Department of Health Request for Proposals

The Department of Health has requested proposals from qualified firms for professional services for an education and public awareness campaign regarding the H1N1 virus and vaccine. The deadline for submission is 4:00 p.m. CST on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009. Below are questions submitted by prospective bidders followed by responses from the Department of Health.

The following five (5) questions were submitted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 2:22 p.m.:

How many vaccination events does DOH plan to execute?

The current plan is to have fifteen (15) DOH vaccination events – five (5) on a single day in November, five (5) on a single day in December, and five (5) on a single day in January. However, this is subject to change and is especially dependent on the amount of vaccine received.
Do you know yet when and where the vaccination events will take place?

We do have tentative locations and dates for all fifteen (15) events; however, since we have not yet received enough vaccine to say with certainty that we will be able to hold the November events, we have not publicized any “date/time/location” information.
Does DOH require printing of materials as part of the $150K budget, or can materials be distributed electronically?

The $150,000 budget is the total amount we are currently authorized to spend on the campaign – including both administrative and marketing costs. In some cases, this may require printing and in others it may permit electronic messaging. Given the limited budget, we are definitely looking to maximize the usefulness of every dollar spent. With that in mind, we will always have a preference for less expensive, but equally effective, ways of distributing information.
Does the DOH have a requirement for paid advertising and broadcast PSAs, or are you looking for recommendations from the vendor on the specific marketing mix?

We do not have any specific requirements for the marketing mix and will be relying on the selected firm for recommendations. Of course, the department reserves the right to make the final decision on how the dollars are spent and what that mix will include/exclude.
The RFP states that all web-based content will need to be in a format compatible with existing DOH IT capabilities. However, would DOH be open to the vendor creating a microsite specific to this campaign that the vendor would develop, host, and maintain on behalf of DOH through the course of the campaign?

The DOH would be open to the idea of a microsite; however, since we already have some branding achieved with the use of our “www.SaintLouisCountyFlu.com” redirect URL, our initial preference will be to work with our existing site to the extent possible.

The following two (2) questions were submitted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 4:19 p.m.:

We see three major messaging points for the campaign: 1) the importance of vaccination; 2) prevention measures such as hand washing, staying at home when sick, etc. and 3) how to recognize the symptoms of H1N1. Can you please prioritize the importance of these messages?

Up to this point, we have only really had two (2) messages: 1) prevention and 2) vaccination. We consider them to be of equal importance in the long run, although until the vaccine is more readily available, prevention remains our most important message as it is the only weapon in our arsenal at the moment. The symptomatic differences between seasonal flu and the new H1N1 flu are small enough that we have not spent much time explaining how to differentiate the new H1N1 flu from other types, opting instead to emphasize the traditional message of staying at home no matter what illness one has and of only seeking medical attention if symptoms are severe enough or meet several CDC-determined criteria.
Under Scope of Work on the RFP, please elaborate on the “informational and persuasive content.” Are you looking for us to provide in the proposal a list of key messages and/or samples of copy? Or more of a general approach to what information we would include?

We are looking more for a general approach and a sense of which firm has the best ideas for how to disseminate the message to ensure that the CDC-identified priority groups receive the message. Given the short timeframe involved, we understand that many details will have to be filled in later.

The following question was submitted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 10:44 a.m.:

We saw the KMOV story on the free vaccinations DOH is offering for pregnant women. Do you know if all of the vaccinations offered by DOH will be free?

The federal government has purchased all of the H1N1 vaccine on behalf of the American people and public health departments will not be permitted to charge for the vaccine. However, private entities will be permitted to charge a small administrative fee to cover related administrative costs.

All vaccinations provided directly by the Department of Health will be free, including at all fifteen (15) of our public clinics. (Note: the two (2) clinics for pregnant women on October 31st are NOT among the fifteen (15) clinics we have been referencing.)

The following question was submitted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 1:02 p.m.:

Will the Department of Health select "finalists" from firms that submit H1N1 awareness communication proposals by October 22, and then have a "callback" for "final presentations" to your review committee? Something similar?

The department’s intention is to use the submitted proposals as the basis for the award decision. Should the evaluation team be unable to reach an award decision without additional information, they could choose to invite certain firms to in-person meetings. However, given the expedited nature of this RFP process, that would only be considered if it became apparent that the evaluation team was unable to reach a consensus without such meetings. In addition, such meetings would likely be limited to the top two (2) or three (3) firms submitting proposals as determined by the evaluation team.