Issued by: Thirdway Partners (TWP)

SUMMARY

Scope 4-month recycling awareness campaign across ~20 university RVM sites

Geography Settat, Casablanca, Rabat, Safi, Marrakech (Morocco)

Campaign launch September 2026 (academic year start)

Campaign close December 2026

Contract type Fixed-price, milestone-based

1. BACKGROUND AND PROJECT CONTEXT

1.1 Context

Morocco faces structural challenges in its post-consumer PET value chain, including low formal collection rates, reliance on informal aggregation networks, and — until recently — regulatory restrictions on the use of recycled plastics in food-contact applications. However, evolving policy frameworks, growing industry interest, and anticipated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mechanisms are creating conditions for the development of a viable bottle-to-bottle recycling model.

LGR operates a network of Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) installed across ~20 university campuses in five Moroccan cities. While the machines are operational, sustained student engagement is required to drive deposit volumes and build a broader recycling culture on campus.

Thirdway Partners (TWP) invites qualified communications agencies to submit proposals for the design, production, and operational management of a campus recycling awareness campaign in support of this effort.

1.2 Project Geography

The campaign covers approximately 20 active university campuses with installed RVMs across the following cities:

Settat — dense university cluster
Marrakech — dense university cluster
Rabat — anchored by UIR (4 RVMs on one campus)
Casablanca — multiple distributed sites
Safi — single isolated site

1.3 Stakeholders

STAKEHOLDER ROLE

TWP Project owner, contract manager, and primary point of contact for the agency

ECCBC Strategic stakeholder; brand alignment and co-branding approval

LGR Infrastructure partner; provides RVM deposit data and introductions to university contacts

UNIDO Brand alignment; Co-branding approval. Project authority under the SWITCH2CE programme

2. OBJECTIVES

The campaign has two interlinked objectives:

1. Build community involvement and recycling awareness on campus — engaging students as active participants in the recycling process rather than passive recipients of messaging, through competition, creative output, and peer-to-peer networks.

2. Drive PET bottle collection through LGR's RVM network at university campuses

3. CAMPAIGN STRATEGY

The campaign operates on three contest mechanics plus an ambassador programme. Each contest is run at school level first, with school-level winners advancing to a national round at campaign close. This two-tier structure builds local engagement while creating a national stage for the best participants.

All contest prizes and ambassador incentives under this campaign are non-monetary and symbolic, in line with the donor funding rules governing the SWITCH2CE project. The selected agency is expected to propose suitable non-monetary rewards within the available budget.

3.1 Collection Leaderboard

An individual-level deposit competition tracked per school. Each registered participant has a personal RVM deposit count recorded against their school. The agency publishes a monthly leaderboard for each campus, ranking individual participants by deposits. The top depositors at each school are recognised at the school-level closing event.

3.1.1 National Round

The top three individual depositors from each campus are entered into a national ranking at campaign close. The overall national winner receives a non-monetary prize and is announced at the closing event.

3.1.2 Mechanics

• Participants register through the Sparklo application.

• Deposits are linked to participants through LGR's RVM tracking

• Monthly leaderboards published per school; cumulative ranking maintained throughout the campaign

• National leaderboard compiled at end of campaign from school-level data

3.2 Plastic Bottle Art Contest

Students create sculptures, murals, wearables, or installations from PET bottles collected on campus. Open to individuals and teams. Submissions are first judged at school level, with one to three winners selected per campus. The school-level winners then compete in a national round judged by a panel of SWITCH partner representatives, faculty, and external professionals.

3.3 Best Collection Solutions Idea Contest

A contest format inviting students to design practical, implementable solutions for improving plastic collection in their community. The contest generates ideas that could feed into ECCBC, LGR, or partner planning for future infrastructure or programme development.

3.3.1 Entry Format

Each entry consists of a 3–5 page written proposal describing the problem, the proposed solution, intended impact, and implementation requirements, accompanied by a visual mockup, diagram, or prototype. Entries may be submitted by individuals or teams of up to four students. Cross-disciplinary teams are encouraged.

3.3.2 Judging Rounds

School-level judging selects the top one to two entries from each campus. A national judging round then evaluates the school winners. The national judging panel includes TWP, ECCBC and LGR representatives, and a faculty member. The national winner receives a non-monetary prize, formal recognition at the closing event, and an opportunity to present the idea to ECCBC and LGR.

3.4 Student Ambassador Programme

The agency recruits, onboards, and manages a network of 30–40 student ambassadors across active campuses. Ambassadors are the on-the-ground presence driving deposits, promoting contests, generating content, and coordinating campus-level activities.

3.4.1 Recruitment Channel: Environmental Clubs and Campus Organisations

primary recruitment channels are:

• Environmental clubs and sustainability societies on each campus

• Student government and campus life offices

• Faculty referrals from environmental science, engineering, and design departments

This approach selects students with demonstrated interest in sustainability, organisational experience, and existing campus networks. The agency must develop a mapped contact list of relevant clubs and organisations at each campus during the pre-campaign phase.

4. SCOPE OF WORK

The agency's scope is organised into five work areas.

4.1 Campaign Identity and Creative Development

• Design campaign, visual system, and messaging framework

• Develop brand guidelines document

• Develop all creative in line with the SWITCH2CE project and ECCBC brand guidelines

• Design ambassador toolkit (handbook, templates, kit specification)

• Design campus signage, posters, and contest materials

• Develop content templates for monthly leaderboard, contest promotion, and ambassador content

• Submit identity and key assets for TWP and partner approval before launch

4.2 Ambassador Recruitment and Management

• Map environmental clubs and relevant campus organisations across all active campuses

• Recruit 30–40 ambassadors via club outreach and faculty referrals

• Run virtual or city-level onboarding sessions for the ambassador cohort

• Maintain a private coordination channel (WhatsApp) for the cohort

• Manage monthly check-in calls to troubleshoot and maintain engagement

• Track ambassador activity weekly and report monthly to TWP

• Administer monthly non-monetary recognition and incentives for ambassadors based on activity milestones

4.3 Contest Operations

• Manage participant registration and submission processes for all three contests

• Publish and update the monthly per-school Collection Leaderboard using LGR data

• Promote contests through ambassador networks and university channels

• Coordinate school-level judging and the national judging round, including panel scheduling and submission distribution

• Manage winner announcements and recognition activities at both school and national level

4.4 Content Production

• Produce a short campaign launch video (60–90 seconds) and short-form cuts

• Produce monthly leaderboard graphics and contest promotional content

• Document contest entries (photography and short video) for the impact report

• Curate and edit ambassador-generated content for distribution

• Produce mid-campaign and end-of-campaign highlight content

• Draft two press releases, one announcing the campaign launch and one for the campaign close, for review and approval before distribution

4.5 Reporting and Coordination

• Provide monthly reports to TWP covering ambassador activity, contest progress, deposit data trends, and any issues requiring escalation

• Attend monthly coordination calls with TWP

• Submit campaign content and materials for review and approval before publication or distribution

• Provide a final asset handover at campaign close, including all design files, ambassador database, and content archive

5. DELIVERABLES

The agency is responsible for the following deliverables, sequenced against the campaign timeline (see Section 6).

REF. DELIVERABLE DUE

D1 Campaign identity package (visual system, brand guidelines, messaging framework) End of August 2026

D2 Ambassador toolkit (handbook, templates, kit spec) and campus signage designs End of August 2026

D3 Ambassador recruitment complete (30–40 ambassadors confirmed and onboarded) Early September 2026

D4 Campaign launch package (hero video, launch content, contest registration September 2026

platform live)

D5 Monthly reports (ambassador activity, contest progress, deposit data trends) Sept – Dec 2026

D6 Monthly per-school Collection Leaderboard publication Sept – Dec 2026

D7 Mid-campaign content package (interviews, work-in-progress content, November 2026

refreshed assets)

D8 School-level and national contest judging coordination (Art and Idea contests) Nov – Dec 2026

D9 Campaign close package (exhibition support materials, national closing event December 2026

content, highlight video)

D10 Final asset handover and contribution to Campaign Impact Report December 2026

D11 Launch and close press releases (drafted for review and approval before distribution) Sept and Dec 2026

6. WORKPLAN AND TIMELINE

The campaign is structured in three phases: Pre-Campaign (July–August 2026), Campaign Execution (September – December 2026), and Reporting (December 2026). The campaign launch is timed to coincide with the start of the Moroccan academic year, and wraps up in December before the winter break.

6.1 Pre-Campaign Phase

PERIOD ACTIVITY OUTPUT

July 2026 Contract kick-off and briefing Agency briefed by TWP; project plan and milestone

schedule confirmed

July–August 2026 Campaign identity and creative Campaign name, logo, visual system, messaging

development framework, and toolkit designs delivered (D1, D2)

August 2026 Environmental club mapping and Contact list of campus clubs and organisations;

ambassador recruitment ambassador candidates identified and screened

August 2026 Hero video production and content Launch video draft, content templates, contest

templates promotional materials drafted

Early Sept 2026 Ambassador onboarding 30–40 ambassadors confirmed, onboarded, equipped

with toolkit (D3)

Early Sept 2026 Print production and signage Campus signage, posters, and contest materials

distribution delivered to all active sites

6.2 Campaign Execution Phase

MONTH PERIOD PHASE FOCUS KEY ACTIVITIES

Month 1 Sept 2026 Campus launch Launch activities at all sites; hero video published; participant

registration opens for Leaderboard; contest registration opens

Month 2 Oct 2026 Ramp-up First per-school Leaderboard published; contest teams form;

ambassadors generate content; faculty briefed for judging panels

Month 3 Nov 2026 Contest execution Second Leaderboard published; mid-campaign content produced;

contest work period peaks

Month 4 Dec 2026 Contest close, national Art and Idea contest submissions close; school-level and national

round, and awards judging convene; final Leaderboard published; school-level and

national closing events held; winners announced across all three

contests

6.3 Reporting Phase

PERIOD ACTIVITY

Dec 2026 Final analytics, asset handover, and contribution to Campaign Impact Report

7. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Agency

Full execution of the scope of work (Section 4): campaign identity and creative; ambassador recruitment, onboarding, and management; contest operations across school and national rounds; content production; monthly reporting

TWP

Strategic direction; contract management; partner coordination; quality approval at milestones; university institutional outreach and permissions; procurement of non-monetary prizes; printing and physical distribution of materials; final impact reporting

LGR

Monthly RVM deposit data per site and per participant (standardised format, within 5 working days of month end); introductions to university contacts; strategic advisory, co-branding approval; attendance at launch and national closing events

ECCBC

Brand alignment; co-branding approval; attendance at national closing event; participation in national Idea Contest judging panel

UNIDO

Brand alignment; co-branding approval. Project authority under the SWITCH2CE programme; strategic oversight

8. AGENCY QUALIFICATIONS

Eligible agencies must demonstrate the following:

Registered communications, advertising, or marketing agency operating in Morocco
Minimum 3 years of operational track reco
Demonstrated experience managing multi-month integrated communications campaigns, including ambassador or influencer network management
Office presence or active field network in at least Casablanca and one other campaign city (Marrakech or Rabat preferred)
Demonstrated experience producing video content in Arabic, French, or both
Capacity to manage contests or competitions involving multiple stakeholder groups

Experience with sustainability, environmental, education, or youth-focused campaigns is an advantage but not a requirement.

9. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Proposals must include the following sections, in order:

Agency profile (maximum 2 pages): registration details, team size, office locations, summary of relevant experience
Relevant case studies (3 examples, maximum 1 page each): completed campaigns with comparable scope, including outcomes and KPIs
Proposed campaign approach: how the agency would deliver the scope of work, including creative direction, ambassador recruitment plan via environmental clubs, contest management approach across school and national rounds, and content strategy
Project team (maximum 2 pages): proposed account team with CVs, roles, time allocation, and language capabilities
Workplan and timeline (maximum 1 page): proposed schedule aligning with Section 6 of this RFP
Detailed budget (maximum 1 page): line-by-line breakdown.
References (1 page): three client references with contact details for completed projects in the last 24 months

10. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated on the following weighted criteria:

CRITERION WEIGHT BASIS

Proposed campaign approach and creative direction 30% Quality, originality, fit with strategy

Ambassador recruitment and management plan 20% Specificity, realism, club-targeting approach

Project team quality and language capability 15% CVs, allocation, Arabic/French capacity

Relevant case study evidence 15% Comparable campaigns and outcomes

Budget clarity and value for money 15% Transparency, alignment with scope

Geographic coverage and field network 5% Presence in campaign cities

TOTAL 100%

11. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

11.1 Submission Format

Proposals must be submitted in PDF format by email
Proposals must be submitted in English
All budget figures must be in EUR (€), inclusive of all applicable taxes

11.2 Submission Contact

Mamoune Naitlho: mnaitlho@thirdway.earth
Lauren Pereira: lpereira@thirdway.earth

11.3 Submission Deadline

The complete proposal along with all supporting documentation must be submitted by July 27th.

11.4 Conditions

TWP reserves the right to reject any or all proposals without justification
TWP reserves the right to negotiate scope and budget with shortlisted agencies
Costs incurred in preparing the proposal are borne by the agency
All information submitted will be treated as confidential and used solely for evaluation purposes

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: Communications Agency for a Campus Recycling Awareness Campaign