MODIFICATION
R -- Placement of advertising, layout, printing and mailing of a Chinese-language business magazine
- Notice Date
- 8/7/2003
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- Broadcasting Board of Governors, Associate Director for Management, Office of Contracts (M/CON), 330 C Street, SW, Room 2500, Washington, DC, 20237
- ZIP Code
- 20237
- Solicitation Number
- BBGCON2203S5356-BJS-1
- Response Due
- 8/15/2003
- Archive Date
- 8/30/2003
- Point of Contact
- Barbara Sesky, Contracting Officer, Phone 202-205-8597, Fax 202-260-0855,
- E-Mail Address
-
bsesky@ibb.gov
- Description
- Reference is hereby made to the combined synopsis/solicitation, posted on the FBO on July 22, 2003. This notice is considered Solicitation BBGCON2203S5356-BJS-1 Amendment Number 1. All the terms and conditions described in the original announcement remain the same. The deadline for submission of proposals is not extended. Based on the above, the solicitation is hereby amended to provide answers to questions raised by potential offerors, which are noted below: QUESTION NO. 1: What is the size of the Business Scene publication? ANSWER: The publication is currently A4 size. QUESTION NO. 2: How many pages? ANSWER: There are on average 35-40 pages of editorial content. QUESTION NO. 3: What type of paper quality? ANSWER: Paper quality has not been specified. QUESTION NO. 4: Is the publication in color or black and white? ANSWER: The cover is in color; the rest is currently black and white. QUESTION NO. 5: What is the current size of circulation? How long has it been in circulation? ANSWER: Currently we have more than 16,000 subscriber requests, in circulation since June 2002. QUESTION NO. 6: What are the demographics of the current readership? ANSWER: Demographics are unknown. QUESTION NO. 7: Is the printing and shipping of the magazine in and from China viable? ANSWER: It is currently printed and mailed from Washington, DC. Printing inside China would most likely not be possible. QUESTION NO. 8: Where are the magazines to be delivered, in China only, or worldwide? ANSWER: More than 95% of the subscribers are inside China and several hundred in other Asian countries. QUESTION NO. 9: Is the Contractor expected to bear the full costs of layout, advertisement sales, printing and mailing and no funding from other sources are available other than revenue from placement of advertising? ANSWER: Yes. QUESTION NO. 10: Are there any provisions for necessary management costs to insure quality of the project? ANSWER: Final content will be reviewed by VOA for quality control. QUESTION NO. 11: Are there restrictions on where the web site will be housed? ANSWER: Yes, web site is available at: www.voachinese.com. QUESTION NO. 12: Please describe the approval process for each of the publications, e.g., the Government will provide all final copy of editorial content, Contractor will prepare layout of text, together with advertisements, to be submitted to the Government for approval before printing? ANSWER: The description given in Question 12 is an accurate account of the publication and approval process. QUESTION NO. 13: Please describe the target audience - demographics, business owners, students, etc.? ANSWER: We do not have demographics of the readership, but target is business leaders, students, government officials and scholars inside China. QUESTION NO. 14: What format is required for the electronic version of the magazine? ANSWER: The web version is published by VOA and available at: www.voachinese.com QUESTION NO. 15: Who will be responsible for disseminating the electronic copy of the magazine - the Contractor or the Government? ANSWER: The Government (VOA). QUESTION NO. 16: Will the Government provide all final text materials, including all translation? ANSWER: For editorial content, yes, the Government will provide all of it. QUESTION NO. 17: What is the color requirement for the magazine? ANSWER: See Question No. 4. QUESTION NO. 18: What is the paper stock requirement (i.e., grade, weight, etc.) for the magazine? ANSWER: Paper stock is not specified. QUESTION NO. 19: What is the size requirement for the magazine? ANSWER: The size is currently A4. Size can be negotiated. QUESTION NO. 20: Please provide the number of pages (volume of text) to be printed, and the number of pages to be printed in black and white and number of pages to be printed in color? ANSWER: Currently there are 35-40 pages of editorial content. QUESTION NO. 21: What is the mailing requirement for the magazine - bulk (publisher's periodicals) mail, surface mail, first class airmail, etc.? ANSWER: Recommend bulk (publisher's periodicals) mail. QUESTION NO. 22: What is the mailing packaging requirement for the magazine - e.g., in an envelope, a plastic wrap, etc.? ANSWER: Recommend envelope. QUESTION NO. 23: Please confirm if the magazine needs to be mailed to multiple countries or just the PRC? ANSWER: Of the 16,000 currently requested subscribers, only a few hundred are outside of China. QUESTION NO. 24: Is there a maximum ratio of advertisements allowed in the magazine? If so, please specify. ANSWER: No specifications made. QUESTION NO. 25: Will the Government be involved in setting the advertisement rates? ANSWER: No. QUESTION NO. 26: Can non-US advertisers place advertisements in the magazine? ANSWER: Yes. QUESTION NO. 27: Will U.S. advertisers be allowed to keep copies of the magazine in which they have placed advertisements? ANSWER: They will be allowed to keep a copy of the page showing their advertisement. QUESTION NO. 28: Is the Government publishing other magazines such as the Business Scene in other languages? ANSWER: None by BBG/IBB-VOA. QUESTION NO. 29: Would it be necessary to provide particulars of subcontractors, if any, for this project when submitting the proposal? ANSWER: Yes. QUESTION NO. 30: Are the three (3) references for relevant contracts a prerequisite? ANSWER: Yes. QUESTION NO. 31: What is the monetary value of the "one advertising credit to be placed in the magazine's electronic (email) version"? ANSWER: Not determined. QUESTION NO. 32: Are you in fact asking for a bid price of zero? ANSWER: No. The Contractor must be able to provide the services requested and must identify the costs needed to facilitate this requirement. The cost of production and delivery is the Contractor's responsibility and is not a factor for the Government. All profits will go to the Contractor. The Government only desires that the services requested be provided at zero cost to the Government. QUESTION NO. 33: How many proposals did you receive the first time you published this solicitation? ANSWER: That requirement was cancelled. QUESTION NO. 34: Is Business Scene magazine currently being published? ANSWER: Yes. (See Question No. 5) QUESTION NO. 35: Can you forward an email version of the magazine? ANSWER: Yes. An email version will be sent separately. QUESTION NO. 36: Do you realize that the Chinese Government has censorship and all editorial materials have to be approved by their Government as well as our own? ANSWER: The magazine is currently being mailed directly to subscribers. QUESTION NO. 37: Who is the current contractor? ANSWER: There is no contractor. This is a new contract. The magazine is currently being published and delivered by the Voice of America which cannot handle the rapid increase in subscriptions. QUESTION NO. 38: Is there a web site associated with the magazine? ANSWER: Yes, see Question No. 11. QUESTION NO. 39: Can a print edition of the latest issue be provided? ANSWER: No; however, an email version can be sent. QUESTION NO. 40: How large is the current contractor's advertising sales force that are dedicated to this project? ANSWER: As noted in answer to Question No. 37, there is no contractor. This is a new requirement. QUESTION NO. 41: What have been the revenue figures derived from the last six issues? ANSWER: It is distributed free of charge. QUESTION NO. 42: What are the estimated charges for distribution and estimated printing costs per issue? ANSWER: Estimated combined distribution and printing costs are approximately $1.65 per copy.
- Record
- SN00394534-W 20030809/030807213038 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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