LANE COUNTY, OREGON REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) MARKETING AGENCY FOR 2016 2018 LANE COUNTY FAIR PART A: GENERAL REQUIREMENTS A1 INVITATION AND OVERVIEW A1.1 Invitation. Lane County Fair Board invites proposals from qualified vendors to serve as the Marketing Agency for the 2016 through 2018 Lane County Fairs, as specified further in this RFP. Proposals may be submitted to Rachel Bivens, Marketing Manager and Assistant Fair Manager, until 4:00 p.m., local time, Monday, November 16, 2015, at 796 W. 13th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97402. Proposals may be submitted either in paper copy or electronically, as follows: Proposals submitted in paper copy must be: Enclosed in a sealed envelope bearing the proposer's name and address, clearly marked with the title of this Request for Proposals, and Submitted to the person and address stated above. Proposals submitted electronically must be: Submitted by an email addressed to: rachel@laneeventscenter.org, with the words "Proposal for" and the title of the RFP in the subject line, Contained in an attachment to the email in PDF format only, without.zip file compression, and Less than 30MB in total file size A1.2 Overview. Briefly, the County is seeking a creative and innovative marketing agency for the annual County Fair, to reach, attract and maintain a new and emerging audience of 25-to-54 year olds, including young families, with a secondary market of 18-to-34 year olds, and a tertiary market of 55-plus year olds with higher income levels. The initial contract will be for the 2016 Lane County Fair in a maximum amount of $135,000, with a final total dependent upon the approved annual budget. The resulting contract may be made renewable by the County at its sole discretion for an additional two one-year periods. A2 PROPOSAL CRITERIA A2.1 All criteria requiring a response from the Proposer is included in PART B: PROPOSAL
REQUIREMENTS A2.2 Proposer's Certification Statement. Each proposal must include, along with the Proposer's response to the RFP criteria, a fully executed copy of the form included as PART C: PROPOSER'S STATEMENTS AND CERTIFICATION. A3 PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL A3.1 Proposal Preparation. Proposers are responsible to read and understand all portions of the solicitation documents, including attachments and addenda, if any, and to include all requirements in their proposals. To be responsive, proposals must address the criteria contained in the RFP, in the required form, contain all required documents and responses, and be accompanied by a fully executed Proposer's Certification Statement.. A3.2 Proposal Contents and Disclosure. Proposals submitted in response to this RFP become public records under Oregon law and, following contract award, will be subject to disclosure to any person or organization that submits a public records request. Proposers are required to acknowledge that any proposal may be disclosed in its entirety to any person or organization making a records request, except for such information as may be exempt from disclosure under the law. Each proposer must clearly identify all information included in its proposal that is claimed to be exempt from disclosure. If the County receives a records request, including subpoena, covering information the bidder believes is covered by an applicable public records exemption, it is the proposer s responsibility to defend and indemnify the County for any costs associated with establishing such an exemption. A3.3 Submission, Withdrawal, and Mistakes. By submitting a proposal, proposer acknowledges that the proposer has read and understands the terms and conditions applicable to this RFP, and accepts and agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of the contract, including the obligation to perform the scope of work and meet the performance standards. A proposal may be withdrawn at any time prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals, and a new sealed may be submitted. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered. Mistakes discovered after opening where the intended correct statement or amount is clearly evident or properly substantiated may be corrected. A3.4 Clarifications. If a proposer finds discrepancies or omissions in the RFP documents, or is in doubt as to their meaning, the proposer must immediately notify the public officer designated for receipt of proposals or other person identified for submission of questions. An addendum may be issued if a clarification is necessary, and its clarifications must be included in the proposal. A4 The apparent silence of the solicitation documents regarding any detail, or the apparent omission from the RFP of a detailed description concerning any point, means that only the best commercial or professional practice, material, or workmanship is to be used. EVALUATION AND AWARD A4.1 Compliance with Laws and Minimum Requirements. Evaluation of proposals will be conducted by the public officer in cooperation with others based on the minimum requirements established by RFP, compliance with proposal procedures, public
contracting laws, and the requirements of the Lane Manual. In evaluating the proposals and selecting a contractor, Lane County reserves the rights to: (a) Reject any and all proposals, (b) Issue subsequent Requests for Proposals for the same or similar goods or services, (c) Not award a contract for the requested services, (d) Waive any technical defects, irregularities, or informalities, (e) Accept the proposal which the County deems to be the most beneficial to the public and Lane County, (f) Negotiate with any proposer to further amend, modify, redefine or delineate its proposal, (g) Negotiate and accept, without re-advertising, the proposal of the next-highest scored proposer, in the event that a contract cannot be successfully negotiated with the selected proposer, which may occur prior to the time a final recommendation for award is made for executive approval, and (h) Further question any proposer to substantiate claims of experience, background knowledge, and ability. A4.2. Scoring and Selection. Lane County will evaluate proposals according to the submissions received and criteria listed. Award will be made to the proposer whose proposal will best serve the interests of the County, taking into account price as well as considerations including, but not limited to, experience, expertise, product functionality, suitability for a particular purpose, and proposer's responsibility. A4.3 Notice of Award and Protest. The County will provide written notice of its intent to award to a given proposer or proposers at least 7 days before award, unless a shorter notice period is more practicable. Any proposer that has submitted a proposal for an RFP and is not recommended for award by the evaluation committee may protest the recommendation to the decision maker, either the Board or the County Administrator, depending upon which has authority to execute the contract. To be considered, a protest must be submitted in writing not more than seven (7) calendar days after notice of intent to award is given, and contain the grounds for the protest in accordance with Lane Manual Chapter 20.730. A5 REQUIRED CONTRACT DOCUMENTS. A5.1 Contract form. Contracts issued by the County in response to this RFP will be issued using standard County contract forms and containing contract terms required by the County. Proposers unfamiliar with the County's contract forms and conditions may obtain sample copies of these documents from the County staff person assigned to receive proposals named above. A5.2 Insurance Requirements. The selected Contractor must provide insurance coverages meeting the requirements of Lane County's Insurance Coverages Required. Proposers unfamiliar with the County's contract forms and conditions may obtain sample copies of these documents from the County staff person assigned to receive proposals named above.
PART B: DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Proposals are not required to follow a specific format. However, each proposal should be (1) organized in a logical fashion, (2) include sufficient narrative and documentation to establish the proposer's qualifications and ability to perform, (3) highlight any specific approaches or experience relevant to the work described, and (4) contain sufficient information to allow the evaluation committee to assess the proposal according to the criteria stated. Each proposal must contain, in addition, a fully-executed "Proposer's Statements and Certifications" form, and be submitted in the manner required under section A1.1 above. All proposals and resumes received in proper form will be evaluated by a committee composed of at least three Lane Events Center/Lane County Fair Board Staff according to the following criteria: a. Successful past performance in event advertising/marketing with demonstrated ability to achieve the goals set forth for each campaign (campaign examples from within the last five years preferred); b. Demonstrated ability to provide full service marketing/advertising including, but not limited to: creative, media (electronic, print, viral/social, outdoor) production/buying, copy writing, print development; c. Demonstrated ability and understanding of marketing to, and reaching the 25-54 year olds, including young families with a secondary market of 18 to 34 year olds and a tertiary market of 55+ year olds higher income demographic; d. Current resumes of all participants/contractors; e. Professional references from current and past agency clients. In addition, the highest ranked Proposers may be invited to present a proposed marketing and advertising campaign/direction for the 2016 Lane County Fair in a personal interview to be scheduled following the initial committee evaluations. The recommendation for award will be based upon the following ratings and criteria weighing: i. Background and Experience 45% ii. Demonstrated Ability and References 45% SUBTOTAL 90% Finalists in the evaluation process will be determined at this point and the highest ranked Proposers may be invited to participate in an interview. Deliverables: iii. Final Interview Score 10% TOTAL 100% In fulfilling the marketing objectives, the Fair Board faces the following critical challenges: a. Public perception that the Fair is too expensive b. Increasing competition of other events c. Declining sponsorships in the community
To overcome these challenges, the Fair Board will promote these strategic objectives: a. Develop marketing plan that reaches and attracts emerging 25-54 year olds, including young families with a secondary market of 18 to 34 year olds and a tertiary market of 55+ year olds with higher income levels. b. Fair will generate new and innovative programming Therefore, the initial deliverable will be: Timeline of entire project, including a proposed marketing strategy and plan due a maximum of one month after the contract has been awarded.
PART C: PROPOSER'S STATEMENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS Proposer's Name: RFP Title: PROPOSER'S STATEMENTS Proposer's Offer. Proposer offers to provide the required services in accordance with the requirements of the Request for Proposals (RFP) stated above and the enclosed proposal. The undersigned Proposer declares that the Proposer has carefully examined the above-named Request for Proposals, and that, if this proposal is accepted, Proposer will execute a contract with the County to furnish the services of the proposal submitted with this form. Proposer attests that the information provided is true and accurate to the best of the personal knowledge of the person signing this proposal, and that the person signing has the authority to represent the individual or organization in whose name this proposal is submitted. Proposer's Acceptance of Terms and Conditions. By execution of this Form, the undersigned Proposer accepts all terms and conditions of this Request for Proposals except as modified in writing in its proposal. Proposer agrees that the offer made in this proposal will remain irrevocable for a period of sixty (60) days from the date proposals are due. Proposer's Acknowledgement of Public Records Law. By execution of this Form, the undersigned Proposer acknowledges that its entire proposal is subject to Oregon Public Records Law (ORS 192.410 192.505), and may be disclosed in its entirety to any person or organization making a records request, except for such information as may be exempt from disclosure under the law. Proposer agrees that all information included in this proposal that is claimed to be exempt from disclosure has been clearly identified either in the Proposer's Statement, or in an itemization attached hereto. Proposer further acknowledges its responsibility to defend and indemnify the County for any costs associated with establishing a claimed exemption. ADDENDA Proposer has received and considered, in the accompanying proposal, the terms of the following addenda, if any: CERTIFICATIONS By signing this Proposer's Certification form, Proposer certifies that: 1. Certification of Resident Bidder Status. Proposer is is not (check one) a resident bidder, as defined in ORS 279A.120. 2. Certification of Non-Discrimination. Proposer has not discriminated and will not discriminate against a subcontractor in awarding a subcontract because the subcontractor is a minority, women, or emerging small business enterprises certified under ORS 200.055 or a business enterprise that is owned or controlled by or that employs a disabled veteran, as defined in ORS 408.225. 3. Certification of Non-Collusion. This proposal is made without connection or agreement with any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity
making a proposal for the same services, and is in all respects fair and free from collusion or collaboration with any other proposer. 4. Certification of Compliance with Tax Laws. Proposer has, to the best of Proposer's knowledge, complied with Oregon tax laws in the period prior to the submission of this proposal, including: a. All tax laws of the State of Oregon, including but not limited to ORS 305.620 and ORS chapters 316, 317, and 318, b. Any tax provisions imposed by a political subdivision of this state that applied to Proposer or its property, goods, services, operations, receipts, income, performance of or compensation for any work performed, and c. Any rules, regulations, charter provisions, or ordinances that implemented or enforced any of the foregoing tax laws or provisions. The undersigned, by signature here, acknowledges, accepts, and certifies to the Proposer's Statements and Certifications as stated above. PROPOSER Authorized signature Proposer s legal name Name of authorized signer Address Title Date Federal Tax ID number