Official UK procurement notice
Digital Advertising Agency Services
Authority: Arts University Bournemouth (Education)
Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: UKNorth East (UKC)North West (UKD)
Published estimate£200,000≈ £67k / year · £240,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 18 Jul 2025awarded 30 Oct 2025
Awarded to Hybrid News Limited
Contract term 3 yrsends 22 Oct 2028 · up to 22 Oct 2029 with extensions · starts 22 Oct 2025
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDigital Advertising Agency to develop, implement, and manage our digital advertising strategies. The primary objectives are:
Enhancing brand visibility
Driving student recruitment across all levels
Effectively promoting the University's diverse range of courses and programmes
Agency / Third-Party Spend:
£300,000 × 3 years + 1 year + 1 year = £1,500,000
This amount is based on third-party advertising spend, which is variable and not fixed. The spend will be reimbursed directly by AUB to the supplier. In addition, the supplier will receive a commission on this spend, calculated at an agreed rate.
- How the procedure runs: This procurement process is a two-stage, competitive, and flexible one. Stage one involves pre-qualification, while stage two, the Invitation to Tender (ITT), will incorporate a presentation and negotiation phase.
- No preliminary market engagement: s the scope of work is straightforward and the market is well-developed, running a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) would not add value and would only prolong the process.
CPV: Advertising management services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£200,000
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Quality
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
How bids were scored
Published sub-criteria (4)
- Experience with Higher Education Student Recruitment: 35%
- Comprehensive Digital Advertising Capabilities: 25%
- Data-Driven Performance and Reporting: 25%
- Agency Fee Structure Approach: 15%
Published award criteria (4)
- Experience with Higher Education Student Recruitment : Clarity, depth, and relevance of described experience in higher education student recruitment digital advertising.
- Comprehensive Digital Advertising Capabilities: Confirms presence of core capabilities across stated platforms (PPC, paid social, display, video) and the extent of in-house expertise vs. reliance on third parties.
- Data-Driven Performance and Reporting: Clarity of the agency's methodology for measuring campaign success, integration of data, and the nature of reporting and insights provided.
- Agency Fee Structure Approach : Clarity and flexibility of the typical fee structure approach. Indicates commercial compatibility
Conditions of participation1
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Quality
What this means for your bid
- Price carries 15 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 1.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 25 Jun 2025, 10:29 BST
- Last source update
- 28 Apr 2026, 14:03 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 10 Oct 2025
- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-034950- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-055317Find a Tender
- How it runs
This procurement process is a two-stage, competitive, and flexible one. Stage one involves pre-qualification, while stage two, the Invitation to Tender (ITT), will incorporate a presentation and negotiation phase.
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: mytenders · Who buys & how to bid on myTenders
Access & registration note: Free publication showcase; bidding happens on buyer portals
- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 18 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline
- 18 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 18 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Timeline
25 Jun 2025 → 28 Apr 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published25 Jun 2025, 10:29 BST
- Clarification questions by18 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline18 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by376 days ago10 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts365 days ago22 Oct 2025, 00:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent357 days ago30 Oct 2025
- Standstill ends329 days ago26 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Latest notice published177 days ago28 Apr 2026, 14:03 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 25 Jun 2025- Tender notice published25 Jun 2025, 10:29 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published17 Nov 2025, 10:56 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete17 Nov 2025, 10:56 GMT
- Contract signature expected27 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published28 Apr 2026, 14:03 BSTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value (inc. VAT) £1,800,0001 award inc. VAT; no net value published
Bids received 44 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 3 Dec 2025
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid News LimitedSME30 Jan 2026 – 30 Jan 2029 · up to 30 Jan 2031Extensions: A three-year contract with the option to extend for two additional one-year periods. Extensions will be exercised if AUB considers the supplier's performance satisfactory and requires additional time to tender for a new service. | £1,800,000 inc. VAT | 30 Oct 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Digital Advertising Agency Services · Hybrid News LimitedSME
- Signed
- 3 Dec 2025
- Value
- £1,800,000 inc. VAT
- Period
- 30 Jan 2026 – 30 Jan 2029 · up to 30 Jan 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- 3 years + 1 year + 1 year
3 agreed KPIs: KPI Achievement Rate · Engagement Rate · Response Time
- KPI Achievement Rate, - Target: 80% of campaigns to meet or exceed specific campaigns KPIs - Benchmark: Benchmark: 75%+
- Engagement Rate, - Target: Average engagement rate of 2.5%+ - Benchmark: Benchmark: 1.5%+
- Response Time, - Target: Responses within 2 working days. Please note for Clearing , we would need a more hands on quick response as there will be changes to campaigns . - Benchmark: Benchmark: 90% within SLA Note: During high-priority periods such as Clearing, the supplier is expected to provide rapid response and campaign adjustment support beyond standard SLA expectations.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4final-stage tenders · 23 at stage one | 4 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- HYBRID NEWS LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Prequalification Questionnaire
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: the documents will be publish via Mytender portal
- Bidding documents and specifications Conflict of Interest
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender