Advertising and Digital Marketing and Partnerships and Public Relations Services

The Vendor is required to provide of this: (1) Advertising and Creative Services, Digital Marketing, and Social Media Services; and (2) Public Relations, Partnerships, and Events.
- Advertising and Creative Services, Digital Marketing and Social Media Services
1. Strategic Planning
•    Develop and maintain annual and quarterly integrated marketing plans aligned with the board’s strategic goals and program enrollment cycles.
•    Conduct foundational research and incorporate state-specific demographics, behavioral data, and market insights.
•    Present creative concepts and strategic approaches for campaigns.
•    Coordinate cross-functional timelines and facilitate internal review and approval processes.
•    Collaborate with all board partners, including direct-support organizations, strategic vendors, and media partners.
•    Support executive-level briefings, strategy sessions, and attend quarterly board meetings.
•    Provide executive counsel to ensure alignment on high-visibility initiatives, including incident response support and communications.
•    Provide detailed monthly billing statements and performance reporting against plan objectives and KPIS.
2. Creative and content development
•    Design and implement campaigns across paid, owned, earned, and shared media channels.
•    Produce high-quality creative assets including print, digital, audio, video, broadcast, and web-based content, including direct mail.
•    Create, maintain, and ensure adherence to comprehensive brand guidelines for all programs.
•    Provide editorial quality assurance, proofreading, and compliance review for all assets to ensure brand consistency and accessibility.
•    Create and produce digital and print versions of all collateral and other customer facing materials.
•    Create and produce promotional items and manage the storage and distribution of such items.
3. Paid media planning and buying
•    Execute paid media buys across traditional, digital, social, programmatic, and emerging platforms.
•    Continuously optimize placements using audience research, historical performance, and platform specific best practices.
•    Negotiate added-value placements, in-kind contributions, and cost efficiencies.
4. Web, UX, and analytics
•    Maintain and enhance program marketing websites, ensuring mobile responsiveness, ADA compliance, and content relevance.
•    Create blog content and content calendar to assist with website SEO/GEO, as well as digital newsletters, and email journeys.
•    Develop and manage analytics to monitor and optimize ROI, conversions, and engagement metrics.
•    Oversee all campaign tagging, pixel tracking, and website performance monitoring tools.
•    Design and implement email marketing strategies, including calendarized sends for campaigns, as well as lead and customer journeys.
•    Manage audience segmentation, lifecycle messaging, and customer personas for tailored outreach.
5. Social media services
•    Develop and execute a strategic organic social media plan, including platform-specific strategies for engagement, reach, and retention.
•    Design and publish content across social platforms, ensuring brand consistency and alignment with campaign objectives.
•    Monitor social media channels for engagement opportunities, community sentiment, and reputational risk.
•    Respond to customer inquiries and conversations in a timely, professional, and on-brand manner.
•    Maintain an editorial calendar and coordinate content across paid, owned, and earned teams for message alignment.
•    Identify and engage relevant digital influencers and content creators to amplify program messages.
•    Track and report key performance metrics for social media, including impressions, engagement rates, share of voice, coverage quality, and sentiment analysis.
6. Measurement and optimization
•    Provide quarterly performance with actionable insights and recommendations.
•    Continuously refine messaging, tactics, and content strategy based on performance data and market signals.
- Public relations, partnerships, and events
1. Strategic planning
•    Develop and implement an annual engagement plan that aligns with board objectives and supports a full lifecycle marketing approach.
•    Identify and prioritize high-impact engagement opportunities across family, educational, health, financial, and employer-based channels.
•    Recommend scalable integration models that embed messaging naturally into environments where users are already active and attentive.
•    Design and manage a master engagement calendar and integrated outreach timeline across partner and event activations.
•    Collaborate with board staff, third-party vendors, and community partners to ensure coordinated implementation and message consistency.
•    Maintain a strategic media calendar aligned with campaign milestones, enrollment periods, public events, and partner activations.
•    Monitor public sentiment and industry trends to proactively shape messaging and identify timely engagement opportunities.
•    Provide executive counsel and media strategy support to ensure alignment on high-visibility initiatives, including incident response support and communications.
•    Prepare performance summaries to inform executive-level planning and resource allocation.
2. Media relations and storytelling
•    Manage all aspects of earned media efforts, including press releases, media advisories, editorial pitches, and talking points.
•    Cultivate relationships with local, regional, and statewide media to increase coverage and enhance the board’s credibility across programs.
•    Develop feature narratives, thought leadership opportunities, and editorial content that position state prepaid and its programs as trusted education and financial resources.
•    Provide media training and interview preparation for designated spokespersons.
•    Monitor and report all media coverage, including, but not limited to, providing the board with a daily report, a weekly summary, as well as a quarterly analysis of all media coverage related to the board, other states’ 529 plans, and related industry news.
•    Preparation of the three brand annual reports, including design and copywriting.
3. Partnership development and management
•    Source and cultivate relationships with organizations and institutions that can provide consistent, high-volume access to prospects and customers through trusted communication channels.
•    Develop toolkits and co-branded materials that enable partners to easily incorporate college savings messaging into their existing workflows.
•    Design and manage opt-in programs, sweepstakes, and lead capture tools that facilitate measurable partner engagement and allow for post-activation tracking.
•    Provide responsive partner support and onboarding, including briefings, asset customization, and implementation guidance.
4. Community engagement
•    Identify and engage relevant brand ambassadors and stakeholder advocates to amplify program messages at key events, managing recruitment, training, invoicing, tracking, etc.
•    Facilitate partnerships with trusted voices to build credibility and drive authentic storytelling aligned with board priorities.
•    Support grassroots and community engagement initiatives that enhance reach, deepen trust, and\ elevate program relevance.
5. Event strategy and execution
•    Design and execute a wide range of event experiences, including family-focused community events, school-based activations, webinars, educational sessions, and professional engagement opportunities.
•    Oversee all aspects of event logistics, including planning, staffing, collateral production, and on-site support.
•    Develop supporting assets and pre/post-event digital communications to amplify reach and reinforce calls to action.
•    Ensure alignment with the board’s brand and campaign goals at every touchpoint.
6. Measurement and reporting
•    Define and track key performance indicators across public relations, partnership, and event engagements, including audience reach and frequency, engagement and lead generation, conversion indicators, and cost-efficiency metrics.
•    Use outcome data to inform future strategy, optimize resource allocation, and scale high-performing models.
•    Provide quarterly performance reports with actionable recommendations and deliver insights in ad hoc briefings.
•    Continuously refine messaging, tactics, and content strategy based on performance data and market signals.
- Project-based services
•    Venue rentals, catering, a/v services, and on-site logistics.
•    Custom printing, shipping, or fulfillment of promotional items and collateral.
•    Custom video, podcast, or multimedia production for earned or shared media use.
•    Paid amplification of earned media through sponsored placements.
•    Research studies, polling, or whitepaper development.
•    Paid media, sponsorships, promotional fees, brand ambassadors, advocates, and partnerships.
•    Translation services and cultural adaptation of materials.
•    Pass-through costs from third-party vendors.

- Contract Period/Term: 5 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: December 4, 2025