Politics and Business

Ad Agencies Fed Up with New Mexico Shenanigans

By Emily Esterson, 6-24-05

Advertising and public relations agencies from around the country might all be asking the same question this week: What the heck is going on over at the State of New Mexico?

The state was supposed to be picking a firm to handle a $3 million tourism marketing and public relations contract - not a huge deal dollar-wise, but an important one in small and image-conscious New Mexico. Some agencies have big, recognizable names and political connections. Some are small shops partnered with bigger players. All are spending their businesses’ time and money preparing proposals but the "request for proposal" has now been canceled and rewritten four times in 12 months.

Some speculate that the RFP is already tagged for a specific firm and they just keep issuing it until the firm the state wants to hire gets it right. Others say it’s the result of a massive Department of Tourism/State turf battle. Still others say the state of New Mexico is either, a) terrifically incompetent or b) really amiable (we’ll get to why in a minute).

It’s a juicy but difficult contract: A $3 million advertising, marketing and public relations campaign for a state long on attractiveness and cache, and a governor with his eye on the White House. That $3 million now includes all of the state’s branding, not just tourism. That’s broken down to $1.8 million for branding/advertising, $600,000 for a website and another $600,000 for public relations. And you have to present all of that, plus staff bios and other projects you’ve worked on, in five pages. Period. No more. No less.

Flashback to a year ago: The State of New Mexico Department of Tourism issued an RFP for its national advertising contract, which local ad agency Rick Johnson and Co. had held for fourteen years. Back then, according to the New Mexico Business Weekly, the state couldn’t determine a winner, and so extended RJC’s contract.

The next request for proposal, according to some ad agency execs, included some poor language that instantly disqualified all but Rick Johnson, one of the largest agencies headquartered here. For example, agencies replying to the RFP had to have a single media buy worth $1 million. They had to have an office here or be willing to open one (cost not included in the $3 million budget). To give you an idea of the scale of such a buy, companies like Public Service Company of New Mexico or Giant Industries typically buy that much advertising. But because most of New Mexico’s small shops don’t even come close, they couldn’t even submit their ideas. RJC and national firms were the only ones that qualified.

That RFP was also canceled.

Third time around, the state decided to group several departments under one RFP—though budget remains at $3 million. Here’s the language in the request for proposal: “In concert with the Governor’s Office, the Departments of Tourism, Economic Development, Cultural Affairs, Environment and Minerals (NM State Parks), Indian Affairs and Game and Fish (hereinafter referred to collectively as the "State") seek an advertising agency or agencies to perform various marketing and advertising services for the Departments and their divisions and affiliated agencies.�

One person I talked to noted that during its various iterations, this Request for Proposal migrated from the tourism department to the “the fourth floor� where the Governor’s office is located.

The finalists for that proposal were due to be notified on June 15, but instead, ad agencies received letters once again canceling the most recent RFP because quite a few of them didn’t fill out the letter of transmittal correctly. And what goes in the letter of transmittal? Names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, who has the right to negotiate, what portions of the RFP the company is responding to (advertising, PR, web or combination thereof). Not really very complicated.

Normally, says John Frew, President and CEO of The Hamilton Group, a public relations firm based in New York City and partnered with an undisclosed New Mexico company, if the technical information isn’t correct in a request for proposal, it disqualifies that proposal instantly. That’s why firms such as his take such care in following instructions, and why there are pre-bid conferences where ad agencies get the opportunity to ask questions—from what kind of binder to use to how married the state is to its “Land of Enchantment� slogan.

“I’m a little disappointed that we met the technical mandates and the other companies are given a second shot. But we’re staying with our original submission. If this doesn’t lead to the selection of finalists, than I would be somewhat skeptical,� says Frew.

It’s interesting to note that of the seven or eight agencies I called, not one admitted that they had filled out the letter incorrectly. So who did, exactly? And, well, why weren’t they just disqualified? And if they can’t fill out the proposal correctly, do we really want them to be responsible for branding our state? Isn't that part of the game?

Whatever the answer, a lot of agencies are wondering and whispering about agendas, hidden or otherwise. And when it comes to being “business friendly,� even the big agencies might have a few words to say about the State of New Mexico’s sensitivity to its potential vendors’ time and effort. One told me that it cost between $30,000 and $45,000 to prepare a proposal for a one-in-30 shot at a $3 million contract. That’s one decent New Mexico job he won’t be filling this year.

So why bother? A lot of the agencies on the 30-firm list are asking that question right about now. The larger firms want such paltry change (and it is, in the grand scheme of things) so they can spend time in Santa Fe (and perhaps so they can be close by for a Richardson White House run). For the little firms it’s a chance to make their mark and earn $3 million. The process has been frustrating, and the state (and its governor) look more and more amateurish with each passing RFP.

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