Pam Jones, principal and chief strategist for Culturally Connected Communications in Little Rock. (Kerry Prichard) The clicking clock of COVID-19 led Arkansas health officials to bypass typical competitive bidding procedures in awarding $8 million in advertising contracts to three Little Rock marketing firms, officials say, explaining that Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s pandemic emergency order allowed for the expedited process. The one-year, renewable contracts awarded to the Cranford Co., The Design Group and Culturally Connected Communications were announced in late May, setting off a round of questions from several marketers and ad agencies who said they hadn’t even realized the work was available. The governor’s COVID emergency decree expired at the beginning of June.