Request for quotes for a communications agency:
Request for quotes for a communications agency:
Aarhus University will organize a request for quotes for a communications agency to be subcontracted for a European project, SynchroniCity, to provide support in the domain of communication and marketing, especially related to visual identity, marketing materials and PR. The project was started in January 2017 and will end in September 2019.
In addition to the communication activities for this specific project, there is an option for the communication agency to provide an additional proposal for communication support for Coordination and Support Action (CSA) project coordinating the activities of a larger group of projects. Based on the received quotes a selection of the company will be made by the project management group.
Communication and marketing tasks for the SynchroniCity project include:
1) Designing visual identity:
Preparations of offline materials including materials for events and other offline dissemination. First round of material would be designed and printed at the beginning of the project (Q1/2017) and this set of material would be updated twice during the project lifetime (around Q1/2018 and Q1/2019).
2) Online materials:
3) Events organization support (especially materials)
approximately 5-6 events per year, during the 3-year project
4) Other on-demand activities:
Company profile:
Applications as well as possible questions are asked to be sent to the following email
[email protected] at the latest on 20th of March 2017.
/EDIT/ follow up information about the Open Call:
An informative webinar was held on 13 March 2017 between 10:30AM – 11:30 AM CET.
1. Should the printing costs of materials be included in the quotes?
Yes, specifying this item will help the project in the selection.
2. Is the communications agency expected to provide editorial help for the content of the communications?
Yes, curation will be needed for the content, the communication agency is expected to be as a sparring partner who can challenge the project comms team with the content. The project intends for a different type of approach from a traditional European project, i.e. to communicate about things happening on the ground. Good professional help is expected on how to reach the market with the focus on sustainability and market potential of the project.
3. Concerning the project website, what is expected from the communications agency?
The SynchroniCity website will have updated information about the project, news, events, videos, social media plugins, newsletter area (with a link to subscribe the newsletter), project library with a media kit and publications (including deliverables) and discussion space. The website will allow visitors to contact the project via a specific form (questions will be directed to comms representatives). In addition, there will be a specific area for open calls once they will be active. The Reference Zones will have dedicated areas with information on local languages (possibly edited by the reference zones themselves). The website will be linked to relevant network websites such as OASC and ENoLL and other initiatives as well as project partners.
The content for the website is mainly coming from SynchroniCity consortium and coordinated by the comms team, also with regard to daily updates on news/events etc. However, the project relies on communication agency’s expertise to define right structure, right format of content and also to provide maintenance support.
4. What is expected from the communications agency with regard to the newsletter framework?
As with the other materials, the content will be provided by the project consortium, but the communications agency will help in creating a harmonised message as well as support the planning of the tools used.
5. What kind of videos are foreseen to be produced for the project?
There will be an intro video related to the overall LSP programme. This will be considered as a live signature, capturing the spirit of project (minimalistic in terms of production), to find a voice for SynchroniCity. In addition to this two promotional videos are in the planning, however, there are no requirements from the project side to the format of videos.
6. Should the communications agency provide one quote or series of quotes?
For the transparency, the project has a baseline that needs to be covered. There is an option linking to the whole programme (through CSA), however, discussions concerning the specifications are still open. It would be helpful for the pre-selection of the agency to provide scenarios in the quote how the offer scales as well as breaking down the quote.
7. Is it possible to provide specific list of services, e.g. just web design?
Ideally the project would like to work with one team providing all the requested items of the call.
8. Which types of events is the project foreseeing for the upcoming year?
Main events with SynchroniCity participation (booth and/or session/panel) for this year will include the following: IoT week in June, Net Futures in June, European week of regions and cities in October, Smart City Expo World Congress in November. In addition the communications agency is expected to help with the Connected Smart Cities conference organised by SynchroniCity in January 2018.
Attached: PowerPoint Presentation on the Open Call