REMA recommendations
on tender procedures
Currently, there are a number of issues in the event market between clients and agencies in the field of organization of tender procedures, which degrade the quality of communication between the participants of the process and the quality of commercial offers.

REMA participants have developed a number of criteria and recommendations on the organization of tender procedures for customer procurement departments.

This document was developed on the basis of the analysis of similar recommendations of the Association of Communication Agencies of Russia (ACAR), as well as the experience of the largest Russian event agencies and client companies.

Recommendations on tender procedure:
  • 1
    Correct brief. The more accurate, specific and complete the reference is, the more qualitative and relevant offers is provided by the agencies. We recommended to use standard paragraphs of brief, supplemented with specific comments and to avoid generalizations. For example, segmentation of the target audience should be done not only by age, gender or position, but by a more detailed portrait, including the needs, fears and desires of the target audience, typical problems related to the specifics of the work, etc.
  • 2
    The recommended period of the tender offers preparation for large projects is not less than 2 weeks, preferably 3 weeks. Shorter terms can significantly reduce the quality of the offers. For smaller projects the provision of several concepts is not required, so it is possible to set a period of 1 week.
  • 3
    Debriefing for all agencies (preferably with the participation of the decision makers). It allows you to interpret the brief more clearly and to place the accents correctly. Full-time individual debriefing is preferred. In the absence of such a possibility, debriefing can be organized for all agencies simultaneously in person or by e-mail (for example, a preliminary collection of questions on a briefing from all agencies, answers to all participants at once).
  • 4
    The recommended number of participants should not be more than 5 agencies (in case of a commercial tender placed outside the tender sites). Invitation of a larger number of agencies makes it difficult to study commercial offers carefully and to organize the face-to-face presentations. Also, a large number of participants does not allow some agencies to participate in the tender due to restrictions related to internal regulations.
  • 5
    An indication of budget or the maximum budget. Understanding of the financial restraints saves a lot of time for both the agency and customers.
  • 6
    Required* number of concepts for development in the technical specification should not be more than 2 on one event. The Agency on its own initiative and with the consent of the client can offer a greater number of concepts.

    * we are talking about tenders which suggest that agencies provide at least 3 concepts. We propose to reduce the necessary minimum to 2. A third concept and the following ones are at the discretion of the agency.
  • 7
    The possibility of full-time protection (preferably with the participation of the decision makers). This is necessary to fully convey the meanings and ideas embodied in the offers of agencies and substantiate creative concepts.
  • 8
    Confidentiality and ethical attitude of the agency's intellectual property (avoiding cases of transferring the concepts of some agencies to others).
  • 9
    Official notification of winning the tender via e-mail.
  • 10
    A clear decision scheme on the tender winner – the distribution of criteria, weights etc. and the transparent definition of it in the tender specification. This will allow all participants to avoid misunderstandings when summing up the tender. For example, it can be an indication that the weight of the creative concept in the offer is 60%, the weight of the offered price is 30% and 10% - other criteria (the presence of relevant cases, awards, etc. in the agency's portfolio).
  • 11
    Providing detailed feedback on the results of the tender for the losing participants. An important developmental procedure for agencies and clients, which allows agencies to further take into account the feedback received and provide the higher quality offers. In the framework of feedback, it is important for the participant to know the reason of the loss. For example, if you lose on the concept, it is important to get detailed comments on what exactly was wrong with the concept, whether there were the elements that pleased the decision makers (same with other causes of loss).
  • 12
    Inclusion in the contract of the compensation payment to the winner in case of cancellation of the event. Includes redemption of confirmed costs and man-hour management.
Following these recommendations will allow the client to get the most developed high-quality commercial offers and the agency to make informed decisions about participation in the tender and to allocate resources wisely.