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Type:
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Procurement Contract/Change Order
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Status:
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Passed
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On agenda:
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6/23/2021
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Final action:
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6/23/2021
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Title:
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Contract: Advertising Agency (R&R Partners Inc.)
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TO: Board of Trustees
THROUGH: Carolyn Gonot, Executive Director
FROM: Andrea Packer, Communications Director
PRESENTER(S): Andrea Packer, Communications Director
TITLE:
title
Contract: Advertising Agency (R&R Partners Inc.)
end
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AGENDA ITEM TYPE: |
Procurement Contract/Change Order |
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RECOMMENDATION: |
Authorize the Executive Director to execute a contract and associated disbursements with R&R Partners, Inc. for five base years (with up to three one-year renewal options to be approved separately) in an amount not to exceed $6,000,000 for the five base years for advertising and marketing services. |
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BACKGROUND: |
UTA has procured the services of an outside advertising “agency-of record” for more than two decades. It’s a common practice and UTA has benefited from this practice as a full-service agency provides expertise and several specialty functions that UTA does not have internally. The use of an outside agency also avoids the cost to bring these functions in-house because UTA does not require many of the functions on a full-time FTE basis throughout the year. This specialized expertise includes: creative direction, art direction, design, copywriting, production management, media planning and buying, media trafficking, etc. UTA conducted a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process for UTA’s advertising agency of record. The scope of the advertising agency contract is for Advertising and/or Marketing Campaigns, Branding (including vehicle/fleet designs), Research projects, and Strategic Creative Design. This RFP also specifically requested recommendations for a strategic Covid-19 emergence effort. The scope of the contract does NOT include public relations, social media (unless paid social media as part of a marketing campaign), public affairs or government relations. The annual work performed by the agency is based on the approved PR & Marketing Department budget, currently $1.1 - $1.2 million annually. The agency assists UTA in the strategic and creative development of several paid advertising and marketing campaigns, including but not limited to: brand/awareness, back-to-school/Ed Pass, Change Day, new service/route level marketing, Riders License, safety, line/project openings, new service launches, safety, etc. The Public Relations & Marketing Department has embarked on a multi-year effort, with the support of the agency, to retool UTA’s communications with respect to branding, messaging and tone. This new approach has been incorporated into all of UTA’s advertising and marketing campaigns for the past two years. Additionally, the selected agency would assist the Public Relations & Marketing Department with multiple advertising and marketing campaigns annually, including support strategies to rebuild ridership in the wake of Covid-19. The advertising agency also provides strategic guidance in UTA’s branding, naming and vehicle design for new services, and provides support in annual research activities, including the Benchmark Survey. |
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DISCUSSION: |
After a competitive RFP procurement process for UTA’s advertising agency of record, R&R Partners was selected. It’s a five-year contract, with up to three option years. Staff will return for board approval of any desired option years at a later date. R&R Partners was unanimously chosen by the selection committee due to their extensive experience - specifically in transit - the strength of their proposal and creative work, the experience of the team assigned to our contract, and their competitive cost proposal. R&R Partners received the highest technical score and was the lowest cost. The new contract with R&R Partners includes a blended hourly rate of $120 per hour, with an estimated average of 350 hours per month and a not-to-exceed amount of 4,200 hours per year. The actual number of hours performed by the agency each year will be based on the annual budget for the Public Relations & Marketing Department. This Contract will not exceed $2,520,000 for five (5) years for all hourly services, deliverables and efforts as described in the Scope of Work and contract. The additional option years shall not exceed $504,000 per year. Payment will only be made for actual work performed within the stated not-to-exceed amounts. In addition, R&R will coordinate and negotiate services such as production costs and media buys. R&R will pay for these services and UTA will reimburse R&R for these expenses at actual cost to R&R. These reimbursable expenses plus the hourly service, deliverables and efforts as described in the Scope of Work will not exceed $6,000,000 for five (5) years. Total expenses in the additional option years would not exceed $1,200,000 per year for all services and media buys. The contract excludes agency commissions for the paid media purchased by the agency. Commissions are standard practice for agencies, as it increases their revenue, so this provides notable savings to UTA. |
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CONTRACT SUMMARY: |
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Contractor Name: |
R&R Partners, Inc. |
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Contract Number: |
21-03430BM |
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Base Contract Effective Dates: |
July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2026 |
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Extended Contract Dates: |
July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2029 |
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Existing Contract Value: |
N/A |
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Amendment Amount: |
N/A |
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New/Total Amount Contract Value: |
$6,000,000 for 5 years. (Estimated at $9.6 million dollars for 8 years). |
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Procurement Method: |
Competitive RFP selection process |
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Funding Sources: |
UTA Funds |
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ALTERNATIVES: |
Should UTA not move forward with the contract, a new procurement process would need to be undertaken. This process would take several months at a key time in the redevelopment of UTA’s branding and communications, and emergence from Covid-19. In the meantime, work on several planned advertising and marketing campaigns would come to a halt. |
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FISCAL IMPACT: |
The funds for the contract will be provided by the annual budget approved for the Public Relations & Marketing Department. |
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ATTACHMENTS: |
1) Contract |
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