Request for Proposal Social Media Agency - Always On - 12 months contract

Top Line Objective:

Girl Effect India is seeking a Social Media Agency to work together with our creative teams and agency partners to develop and implement a comprehensive always-on social media strategy to increase brand presence, improve engagement and support hero campaigns.

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that connects girls to the resources and support she needs to overcome barriers, see themselves differently and unleash their full potential. We believe that the most powerful force to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty is GIRLS. When you connect GIRLS to what they need, unleash the limits communities set for them, and change how girls see themselves- they change the world. That’s the Girl Effect.

Our approach redefines what girls think they can and should do. We do this by building digital and media technologies that girls want, trust and need. From chatbots and applications to chat shows and TV dramas, our approach uses modern technologies to reach girls where they are today.  

Our reach is 23 million and counting. 

We are girl centered. We engage girls through evidence based social and behavior change.  We meet girls where they are today, in the spaces, on the  platforms  and  channels they trust and love. We work with governments to transform systems to work for HER. 

We reach girls worldwide, where they are—online and offline—to support them at critical moments in life when they need to make choices about their health, education, and economic future. 

We use our expertise in behavior change science to motivate and equip girls with information and support to help them see a different future for themselves, act on those choices, and drive greater demand for the opportunities and services available to them. 

Chhaa Jaa in India, Tujibebe in Tanzania, Yegna in Ethiopia - are some of our youth brands. They exist across multiple channels - digital ( Meta, Google and other SM platforms), TV, radio, print and offline. Where required and relevant, we also use white label brands for specific campaigns. 

Girl Effect in India

In 2019, Girl Effect launched Chhaa Jaa, a digital-first youth programme that helps girls in India build the confidence to make choices and changes in their lives - from accessing information about her body and services around her, to negotiating about education choices or whether to use contraception. Chhaa Jaa was designed keeping in mind adolescent girls between 17-19 years, currently in higher education, and accessible online via mobile – whether girls own or borrow a mobile phone. 

Over the last four years, we have invested in setting up key online assets and infrastructure that can be leveraged to deliver programmes under a range of thematics for older adolescent girls. We have built a multi-product digital ecosystem of products - across ‘broadcast’ and ‘interactive’ features - that are social media-based and available to girls whenever they need it. 

This includes:

• Inspiring and enabling social and behavior change content on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube through Chaajaa
• A chatbot on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp that allows girls to explore taboo topics in a safe 1:1 space and nudges them to connect her with health services called Bol Behen
• And a website aggregating youth-friendly services and is updated regularly with blog content.
• A girls-only Facebook group to experience social support and a sense of community Called BAK BAK Gang 

Scope of Work

Girl Effect India is seeking a Social Media Agency to work with our in-house creative & marketing team as well as external production and agency partners to develop, implement and execute comprehensive social media strategies for our pages.

The primary role of this agency is to create Always On content for our Bol Behen Chatbot, and our Chhaa Jaa brand page as well as promotional content for key campaigns and programs in line with the hero formats developed by the production house. 

The agency will also undertake end-to-end responsibility of managing our social media pages by developing and executing the content calendar, moderating comments, trendjacking, providing weekly reports of page performance, improving our brand presence and more. 

Our aim with the social media pages for Chhaa jaa is to make it a space for open communication, knowledge enhancement and attitude change all while making relatable content which is easily shareable and culturally relevant. 

Responsibilities

• Social Media Strategy: Develop an always-on social media strategy to grow our followers and subscribers, improve our ER and drive more profile visits and increase our brand presence with our audience.
• Content Strategy: Develop an always on content strategy with content for every stage of the project which is in line with the social, gender and safeguarding guidelines defined by GE.
• Content Development & Execution: Plan, create and schedule content across all of our social media handles with a rich mix of formats that drive high engagement.
• ORM: Monitoring social media channels for mentions of the brand and providing a timely response, taking corrective measures to improve social presence, engaging with audiences to build a community that trusts us as a valuable source of information
• Competition Benchmarking: Provide monthly reports of our competitor pages measured by ER, Follower Growth, Content Analysis and Learnings.
• Reporting: Provide weekly, monthly and quarterly reports
  
  

Expected Deliverables

• Content Development & Posting - The agency will design all creative assets (video/audio/statics) and recommend potential new formats. Develop a robust social media calendar which covers tentpole days, always on programming & campaign shoulder content.
• Social Media & Content Strategy & Planning - Leveraging the master campaign thought to translate into different social media campaigns that comprise a phased rollout plan with timelines and milestones and a detailed content calendar.
• Trendjacking + Tentpole Days - Keeping a close eye on trends and tentpole days that we can leverage for the campaign.
• Crisis Management - The team working on the project needs to be fully aware of the repercussions of the content we put out and needs to have contingency plans in place in case of a crisis.
• Community Engagement - Regularly interacting with the community and growing GE’s social media presence via Lives, UGC, Polls/Surveys, ORM and/or more.
• Influencer Partnerships - Recommend the right influencers for the campaign through different stages with a core focus on regional popularity. Work closely with our influencer marketing agencies to execute the collaborations.
• Analytics and Reporting - Monitoring social media performance using analytics tools (e.g., Facebook Insights, Google Analytics ) to track key metrics such as reach, engagement & video views etc. Make real-time adjustments & optimisations based on feedback and data. Prepare daily, weekly and monthly reports for the GEI team. Also, prepare a final campaign report at the end of the campaign with learnings and insights.
• Best Practices - For the duration of the campaign, track the social media engagement, deep-dive into the formats, guide the content team and inform the GEI team on best practices to create content.
• Campaign Management: End-to-end management and reporting of the campaign whilst ensuring that the government self-declaration certificate is uploaded with every new creative, if necessary.
• Competition Tracking: Use tools/analytics to track pages in a similar space as ours or are talking to a similar age group as ours
• Growth: Track monthly growth of our social media pages, share insights on causes of spikes and drops in follower count, and engagement levels and share it with the GE team
• Most importantly, we need you to ensure that you have a lens that is youth-friendly & fun, body and sex-positive, gender inclusive, trauma-informed and adopts a rights-based approach towards girls and young women. 

Who You Are

We are looking for agencies who have fulfilled either all or at least two of the following criteria:

• Have extensive knowledge of creating PAN India social media campaigns at scale with a regional flavor.
• Developed social media campaigns for the Government or the development sector
• Worked with brands targeting younger audiences with limited 
• A portfolio of award-winning social media campaigns on Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp will be a plus

Skills and expertise:

• You are based in India and primarily work with a target audience based in different regions with specialization in Hindi speaking belt and southern states.
• Fluency in Hindi, Hinglish, and English, both written and spoken, is required for this partnership.
• Experience in creating health-related content/Behavior change content production in the field of Health and Immunization, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Economic Empowerment would be a massive bonus.
• Project Management: Ability to effectively manage projects, coordinate teams with diverse skill sets, develop project strategies, and ensure successful execution from start to finish.
• Local Market Knowledge: Strong understanding of local trends, media landscape, and cultural nuances to tailor creative solutions that resonate with the target audience in the Indian market. 
• Time and Budget Management: Proficiency in delivering projects on schedule and within budgetary constraints, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and adherence to financial targets.
• Creative Ideation: Skill to generate innovative and unique ideas aligned with our objectives and target audience (girls and women), fostering creativity and pushing boundaries to deliver outstanding creative work.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to analyse client goals, target audience preferences, and market trends to develop a strategic approach that drives results and provides effective creative solutions.
• Multi-platform Expertise: Proficiency in creating content for diverse platforms such as digital, social media, and emerging media channels (chatbots), leveraging each platform's unique features to engage the target audiences.
• Branding and Storytelling: Capability to craft compelling brand narratives and storytelling techniques that effectively communicate the Girl Effect message, create emotional connections, and build brand loyalty.
• Visual and Design Skills: Strong aesthetic sense and knowledge of visual communication principles encompassing photography, videography, and visual effects, enabling the creation of visually appealing and impactful creative assets.
• Technical Proficiency: Familiarity with the latest creative production tools, and technologies, including design software, video editing tools, and content management systems, to ensure efficient and high-quality output.
• Collaboration and Teamwork: Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with clients, creative teams, copywriters, designers, and stakeholders to bring ideas to life, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment.
• Basic safeguarding and digital safeguarding knowledge are a plus.

Expected Commitment

• The project is expected to take 12 months.
• The agency's assignment period is from December 2024 to December 2025 

Procurement Timelines

• Terms of reference published: 13th December 2024
• Questions/Clarification Deadline: 19th December 2024
• Deadline for proposal submission:  12th January 2025

Proposal submissions

Your proposal, should you be interested, should cover the following:

• Your Approach - Your understanding of the requirement through a deck outlining your approach using the brief shared here.
• Credentials/Profile - Please showcase any previous work that you consider to be relevant. This can be related to our brand, its TG, with the government etc. Describe the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the firm or consultant in providing the requested services.
• Reference - Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided and the contract periods of performance.
• Information on Additional Services – please provide any information on additional services that you believe would be pertinent and align with GE’s mission, vision, and values.

Financial Proposal

• A breakdown of the financial proposal in INR  indicating the project fee broken into various components and all applicable reimbursable expenses. 
• All applicable taxes should be quoted separately;

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below:

Technical Evaluation

• A deck outlining your approach based on shared brief  [40 %]
• Interpretation and understanding of this TOR -  [10%]
• Company Profile and Organizational Capacity [10%]
• Experience in carrying out similar assignments in the past [10%]
• Evidence of a minimum of three contactable references -  [5%]

Financial Evaluation

• Value for money/proposed budget breakdown - 30%

Technical and Financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents. Financial bids will not be opened until the technical evaluation and then only for those proposals deemed qualified and responsive.

In their Technical proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the RFP and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the evaluation criteria.

Please note that Girl Effect is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of Girl Effect.

VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for 90 days from the date of bid closure.

How To Apply

To apply for this opportunity, please submit a proposal by email with the subject line “ Proposal for Social Media Agency - 12 Month contract ” to suppliers@girleffect.org, devanshi.yadav@girleffecr.org   by 12th  January  2025.

Copyright

All materials/documents arising from this consultancy work shall remain the property of Girl Effect.

Safeguarding

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organizational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary of which can be found Here. We have zero tolerance for all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff.

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.

Please note: We will evaluate only proposals submitted following the application process outlined in the TOR and using our specified email address (suppliers@girleffect.org).

Equal Opportunities

Girl Effect is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an organization that is increasingly representative of, and works extensively with, the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy service organizations and individuals with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.