How to Write an RFP for a Brand Portal

A well-crafted Request for Proposal (RFP) is the key to finding the right brand portal solution for your organization. It ensures that vendors understand your needs and provide solutions that align with your brand’s goals. Whether you’re looking for a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, a Brand Center, or a comprehensive solution that includes both, your RFP should be clear, detailed, and structured to elicit informative responses from potential providers. 

In this guide, we’ll outline the essential elements of a strong RFP for a brand portal, helping you define requirements, set expectations, and ultimately select the best vendor. 

1.  Introduction & Project Overview

This section should provide vendors with an understanding of your organization, your brand management challenges, and what you hope to achieve with a brand portal. Many of our customers come to us because they are experiencing a “brand-impacting event” such as a brand refresh/rebrand, a change in marketing leadership, or something along those lines, and are looking for a solution to drive their current efforts while protecting the longevity of these brand changes. These pain points and goals should be clear in your RFP introduction.

Key points to include: 

• A brief introduction to your company and its brand management needs. 

• The purpose of the RFP and what you’re looking for in a brand portal solution. 

• An overview of your current brand asset management process and key pain points. 

• The expected outcomes and benefits of implementing a new solution. 

2.  Scope of Work & Key Requirements

Clearly identify the business outcomes you’re looking to achieve – then itemize and flesh out stories on the future you want the stakeholders to envision. Then, you are assessing your vendor candidates based on their ability to deliver the outcome you want to achieve, not just the product features you’d like to see. That being said, you can define the features and functionalities your ideal brand portal should include. We’d recommend separating them into categories to make it easier for vendors to understand and respond.

Core Features to Consider: 

• Centralized Brand Management: A single source of truth for brand assets, guidelines, and best practices. 

• Digital Asset Management (DAM): A system for organizing, storing, and distributing digital assets. 

• File Sharing & Access Control: Securely share files with internal and external stakeholders, with role-based access controls. 

• Self-Service Templates: Pre-approved, editable templates for teams to create brand-compliant materials. 

• User Experience & Customization: Ability to create role-based user profiles (e.g., marketing, sales, creative teams) and landing pages. 

• Collaboration & Workflow Tools: Two-way communication between administrators and users, request management, and approval workflows. 

• Brand Engagement Features: Employee submission galleries, announcements, and internal branding elements. 

• Reporting & Analytics: Usage reports, engagement tracking, and file download insights. 

• Integration Capabilities: API support for third-party integrations (e.g., Adobe, Microsoft, CRM tools). 

• Implementation & Support: Vendor-assisted setup, bulk uploads, and ongoing technical support. 

3.  Technical & Security Requirements

Your brand portal will house valuable digital assets, so security and technical compliance are critical. Laying out these requirements in your RFP will bring internal clarity and alignment, mitigate potential risks, determine long-term viability and cost management. Working through the expected requirements will also guide you to who from IT or InfoSec would need to be tied into the process, so you can avoid potential roadblocks in the future. 

Be sure to include specific requirements related to: 

• Data security and access control measures. 

• Compliance with industry standards (ISO27001 certification, for example). 

• Hosting preferences (cloud-based, for example). 

• Performance, scalability, and uptime guarantees. 

4.  Legal & Procurement Process

Outlining the key legal and procurement-related requirements will guide the selection and contractual agreement with the vendor. This ensures that both parties understand their legal obligations, the expectations for service delivery, and the policies that govern the process. The following list highlights the critical points that should be included in your RFP to safeguard legal compliance, clarify contractual terms, and define procurement processes:

• Legal requirements (data protection, compliance with laws such as GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) 

• Contract terms and conditions (termination clauses, indemnity, warranties) 

• Procurement policies (approval process, decision-making criteria) 

• Vendor’s adherence to any industry-specific legal frameworks or certifications 

• SLA (Service Level Agreements) expectations 

• IP (Intellectual Property) ownership and licensing terms 

5.  Budget & Pricing Expectations

While you may not want to disclose your exact budget, providing a general range can be instrumental for vendors to tailor their proposals appropriately. Additionally, you should request detailed pricing breakdowns, including: 

• Licensing and subscription fees (determined by users, devices, usage, features, or other models specific to the vendor). 

• Implementation and onboarding costs. 

• Ongoing support and maintenance fees. 

• Potential additional costs (e.g., custom development, integrations). 

These models will differ with each vendor you consider, so you’ll want to ensure your model is well suited to your business goals. For example at Beam, we scale our pricing by company size because we believe that everyone should have access to the platform, but a 200-person company should not pay the same as a 200,000-person global company.

6.  Evaluation Criteria & Selection Process

Outline how you will evaluate proposals and make a final selection. This will be specific to you and your organization, so think through which stakeholders are involved and how do they like to assess their options. Whether you score your options in a spreadsheet or leverage a subjective assessment, be sure to review the common criteria such as: 

• Vendor experience and expertise. 

• Feature alignment with requirements. 

• User experience and interface design. 

• Scalability and flexibility of the solution. 

• Pricing and total cost of ownership. 

• Customer support and implementation services. 

• Approved references and case studies from existing clients. 

7.  Submission Guidelines & Timeline

Creating an effective schedule for an RFP process involves several key steps and a well-structured timeline. You’ll want to ensure you are leaving enough time for questions, submission, follow-up, downselection, etc. Typically, a full RFP timeline will take anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks, and will look as such: 

Week 1-2: Define the RFP and create documentation. 

Week 3: Send RFP to vendors. 

Week 4-6: Vendors submit proposals. 

Week 6-7: Respond to vendor questions and clarifications. 

Week 7: Proposal submission deadline. 

Week 8-9: Evaluate proposals and conduct interviews/clarifications. 

Week 9-10: Downselect top vendors. 

Week 10-11: Negotiate final terms and prepare contract. 

Week 12: Announce vendor decision and kick-off the project. 

To help this process move smoothly, provide clear instructions on how and when vendors should submit their proposals, including:

• Proposal format and required sections. 

• Submission deadline and key dates (e.g., vendor Q&A sessions, presentations, final decision). 

• Contact information for inquiries. 

Final Thoughts 

A well-structured RFP ensures that you receive comprehensive, comparable proposals that help you select the best brand portal for your organization. By clearly defining your requirements, setting realistic expectations, and providing structured evaluation criteria, you’ll streamline the selection process and find a solution that empowers your brand management efforts. 

If you’re currently drafting an RFP for a brand portal, Beam can help.  

We specialize in creating intuitive, scalable brand centers that keep your brand assets, guidelines, and creative organized. Sounds like what you’re looking for? Let’s chat.