Three Tips for Positioning Your Ad Agency for State Government Contracts

In 2022, we helped ad agencies secure more than $600M in state government contracts. While many agencies look to the federal market, we often encourage agencies to start by looking in their own backyard. Three tips to get started:

1. Register your agency to do business with your state government. Each state is slightly different, try a quick Google search “Doing business with state of XXXX”. Take a few minutes to complete the online form and set up your alerts to be notified when relevant RFPs are issued.

2. Know where your state spends money. And, with who. 90% of the time, the largest state contracts are in lottery advertising, tourism campaigns, public health communications, and transportation and vehicle safety. Which ad agencies have these contracts? When were these contracts awarded? How long are the contracts? Use this information to start to build a pipeline of opportunities.

3. Position your agency in advance of an RFP. Most agencies tend to pursue a government opportunity when the RFP is released. To win, agencies need to start much earlier than that. Conduct a relationship map and inventory your relationships with any government employees. Understand the challenges of the particular program (and it’s leadership and marketing teams). Meet with decision makers (and influencers) to build rapport, further your understand, and pressure test ideas and solutions. Be sure to play the long game here. You’re meeting isn’t to sell (transaction) but to develop and nurture (relationship).