What the buyer needs
AI summaryDakota State University seeks proposals from qualified marketing firms to provide external marketing services supporting its enrollment, reputation, and brand-awareness goals. The selected contractor will deliver enrollment marketing, priority academic program promotion, creative strategy, media planning and buying, digital recruitment funnel strategy, and analytics. Work will also encompass audience research and marketing for undergraduate, graduate, non-degree, continuing education, and workforce-development offerings. Only onshore USA organizations are eligible to submit proposals for offsite performance under a three-year contract period. Prospective vendors must submit all questions by December 4, 2026, and deliver final proposals no later than January 11, 2027, at 5:00 p.m.
Scope of work
- Strategic marketing and planning
- Enrollment and recruitment marketing
- Priority program and new program marketing
- Brand awareness and institutional reputation
- Market and audience research
- Creative strategy and production
- Media strategy, planning, and buying
- Digital strategy, conversion, analytics, attribution, reporting, and optimization
How proposals are evaluated
| Criterion | Weight / scoring |
|---|---|
| Specialized expertise, capabilities, and technical competence as demonstrated by the proposed approach and methodology to meet the project requirements | Not specified |
| Resources available to perform the work, including any specialized services, within the specified time limits for the project | Not specified |
| Record of past performance, including price and cost data from previous projects, quality of work, ability to meet schedules, cost control, and contract administration | Not specified |
| Availability to the project locale | Not specified |
| Familiarity with the project locale | Not specified |
| Proposed project management techniques | Not specified |
| Ability and proven history in handling special project constraints | Not specified |
Minimum qualifications
- Demonstrated expertise in higher education marketing, enrollment marketing, brand strategy, creative development, media strategy and placement, audience and market research, digital strategy, and performance measurement
- Must not be in arrears upon any obligations to the State of South Dakota or deemed irresponsible or unreliable
- Certification that neither offeror nor its principals are debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded by any Federal department or agency
- Certification of compliance with South Dakota non-discrimination statement requirements
- Certification that entity is not owned or controlled by a foreign national, parent entity, or government from China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, or Venezuela per SDCL 5-18A
- Certification regarding restriction of boycott of Israel per SDCL requirements for contractors with 5 or more employees on contracts of $100,000 or more
Documents to include with your response
- Completed and signed State Request for Proposal form (1st page of RFP)
- Letter of Intent to Respond
- One-to-two-page Executive Summary
- Detailed Response covering Sections 4.3 through 4.10
- Three examples of current or comparable engagements
- One anonymized example of an actual campaign dashboard or executive-level performance report
- Resumes or professional biographies of proposed account team personnel
- Three current or former client references
- Cost Proposal submitted as a separate and independent section
- Certificates of Insurance prior to beginning work
How to submit
- Method
- Sealed hard copy and electronic copy via mail
- Instructions
- Submit an original and 10 identical copies, plus 1 electronic copy on flash drive/USB drive in Word or PDF format, sealed and marked with RFP Number and Title, addressed to Andrew Sogn, Dakota State University, 820 N. Washington Avenue, Madison, SD 57042-1799. Detailed narrative response to Sections 4.3 through 4.8 must not exceed 10 pages.