Official UK procurement notice
Social-First Creative Agency · UK public procurement notice
Authority: NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SAVINGS TRUST (NEST) CORPORATION
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNest is seeking a social-first agency partner to help review, evolve and deliver Nest’s organic social media activity. Social plays a distinctive, upper-funnel role for Nest building familiarity, trust and brand relevance with audiences long before they are actively thinking about their pension. The partner will bring specialist strategic and creative expertise to help Nest produce more engaging, entertaining and culturally relevant organic content, with a particular focus on growing our presence on emerging platforms such as TikTok, as part of our wider ambition to ‘banish the dull’ from pensions communications. This procurement is for organic social media only.
- How the procedure runs: stage 1 security scorecard assessment stage 2 evalauation of responses to quality and price requirements with up to 4 of the highest scoring bidders progressingto stage 3 Stage 3 presentations/interviews
CPV: Advertising campaign services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£900,000
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).
Published sub-criteria (9)
- Understanding of the Challenge and Strategic Fit: 8%
- Strategic and Creative Approach: 30%
- Content Response (Always-on): 35%
- Delivery, Team and Ways of Working: 10%
- monthly retainer: 4%
- schedule of rates: 4%
- schedule of rates: 2%
- Social Value: 5%
- Social Media Strategy Review and Development: 2%
Published award criteria (9)
- Understanding of the Challenge and Strategic Fit: Please demonstrate a clear, insight-led understanding of Nest’s social media challenge and opportunity, and how social can drive engagement, distinctiveness and cultural relevance, including: • Clear articulation of Nest’s social media challenge and opportunity • Perspective on the role of social for Nest (brand, engagement, relevance) • Understanding of TikTok, short-form video, creators and entertainment-led content • Evidence of thinking on how we can leverage creativity while remaining credible and compliant
- Strategic and Creative Approach: Please outline your proposed approach to reviewing and evolving Nest’s social strategy and translating it into bold, platform-first creative output, including: • Approach to immersion, discovery and strategy development • Clear outline of expected outputs and deliverables • Evidence of insight-driven, social-first, platform-native creative thinking • Approach to audience segmentation and insight development, translating audience needs into channel, content and creative recommendations • Show thinking around ideas that drive engagement, attention and emotional connection in a low-interest category • Approach to defining an effective operating model across teams and partners
- Content Response (Always-on): Please set out your proposed content response across always-on social channels:: • Give 2/3 examples of: • Platform-native always-on organic content ideas (short-form video, series, reactive content) • Engaging approaches to educational content • Ideas tailored across key platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube
- Delivery, Team and Ways of Working: • Proposed team structure, roles and responsibilities of who’ll be working on our account • End-to-end workflow (ideation to publishing) • Approach to working with other in-house team and or/ external existing partners • This should also include 3 relevant case studies of work with other orgs, including at least 1 in any regulated space/complex environment, demonstrating social-first delivery, evidence of collaboration (whether with companies or other agencies) and measurable impact
- Social Value: • How you support the mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of employees, freelancers and contractors working on the Nest account. • Any processes, training or safeguards you have in place to protect those exposed to challenging, distressing or harmful online content. • How your approach promotes inclusion, accessibility and diverse representation, both within your teams and in the work you deliver. • Any additional initiatives that create positive social impact alongside delivering business outcomes
- Social Media Strategy Review and Development: A fixed price for the duration of the Contract including any possible extension for all work associated with Social Media Strategy Review and Development
- monthly retainer: A monthly retainer for the duration of the Contract for Business-as-Usual social support activities
- schedule of rates: for the provision of any Tik Tok and ad hoc campaign services
- schedule of rates: for the provision of any ad hoc content services
- Price carries 10 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 1 point. 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
- Closed
- 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
- 2 Sept 2026, 09:11 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Sept 2026, 09:11 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 30 Oct 2026
- Authority reference
TEN- 2627-023 (PA2023)- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-082895- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f00eFind a Tender
- How it runs
stage 1 security scorecard assessment
stage 2 evalauation of responses to quality and price requirements with up to 4 of the highest scoring bidders progressingto stage 3
Stage 3 presentations/interviews
- Risks
nsufficient access to social media channels, resource constraints, platform policy changes, or unforeseen technical issues that affect campaign execution and delivery against agreed service levels. the social media use by Nest for its Brand activities is an evolving requirement during the life of the contract the demend for services may increase more that currently foreseen
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 28 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 9 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
2 Sept 2026 → 2 Dec 2026 · 5 dates- Tender notice published54 days ago2 Sept 2026, 09:11 BST
- Clarification questions by46 days ago9 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline27 days ago28 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Today25 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 5 days30 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 37 days2 Dec 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published2 Sept 2026, 09:11 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender