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International Marketing Council

Tender : 10/2010-11

Digital Platforms Content Production and Management

INVITATION TO SUBMIT INFORMATION

FOR THE SELECTION AND APPOINTMENT OF A DIGITAL PLATFORM CONTENT PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Tender Number 10/2010-11

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 production and management of content for all digital platforms owned, bought and used by IMC to communicate and market online. 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. BACKGROUNDThe 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 operates out of its Head Office 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:


The key output is to produce, generate and maintain the content of the International Marketing Councils digital platforms, with daily updated content that reflect the Brand SA values and personality specifically. To manage communication and marketing content through: www.southafrica.info, is Brand South Africa’s official national portal which serves as as an encyclopaedic guide to the country. The requirement here is conceiving, creating, editing and publishing site content.

Aimed principally at residents, investors and tourists , and more generally at anyone interested in learning more about South Africa, the site is part of an umbrella “branding” campaign to enhance the country’s profile and reputation globally and create excitement about its potential. An authoritative online reference tool, comprehensive one stop information centre and powerful brand showcase, the site performs an essential service for our stakeholders as a ready-made resource to which they can direct information-seekers and as a guide to stakeholders’ own online resources.The gateway site gives its international visitors a taste of South Africa’s wide range of attractions and opportunities, including overviews of the economy, trade incentives and regulations, culture and heritage, holiday attractions, and basic tips on travel documentation, accommodation and transport. For the domestic audience, there is advice on government services from passports to language rights to the school system and advice on dealing with banks, estate agents and insurance. There are also “showcase” examples of South African innovation, entertainment, sports and business conference guides, and a carefully selected directory of local web sites useful to

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http://www.southafrica.info/


Tender : 10/2010-11


international visitors, which is why we also have translated the site to the most popular foreign languages ie Portuguese, German and French. The site now offers interactive maps, a number of e-newsletters, blogs, Facebook and Twitter interactivity, and a version customised for mobile phones. Apermanent team of web-savvy writers and researchers, under the leadership of an editor, works continuously to keep the site up to date. The audience has grown exponentially over the past decade, and compares favourably with the top dozen commercial websites in South Africa.

SouthAfrica.info published a total of 1 594 new articles in 2009/10, averaging 132 articles per month or 6.3 articles per working day as at March 2009.

Social networking channels are used to drive traffic to southafrica.info content Facebook and twitter accountswere set up early in 2009 .They build community and interactivity among the site’s users and contain links to new content as it posted

www.brandsouthafrica.com is IMC’s corporate corporate website and details the work of the organisation. The requirement here is to produce content and keep the site up to date The site provides a range of resources and toolkits to help individuals and organisations promote the country. It has company specific information. Pages include::

Who We Are Currently what is IMC about, who are our governing bodies, trustees and stakeholders

What We Do This information details our primary objectives and projects

Marketing Material Our toolkits and promotional material

Press Room Currently allows for media releases, news and research

Latest news This is a feed of the www.southafrica.info site.

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Relevant contact details for IMC, our head office and country officers and their details.

OtherWe also use this site to as a base to link to all our current sites as well as link to our stakeholder sites. There is a Brand South Africa twitter stream to complement the site as well as an experimental blog, brandsouthafricablog.com, to which IMC staff and other contribute posts.

www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com is aimed at international media and contains topical,high quality articlesdesigned to fill the needs of news organisations that do not have correspondents of their own in the region There is also as a hi-rez image library. The requirement here is the production of quality journalism. The site was originally developed as a resource for international media in the run up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.The concept came from the“Land of Ideas”media service Germany launched as part of its own national branding campaign when it hosted the World Cup in 2006.Written by journalists for journalists the site offers relevant, mind-opening, up-to-date and verifiable information on the country and its trade, investment and tourism successes and achievements.Information on the website is clustered around a number of categories for easy reference and access, covering a wide range of subjects such as the land and its people, the economy and business, culture and history as well as growth and democracy. The content is continuously updated, giving an up-to-date view of how South Africa is achieving success and dealing with its challenges.Every storyon MediaClubSouthAfrica.com can be reproduced as is, or can serve as a thought-starter or background material. In this way, the site helps serve the IMC’s objectives of changing perceptions about South Africa and articulating and contextualising government policy. .Each of the nine sections offers daily news and feature stories, supported by in-depth overview features that provide visiting journalists with a solid grounding on that particular subject. Since the site went live, a total of 1 542 pages have been published. These are made up of news articles, opinion pieces, background features, photo essays and image library pages. Weekly newsletterThe weekly newsletter, launched in December 2008, is sent to over 3 000 users every week, updating them on new stories and features. The advantage of a newsletter is that it serves as a reminder of the site and its offering, and draws users back. Social Media

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The site has its own Facebook page and twitter stream to draw traffic to, and encourage conversation around, its content. www.brandsouthafricaresource.com is a password protected site whichhosts Brand

South Africa’s CI manual, graphics, fonts and templetates, and other tools to assist, inform and align national marketing efforts The requirement here is to keep the content relevant and updated, with stakeholder input. The portal aims to: To provide accurate, clear and uncluttered information for marketing South Africa To serve as a one-stop-shop of branding materials for official marketers To alleviate duplication and contradiction To facilitate interaction between the various organisations marketing the country

The advantages of the portal A central location for stakeholders to view and share marketing information and

material Channeling strategic objectives of the various stakeholders Promoting collaboration with others on joint efforts Controlling information and marketing material available to stakeholders Ability to regularly and easily update marketing information and material A cost-effective method of distributing marketing material using a digital platform

Electronic Newsletters are created to “push” selected content. These includeSA.info newsletter to which visitors to IMC web platforms opt to subscribe online;Boundless Possibility newsletter which has a business focus and goes to a controlled mailing list of stakeholders; andMedia Club newsletter which is sent to registered users of mediaclubsouthafrica.com. Ther requirement here is to edit, distribute and grow the newsletters’ circulation.

Project based online communications platforms around the IMC and South Africa campaigns. The requirement here is to produce project specific content that will align to the Brand South Africa pillars.

Social Media platforms eg Facebook, twitter, YouTube accounts etc. The requirement here is to feed content to social platforms.

1.1 The bidding company will be responsible for the following services and and should have a proven ability to:

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Research and createuseful and compelling multimedia content -- text, photographs, graphics, video and audio alone and in combination --for a wide range of domestic and international audiences.

Proactively identify stories that serve as inspiring proof points for the five pillars the Brand South Africa value proposition – opportunity, innovation and creativity, sustainability, diversity and ubuntu.

Develop and present the proof points with convincing and memorable content with a high potential to go viral.

Produce credible professional-quality multimedia journalism for the MediaClub site.

Grow unique and repeat traffic to andaffinity with Brand South Africa’s online presence.

Assemble and manage an experienced team of online content creators, subeditors and editors capable of generating the equivalent of 10 new content items per working day for southafrica.info and one or more substsantial mediaclub stories, in addition to Facebook and twitter posts and routine site updates.

Promote and manage user generated content and constructive social media conversations that support, broaden awareness of and provide insight into the Brand South Africa value proposition.

Keep abreast of the latest developments in web technology, social media best practice and search engine optimization.

Continuously update and improve all platforms and content. Provide detailed analytics Engage with all relevant stakeholders Understand nation branding and generally accepted practices including dimensions

measured in nation branding Demonstrate a strong track record as a reputable, reliable and experienced agency

which has managed similar projects successfully Demonstrate an understanding of and passionate support 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.

Demonstrate an understanding of the equity built domestically and internationally by the IMC’s online initiatives to date, and of what needs to be done to build on that equity. Demonstrate innovation, consistency, strategic ability and follow-through.

Demonstratefast turn-around times backed by physical and human resources to do so. Demonstrate of internal quality control and plans for achievingexcellence. Demonstrate senior involvement in the work and dedicated resources to the account.

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Preferred services: CONTENT AND COMMUNITY MANAGEMENTContent ManagementCommunity Editorial ContentBlog postsEmail Management & DistributionPersonalisationBack upsTweetsFacebook postsImages/Video content generation and publishingEmail newsletter content generationLive event coverage on Social Media/mobile platformsOnline Reputation Management (ORM) - Listen and ReportOnline Journalism (articles on southafrica.info and mediaclub)Project & campaign servicesINFRASTRUCTUREBandwidth ProvisionServer Upgrades & administrationIMC Help Desk

USER EXPERIENCE Creating meaningful experiences between brands and their customersIntegration of Digital and Non-digital touch points

CREATIVE CONCEPTSIdea GenerationDigital Marketing CampaignsCreative Platform Development

PROGRAMMING AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGEContent Management SystemsSearch Engine OptimisationAnalytics measurement, tracking and reportingMobile Applications (Web, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry)Mobile site developmentCRM system integrationContent SyndicationContent Feed integration3rd Party System integrationAdvanced user profilingREPORTINGReport Generation & Interpretation

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1.2 Expenditure: The expenditure for this portfolio is approximately R20 million over 2 years and 10 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 2 years and 10 months, during which 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.

3. TENDER PROCESS

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

3.1.Invitation to submit information3.2.Submission of RFI documents3.3.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

Packs3.6.Submission of Commercial Packs by Short-Listed Companies3.7.Pitch Presentations – Evaluation by IMC Evaluation Committee3.8.Adjudication by IMC Adjudication Committee3.9.Selection of Successful Company by the IMC Exco/Board

4. PURPOSEThe purpose of this stage of the Tender process is to:

4.1 Allow interested companies an opportunity to submit required information to the IMC;

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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 (dates to change as per new timeline)

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

08 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

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

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6.2.1 The International Marketing Council, 103 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg;

6.2.2 Name of bidding company;6.2.3 Digital Platforms Content Production and Management;6.2.4 10/2010-11 (RFI number);6.2.5 01 April 2011 at 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 (date to change) 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.

7. INFORMATION REQUIRED

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

7.1 Company DeclarationsA covering letter on the bidding company's official letterhead, confirming the following:

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7.1.1 That no conflict of interest exists (see point 26.);7.1.2 That the bidding company accepts the guidelines, terms and condition of this

Tender;7.1.3 That the bidding company validates that the RFI submission is correct.

7.2 Short-listing Questionnaire The questionnaire contained in Annexure A of this tender document must be completed by each bidding company.

7.3 RFI DocumentsIn addition to the above, bidding companies must complete and submit the following:

7.3.1 Annexure A: Short-listing Questionnaire7.3.2 Valid tax clearance certificate (must be valid until at least 31 May 2011)7.3.3 Valid BBBEE rating certificate and Analysis Report from an accredited rating

agency (must be valid until at least 31 May 2011)7.3.4 Two latest sets of annual financial statements (audited in the event of a

company)7.3.5 Documents required for company associations/JV’s (see point 12)

8. 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

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The following documents must be submitted:

7.3.6 Annexure A: Short-listing Questionnaire7.3.7 Valid tax clearance certificate (must be valid until at least 31 May 2011)7.3.8 Valid BBBEE rating certificate and analysis report (must be valid until at least

31 May 2011)7.3.9 Two latest sets of annual financial statements (audited in the event of a

company)7.3.10Documents required for company associations/JV’s (see point 12)

9.2 Phase II: Short-listing Criteria

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. Content Management Platforms (40%)Has sound knowledge, experience and presence on digital platforms. Can provide content in several launguages. Must have strong skills in content editing and journalists skills. Understanding of brand reputation online. A holistic view of the nation’s reputation is required. Must be able to research and provide news as it occurs. Stay informed and engage with content online.

2. Relevant previous experience (25%)Has a proven track record of hosting and managing websites. Preference will be given to those who produce content in relation to specified markets and within the relevant platforms.

3. Monitoring and technical capabilities (20%)

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The ability to monitor, track and analyse a number of digital mediums including online and social media. The technical capabilities to load content onto the CMS platforms provided. This will also entail managing links and metadata, inline with SEO strategy. Must have the technical support relevant to producing fast efficient database controls.

4. Account management and content producer experience (15%)Project leaders experience in running websites and activations online. Number and scale of projects managed previously will be taken into account.

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

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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.

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

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12. 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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13. 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.

14. 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 29 March 2011.

15. 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.

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16. 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.

17.NEGOTIATIONSThe 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

18.COMPLETENESS OF THE SOLUTIONThe 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.

19. CONTRACTUAL IMPLICATIONSAfter 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.

20. CONDITIONS OF PAYMENTThe 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.

21. QUALITY ASSURANCEAll 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.

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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.

22. CONTRACTUAL DETAILS

24.1 AWARDING OF CONTRACTProven 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 frty 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.

22.2 TERMS OF CONTRACTThe contract will be in terms of the IMC’s standard terms of services and procurement.

23. EXECUTION OF CONTRACTUpon 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.

24. CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe 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

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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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25. DISQUALIFICATIONAny 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.

26. THE IMC’S DISCRETIONThe IMC reserves the right to:

21.1 Reject and/or disqualify any RFI submission that:21.1.1 Fails to follow the letter and spirit of the Tender;21.1.2 Fails the Compliance Criteria;21.1.3 Substantially deviates from the terms and conditions of this Tender;21.1.4 Fails to commit to the key deliverables needed for this Tender;21.1.5 Fails to submit the correct number of copies and in the correct format;21.1.6 Contains any information that is found to be incorrect or misleading in any

way.21.2 Accept one or more RFI submissions;21.3 Reject all RFI submissions;21.4 Consider any RFI submissions that may not conform to any aspect of the RFI;21.5 Request further information from any bidding company after the closing date;21.6 Cancel this Tender, RFI or any part thereof at any time;21.7 Award this Tender or any part thereof to any one or more bidding company;21.8 Increase/decrease the number of Short-Listed Companies invited to the pitch

phase of this Tender.

27. 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 (Digital Platform Content Production and Mangement 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 BEE Certificate and Reports)

1 2 3 4 5 6 >6 Not rated

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20

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

Company Profile

21

Is your company able to obtain global content and coverage of international events, and if so, which networks?

YES NONetwork:

22 In total, how many journalist networks in countries do you have to source information within?

23 Who is the proposed account manager?

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24

Please list the websites in which they have worked as the account managers , detailing the client, scope of work, scale and tenure of the project

Client Scope of work Scale Tenure

25 Provide a short resume, detailing account management and journalist experience and ability

26 Accounts won in past 12 months Approximate value1.2.3.

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27 Accounts lost in past 12 months Reason for loss

1.2.3.

Services

28Which 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 namea)CONTENT AND COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT

Content ManagementCommunity Editorial ContentBlog postEmail Management & DistributionPersonalisationBack upsTweetsFacebook postsImages/Video content generation and publishing

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Email newsletter content generationLive event coverage on Social Media/mobile platformsOnline Reputation Management (ORM) - Listen and ReportOnline Journalism (articles on southafrica.info and mediaclub)

b)Project & campaign servicesc) INFRASTRUCTURE

Bandwidth ProvisionServer Upgrades & administrationIMC Help Desk

d)USER EXPERIENCE Creating meaningful experiences between brands and their customersIntegration of Digital and Non-digital touch points

e)CREATIVE CONCEPTSIdea GenerationDigital Marketing CampaignsCreative Platform Development

f) PROGRAMMING AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGEContent Management SystemsSearch Engine Optimisation

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Analytics measurement, tracking and reportingMobile Applications (Web, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry)Mobile site developmentCRM system integrationContent SyndicationContent Feed integration3rd Party System integrationAdvanced user profiling

g)REPORTINGReport Generation & Interpretation

Client Profile

29 Top five company clients.

Client

Relationship tenure (years)

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

URL and your input

1.

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2.3.4.5.

Company Experience

30

Provide details of previous relevant sites. Specify client, value of project and project details (including platforms used and usage)

Client Value Project Details

31a Please indicate ability to produce content on each of the following subjects.

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South Africa Y N Social Platforms Y N

Business, Trade and Investment Y N Other Countries Y N

Politics and Government Y N Social cohesion Y N

Innovation Y N Specific to Media Y N

Africa Y N Science and Technology Y N

Youth Y N Tourism Y N

31b

Based on the above and the list of countries provided in Q22 above, please provide a comprehensive list of all the sites covered by your service. Please provide the total number of publications covered globally, followed by a detailed breakdown by country.

Total publications and broadcasters covered globally:Total per country:List of the publications per country:

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

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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)

34 Provide 3 Client references

Client Relationship tenure (years) Contact Person Contact number

1.2.3.

35 Please provide shareholding of the company

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No. Name and Surname Percentage of Ownership Date of Ownership

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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