Official UK procurement notice
Market Engagement Questionnaire - Marketing Services Framework
Authority: Sunderland City Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionMarket Engagement Questionnaire for Marketing Services Framework
Sunderland City Council (the Council) has advertised the Market Engagement Questions on the OPEN portal (open-uk.org ↗) in regards to the following opportunity:
The Council is seeking to establish a framework for Marketing Services. The scope of the framework will be utilised by the Council and its Local Authority trading companies.
It is expected that the contract will commence on approximately 1 July 2026 for a period of 4 years.
In line with the Council's core requirements, the framework is anticipated to be divided into the following Lots:
Lot 1 - Strategy and Planning
Integrated marketing and communications strategies, translating the strategy into, and producing, actionable, effective, cost efficient and measurable communications plans across all relevant channels, including online, offline, owned and earned, as well as paid-for media and brand development
Lot 2 - Design
Full design service across all types of projects.
Lot 3 - Photography
Development and production services on a standalone basis.
Lot 4 - Video
Development and production services on a standalone basis
Lot 5 - Media Buying
Advising on targeted paid for marketing and can provide all media buying services for the Councils communications campaigns.
Lot 6 - Specialist Consultancy Services
New and innovative communications ideas and consultancy on specific subjects.
Lot 7 - Web and Digital
Online copywriting, SEO optimisation, digital strategy and planning, digital marketing implementation
The framework is anticipated to be a ranked framework with the ability to call-off and is expected to commence in July 2026.
The framework opportunity will be advertised on OPEN .
CPV: Marketing services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 4 yrs from 1 Jul 2026
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat 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).
- “Market Engagement Questionnaire - Marketing Services Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Sunderland City Council buys Advertising and marketing services (CPV 7934), and who usually turns up
Sunderland City Council’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Advertising and marketing services (CPV 7934) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in North East England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North East England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 30 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid23% / 2%
2–38% / 9%
4–631% / 27%
7+38% / 62%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Our matching links this notice to “Marketing Services” of this authority, but none of the 16 panel members sit in a category matching this notice.
Lot #1CPV 7934Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 120 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid8%
2–38%
4–618%
7+65%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 9 Feb 2026, 08:11 GMT
- Last source update
- 23 Feb 2026, 09:54 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-015919- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-064abcFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
9 Feb 2026 → 1 Jul 2026 · 5 dates- Planning notice published255 days ago9 Feb 2026, 08:11 GMT
- Latest notice published241 days ago23 Feb 2026, 09:54 GMT
- Market engagement230 days ago5 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
The Council are carrying out market engagement in regards to the Marketing Services Framework via a questionnaire which is available for any suppliers to complete via OPEN portal (open-uk.org ↗).
This is to determine market interest in the process and for you to help inform the development of the Marketing Services Framework commissioned in Sunderland.
- As a provider, you have important insights into what will or won't work in service delivery. This is your opportunity to influence the development of the specification.
Please note that any information you provide may be used to inform and influence the development of the service.
- Tender notice expected219 days ago16 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts113 days ago1 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 9 Feb 2026- Pipeline notice published9 Feb 2026, 08:11 GMTUK1
- Pipeline notice published11 Feb 2026, 09:58 GMTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published23 Feb 2026, 09:54 GMTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender