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Media Buying Services for Guildhall School

The Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Tender

27 Aug 2026 at 18:13

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

12 May 2026 at 10:48

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The City of London Corporation is procuring digital paid media buying services for Guildhall School of Music & Drama. The supplier will provide strategic digital media planning and buying to support recruitment of students, programme participants and audiences across the School’s music, drama, production and design activities. The scope includes strategic planning, media buying, campaign optimisation, performance monitoring, reporting and strategic advice, with an emphasis on using the School’s media budget creatively and efficiently. This is an advertising campaign services requirement (CPV 79341400), delivered for the Guildhall School in the City of London. The work covers the School’s full range of activities and requires an agency able to support audience, participant and student recruitment through effective paid digital campaigns.

The procurement has reached tender: the City invited suppliers to submit a request to participate through a selective competitive flexible procedure. Expressions of interest were due by 22 September 2026 at 12:00, and enquiries closed on 10 September 2026 at 12:00. The contract is scheduled to run from 27 April 2027 to 26 April 2029, with a discretionary extension of up to two further years, ending no later than 26 April 2031. Its estimated value is £900,000 excluding VAT (£1,080,000 including VAT) for the maximum duration; the estimated annual value is £225,000 excluding VAT. There is one lot, suitable for SMEs and VCSEs. Evaluation weights technical quality at 55%, price at 30% and responsible procurement at 15%.

This opportunity suits an experienced digital media agency with a strong record of planning and buying paid media, particularly for higher education institutions, arts and cultural organisations or comparable purpose-driven clients. Suppliers should be able to develop and deliver strategic campaigns, buy media, optimise performance, monitor results, produce reports and provide strategic advice across varied audiences and activities. The procurement requires relevant previous contract examples and technical and professional ability, with each related response needing to achieve at least a good score. Financial capacity is also tested: bidders’ average annual revenue for their last two reported financial years must be at least twice the estimated annual contract value, and their Dun & Bradstreet overall business risk assessment must be Low, Moderate-Low or Moderate. A strong customer service approach is required.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Media Buying Services for Guildhall School

Notice Description

The City invites Bidders to complete and submit a request to participate in the Procurement for the provision of Media Buying Services for the Guildhall School. Guildhall School is where passion meets purpose. We deliver world-class professional training in music, drama, production and design across our iconic, state-of-the-art facilities in the heart of the City of London. The School is seeking an experienced supplier to provide strategic digital media planning and buying services to support the recruitment of students, programme participants and audiences across the full range of the School's activities. The successful supplier will be responsible for developing and delivering effective paid media strategies, ensuring that the School's media budget is used in the most creative, efficient and impactful way possible. This will include strategic planning, media buying, campaign optimisation, performance monitoring and reporting. Suppliers with a strong track record in digital media planning and buying, particularly within the higher education sector, are invited to participate in the Invitation to Participate (ITP) stage of this procurement process. This tendering exercise is being undertaken using the electronic tendering system 'City of London Corporation Sourcing & Contracts Portal' (https://cityoflondon.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/) Suppliers will need to register an interest on the system in order to participate and registration is free. The estimated contract value given at sections 31 and 32 is for the full duration of the contract including the maximum possible extensions. The estimated annual contract value is therefore PS225,000 exc. VAT)

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The duration of the Contract is two years, subject to the City's right, at its sole discretion, to extend the Contract by up to a further two years. The maximum duration of the Contract is therefore four years.

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

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-069670
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081983-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
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
£900,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£900,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Aug 20265 days ago
Submission Deadline
10 Sep 20262 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
7 Sep 20265 days to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
27 Apr 2027 - 26 Apr 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
2030-08-27

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Active
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

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
Postcode Area
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

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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