Dennis Domrzalski - Albuquerque Business First
The New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange board on Wednesday awarded a $6 million to $7 million marketing and public relations contract to BVK, a Milwaukee-based PR firm.
BVK was one of 14 companies that bid on the contract, including several from New Mexico. BVK will partner with Cooney Watson & Associates, an Albuquerque-based PR firm, on the contract.
The Health Insurance Exchange board voted unanimously to award the contract to BVK and Cooney Watson.
Exchange board member Dr. Martin Hickey said BVK and Cooney demonstrated a “keen ability and clever approach” to being able to reach out to hard-to-reach populations.
“They have a very good understanding of the state,” Hickey said of Cooney Watson.
BVK submitted a bid of between $3.6 million and $4.1 million.
Exchange CEO Mike Nunez said he expected the work to cost between $6.6 million and $7.7 million and emphasized he would work to keep it on the low end.
Other New Mexico firms that had bid on the contract included Agenda, Carroll Strategies, Griffin & Associates and Vaughn Wedeen Kuhn, The Garrity Group and Kilmer Kilmer Marshall Duran.
The contract runs through Dec. 31, 2014.