An invitation to tender for the contract of marketing campaign developer for the Own Art scheme. 1. Invitation to Tender 1.1 The purpose of this document is to invite tenders to oversee and develop two distinct marketing campaigns that will support the promotion of the Own Art scheme in Scotland. The key partner will be the Scottish Arts Council s Visual Arts department. The commissioned individuals/team(s) may also be expected to work in close collaboration with other representatives of other interested partners as required. 1.2 Invitations are invited from suitably qualified individuals, collectives or organisations. 1.3 This document constitutes an Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the contract(s). Subsequent sections describe the background to the project, the work to be done under the tender and the terms and conditions under which tendering will take place. 2. Background to the Project 2.1 Own Art is a scheme initiated by Arts Council England in partnership with Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance. The Scottish Arts Council is a partner, and launched the scheme in Scotland in 2004. The scheme offers interest-free credit for people to buy contemporary art and craft through participating galleries. The loan can range from 100-2000 and is paid back in ten instalments. 2.2 Own Art is designed to make buying art easy and affordable. It is a priority of the scheme to encourage adventurous buying and also to encourage first-time buyers. Participating galleries offer paintings, sculptures, prints, artist s film and video, new media work, photography, jewellery, metalwork, ceramics, glass, furniture and textiles. 2.3 Participating galleries must apply to be part of the scheme, and meet rigorous standards for the quality of work they sell, the methods of display, their customer care and their relationships with artists. Galleries must offer original work by living artists and have a dedicated gallery space with set opening times. Currently there are forty galleries in Scotland offering Own Art as a payment option. 2.4 The Own Art scheme recently received additional funding as part of the Creative Scotland 09 Innovation Funds. This additional funding will allow a suite of new developments including business development for Own Art galleries, the development of an online sales portal, and the marketing work that is described in this document. 3. The Project: Work to be Undertaken 3.1 The contractor(s) will conduct research into target customer segments for the Own Art scheme, using a combination of existing research and focus group research that will be carried out by the contractor(s). The contractor(s) will then be required to establish and deliver two distinct marketing campaigns that can be executed by
Scottish Arts Council staff, and/or a combination of Scottish Arts Council staff and external contractors (e.g. graphic designers). The contractor(s) will utilise the data obtained customer segments and data held by the Scottish Arts Council on gallery sales to develop these campaigns. This data will complement the contractor(s) current understanding of art and craft markets and advertising to these markets. The campaigns will raise awareness around the accessibility of the Own Art scheme and rewards of art collecting generally. The campaigns do not have a specific audience segment assigned at the time of writing, however specific target audiences will be identified as part of the contractor(s) work. Activity will be spread over two years to support local and national marketing campaigns. 4. Customer and campaign development 4.1 The contractor(s) tasks will include the following: Research Working with research materials that the Scottish Arts Council currently holds (Own Art Marketing Review, Taking Part, ACORN customer analysis, etc) the contractor will liaise with the Visual Arts Department to produce a short document that will identify customer groups and segments that should be targeted in order to further the aims of the Own Art scheme. Focus Groups Following this short period of desk research, the contractor will develop, conduct, and report on four focus groups of non users that will allow the contractor to inform the two marketing campaigns. Information that may be relevant to collect includes, and is not limited to the following: 1. visual arts activity interest, attendance, buying activities, etc 2. reactions and views on scheme as a scheme and in relation to own use 3. future participation - motivations / barriers 4. use of and type of media in finding out about cultural activities 5. effectiveness of current promotion 6. effectiveness of using mainstream media as primary vehicle for promotion Delivery of two fully-developed marketing campaigns, including target audience segments, detailed specifications for print and web collateral, detailed description of the overall strategies and tactics that will be employed by each campaign, detailed description of the roles and responsibilities of the team that will deliver the campaigns, workback schedules and project management charts indicating deployment priorities and schedules for delivery, and project briefs for any required external staff (e.g. graphic designers) Advise on refinement of any current project plans, if necessary Review any evaluation, suggest any retrospective evaluation and action on findings/recommendations, to inform an ongoing evaluation framework for the effectiveness of Own Art marketing materials Suggest collaboration (e.g. between the SAC and Arts Council England), where appropriate 5. Skills and Experience 5.1 It will be essential for the commissioned individuals/team(s) to bring to the project: 2
Credibility and proven expertise in marketing development in the arts Strong, practical analytical skills extensive and current experience in working effectively with a range of organisations and a high level of communication skills effective project and business planning skills knowledge of the Scottish art and craft market, and if possible, the wider UK art and craft market 6. Management and Support of Project 6.1 The work of the commissioned individuals/team(s) will be overseen by the Visual Arts Department of the Scottish Arts Council. 6.2 The commissioned individuals/team(s) will be required to consult with and report back to Visual Arts Officers and/or the Head of the Visual Arts Department at the Scottish Arts Council on a regular basis. 7. Format of Responses Required 7.1 The tender proposals should include: an outline of the approach that will be taken to establishing and delivering the project details of the individuals who will lead, manage and deliver the project and details of their experience, formal training/qualification and knowledge of the arts in Scotland detailed costs a timetable for the project 7.2 Tenders should include background material to demonstrate the previous experience and range of work of the consultant(s) and of the specific personnel proposed for the work. This can include descriptions and examples of previous relevant work. 7.3 Tenders should also include contact details of two referees. 7.4 If there are any queries regarding this brief, please contact Michelle Kasprzak, Visual Arts Officer (Direct Line 0131 240 2459 or e-mail michelle.kasprzak@scottisharts.org.uk) 8. Evaluation Criteria 8.1 The tenders will be evaluated by the Head of the Visual Arts Department, and a Visual Arts Officer. Each proposal will be evaluated against the following criteria: the understanding of the project demonstrated in the tender the skills, experience and proven record of the tenderer and the personnel to be involved a realistic and viable initial outline budget for the project 8.2 The Scottish Arts Council will seek value for money in the tenders for this project and will judge value not solely on price but on the quality and scope of the proposals being considered. 3
8.3 The Scottish Arts Council reserves the right not to award a contract if it is judged that no viable or appropriate tender has been received. 9. Guide Price 9.1 All tenderers will submit a tender document, with a budget for the project, as described above. As a general guide, a budget of 6,000-10,000 should cover all management, operation and associated costs, including VAT. 10. Tender Evaluation Process and Timetable 10.1 The timetable for the process will be as follows: the deadline for submission of tenders is 12 noon on Tuesday 1 December 2009 the Scottish Arts Council will assess documents against the criteria listed above, seeking formal clarification from tenderers as required the target date for completion for the negotiation of the contract is the week beginning Monday 8 February 2010 subject to contract negotiation, the award of the contract is expected to be offered to the successful tenderer by Friday 18 December 2009. 11. Tender Contract 11.1 The Scottish Arts Council is committed to demonstrating best value in all its agreements. The successful tenderer will be expected to sign a contract based on the Scottish Arts Council s terms and conditions for purchasing services. Tenderers should indicate in their response that they will be willing to accept these terms and conditions. 11.2 The tender may offer the provision of services from either a single party or a group/consortium of bidders. Where a particular bid for the contract(s) is based on a group/consortium of business interests, the tender response document must identify: the nominated prime contractor in the group/consortium the number of parties involved and names of each and the proposed arrangements for its operation (e.g. the area of participation of each party in the context of the contract). 11.3 Where a bid from a group or consortium of bidders succeeds in respect of the contract, the Scottish Arts Council will conclude a contract with the designated lead contractor only who will then take sole responsibility for all matters arising under that contract. 11.4 The response document for the contract must identify the name, postal and e-mail address, telephone and fax number of the tenderer and the name of the person within the tendering business dealing with the contract. 11.5 The Scottish Arts Council reserves the right to terminate the contract at any time should the Contractor fail to deliver and/or comply with the objectives, quality standards and timelines as outlined within the brief, and acceptable efforts are not made to redress this. 4
11.6 The Scottish Arts Council reserves the right to inform the contractor of poor and/or delayed delivery of objectives, and to ask the contractor to rectify this in accordance with the brief and the supplied policy framework. It is expected that the Scottish Arts Council will not incur additional costs due to poor delivery and the extra effort required to redress this. 12. Conditions of Tender 12.1 Detailed contractual arrangements are not within the scope of this document. However, it is intended that the successful tender will be referenced in the final contract. 12.2 The Scottish Arts Council reserves the right to seek clarification of any information provided in the tenders. 13. Tender Submission Details 13.1 The tenderer shall submit two paper copies of the tender for the contract(s). 13.2 No email submissions please. 13.3 The documents should be accompanied by a single copy of the annual accounts for the prime contractor for the past three years, if possible. 13.4 Submissions must be sealed in a package marked Own Art Marketing Campaign and addressed to:- Gordon Cosh, Financial Compliance Officer, Scottish Arts Council, 12 Manor Place, Edinburgh EH3 7DD No email submissions please. 13.5 All submissions should be sent to reach the above addresses not later than 12 noon (local time) on Tuesday 1 December 2009. The name and contact details of the Tenderer should be clearly identified on the tender package. 13.6 Tenders will not be accepted after this time. 13.7 Tenderers are requested to make their own arrangements to obtain proof of delivery by, for example, obtaining a receipt. 14. Copyright of Document 14.1 The copyright of this ITT document is the property of the Scottish Arts Council. This document is issued for the purpose stated herein and may only be used for the purpose of formulating a tender. No part of it may be used, communicated, stored, reproduced, disseminated or published for any other purpose without the prior consent of the Scottish Arts Council 5