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Tag: Video RFP

Video Production RFP

Posted on by John Hudson

Video Production RFPs

 

What are Video Production RFPs?

Do you want to grow your business in video production? Because RFPs offer an effective means to secure contracts with new organisations. RFP is therefore a vital strategy that many use to empower their business.

While different industries will have their own RFP processes the general idea is the same. RFP is a formal process where an organisation (the ‘buyer’) posts an opportunity for a contract that others can ‘bid’ for. This makes your video production company the ‘supplier’ in this process. Both public and private sector organisations recognise the value of RFP as a fair and transparent procurement method. For the buyer, the goal is to secure the most economically advantageous RFP, which you may see referred to as ‘MEAT’.

Understandably, this means that RFP presents you with many opportunities to bid for. This also means many others are bidding for the same opportunities. It is important then to not just focus on how amazing these contracts are but to ensure you are producing amazing proposals that meet buyer specifications. Most importantly, you need to show why you are the best video production company for the job!

 

A look at the RFP Process

If you’ve never RFP before the process might look daunting. Here we will make it easier to digest by covering the more important parts. Video production RFPs are creative RFPs, meaning they will often be Requests for Proposals (RFPs). With RFPs the buyer provides a specification that you use to produce a creative project. The format is usually free form with few restrictions or word count limitations. Does this seem unusual? Consider that creative industries want to see the quality of your creativity! If you can grab their attention and show your talent off this early you are well on your way to winning the contract. If even your bid is amazingly presented, the buyer is assured that your video production skills are similarly skilful.

Generally, there are a few core aspects of RFP that creative industries are recommended to focus on. These are:

 

Design

  • As we briefly mentioned, having your bid be well-designed is crucial. This is a step where you should consider if you have the skills in-house, as video production and document design require different approaches.

 

Cultural Alignment

  • Your proposal needs to show that you understand the company you are appealing to. A buyer will prefer a supplier that shows they know their organisation well.

 

Case Studies

  • These are fundamental in displaying your video production experience. Case studies are your chance to show relevant experience and what you learned from it. Being able to provide several clear examples of similar works completed effectively will look good to any buyer.

 

Creativity

  • Similarly to the point on design, creative RFPs often give you the opportunity to be creative even at this stage. This means you should showcase your personal brand within your bid.

 

Delivery

  • Firstly, you need to consider how much detail the buyer wants from your delivery model. While more is usually better, some buyers will not need as much detail.
  • The aim here is to detail the delivery model for your video project. This might follow the approach of inception, production and post-production. Providing a timescale is also a good idea.

 

Is RFP the right approach for Video Production Companies?

Finding the perfect contract is essential for any business. The creative sector constitutes a surprising amount of the UK workforce, with new jobs posted at a faster rate than other sectors. With so many opportunities it is important to know how to efficiently narrow down your options. In the ever-growing pool of video production opportunities, how can you know which will be the absolute best for your company?

RFP can help. The process allows you to search RFP portals to find specific opportunities that appeal to your company. Additionally, opportunities to bid for work with major and well-respected organisations will arise. Not only will contracts like this be major earning opportunities but they will also improve your company image. Securing contracts will massively expand your professional portfolio, which in turn will help you secure more and more impressive contracts in the future! Overall, RFP does not simply provide a few chances to work, but an abundance of exposure to opportunities that will expand your video production company.

 

Finding Video Production RFPs

As we discussed earlier, RFP portals are typically where you can find your opportunities. Here at Hudson Outsourcing, we have developed RFP portals for a wide variety of sectors to ensure the most streamlined experience when searching. For video production, our Creative RFPs Portal is exactly what you need. Our procurement team searches through thousands of sources daily to tag every RFP appropriately.

This means that when you come to search less time is spent combing through irrelevant RFPs. Instead, you will find only the best RFPs for you!

 

Here are some examples of previous Video Production RFPs Hudson sourced:

 

  • Advertising Services Framework Agreement

Buyer: University of Huddersfield e-RFP

Location: Yorkshire

Budget: £3,000,000

 

  • Photochemical Film Laboratory Services

Buyer: BFI

Location: London

Budget: £250,000

 

  • University of East London – Digital Content

Buyer: London Universities Purchasing Consortium

Location: London

Budget: £99,000

 

  • EHRC 2021-20 Film and Video Production Services Framework

Buyer: Equality and Human Rights Commission

Location: North West

Budget: £180,000

 

  • Freelance Filmmaker, Blaze

Buyer: Arts Council England

Location: London

Budget: £3,000

 

If you would like to see even more video production bids we worked on, feel free to visit our Creative RFPs Portal.

 

Contract Winning Bids

After careful consideration, you might have decided that RFP is the right move for your video production business. However, you might run into issues with training someone in-house or finding time in a busy schedule to work on a quality bid.

As mentioned earlier, Hudson Outsourcing can assist you. Our Succeed Team is here to help when you lack the time or resources to produce your bids. Notably, our team holds an 87% success rate from bids produced from over 60 years of bid writing. Should you choose this path, we can guarantee quality.

Other services we can provide include advice on becoming RFP Ready, guidance for Improving your RFP and even RFP Mentoring! If any of these interest you, we offer free consultations where we can discuss the best approach for your video production tenders. You can call us at 0203 051 2217 or email us at hi@tenderconsultants.co.uk. You can also try a free trial of our Creative RFPs site!

4 Things to Expect from Animation RFPs: Number 3 Might Surprise You!

Posted on by John Hudson

Animation RFPs: 4 secrets from the Creative RFPs Team

Do you know what to expect when bidding for animation RFPs? By the end of this blog, you’ll know four secrets from the Creative RFPs Team. Keep reading to find out what they are!

  1. Look at your financial standing

First things first, when you bid for animation RFPs, you need to consider your economic financial standing. Basically, you need to consider your financial position to ensure you can deliver the contract. So, you need to look at the following:

  • Your annual turnover
  • Financial ratios
  • Insurance(s).

Top tip! Avoid contracts that are worth more than 50% of your annual turnover. For example, if your annual turnover is £500,000, you shouldn’t RFP for contracts worth more than £250,000.

  1. Be ready to demonstrate your experience

To bid for animation RFPs and be successful, you need to show your previous experience. It’s not enough to tell the buyer how you’re going to do something – you need to show them.

So, instead of outlining what you can do for them, show them how you delivered for your previous clients. If you can get testimonials that showcase your past successes, even better! To secure the contract, you need to give the buyer as much evidence as possible.

  1. Don’t start writing your response straight away 

When you find the perfect RFP, it can be tempting to start writing your RFP straight away. After all, you need to do everything you can to win the contract. Answering as quickly as possible will give you the best chance of success, right?

Actually, this isn’t the case!

When you bid for animation RFPs, planning your RFP  is crucial. If you start writing without a plan, you’re likely to miss key details from the buyer’s specifications.

To avoid this, you should start planning your response as soon as possible. Consider internal deadlines and how you can meet them. Break down the RFP documents to work out exactly what the buyer is asking of you. As a result of this preparation, you’ll be more than ready to tackle your RFP.

  1. Go above and beyond for the contract

To stand out in such a competitive space, you need to add as much value as possible to the contract. Added value, also known as social value, is now mandatory in public sector contracts, with a compulsory weighting of 10%. Therefore, you need to show the buyer how your business will deal with environmental, social, and economic factors.

This could include:

  • Supporting COVID-19 recovery
  • Encouraging economic growth
  • Tackling climate change
  • Creating new job opportunities.

Let’s recap…

In this blog, we shared four things that you should expect when bidding for animation tenders. Remember to:

  • Look at your financial standing
  • Be ready to demonstrate your experience
  • Plan before starting your response
  • Go above and beyond for the contract.

Need help sourcing animation RFPs that are right for your business? We can help!

Running your own business takes up a lot of your time. The last thing you want to be doing is trawling hundreds of websites searching for animation RFPs. Most websites post multi-industry opportunities and filtering them with CPV codes can produce unreliable results. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Enter…Creative RFPs

Creative RFPs is an easy-to-navigate, centralised portal hosting live creative RFP opportunities from across the UK.

Here are five examples of animation RFPs that we’ve previously sourced on the portal:

Animator

Swarm Dynamics – London – Budget: £5,000

Lincoln Street Dressing & Animation

City of Lincoln – East Midlands – Budget: £40,000

Video/Animation Commissioning Brief: UN Sustainability Goals

BBC – Scotland – Budget: £50,000

Animation Videography Services

Manchester Metropolitan University – North West – Budget: £70,000

Content Design Partner

East West Railway Company Limited 11072935 – South East – Budget: £800,000 

A subscription to Creative RFPs can offer your business:

  • Access to all exclusive, public, and private sector creative contracts in the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager is available to answer any questions you may have about animation RFPs. They can help you understand the process and answer any questions you have about the RFP process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin is sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

We source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free, live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow 

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your RFP opportunities, even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for animation RFPs. 

The Ultimate Time-Saver package offers your business:

  • A maximum of five RFP breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices are monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents, and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid factors.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative RFP opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package also includes:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven RFP breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of five years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Do you need assistance with animation RFPs?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

  • A RFP Writing service
  • A RFP Ready programme
  • The RFP Improvement package
  • RFP Mentor.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free live demo with Creative RFPs to see how we can help your business grow.

Contact us for more information.

Check out some of our other blogs:

 

What is Required for a Video and Film RFP?

Posted on by John Hudson

Video and film RFPs explained

If you’re in the creative industry, you may be wondering what’s required for a video or film RFP. Tendering is a viable business stem to consider going down if you’re wanting to grow your business. However, the world of tendering and procurement can be a confusing one.

Luckily for you, we’re experts in RFP and bid writing. This blog will contain some useful information on what’s required for a video or film RFP and what to expect.

A split between quality, cost and social value

The evaluation score of your video or film RFP will be noted in the RFP documents. Often, this will be split between three things:

  • Quality

The quality section of a video or film RFP will often be weighted higher than the cost. The quality section of the RFP is where you can respond to their requirements and questions. You need to persuade the buyer why you’re the best business for the job. What are your unique selling points? Here, you want to demonstrate your capabilities and detail how you will exceed delivering the contract.

  • Cost

You want to ensure that you keep your pricing competitive. However, you don’t want to undercut your competitors by too much. This could be a red flag to buyers if you price your services too low. What’s more, is that you don’t want to promise you can do the job then go over budget. The buyer won’t be best pleased, as I’m sure you can imagine!

  • Social value

Social value is a compulsory component when RFP in the public sector. There is a minimum weighting of 10%, but sometimes it can be as high as 30%. This means it is not something to gloss over. The promises you make within the social value section (and your RFP in general) are contractually binding. This means you should be making promises you can keep.

Your social value response should have a focus on the social, environmental, and economic aspects of the contract. It’s always worth doing some research on the buyer. This will enable you to align your social value promises to theirs.

Skills and Experience

Often the specification will detail the skills and experience expected. This could include, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Experience turning complex information into engaging and memorable video content
  • Experience in conducting filmed interviews
  • Knowledge and experience of audio, lighting and filming techniques
  • Skilled in Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe CC etc
  • Experience in animated video content
  • Knowledge of live streaming on sites such as YouTube and Facebook

The specifics related to the video or film RFP you are applying for will be detailed in that specification. Each buyer will be requiring something different, so it’s important to read the RFP documents thoroughly.

Be expected to give a presentation

Once you have passed the initial RFP stage (stage 1), you will likely be asked to do a presentation. Here, it is often expected for you to provide a showreel of your previous work. This will be marked in accordance with an interview. The interviewers will then score the presentation and add this to the interview score. This will then be combined for a total score for the stage 2 evaluation.

Need assistance when writing your next video or film RFP?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

  • A Tender Writing service
  • A Tender Ready programme
  • The Tender Improvement package
  • Tender Mentor

Where can I find video and film tenders?

Finding the right tender for your business can take time. You already have enough on your plate. Luckily for you, we have a time-saving tool that can help you find the right tender for your business.

Creative Tenders is an easy-to-navigate, centralised portal hosting live tendering opportunities from across the UK. There’s no reliance on inaccurate CPV codes!

Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload private and public sector opportunities. You’re able to filter the results by keyword, budget, location and more! This streamlines the process when searching for video or film RFPs.

Below are previous video and film RFPs sourced on our portal:

GB-London: BTA1402 – Broadcast Agency

British Tourist Authority- London- Budget: £50,000

KS3 English – Video brief April 2021

BBC Bitesize- London- Budget: £90,000

The Good Business Festival – Videographers

Liverpool City Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

BBC Sport: Younger Audiences Short Form Commissioning Briefs April 2021 16 – 24 Year Olds

BBC Sport- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Creation of unique works based on film and sound interviews

The National Library of Wales- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

A SUBSCRIPTION TO CREATIVE RFPS CAN OFFER YOUR BUSINESS:

  • Access to all exclusive, public and private sector creative contracts in the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager is available to answer any questions you may have about a video or film RFP. They can help you understand the procurement process and answer any questions you have about the RFP process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy each month.

WE SOURCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTORS INCLUDING;

Book a free live demo with Creative RFPs to see how we can help your business grow. 

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE TIME?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your RFP opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for video and film RFPs.

THE ULTIMATE TIME SAVER PACKAGE OFFERS YOUR BUSINESS:

  • A maximum of five RFP breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative RFP opportunities.

THE BECOME A PRE-BID MASTER PACKAGE ALSO INCLUDES:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven RFP breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.