Planning

MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDER FOR ADVERTISING ON THE TFL WEBSITE AND TFL GO APP

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

27 Oct 2025 at 16:45

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Transport for London (TfL) is in the planning stage of a procurement process for a Managed Service Provider to handle advertising across its digital platforms, namely the TfL website and the TfL Go app. The process, identified by Tender ID TFL 97019, falls under the services procurement category with specific focus on advertising management. The initiative is positioned within the industry category relevant to digital advertising and is located in London, United Kingdom, with regional opportunities across other parts of the UK. Currently in the planning stage, key dates include a deadline for a Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ) submission by 26th November 2025, meant to fine-tune the procurement strategy before the contract start on 6th November 2026.

This procurement project offers substantial opportunities for advertising management firms, particularly those experienced in programmatic advertising and digital content monetisation. With TfL's aim to optimise its digital advertising revenues and enhance the user experience across its platforms, businesses with expertise in digital marketing strategies, ad operations via platforms like Google Ad Manager 360, and mobile app advertising will find it particularly fitting. Moreover, companies capable of integrating innovative advertising formats and complying with strict advertising regulations could significantly benefit from this contract, with potential growth stemming from expanding monetisation from current metrics and exploring new geographic sponsorship opportunities.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDER FOR ADVERTISING ON THE TFL WEBSITE AND TFL GO APP

Notice Description

Transport for London (TfL) is seeking to appoint an experienced Managed Service Provider to oversee its online advertising concession and optimise revenue across its digital estate, specifically the TfL website (tfl.gov.uk) and the TfL Go mobile app. These platforms are central to TfL's digital engagement strategy, serving millions of Londoners and visitors with real-time travel information, journey planning tools, and account services. The appointed partner will be responsible for managing and optimising digital advertising operations, including programmatic advertising via platforms such as Google Ad Manager 360, delivering high-quality direct sales, and identifying new monetisation opportunities. The service must balance commercial performance with user experience, brand safety, and full compliance with TfL's advertising policy and regulatory obligations. Scope of the Opportunity TfL is seeking a partner to provide a fully managed service for advertising on both the TfL website and TfL Go app: TfL Website (tfl.gov.uk) Based on the monthly averages from October 2024 to September 2025, the TfL website has delivered: ~6.6 million unique users ~15.5 million visits ~62.7 million page views ~41.4 million ad impressions Additional performance insights: Approximately 60% of pages are currently monetised, with scope to expand Device breakdown: 76% mobile, 22% desktop, 2% tablet Advertising formats include skins, billboards, leaderboards, mobile banners, and MPUs Ad operations run via Google Ad Manager 360 Revenue model: Predominantly programmatic, with direct sales contributing an average of 24% of total revenue over the 12-month period from October 2024 to September 2025 Future enhancements under consideration include high-impact programmatic formats, as well as section-based and geo-specific sponsorships TfL Go Mobile App ~1.4 million monthly unique users (as of Sep 2025) ~11.2 million monthly visits (average Oct 2024-Sep 2025) ~57 million monthly page views (average Oct 2024-Sep 2025), rising to ~77 million in recent months (Jul-Sep 2025) Currently features Promoted Places, a venue tenancy model - the app's sole advertising format to date Commercial opportunities include banner ads, splash ads, native formats, contextual advertising, geo-targeted notifications, and first-party data monetisation (subject to GDPR compliance) Google Ad Manager SDK integration is required to enable programmatic display advertising

Planning Information

Interested parties are asked to express their interest in taking part in this Early Market Engagement Exercise. This exercise will include the completion of a short Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ). Suppliers should confirm their interest in participating in this exercise by providing the following details via e-mail to Phil.roddy@tube.tfl.gov.uk Organisation name Main contact name and job title e-mail address MSQ's will be issued to interested parties with completion and return required by 17.00 hours GMT on 26th November 2025. The MSQ responses will help TfL assess market appetite, refine its approach, and ensure the future concession is commercially viable, technically robust, and strategically aligned.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d49e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/068719-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79341200 - Advertising management services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£3,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Oct 20252 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
26 Nov 20262 years to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
6 Nov 2026 - 5 Nov 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
TRANSPORT FOR LONDON
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
bsfaribaadministration@tfl.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
E20 1JN
Post Town
East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI41 Hackney and Newham
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Newham
Electoral Ward
Stratford Olympic Park
Westminster Constituency
Stratford and Bow

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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