Specifications include, but are not limited to: Task 1: MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING, MANAGEMENT AND ANALYTICS Vendors will establish a comprehensive, multi-year plan for marketing and communications strategies and campaigns that will drive the work of Tasks 2-5 below. HSRI expects the vendor to regularly update this plan throughout the duration of this engagement. The plan should include campaigns that reflect the annual nature of open enrollment as well as ongoing awareness for special enrollment periods. HSRI requires the vendor to have an open enrollment campaign live from November – January each year, and SEP awareness messaging live February – October each year. For HSRI for Employers, HSRI anticipates a combination of baseline awareness throughout the year paired with dedicated campaigns in anticipation of peak renewal timeframes each year. In general, vendors should plan for one campaign in early spring to boost enrollments with May & June effective dates; and a second in late summer/early fall that will boost enrollments October through January. Note that quoting small businesses for enrollment generally has a two-month lead time prior to enrollment (e.g., businesses considering enrollment for an October 1st effective date are receiving quotes and making decisions in August). No less than annually, HSRI will establish a budget with the vendor for campaigns for the coming fiscal year, in total and by campaign. The vendor will be responsible for managing vendor staff and contractors assigned to this contract, managing the budget for each campaign and task, and managing within the media buy budget to optimize campaign performance. The selected vendor must provide analytics on campaign performance to HSRI no less than monthly. Analytics should reflect performance of all strategies and tactics included in the Tasks 3, 4 and 5 of each campaign, and may also include results of A/B testing of creatives when applicable. The vendor should be prepared to adjust the campaign implementation strategy, including media buys, to address any challenges or opportunities identified from campaign analytics or other external data sources. Any campaigns resulting from this RFP should remain cognizant of other health coverage and small business initiatives led by state government to ensure synergies and alignment as appropriate. Task 2: CREATIVES In accordance with the plan established in Task 1, the vendor will design and produce all creative collateral needed to execute each campaign strategy. This may include but not be limited to: • print creatives (e.g., posters, billboards, etc.) • digital creatives (e.g., display ads, etc.) • original photography updated annually to refresh HSRI’s library for such print and digital creatives (planning, site coordination, photographer’s services; HSRI to own the product for unlimited and exclusive use) • video creative and production (e.g., YouTube, TV, etc.) • audio scripting and production (e.g., radio, Spotify, etc.) HSRI expects the vendor to finalize each creative after review and approval of HSRI team. To ensure our messaging resonates with people of different ages and races and/or ethnicities, all final materials for individual and family coverage campaigns must be delivered in both English and Spanish. Additional languages may be needed for specific, targeted campaigns. Task 3: MEDIA BUYS This task includes procuring, booking and managing paid media as proposed by the vendor and approved by HSRI. The Media Buy task (inclusive of commissions) should comprise approximately 60-65% of the total annual budget reflected in this proposal. HSRI historically allocates approximately 40-45% of the media budget to OE, 15-20% to SEP and 35-40% to Employers. Our digital tactics and offline tactics are typically half each of total expenditure for OE, while SEP and Employers tend to rely more heavily on digital. We expect to maintain a similar level of exposure in future years. Our most recent OE campaign (November 2022-January 2023) consisted of the following: • Collective digital campaigns (paid search, paid social, display, native display, YouTube) ran for 14 weeks and generated over 13.8 million total impressions, 61,000 clicks, 2.6 million video views and 5,427 website events (November 2022 through January 2023). • Streaming TV ran 11/1 through 1/31 • Terrestrial radio ran 6 total weeks; streaming audio ran 13 weeks. • Convenience store displays were on 36 digital screens for 8 weeks. • Eight posters ran for 8 weeks; 3 digital full-size billboards and 4 static billboards ran for 4 weeks. • Transit ads on bus sides (20 kings), bus shelters and interior digital displays ran for 12 weeks Our presently ongoing SEP campaign includes (impressions not available to date as still in progress): • Paid search – 9 months • Paid social – 9 months • Boosted social events – 9 months • Hyper-targeted display – 2 runs of 2 months each Our presently ongoing Employers campaign includes (impressions, clicks, etc not available to date as still in progress): • Paid search – 10 months • Paid social (web traffic and video ads) – approximately 6 months total • Social targeting • Email – 4x repeat to approx. 30k recipients from purchased lists • Radio – 3-week flights x 6 for 18 weeks total • Event sponsorships/professional memberships Please include your anticipated recommendations of allocations (as a percentage) to social media, outdoor, digital/paid search, radio, etc. Vendors may propose different combinations of implementation strategies for each campaign and/or year as applicable. Examples of implementation types for each campaign include but are not limited to: • Outdoor – static and digital billboards/posters • Transit ads – bus sides and interior digital displays • Other out-of-home – convenience store digital displays • Display ads • Streaming TV • Paid search • Paid social • YouTube • Spotify • Radio • Boosted events on social media • Event sponsorships
