CTP Public Education Campaigns Support Services

This is a PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE to announce the anticipated release of the solicitation for CTP Public Education Campaigns Support Services on or about May 20, 2016. This requirement is being competed on a full and open basis. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541810 - Advertising Agencies. The associated size standard to qualify as a small business under this NAICS code is up to $15 million as measured by total revenues, but excluding funds received in trust for an unaffiliated third party, such as bookings or sales subject to commissions. The commissions received are included in revenues.
To reduce the public health burden of tobacco use in the U.S. and educate the public-especially young people-about the dangers of tobacco use, FDA's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) is developing and implementing a number of public education campaigns. Evidence from controlled field experiments and population studies shows that paid media campaigns are a proven strategy in preventing and reducing population-level tobacco use and have contributed to significant declines in tobacco use over the past several decades. However, the paid media campaigns of today must navigate a dynamic, competitive media environment to find and motivate hard-to-reach audiences who aren't particularly interested in the topic of tobacco to begin with.
As a whole, CTP's tobacco public health education campaign program seeks to achieve the following objectives:
Awareness of and receptivity to campaign messages
Increased knowledge of health risks associated with tobacco product use
Increased perceived risks of tobacco product use
Decreased appeal of tobacco products
Reduced susceptibility to tobacco initiation
Pro-health changes in normative beliefs about tobacco product use
Self-efficacy to quit smoking
Increased intention to quit
Decreased intention to initiate
The purpose of this acquisition is to provide the FDA Center for Tobacco Products with a mechanism to assist in a full range of activities associated with planning, developing, producing, and delivering consumer-based communication programs, strategies, and materials for multiple multichannel public health education campaigns targeting both national and niche audiences with unique combinations of geographic, demographic, psychographic, socioeconomic, and cultural factors. The Contractor shall provide comprehensive campaign services for multiple public education campaigns targeting audiences as small as 300,000 people to as large as 10 million people, to include, but not limited to, financing and placing media buys up to $70 million.
FDA's first national youth tobacco prevention campaign-"The Real Cost"-launched in February 2014. For the first two years, campaign advertising focused solely on at-risk youth ages 12-17 who are open to smoking or already experimenting with cigarettes. In April 2016, FDA expanded "The Real Cost" to include advertising targeted to rural male youth ages 12-17 at risk of smokeless tobacco use. FDA's second youth tobacco prevention campaign-"Fresh Empire"-launched nationally in October 2015 and targets at-risk multicultural (i.e., African American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, mixed race) youth ages 12-17 who identify with Hip Hop culture. FDA's most recent tobacco prevention campaign - This Free Life - launched in May 2016 and targets LGBT young adults ages 18-24 who are occasional smokers. The Office is also in the process of developing a tobacco prevention campaign targeting American Indian/Alaska Native youth and a public education campaign to educate adult consumers about the dangers of tobacco products in the point-of-sale environment.
The development of campaigns will include detailed market segmentation and the identification of at-risk and underserved populations with regard to tobacco initiation, including risk and protective factors, and tobacco cessation. Unique characteristics, experiences, norms, values, behaviors, and beliefs of targeted audiences, and relevant historical, environmental, and social forces must be taken into consideration in the development and execution of a targeted creative strategy to improve public health.
The government requires integration of public education messages across traditional platforms and the use of new media, paid media, partnership, and community-level strategies to achieve the desired effect on intended audiences. An important aspect of campaign communication efforts will be the use of innovative and emerging digital technologies, including mobile, to reach young and diverse audiences. In addition to traditional paid and new media, the government requires community outreach to localize and amplify messages in ways that resonate with intended audiences.
Continuing campaign activities will likely include, but are not limited to, complex strategic planning and program management; conducting extensive formative research with target audiences; developing, testing and producing integrated advertising, social media, Web sites and content; planning, negotiating and buying paid media across a range of platforms to ensure the best value to the government; holding local and regional events; developing partnerships with corporations, state and local agencies, federal partners, and non-governmental organizations; working with community-level groups and coalitions; outreach to the entertainment industry; and tracking and evaluating paid media and digital tactics for ongoing, real-time campaign refinement.
Pursuant to FAR Parts 15 and 16.5, FDA anticipates the award of a single Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract allowing for cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) task orders.
Small Business Participation will be a weighted evaluation factor for this procurement. The Government will evaluate the extent to which offerors commit and identify small businesses in their proposals. Additionally, small businesses are encouraged to enter teaming arrangements and/or form joint ventures with other small businesses to respond to this solicitation.
The Solicitation will be made available on hhtp://www.fbo.gov.
Questions or comments MUST be submitted IN WRITING to nicole.stevenson@fda.hhs.gov. NO PHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED.