D3 Tenders | PME - Guildhall School

Notice Information

Get alerts for notices like these

Notice Title

PME - Guildhall School - Media Buying

Notice Description

Guildhall School of Music & Drama is one of the world's leading conservatoires, based in the City of London. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in music, drama, production and design, alongside a significant portfolio of short courses and youth and adult learning programmes. Guildhall School is seeking to appoint a digital paid media agency to support its student recruitment and awareness activity across all programme areas. This Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise is being conducted in advance of a formal procurement to help the City of London Corporation and Guildhall School understand the shape of the market, the capabilities available, and the most effective way to structure the forthcoming tender. Guildhall School currently operates approximately 20 campaigns per year across a wide range of programme areas and budgets. These span undergraduate and postgraduate music, drama, production and design, short courses for young people, adults and professionals, and youth training delivered through Guildhall Young Artists. The School's paid media activity primarily supports awareness building, in highly targeted markets, with audiences that differ significantly. For undergraduate applicants, paid media plays a particularly key role as applicants apply directly to Guildhall rather than via UCAS/UCAS Conservatoires. Without the visibility these platforms bring, paid media is a crucial way of accessing audiences. In some cases, particularly for youth programmes, advertising cannot legally target the end user (under-18s), and must instead reach parents, carers, teachers and other adult influencers. An agency appointed to work with Guildhall School must understand and be able to navigate this audience complexity from the outset. International student recruitment is a strategic priority for Guildhall School, and digital paid media is a key route through which it can build profile and attract students from overseas markets. Respondents should be aware that international capability is a significant consideration in this procurement. Guildhall School of Music and Drama does not currently have a CRM system in place. Attribution of campaign performance relies on a combination of platform data, postcode matching and manual data collection. The School wishes to work with an agency that can help establish meaningful performance benchmarks, and can work collaboratively towards defining success in terms of real-world recruitment outcomes. Guildhall School of Music and Drama is seeking a strategic partner, not simply a tactical executor. The ideal agency will bring genuine sector knowledge, proactive insight and creative challenge, as well as deep familiarity with the higher education paid media landscape, including competitor intelligence. Equally important is the ability to produce copy that demonstrates real understanding of the School's audiences and brand positioning - it is a prestigious, specialist institution and the standard of communication matters significantly. Guildhall School welcomes agencies that are willing to immerse themselves in the product, including visiting centres and attending events where relevant. The PME questionnaire below invites responses across six areas. These have been structured to help Guildhall School and the City of London Corporation understand how the market would approach this opportunity, including thoughts on service model design, pricing structures, and how agencies would propose to measure and evidence their impact within the School's specific context.

Planning Information

This is a Preliminary Marketing Engagement (PME) exercise for digital paid media agency services for Guildhall School of Music & Drama, a department of the City of London Corporation (“the City”). If you feel that your organisation is able to contribute to this exercise, suppliers shall register free of charge via the https://cityoflondon.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/ portal. Once registered, the supplier can access the questionnaire by clicking on the following link: https://cityoflondon.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/go/77396695019E1B850250 Please note that this is not a call for competition. The following are pertinent to this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) Questionnaire. Suppliers responding must have; • An understanding of what the City of London Corporation and Guildhall School are aiming to deliver • An experience of working with higher education institutions, arts and cultural organisations, or comparable purpose-driven clients • Capability to comply with the Corporation’s requirements for the provision of digital paid media agency services, including campaign planning, media buying, performance measurement and strategic advisory • An excellent approach to customer service For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is for the purpose of conducting a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise and will not formally begin the procurement or constitute any commitment by the City of London Corporation to undertake any procurement exercise. Participation in the PME will be at each organisations own cost. No expense in responding to this PME will be reimbursed by the City. The PME will run from 12th May 2026 to 4th June 2026 at midday.

Notice Details

Get alerts for notices like these

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID: ocds-h6vhtk-069670
Publication Source: Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/043354-2026
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: SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale: Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions: 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
CPV Codes: 79341400 - Advertising campaign services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value: £850,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value: Not specified
Awards Value: Not specified
Contracts Value: Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date: 12 May 20262 days ago
Submission Deadline: Not specified
Future Notice Date: 7 Sep 20264 months to go
Award Date: Not specified
Contract Period: 26 Apr 2027 - 26 Apr 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence: Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Get alerts for notices like these

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer: THE MAYOR AND COMMONALTY AND CITIZENS OF THE CITY OF LONDON
Contact Name: Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email: Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone: Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality: CITY OF LONDON
Postcode: EC2P 2EJ
Post Town: Central London
Country: England
Major Region (ITL 1): TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2): TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3): TLI43 Haringey and Islington
Delivery Location: TLI31 Camden and City of London
Local Authority: Islington
Electoral Ward: Clerkenwell
Westminster Constituency: Islington South and Finsbury

Further Information

Notice Documents

https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/043354-2026
12th May 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Notice URLs

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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.

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-069670-2026-05-12T10:48:56+01:00",
    "date": "2026-05-12T10:48:56+01:00",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-069670",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PYQD-1693-MYXR",
            "name": "The Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PYQD-1693-MYXR"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "PO Box 270",
                "locality": "City of London",
                "postalCode": "EC2P 2EJ",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKI43"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "CityProc.Operations@cityoflondon.gov.uk",
                "telephone": "020 7606 3030"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk",
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PYQD-1693-MYXR",
        "name": "The Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London"
    },
    "planning": {
        "milestones": [
            {
                "id": "engagement",
                "type": "engagement",
                "description": "This is a Preliminary Marketing Engagement (PME) exercise for digital paid media agency services for Guildhall School of Music & Drama, a department of the City of London Corporation (\"the City\"). If you feel that your organisation is able to contribute to this exercise, suppliers shall register free of charge via the https://cityoflondon.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/ portal. Once registered, the supplier can access the questionnaire by clicking on the following link: https://cityoflondon.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/go/77396695019E1B850250 Please note that this is not a call for competition. The following are pertinent to this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) Questionnaire. Suppliers responding must have; * An understanding of what the City of London Corporation and Guildhall School are aiming to deliver * An experience of working with higher education institutions, arts and cultural organisations, or comparable purpose-driven clients * Capability to comply with the Corporation's requirements for the provision of digital paid media agency services, including campaign planning, media buying, performance measurement and strategic advisory * An excellent approach to customer service For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is for the purpose of conducting a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise and will not formally begin the procurement or constitute any commitment by the City of London Corporation to undertake any procurement exercise. Participation in the PME will be at each organisations own cost. No expense in responding to this PME will be reimbursed by the City. The PME will run from 12th May 2026 to 4th June 2026 at midday.",
                "dueDate": "2026-06-04T23:59:59+01:00",
                "status": "scheduled"
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "043354-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/043354-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-05-12T10:48:56+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-069670",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "PME - Guildhall School - Media Buying",
        "description": "Guildhall School of Music & Drama is one of the world's leading conservatoires, based in the City of London. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in music, drama, production and design, alongside a significant portfolio of short courses and youth and adult learning programmes. Guildhall School is seeking to appoint a digital paid media agency to support its student recruitment and awareness activity across all programme areas. This Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise is being conducted in advance of a formal procurement to help the City of London Corporation and Guildhall School understand the shape of the market, the capabilities available, and the most effective way to structure the forthcoming tender. Guildhall School currently operates approximately 20 campaigns per year across a wide range of programme areas and budgets. These span undergraduate and postgraduate music, drama, production and design, short courses for young people, adults and professionals, and youth training delivered through Guildhall Young Artists. The School's paid media activity primarily supports awareness building, in highly targeted markets, with audiences that differ significantly. For undergraduate applicants, paid media plays a particularly key role as applicants apply directly to Guildhall rather than via UCAS/UCAS Conservatoires. Without the visibility these platforms bring, paid media is a crucial way of accessing audiences. In some cases, particularly for youth programmes, advertising cannot legally target the end user (under-18s), and must instead reach parents, carers, teachers and other adult influencers. An agency appointed to work with Guildhall School must understand and be able to navigate this audience complexity from the outset. International student recruitment is a strategic priority for Guildhall School, and digital paid media is a key route through which it can build profile and attract students from overseas markets. Respondents should be aware that international capability is a significant consideration in this procurement. Guildhall School of Music and Drama does not currently have a CRM system in place. Attribution of campaign performance relies on a combination of platform data, postcode matching and manual data collection. The School wishes to work with an agency that can help establish meaningful performance benchmarks, and can work collaboratively towards defining success in terms of real-world recruitment outcomes. Guildhall School of Music and Drama is seeking a strategic partner, not simply a tactical executor. The ideal agency will bring genuine sector knowledge, proactive insight and creative challenge, as well as deep familiarity with the higher education paid media landscape, including competitor intelligence. Equally important is the ability to produce copy that demonstrates real understanding of the School's audiences and brand positioning - it is a prestigious, specialist institution and the standard of communication matters significantly. Guildhall School welcomes agencies that are willing to immerse themselves in the product, including visiting centres and attending events where relevant. The PME questionnaire below invites responses across six areas. These have been structured to help Guildhall School and the City of London Corporation understand how the market would approach this opportunity, including thoughts on service model design, pricing structures, and how agencies would propose to measure and evidence their impact within the School's specific context.",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "79341400",
                        "description": "Advertising campaign services"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKI31",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "value": {
            "amountGross": 1020000,
            "amount": 850000,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "aboveThreshold": true,
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "suitability": {
                    "sme": true,
                    "vcse": true
                },
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2027-04-27T00:00:00+01:00",
                    "endDate": "2030-04-26T23:59:59+01:00",
                    "maxExtentDate": "2031-04-26T23:59:59+01:00"
                },
                "hasRenewal": true,
                "status": "planning"
            }
        ],
        "communication": {
            "futureNoticeDate": "2026-09-07T23:59:59+01:00"
        },
        "status": "planning"
    },
    "language": "en"
}