confidentiality of all proposals during the evaluation and award process. Responses may be inspected, subject to confidentiality restrictions, after the award has been made. All material submitted regarding this RFI becomes the property of the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange. Responses may be reviewed by any person after the "Notice of Intent to Make an Award" letter has been issued, subject to the terms of C.R.S. Title 24, Article 72, Part 2 as amended. 7