Southeastern Regional Council of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities (SERC-NAHRO) is seeking proposals from qualified firms and individuals to produce The SERCulator quarterly.
Questions and Answers are listed below the PDF:
2020-RFP-SERCNAHRO-SERCulator- AD RATES ADJUSTABLE? The ad rates should be established by the contractor. The rates advertised were based on previous year reduction in success.
Please confirm 2020 ad rates quoted in the most recent issue ( posted on SERC NAHRO website) are to remain the same with a new vendor? No, this is up to the contractor based on their successful experience and industry knowledge.
Or, are these rates subject to change with your new vendors suggestion in order to cover the actual cost of a page’s production/printing? Subject to change.
Current rates: Full Page @ $150; Half Page @ $100; Quarter Page @ $75.
Note: the most recent issue had 1 full page ad, 3 half page ads, and 2 quarter page ads for a total sales revenue of $600. This is not including / counting SERC NAHRO promos that would be advertisements but not paid (ie MLK tournament, Annual Conference promo and Emerging Leaders). SERC-NAHRO promos will not be paid advertisements.
Typically, advertising rates are calculated to cover the production costs per page.
May your new vendor raise ad rates to cover more of the production costs? Yes. - NUMBER OF MAGAZINES MAILING?
Of the 1,000 printed copies requested, exactly how many are mailed per issue? 696. - NUMBER OF MAGAZINES DELIVERED AT EACH CONFERENCE ?
How many printed copies are delivered to each of the two conferences? The residual from the mailing would be delivered to the conferences. - DISTRIBUTION / MAILING LIST
How will the distribution list be provided (i.e., excel spreadsheet) or labels? The distribution list would be provided in an Excel spreadsheet.
How often is the distribution list updated ? Annually.
How are updates to the distribution list provided to the vendor? The distribution list would be emailed. - PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
Please confirm the specific production schedule for all four issues. It is not clear what the 4 dates listed in the RFP address:
Are these the dates issues are to mail ? The dates are the last possible date for mailing to mailing list.
Or, are these the dates issues are to be received ? Our members are throughout the Southeastern United States and an expectation of receipt for those dates have too many variables to determine.
To improve quality & delivery of the publication, will the vendor be allowed to set the materials/advertising deadlines? Yes. - CONTENT SOURCES / CONTACT
Is there a single point of contact from SERC-NAHRO who will coordinate receipt of materials from each state organization & member HAs, then provide all to the vendor? No, the vendor will be expected to coordinate. However, the state association contract information will be provided to the vendor for their convenience.
Or will the vendor be able to coordinate for updates and information ? See above.
How has content been provided to the current vendor in the past? See above. - MAGAZINE SOURCE FILES
Will printer source files be available from the previous vendor or are the source files available from SERC NAHRO? Yes, SERC-NAHRO is the proprietor of the content and will make the information available upon request.
For example, it would be useful for a new vendor to have the source files for officers’ photos, bio info, Committees and standard text that is included in each issue. - DIGITAL SAMPLES OF PREVIOUS WORK
May vendors provide digital samples of work –on a flash drive –when they no longer have printed copies of a project ( when all copies were delivered to clients )? Yes, SERC-NAHRO understands that the physical copies are not always available. However, please, ensure that any example is in a common format such as “pdf”. - SPECIFICATION FOR PAPER WEIGHT
Minimum of 80 lb. cover stock for front cover, minimum of 60 lb. paper for interior pages.