3 Lessons Marketers + Agencies Can Learn from the Amazon RFP Process

Today, residents of New York City and North Virginia may be getting the official announcement of Amazon coming to their respective cities. With the RFP being one of the most publicized economic development bids in recent history (here's a link to the actual RFP), big kudos to Amazon for finally pulling the trigger.

While critics may speak for years to come about the headquarter split, there have been great benefits for all parties participating including: mass awareness of Amazon's future growth plans, press coverage of economic strengths for the bidding cities (great for recruitment), to insights on what a tech giant considers a world-class entrepreneurial ecosystem.

As an agency owner who frequently sees RFPs, I've enjoyed watching the entire process on various states' economic development programs creatively pitch what they would do beyond the normal "we'll save you money with our tax incentives" presentation. Pitches have included mentions of key savings on universal health care, noted salary conversions, to a city saying they'll name a city after Amazon (here's a link to some more outrageous things cities have done to woo the e-commerce giant). It got me to think on three ways we at ThreeSixtyEight can challenge ourselves and our respective prospective clients to grow together during the strenuous RFP process.

1. Allow the RFP to be challenged. If we, the agency, can be challenged with great questions that allow us to think creatively to get to your intended result, you, the marketer, will get great insight into how we attack problems. While providing an equal playing field of knowledge such as background (history/decision drivers) and scope requirements (intended requirements/timeline/budget/KPIs) significantly helps the competition get equal footing, allowing flexibility to challenge the brief requirements creates opportunities for marketers to learn new things during the RFP process. Giving an agency permission to "elevate the brief" will help both parties challenge themselves on quality and the marketer not having to make the final decision based on price alone.
2. Use the debrief as a mechanism for learning. Amazon is said to have given insight on why select cities were eliminated from the bid. This helped cities relook at how to become competitive for future bids (for example, Amazon notified a big part of Detroit's lost is due to its transit limitations which led Detroit to recently reveal its new transit plans). Allowing cities to relook at its economic development opportunities, helps Amazon keep in mind expansion opportunities for the future while giving states insight on how they can improve their ecosystems (this article here describes how cities that lost out are reaping the benefits). Like you, the marketer, agencies put a ton of time into RFP responses. Debriefing, no matter the result, helps both parties improve. Don't treat the debrief process as a waste of time, use it as a learning opportunity.
3. Culture matters. One of my favorite things in the HQ 2 RFP process is Amazon specifically referencing bidders to explain how they can integrate local culture into Amazon HQ 2. As culture is a huge proponent in driving a company's recruitment and talent retention, Amazon gets that environment is key for success. For you, the marketer, being upfront about what kind of culture you're looking for in your intended partner gives us, the agency, insight on if this may be the right fit. Being clear about each other's company cultures' strengths and weaknesses allows both parties to unique find ways to complement one another. After all, working together is is a partnership right? Let's not hate each other while doing the work.

Bonus: A brief should be brief. As Amazon demonstrated, you can write a multi-billion dollar brief in 7 pages. Making documents concise is a lost art form. Marketers and agencies can take a note that being concise allows for clarity.

Amazon HQ 2 is a great lesson for those that make and bid on RFPs on how the brief can elevate both parties. In the future, itt will be interesting to see if Amazon will be open to sharing or selling a public version of the mass data collected from all the participating states. Imagine the possibilities on what a state's economic development arm can do with the collected insights or the hours of research saved by companies looking to expand or relocate.

For now, I'm looking forward to the most critical part of the RFP process - execution. Your move Amazon.