Doing Business with Government Agencies

There are great opportunities with local, state and federal government contracting. That’s why we made a strategic decision over 10 years ago to build a government public affairs and marketing area of our company’s service offerings. It wasn’t easy, it was a long process, but it worked. Here’s how we did it and what it has meant to the growth of Texas Creative.

Get Your Certifications:

Our first stop was the South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (SCTRCA), where we received our Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Certification and our Women-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification. Most local entities, and certainly the State of Texas, regard this regional certification as gold. These are renewed every two years and audits can be part of the equation, only to ensure that the company is being run as indicated in the applications.  Other certifications are available through the agency, so check all that apply to you.

Texas HUB (Texas Historically Underutilized Business) Certification is the statewide database of woman-owned, minority-owned, small-business, veteran-owned businesses that are available for state agencies and prime contractor HUB subcontracting. In our category of business, most state and local agencies target 26% of their spending with HUB companies. This certification can really lift your visibility with buyers and give your proposals a stronger appeal.

Get on the Schedule:

We tried getting on the Federal GSA (General Services Administration) Schedule by ourselves, but the paperwork and technical language barrier were too much to handle, so we hired a federal contracting specialist company to help us complete the process and get on the schedule. It took us nearly two years to complete that process, but we succeeded in getting onto the 541-5 schedule which is the Integrated Marketing Services defined within The Professional Services Schedule (PSS) Advertising & Integrated Marketing Solutions (AIMS) Schedules. Our GSA has led us to engagements with the Maine Air National Guard, The Peace Corps, Army Medical Department, and the US Air Force.

Once you are on the federal schedule you can apply to be on the comparable state schedule called Texas Multiple-Award Schedule (TXMAS) through the Texas Comptroller’s Office. The TXMAS contract follows the same offerings of your GSA Contract. This process took us another year so plan on playing the long game if you want to play in this marketplace. Our work with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for public affairs campaigns for Take Care of Texas and Galveston Back the Bay, website design, website development and hosting have been very rewarding work for ourselves and the taxpayers of Texas. We have helped food insecure families in Texas find information about the Summer Food Program offered by the Texas Department of Agriculture, and we’ve helped Texas Department of Transportation (Two Steps, One Sticker) change the behavior of millions when it comes to state inspection of their vehicles.  

Our most recent accomplishment has been 5 years in the making and we were just awarded a Comprehensive Web Development and Management Services contract through the Texas Department of Information Resources Agency (Texas DIR). All state agencies are required by law to procure web development projects through the DIR. Optionally, universities and local school districts, local governmental agencies may use the DIR contracting tools. We are able to offer our full-service, in-house web development and hosting services throughout the state. This is big news for our small company. Our previous TXMAS work for TCEQ, the Governor’s Office and the University of Texas can know fall into the DIR seamlessly.

These sales range from small task-oriented projects for Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) to media planning and buying for Texas Tech University and upwards of multi-million dollar contracts with other state agencies to assist them in getting the word out about their amazing programs. It’s work we love and it’s work that makes the lives of Texans better. Can we help your agency successfully raise awareness and engagement for your programs?

For more information on our contracts please visit:

Texas Creative GSA Contract

Texas Creative TXMAS Contract

Texas Creative DIR Contract 

Check out a couple of our recent projects for our government clients.