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Media Services

TRANSPORT UK EAST MIDLANDS LIMITED

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

18 Aug 2026 at 12:57

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

13 Apr 2026 at 15:04

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Transport UK East Midlands Limited, trading as the buyer for East Midlands Railway, procured strategic paid media and digital marketing services for East Midlands Railway and Luton Airport Express. The work covers planning, buying and optimisation across audiovisual media, including linear television, video on demand and connected TV; digital and traditional radio; sponsorships; digital and paper out-of-home advertising; social media; and awareness and conversion campaigns. It also includes standard and dynamic digital display advertising, pay-per-click advertising and search engine optimisation for the eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk and lutonairportexpress.co.uk websites. Services support intercity, regional and airport rail routes across the Midlands, England and the London St Pancras corridor. The procurement is classified as advertising and marketing services.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded through a selective competitive flexible procedure for utilities. One lot was evaluated on quality response at 45%, social value at 10%, commercial considerations at 30%, and pitch presentations at 15%, with financial capacity assessed before tendering. McCann-Erickson Central Limited was selected on 18 June 2026 for £45,651,400 excluding VAT, or £54,781,680 including VAT. The award has a standstill period ending on 27 August 2026. The contract is scheduled to run from 19 October 2026 to 18 October 2029, with an option to extend by one year plus one year, up to 18 October 2031. An estimated signature milestone is due on 1 September 2026. The procurement's estimated value was £45,000,000 excluding VAT and £54,000,000 including VAT.

This award shows sustained demand from East Midlands Railway for an integrated media and marketing agency able to manage a broad, multi-channel account across rail and airport transport brands. A credible competitor would need demonstrable capability in media strategy, buying and optimisation across television, video, radio, out-of-home, social, digital display and performance marketing. Experience with dynamic display, pay-per-click campaigns and search engine optimisation across multiple websites is particularly relevant. Suppliers should also be able to connect brand-awareness activity with measurable conversion outcomes, manage campaigns across geographically dispersed routes and audiences, and provide robust commercial and financial capacity for a sizeable, long-term service. Strong written quality, social value delivery and presentation skills would be important when this type of requirement returns.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Media Services

Notice Description

Description East Midlands Railway provides intercity and regional train services across the Midlands through to London. These are distinguished by 3 sub brands that reflect the region they serve and routes they operate: EMR Intercity operates from the Midlands (Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester) through to London St Pancras EMR Regional provides local services to towns and communities across England, including; Crewe, Matlock, Stoke-on-Trent, Peterborough, Grantham, Norwich and Skegness. EMR Connect operates between Corby and London St Pancras. The Luton Airport Express operates on this route with majority of airport passengers travelling from London St Pancras. EMR are looking for a strategic marketing agency to plan, buy and optimise all of their paid media for both EMR and Luton Airport Express which covers but is not limited to:- 1. Media Buying (AV, Radio, OOH, Social, Digital) AV (includes linear TV, Video on Demand and Connected TV) Radio (Digital audio, traditional radio and sponsorships if relevant) OOH (Digital and paper) Social (Meta, snapchat, tiktok etc.) Digital (covers awareness and conversion driving activity) 2. Digital Display (includes dynamic display capability) Standard IAB and dynamic display (see section 7 for further details) 3. Pay Per Click (PPC) for both EMR and Luton Airport Express. 4. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for two websites eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk & Lutonairportexpress.co.uk

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Optional 2 year extension in 1 year increments. Budget subject to change each year.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06812a
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078527-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79340000 - Advertising and marketing services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£45,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£45,000,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
£45,651,400 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
18 Jun 20262 months ago
Contract Period
19 Oct 2026 - 18 Oct 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
TRANSPORT UK EAST MIDLANDS LIMITED
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
EC4A 3AG
Postcode Area
Central London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
City of London
Electoral Ward
Castle Baynard
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

MCCANN-ERICKSON CENTRAL LIMITED

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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