1. Strategic Communications Plan: Provide us with a general overview of how you would create a strategic communications plan for ballot education. What will be key events throughout the timeline? How would you suggest the flow of information be distributed to educate as efficiently and thoroughly as possible? 2. Logo and Branding: The City of Bozeman believes that it is crucial for Bozeman voters to recognize and understand what they are voting on when they go to the polls. How will you create a brand identity for the education effort that captures attention and drives people to learn more about the ballot items? How will this identity be carried through all aspects of the strategic communications plan? 3. Messaging: It is critical that the City’s education effort for ballot items be unified across all platforms and venues. How will you work with city staff to develop effective key messages and consistent answers to FAQs? 4. Materials/Production/Creative: Describe your design process. Do you have staff, skills, and tools available to produce effective graphic, written and video content? Provide examples of items that you have produced for other agencies that demonstrate your ability to provide easy to understand information on complicated issues. 5. Accessible and inclusive communications: Describe the practices you will use to ensure that messages and content are distributed in formats that are accessible for people with disabilities, as required by Title II of the ADA, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements as defined by the current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), for people of all ages, people of low levels of education, and non-English speaking residents in our community. 6. Social Media: Demonstrate how you would integrate social media as a part of an education effort. What is your experience with creating shareable content that educates about complex subject matter? Describe how you would tailor messaging on different platforms while ensuring consistent messaging and brand recognition. 7. Media Planning & Buying: Provide us with your process in deciding where, when, and how to purchase media. What tools or analytics do you use? What are the determining elements that make your purchasing decisions? Please include reference to social media advertising in your proposal. 8. Community Partnerships: How do partnerships with local Bozeman organizations fit into the overall education effort? How have you used partnerships and relationships with key stakeholders to extend an agency’s ability to communicate beyond their existing channels? How have you used relationships to reach folks who are commonly missed in broad communication? 9. Budget: The proposed budget for this project is $50,000 for one election cycle, which includes the scope proposed as well as consultant’s time. Provide a proposed budget for the completion of scope generally described within this RFP. Include estimated budgets for media buys and printing costs as would be necessary within the proposed strategic communications plan. Further budgets and scopes may be requested should the city wish to pursue additional ballot education issues.
