DEPARTMENT: Government & Public Affairs
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jeff Coyle
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S) IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT: Amendment to Census Social Media Services Contract
SUMMARY:
An ordinance authorizing an amendment to the Professional Services Agreement for 2020 Census Social Media Consulting Services extending the term of the agreement through September 30, 2020 and increasing the total compensation to an amount not to exceed $75,900. Funds for the proposed extension are available from the Government & Public Affairs FY 2020 General Fund budget as part of the Census 2020 initiatives.
BACKGROUND:
In 2019 the City of San Antonio and Bexar County convened a 2020 Census Complete Count Committee to ensure that a full count of the San Antonio community occur during the decennial census. As a part of this work, the Complete Count Committee’s strategic plan included a robust outreach strategy that included traditional media, trusted community organizations, and social media.
To further Census social media engagement, the City of San Antonio decided to seek to contract with a dedicated social media vendor that would provide critical services such as strategic thinking, creative content development, time allocation, media placement and social media expertise. The engagement of a social media vendor would be essential to the success of the Census count.
Although not required by the City of San Antonio’s procurement policies due to the type and funding amount of the proposed contract, GPA conducted a formal bidding process given the high profile nature of the Census. Eight proposals were reviewed and The DeBerry Group scored the highest in terms of Experience, Background, Qualifications, Plan Proposal and Price. The DeBerry Group demonstrated the most robust comprehension of the tactics used in social media advertising and how those tactics can be used to achieve different objectives. The proposal also included mock-up creative assets unmatched in other proposals including creative social media elements like giphy sticker sets, an innovative approach that governments do not usually take advantage of, and; an understanding of the benefits and applications of video on social media. The DeBerry Group proposal presented the most thought out, strategic, and detailed campaign of the submittals. The DeBerry Group was selected as the vendor that would most effectively execute the City’s 2020 Census paid social media campaign.
A Professional Services Agreement with The DeBerry Group was entered into in accordance with the City’s procurement policies on December 9, 2019, with a termination date of July 1, 2020, and with a maximum funding amount of $49,900.
The DeBerry group has performed their services successfully, demonstrating a clear understanding of the barriers and motivators for participation in the 2020 Census and how to engage the Target Populations at risk of being undercounted. The social media campaign is performing well with over 4.4 million impressions; 17,800 engagements; and 9,200 post link clicks attained within 5 months.
The COVID-19 crisis has caused the U.S. Census Bureau to alter their original timeline for performing door-to-door counts and the final reporting of the Census. In response to this, the City and Complete Count Committee have had to adjust the local complete count plan and strategies. In light of COVID-19, the City’s census efforts pivoted from high-touch community based outreach to high-media impact outreach. Social media platforms remain one of the most effective ways to reach those that have been historically undercounted.
ISSUE:
Approval of the first amendment to the 2020 Census Social Media Consulting Services Professional Services Agreement related to the local 2020 Census between the City of San Antonio and The DeBerry Group. As a result of the U.S. Census Bureau extending the 2020 Census data collection time period to October 31st, staff has reviewed the service needs of the City and wishes to amend the Agreement to align with the extended timeline. The original agreement was approved by the City in accordance with procurement guidelines. Because of the need to extend the agreement and the associated increase to the funding amount to $75,900.00, this amendment requires Council approval.
ALTERNATIVES:
If the amendment for the 2020 Census Social Media Consulting Services agreement is not approved, an alternative is for staff to conduct all efforts related to social media outreach. This would result in a loss of capacity to fully utilize social media to gather a complete count for the decennial census. A second alternative is for the City to seek to hire a new consultant to continue the work accomplished to date. This alternative would delay and negatively impact social media outreach at a critical point in the census count.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance authorizes an amendment to the Professional Services Agreement for 2020 Census Social Media Consulting Services extending the term of the agreement through September 30, 2020 and increasing the total compensation to an amount not to exceed $75,900. Funds for the proposed extension are available from the Government & Public Affairs FY 2020 General Fund budget as part of the Census 2020 initiatives.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the first amendment to the Professional Services Agreement for 2020 Census Social Media Consulting Services.