INVITATION TO SUBMIT INFORMATION FOR THE SELECTION … · Russia, India, China, USA, UK, UAE, Germany, Japan, Zamibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, DRC, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya. 2.A domestic

International Marketing Council

Tender : 09/2010-11

Media Monitoring and Analysis Tender

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INVITATION TO SUBMIT INFORMATION

FOR THE SELECTION AND APPOINTMENT OF A MEDIA MONITORING AND ANALYSIS COMPANY

Tender Number 09/2010-11

CLOSING DATE 01 APRIL 2011 AT 10H00 The International Marketing Council of South Africa is inviting suitably qualified and experienced companies to bid for the provision of media monitoting and analysis service across three media platforms - domestic , international and social . Respondents are requested to treat all information, including this tender document, received from the IMC as confidential and must not discuss or divulge this information to any third party without the IMC’s direct permission. Responses to this tender will be in terms of this document. All information requested must be supplied and all annexures completed, whether such information or annexure refers to this stage or future stages of the tender. The information submitted during this stage of the tender will also form part of future stages of the tender and must therefore be complete, correct and true. Stage 1 of the Tender – The Invitation to Submit Information - comprises of the following parts and shall be referred to as the Request for Information (RFI):

Section 1 Information on the Tender

Section 2 Tender Guidelines

– Annexure A Short-listing Questionnaire (Must be completed by all bidding companies within the template provided)


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SECTION 1: TENDER INFORMATION

1. BACKGROUND

The IMC is a public-entity which is tasked with the marketing of the Republic of South Africa in order to attract tourism, trade and investment, as well as foster national pride and patriotism. The IMC markets South Africa (SA) through Brand South Africa. The organisation Head Office is located in Houghton. It also has country offices in the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK). In support of the above, the IMC hereby invites suitable communications companies to Tender for the following portfolio:

A media monitoring and analysis service which will be broken down into the following three

components:

1. An international media monitoring, tracking and analysis service to establish the reputation of the nation on key nation building dimensions. The monitoring should address a significant proportion of the globe with particular focus on the following countries; Brazil, Russia, India, China, USA, UK, UAE, Germany, Japan, Zamibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, DRC, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya.

2. A domestic media monitoring, track and analysis service to understand the reporting on key issues relevant to the mandate of the IMC

3. A social media monitoring and analysis service which will aid in understanding the conversations around specific topics relating to South Africa and the effect on the nation’s reputation

1.1 The bidding company will be responsible for the following services and should have strong

credentials in this regard:

A thorough understanding of reputation management and how the above mentioned mediums drive reputation

The ability to collate and analyse data from each of the specified sources on the above mentioned topic

Knowledge of nation branding and generally accepted practices including dimensions measured in nation branding

The IMC is interested in contracting a reputable, experienced and reliable agency which has previous experience in successfully managing similar projects

Demonstrates an understanding, support and passion for Brand South Africa by indicating various ways in which the quality of the organisation’s research work can be improved and how the agency would add value to it.

The IMC seeks to maintain the impetus already begun with both local and international campaigns; therefore it seeks an understanding and knowledge of work done to date.

The IMC is looking for potential suppliers to demonstrate innovation, consistency, strategic ability and follow-through.

Demonstration of fast turn-around times backed by physical and human resources to do so.

Demonstration of internal quality control and plans on how you will strive for excellence.


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Demonstration of senior involvement in the work and dedicated resources to the account. The research project aims to address the following objectives:

A comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the factors impacting the nation’s reputation within the media, in order to put in place strategies to combat any negative perceptions or reinforce positive perceptions

To determine and monitor the awareness and coverage of South Africa internationally and in core target markets

To give a comprehensive view of how South Africa performs on each of the Nation building pillars; namely, exports, investment, people, culture, governance and tourism on each of the specified platforms (media locally and abroad as well as within social media)

To guide content development for both domestic and international reputation management agencies by identifying critical areas being reported on by the media as well as within social media

To develop insight into how conversations are driven within the landscape, for example, which conversations are being driven by the media on a social media platform, as social media beginning to drive media content at all.

To act as an early warning system on reputational risks both within domestic and international media on the social media platform

This will be informed through daily clippings from domestic and international media

To provide a greater understanding of which mediums namely; print, broadcast, online or social media are driving positive or negative perceptions and specifically around which issues.

To determine the level to which conversations amongst the specific audiences (i.e. civil society, global South Africans and the international community) engaging on key issues around South Africa are changing and how the IMC strategy aids in changing these conversations using the digital space specifically social media

The research will also aim to measure the successful ceding of the Brand South Africa messaging framework and pillars both domestically and internationally

Assessing and monitoring success of specific events such as WEF Davos, COP 17, BRIC Summits, State Visits and International Trade Initiatives (ITI’s).

1.2 Expenditure:

The expenditure for this portfolio is approximately R10 million for 2 years ten months (1 Jun 2011 – 31 Mar 2014), and is based on the estimated budget for the period. The budget includes all services and hard costs relating to this portfolio. These figures should be used as an indication only and the IMC makes no guarantee of future spend and offers this information only to assist in preparation of a submission.

2. CONTRACT DURATION

The IMC intends to enter into a contract for a period of two years ten months during the project there will be a series of bi-annual company performance reviews. An unsatisfactory performance review may result in the contract being terminated during the term.


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3. TENDER PROCESS

The IMC’s Tender process consists of the following stages:

3.1. Invitation to submit information 3.2. Submission of RFI documents 3.3. Evaluation of RFI submissions 3.4. Selection of Short-Listed Companies (a maximum of four (4) companies) 3.5. Briefing of Short-Listed Companies and distribution of Brief Packs and Commercial Packs 3.6. Submission of Commercial Packs by Short-Listed Companies 3.7. Pitch Presentations – Evaluation by IMC Evaluation Committee 3.8. Adjudication by IMC Adjudication Committee 3.9. Selection of Successful Company by the IMC Exco/Board

4. PURPOSE

The purpose of this stage of the Tender process is to:

4.1 Allow interested companies an opportunity to submit required information to the IMC; 4.2 Evaluate information submitted by bidding companies and create a short-list of a maximum

of four (4) companies; 4.3 Invite Short-Listed Companies to the next stage of the Tender process that will commence

with a detailed briefing session.

5. IMPORTANT DATES

20 March 2011 Tender Advert in Media

01 April 2011 Deadline for submission of RFI documents (10h00)

04 April 2011 IMC announces Short-Listed Companies

05 April 2011 Briefing of Short-Listed Companies

07 April 2011 Deadline for questions relating to the Brief and Commercial Packs

08 April 2011 D eadline for submission of Commercial Packs

12 April 2011 Pitch Presentations

14 April 2011 Adjudication Committee

06 May 2011 Awarding of the Tender

6. RFI SUBMISSION


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6.1 Response Format

Your RFI submission must consist of one original, one identical paper copy and one electronic copy. The paper copy must clearly be marked COPY 1. The electronic copy must be clearly marked with the bidding company’s name. In the event that there are discrepancies in information contained in the various documents and/or copies submitted by the bidding company, the bidding company’s submission will be disqualified without further notification.

6.2 Lodging of RFI Submissions and Closing Date

All RFI submissions must be delivered by hand in a sealed envelope. The following information must appear on the outside of the sealed envelope:

6.2.1 The International Marketing Council, 103 Central Street, Houghton; 6.2.2 Name of bidding company; 6.2.3 Media Monitoring and Analysis Tender; 6.2.4 09/2010-11 (RFI number); 6.2.5 01 April 10h00 (Closing date and time); 6.2.6 Attention: Mr Thami Kubheka

The RFI submission must be lodged in the IMC’s Tender Box located in the main reception of the IMC offices at 103 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg, on or before - 01 April 2011 at 10h00. Bidding companies must ensure that their submissions are registered. The tender box will be accessible from 09h00 – 16h00, Mondays - Fridays.

Please Note: Incomplete RFI submissions will be rejected and the IMC will not accept late proposals. All RFI submissions delivered to the IMC will become the property of the IMC and will not be returned to the bidding company.

7. SECURITY AND INTEGRITY CLEARANCE

All information documents, records and books provided by the IMC to any bidding company, in connection with this Tender or otherwise, are confidential. These may not be disclosed by any bidding company to any third party, except with the express consent of the IMC, which must be granted in writing prior to such disclosure. The IMC reserves the right to disclose any information provided by any bidding company to any of its employees.

8. INFORMATION REQUIRED

The bidding company’s RFI submission must include the following minimum information to be considered valid and acceptable to the IMC:

8.1 Company Declarations A covering letter on the bidding company's official letterhead, confirming the following:


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8.1.1 That no conflict of interest exists (see point 26.); 8.1.2 That the bidding company accepts the guidelines, terms and condition of this Tender; 8.1.3 That the bidding company validates that the RFI submission is correct.

8.2 Short-listing Questionnaire

The questionnaire contained in Annexure A of this tender document must be completed by each bidding company.

8.3 RFI Documents

In addition to the above, bidding companies must complete and submit the following:

8.3.1 Annexure A: Short-listing Questionnaire

8.3.2 Valid tax clearance certificate (must be valid until at least 31 May 2011)

8.3.3 Valid BBBEE rating certificate and Analysis Report from an accredited rating agency

(must be valid until at least 31 May 2011)

8.3.4 Two latest sets of annual financial statements (audited in the event of a company)

8.3.5 Documents required for company associations/JV’s (see point 12)

9. EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Tender comprises a 3-stage evaluation process:

Phase I: RFI Compliance Phase II: Short-listing Phase III: Pitch Evaluation and Adjudication

Only bidding companies that comply with Phase I (RFI Compliance) will be considered for Phase II (short-listing) and only the top four (4) bidding companies in Phase II will be short-listed to progress to Phase III. The following evaluation criteria will be applied in this Tender:

9.1 Phase 1: RFI Compliance

The following documents must be submitted:

9.1.1 Annexure A: Short-listing Questionnaire

9.1.2 Valid tax clearance certificate (must be valid until at least 31 May 2011)

9.1.3 Valid BBBEE rating certificate and analysis report (must be valid until at least 31 May

2011)

9.1.4 Two latest sets of annual financial statements (audited in the event of a company)

9.1.5 Documents required for company associations/JV’s (see point 12)

9.2 Phase II: Short-listing Criteria


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RFI submissions will be evaluated and ranked using a weighted scoring system. The assignment of points by the IMC is final and will under no circumstances be open to appeal or protest by the bidding companies. It is the responsibility of each bidding company to understand the scoring system and to factor that system into the organisation and content of its RFI submission.

The following criteria will be applied to evaluate RFI submissions and to select a maximum of four (4) Short-Listed Companies. Only bidding companies that comply with Phase 1 (Compliance Criteria) will be considered in Phase II. The following criteria will be applied to select the top-performing Short-Listed Companies: 1. International Affiliations and network (40%)

Has sound affiliations in order to track media (i.e. online, broadcast and print) within the global context. Specific target countries are but are not restricted to Brazil, Russia, India China, , USA, UK, UAE, Germany, Japan, Zamibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, DRC, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya. The successful agency should have ability to track the majority of the global markets and not just specific to the abovementioned countries. A holistic view of the nation’s reputation is required.

2. Relevant previous experience (15%)

Has a proven track record of conducting international research projects. Preference will be given to those who have conducted research amongst the specified markets and within the relevant platforms.

3. Monitoring capabilities (40%)

The ability to monitor, track and analyse a number of mediums including online, broadcast, print and social media. Preference will be given to the agency which demonstrates the ability to track a broad and relevant range of publications and sources.

4. Project lead experience (5%)

Project leaders experience in running research projects of a similar nature. Number and scale of projects managed previously will be taken into account.

5. BBBEE

Please note that this is a gatekeeper criteria – companies which do not have a level 4 rating or better will not be considered.

9.3 Phase III: Pitch Criteria

Only Short-Listed Companies (maximum of four (4)) will be invited to pitch for the account. The pitch scorecard and pitch criteria will be shared with Short-Listed Companies during the Pitch Brief.


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10. RFI TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This Tender is subject to the IMC’s Tender Guidelines that have been included as Section 2 of this document.


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SECTION 2: TENDER GUIDELINES

11. CLARIFICATION REQUIRED BY THE IMC

The IMC may request additional information, clarifications and/or validation of information contained in the RFI submissions. The bidding company should endeavor to respond to the clarification request within two (2) working days. To assist in the evaluation and comparison of the RFI submissions, the IMC may also seek the attendance of the bidding company at clarification meetings. During the evaluation process, no change in the content of RFI submission shall be sought, offered or permitted. Should there be a difference of interpretation between the bidding company and the IMC, the IMC reserves the right to make a final ruling on such interpretation.

12. ASSOCIATION WITH OTHER COMPANIES

The IMC will not accept any proposals to form associations upon award of the Tender. The association/s must have been in place for at least one year (12 months) at the time of the RFI submission. The bidding company must deliver proof of the fact that the relationship has been in place for this period of time by providing details of the clients serviced by the association/s during the 12 month period. In the case where a number of bidding companies form a consortium, a principle bidding company must be appointed as the Tendering authority to interface directly with the IMC. The consortium may not make any further modifications to the consortium after the submission of the RFI. Submissions should clearly outline the nature of the relationship, the % shareholding in the association, the reason for the association and the potential benefits to the IMC. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in a bidding company’s disqualification from the Tender process. The IMC reserves the right to verify members of the respective association and/or consortium.

13. MODIFICATION OR SUBSTITUTION OF TENDER INFORMATION

Once RFI submissions have been made by the company, the IMC will not accept or allow any substitution and/or modification of the information contained in the RFI submission unless as agreed during negotiations.


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14. NOTIFICATION

14.1 Short-Listed Companies

The IMC shall inform, in writing, the companies that have been short-listed. It is the intention of the IMC to keep the RFI submissions and any other further Tender submissions of these companies open until such time as the IMC has executed an agreement for the required services with one or more of the Short-Listed Companies.

14.2 Unsuccessful Companies

Upon selection of the Short-Listed Companies, the IMC will notify each of the other bidding companies and inform them that they have not been short-listed. Please Note: The IMC’s decision on the selection of Short-Listed Companies is final and the IMC will not enter into any further correspondence and/or negotiations with any unsuccessful bidding company.

15. QUERIES

All questions or queries on this RFI must be communicated by e-mail to [email protected]. All questions and queries received will be answered by email. Please Note: The questions and responses will be sent to all bidding companies. Please bear this in mind when asking questions. The name of the company asking the question will not be mentioned. The deadline for questions relating to the RFI is 08 April 2011.

16. COST OF TENDERING

The bidding company shall bear all costs and expenses associated with the preparation and submission of the RFI submission and the IMC shall under no circumstances be responsible or liable for any such costs, regardless of, without limitation to the conduct or outcome of the Tendering, evaluation, and/ or selection process.

17. VALIDITY

The RFI submissions provided to the IMC in terms of this Tender must be valid for a period of 120 days from the date of submission with the exception of the Tax and BBBEE certificates which must be valid until 31 May 2011.

18. NEGOTIATIONS

The IMC may seek to enter into negotiations to agree remuneration, scope of work, scope of services and other salient commercial terms with the Short-Listed Companies


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19. COMPLETENESS OF THE SOLUTION

The bidding company must complete all documents in full and submit these with the RFI submission. Failure to comply with these requirements will invalidate the bidding company and disqualify the RFI submission. Notwithstanding any possible shortcomings and/or inconsistencies in the Tender documents, the bidding company must ensure that the solution offered will form a complete, cost effective and functional proposal.

20. CONTRACTUAL IMPLICATIONS

After awarding the Tender, the RFI submission, together with an applicable contract to be compiled in line with this completed document, will constitute a binding contract agreement between the IMC and the successful Short-Listed Company. The Short-Listed Company will assume total responsibility, regardless of any third party or sub-contracting agreements it may enter into.

21. CONDITIONS OF PAYMENT

The IMC will approve all content, reviews and assessments set. No service will be provided to the IMC before an official order has been issued to the supplier and service delivery will be within the specified time scale after the receipt of the official order. Invoices will be payable (30) days after receipt. An invoice will be submitted to the IMC for certification and must be supported by all relevant documentation and original invoices from additional suppliers.

22. QUALITY ASSURANCE

All deliverables produced by the Short-Listed Company, its personnel, agents, or sub-contractors will be subject to ongoing evaluation to determine its effectiveness and will be so guaranteed for the full period of this Tender. Any lack of, or incorrect delivery which is attributable to poor or negligent work, will be rectified by the Short-Listed Company at own cost and time and all costs relating to the non-delivery will be expressly and separately noted on billing documentation.


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23. CONTRACTUAL DETAILS

23.1 AWARDING OF CONTRACT

Proven relevant experience and success, as well as the ability to deliver reliable and effective service will be important considerations. By the delivery of a RFI submission, each bidding company warrants that he/she is highly skilled, professional, competent, and experienced in the area for which he/she has bid. Any work performed by a successful bidding company will be evaluated against these criteria. RFI submissions that are qualified by a bidding company’s own conditions may be rejected as being invalid, and failure of the bidding company to renounce such conditions when called upon to do so may invalidate the RFI submission. The IMC may request clarification or additional information regarding any aspect of the RFI submission. The bidding company must supply the requested information within forty eight (48) hours after the written request has been made, otherwise the bidding company may be disqualified. The IMC may also request a demonstration, and bidding companies must comply with such a request within forty eight (48) hours.

23.2 TERMS OF CONTRACT

The contract will be in terms of the IMC’s standard terms of services and procurement.

24. EXECUTION OF CONTRACT

Upon agreement between one of the Short-Listed Companies and the IMC, a contract will be given to the Short-Listed Company for signature. The Short-Listed Company will be allocated a time period of a maximum of (ten) 10 working days for signature and for the commencement of work on the account. Failing this, the IMC reserves the right to disqualify the Short-Listed Company and enter into negotiations with any of the other Short-Listed Companies.

25. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The bidding company or bidding company group must submit a document (you may include it in your covering letter), stating whether any of its employees have any interest in the IMC or whether any of the IMC’s personnel have any interest in the bidding company or affiliated business.


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26. DISQUALIFICATION

Any effort by a bidding company or bidding company representative to influence the IMC in the process of clarification, determination of compliance, evaluation of RFI submissions, or in decisions concerning the award of the Tender, will result in the disqualification of the respective bidding company from the process.

27. THE IMC’S DISCRETION

The IMC reserves the right to:

27.1 Reject and/or disqualify any RFI submission that: 27.1.1 Fails to follow the letter and spirit of the Tender; 27.1.2 Fails the Compliance Criteria; 27.1.3 Substantially deviates from the terms and conditions of this Tender; 27.1.4 Fails to commit to the key deliverables needed for this Tender; 27.1.5 Fails to submit the correct number of copies and in the correct format; 27.1.6 Contains any information that is found to be incorrect or misleading in any way.

27.2 Accept one or more RFI submissions; 27.3 Reject all RFI submissions; 27.4 Consider any RFI submissions that may not conform to any aspect of the RFI; 27.5 Request further information from any bidding company after the closing date; 27.6 Cancel this Tender, RFI or any part thereof at any time; 27.7 Award this Tender or any part thereof to any one or more bidding company; 27.8 Increase/decrease the number of Short-Listed Companies invited to the pitch phase of this

Tender.

28. DISCLAIMER

The information presented in this Tender is furnished solely for the purpose of assisting bidding companies in making their own evaluation of the Tender and does not purport to be all-inclusive or to contain all the information that bidding companies may require.

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Annexure A: Short-Listing Questionnaire (Media monitoring and analysis tender) Very Important: The information provided e.g. number of staff, list of clients, billings, etc. must pertain to the company/subsidiary that is pitching for the business and not to the main/holding company (unless it is the main company pitching for the business). General Information

1 Legal name 11 Number of employees

2 Trading name 12 Inception date

3 Holding Company 13 Shareholding of Holding Company

4 Registration no 14 Location of head office

5 Postal address 15 Contact person

6 Physical address 16 Designation

7 Web address 17 Mobile number

8 Telephone (W) 18 E-Mail address

9 VAT number 19 Billings (past 12 months)

10 BBBEE level (attach certificate)

1 2 3 4 5 6 >6 Not rated

20 Provide a brief overview of your company (history, services, key strengths/competencies, achievements, clients, etc) (max 150 words)

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Company Profile

21 Is your company part of a global network, and if so, which network? YES NO Network:

22a Indicate whether the global network has offices in the following countries:

Kenya Y N Japan Y N USA Y N UK Y N

Nigeria Y N South Korea Y N Brazil Y N Germany Y N

DRC Y N China Y N Argentina Y N France Y N

Egypt Y N India Y N Russia Y N Angola Y N

UAE Y N South Africa Y N Zambia Y N Zimbabwe Y N

22b In total, how many countries do you have an ability to track and monitor within?

22c Please list countries not specified in the list above.

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23 Who is the proposed project leader?

24 Please list the projects in which they have worked as the project lead, detailing the client, scope of work, scale and tenure of the project

Client Scope of work Scale Tenure

25 Provide a short resume, detailing project management experience and analytical ability

26 Accounts won in past 12 months Approximate value

1.

2.

3.

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27 Accounts lost in past 12 months Reason for loss

1.

2.

3.

Services

28 Which of the following services does the company offer using in-house resources and which services will the company be able to offer by partnering with out-sourced partners? Where outsourced, please provide the name of the outsourced partner.

Service Inhouse OR Outsourced Outsourced partner’s name

a) Study design

b) Sample design

c) Clipping service

d) Translations where relevant

e) Monitoring of online (i.e. blogs and social media)

f) Back checking

g) Collation

h) Quality control

i) Analysis

j) Presentation

Client Profile

29 Top five company clients.

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Client Relationship tenure (years)

Annual revenue( ±) (may provide bands e.g. R10-R20m)

Research project details

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Company Experience

30 Provide details of previous relevant research projects. Specify client, value of project and project details (including media type tracked – please provide a spread so that we can assess ability on each platform)

Client Value Project Details

31a Please indicate ability to monitor, track and analyse each of the following platforms.

Print Y N Online Y N

Broadcast Y N Social Media Y N

31b Based on the above and the list of countries provided in Q22a and 22b above, please provide a comprehensive list of all the media publications and broadcasters covered by your service. Please provide the total number of publications covered globally, followed by a detailed breakdown by country.

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Total publications and broadcasters covered globally:

Total per country:

List of the publications per country:

31c Similarly, please provide all sources which would be tracked as part of the social media platform.

Total number of sources monitored:

List of sources:

32 Provide details of the company’s experience in working on PUBLIC SECTOR accounts (max 150 words).

33 Based on the previous projects refered to above please touch on the challenges you faced on these projects and how you would mitigate these risks in the proposed project? (max 150 words)

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34 Provide 3 Client references

Client Relationship tenure (years)

Contact Person Contact number

1.

2.

3.

35 Please provide shareholding of the company

No. Name and Surname Percentage of Ownership

Date of Ownership

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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7.

8.

9.

10.