Award

Production Agency & Brand Hub

OPEN UNIVERSITY(THE)

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

04 Feb 2025 at 16:44

Award

06 Dec 2024 at 09:20

Summary of the contracting process

The Open University (OU) has completed the procurement process for a new contract titled "Production Agency & Brand Hub," specifically focused on marketing services. The process, which falls under the industry category of services, has awarded the contract to Matrix Graphics Ltd. The contract covers the management and hosting of the Brand Hub, including technical services, digital and creative developments, and production services. Notably, the tendering process began without prior publication of a call for competition due to unique technical requirements. The contract was awarded on 1st February 2025 and holds an initial term of two years, with options to extend for an additional two years, making the total potential duration four years. The project is located predominantly in the UKJ12 region, which encompasses Milton Keynes.

This tender represents a substantial opportunity for businesses involved in digital marketing, creative design, and web development services. The awarded contract enables the successful supplier to engage deeply in the development and maintenance of the OU's Brand Hub, offering significant growth via long-term collaboration. Ideal contenders for this type of procurement would be firms familiar with bespoke brand infrastructure, technical architecture, and digital project management. The breadth of services required—ranging from digital asset creation to intricate problem-solving within the digital environment—presents numerous avenues for business expansion and showcases a company's capability to manage and innovate critical brand and marketing tasks.

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Notice Title

Production Agency & Brand Hub

Notice Description

Contract awarded to one supplier who will be responsible for the Brand hub - hosting and management. This includes both technical services, digital and creative developments, digital builds and regular updates. In addition, we need an agency who can provide digital, creative design and production services. All in line with the OU Brand guidelines.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Website delivery *Conception, design, development of existing and new digital pages/sites *Hosting of Brand hub and Brand policy *Ongoing maintenance of site, including updating pages and building of new pages, adapting the site for user needs *Services site for both internal (staff) and external (agencies/third party partners) audience with asset distribution *Immediate response to systems issue/errors/changes Brand templates development Using Brand guidelines to design, create and deliver on brand assets and templates for OU colleagues and partners *Build and maintenance of Microsoft Office suite templates, finely tuned to maximize productivity and brand consistency to be used by a broad range of OU stakeholders with built in guidance, preset fonts, colours, brand elements and data-linked elements. Online & offline creative assets *Using Brand guidelines to design, create and deliver on brand assets and templates for OU colleagues and partners *Assets include videos, animations, illustrations; printed assets; graphic files in multiple formats. (e.g. Designing doordrop leaflet; suite of social media animated videos; ezines; openlearn content projects; digital banners; resizing outdoor artwork; brochures; leaflets; building vinyl; pull-up banners; event stand collateral) Brand asset management *Safely store and make maintain Brand assets on both the Asset bank and on servers to service Brand guidelines *Full knowledge of use of Brand guidelines and brand assets Brand guidelines & web toolkits *Creation of multiple brand toolkits and online guidelines with cross-linking to the OU asset bank *The Asset bank is used by both internal and external users for obtaining up to date Brand assets, brand images and case stories *The Asset bank tracks user download details and asset usage Host Brand guidelines *Maintain guidelines - add new pages, action updates, input to development to ensure we are leading with the best technology and for easy user experience. Problem-solving and systems support *Intricate problem-solving within the digital environment, encompassing the rapid deployment of complex solutions that leverage new technologies to address any challenges posed. *Provide technical support to enhance the online offering to OU users *Provide new solution and technology to enhance the user experience and host the complicated web infrastructure End-to-end technical support *Provide solutions and recommendations for best practice/best use of system *Immediate response to critical issues/queries *Immediate response to urgent/business critical changes that need to be implemented Accessibility enhancement *Rigorous adherence to the latest accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.1 AA, with indepth conformance reviews and comprehensive audits, ensuring a frictionless experience for users of all abilities across all media such as templates, guidelines and websites. *Ensure the site is fully compliant with OU and industry accessibility guidance *Knowledge and experience of accessibility requirements for digital and offline users

Options: 2 year agreement with the options to extend for a further 2 x 12 months. Total contract length: 4 years

Procurement Information

Matrix Graphics Ltd have developed a bespoke brand infrastructure, spanning technical architecture, institutional workflows and alignment to the University's specific operational and compliance requirements. At its core lies a codebase developed over many years, drawing on advanced methodologies, such as modular programming, adaptive algorithms, and bespoke data handling systems, to support the institution's unique and evolving needs.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04c2cf
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003720-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security


CPV Codes

79342000 - Marketing services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£1,000,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
4 Feb 20251 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
6 Dec 20241 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
OPEN UNIVERSITY(THE)
Contact Name
Procurement Team
Contact Email
fbs-procurement@open.ac.uk, finance-tenders@open.ac.uk
Contact Phone
+44 1908655814

Buyer Location

Locality
MILTON KEYNES
Postcode
MK7 6AA
Post Town
Milton Keynes
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ12 Milton Keynes
Delivery Location
TLJ12 Milton Keynes

Local Authority
Milton Keynes
Electoral Ward
Monkston
Westminster Constituency
Milton Keynes Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

MATRIX GRAPHICS

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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