Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Procurement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Controlling Board approves $1.2M Secretary of State media buy and temporary website project manager
Summary
The State Controlling Board approved two Secretary of State contracts: a $1.2 million public-awareness media campaign awarded to Orgo Branding and a temporary project-management contract to support a larger website overhaul by Hansen Incorporated; board members pressed for distribution and oversight details.
The State Controlling Board on Dec. 1 approved two contracts for the Ohio Secretary of State's office: a $1.2 million public-service announcement media campaign and a temporary project-management contract for a website overhaul.
Leslie Piatt, chief financial officer for the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State, told the board the winning vendor for the PSA work, Orgo Branding, proposed a campaign budget she described in the RFP as "dollars 1,200,000.0 total for the entire year of 2026" that would span radio, streaming, paid social, digital display, pre-roll video and print in six major newspapers. Piatt said the RFP required that a percentage of spending go to minority-business-owned outlets and that the proposal documented recommended distributions and projected impressions across media types.
"In the RFP ... our office spelled out exactly what kind of audiences that we wanted this to reach and that would be all audiences," Piatt said, adding that the vendor's proposal included recommended splits for radio, TV and print.
Senator Ingram asked how the Secretary of State would ensure consistent distribution and messaging across audiences. Piatt and staff said the RFP and the vendor proposal specify target audiences and distribution recommendations, and that some allocations are reserved for minority-owned or minority-focused outlets to reach diverse communities.
On a second item, Piatt explained that a separate, smaller contract before the board is for a temporary contracted project manager to support a larger website contract previously awarded to Hansen Incorporated. "This particular contract in front of you today is a request for a temporary contracted resource to act as a project manager," Piatt said, adding the contractor is not an IT specialist but will manage schedule and deliverables so the site is ready before the next voting cycle.
Both items were held for questions and then approved without objection after board members received the explanations.
The board did not record a roll-call tally for either approval; President Schueller accepted the items after senators and representatives asked clarifying questions and indicated no objection. The items were approved as presented; no amendments or conditions were recorded.
What happens next: the Secretary of State's office will proceed with vendor onboarding for the media campaign and will engage the contracted project manager to coordinate the larger website vendor's work toward the target timeline discussed by staff.
