Notice Information
Notice Title
Engagement and Marketing Activities
Notice Description
Summary of Requirement The University of Kent has appointed a single strategic media agency partner to deliver an integrated programme of search and social activity, media planning, marketing optimisation, and insight services to support Clearing and in-cycle recruitment activity. The contract will run from mid/end April 2026 through to the end of April 2027, covering the full recruitment cycle including Clearing, ECD deadlines, and the lates period. Background and Context This is additional advertising spend to that already committed as part of the contract, now in two phases. The first is for us to purchase additional out of home advertising in South London and Kent, additional Google pay per click advertising, and some other additional media, including Sky TV streaming, a presence on the Guardian's education website and a pilot of Chat GPT advertising. The second, following budget approval at EG on 6 July 2026, is for a further round of additional advertising investment, to spend more on out of home advertising in London and secure additional presence on TV streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+ and All4. This uplift also enable sus to promote our Kent Business School in the London area, with specific funding to focus on this specific institutional strength. This will improve: Integration Agility Performance Fragmentation across planning, optimisation, and reporting has reduced our ability to respond quickly to market shifts and has limited the impact of our media investment. This challenge has been intensified by external factors affecting applicant behaviour and market confidence: The meningitis outbreak in the Kent region and associated high-profile press coverage, which may have negatively influenced local applicant sentiment during a critical recruitment window. Increasing volatility in international recruitment, driven by visa uncertainty, policy changes, and heightened global competition. Shifting behaviours among domestic students, particularly those from widening participation backgrounds, who are increasingly choosing to study closer to home due to cost-of-living pressures and a desire for stability. Given these conditions, a fragmented media approach presents a material risk to achieving recruitment targets. A continuation of services iwth the incumbent supplier will enable: Faster decision-making and more agile in-cycle optimisation Reduced duplication across planning and reporting Clear accountability for performance Greater efficiency in budget deployment Improved strategic coherence across domestic, postgraduate, and international markets The time-sensitive nature of Clearing and the need for continuity from April onward mean that running a full competitive procurement process at this stage would introduce unacceptable operational and recruitment risk. Objectives for the Supplier Our media agency will support the University in delivering against ambitious targets across undergraduate, postgraduate, and international markets. Key objectives include: Increasing awareness and consideration among priority audiences Driving high-quality traffic to key landing pages Generating enquiries, event registrations, and applications Supporting conversion from Offer Holder to enrolment This direct award is for additional funding.
Procurement Information
Successful marketing is predicated on a lot of factors but crucial to all of them is integrated campaign development, execution and analysis. The use of a reliable and consistent single partner across a cycle is imperative to this effectiveness, and using a different provider would pose an existential threat to integration and alignment. Hybrid has deployed all of our advertising since we moved to a single supplier, they are accountable for their work and are providing us with regular reports on impact, allowing us to review campaign effectiveness before, in turn, assessing and refining them in partnership. There would be significant technical differences and challenges from using another provider at this stage of the cycle - and trying to align their work with Hybrid's - and there would be an inevitable duplication of activity and cost, which the use of a stable partner can avert. We are entering a new cycle with ambitious targets across undergraduate, postgraduate, and international markets. Our goals are to: Increase awareness and consideration among priority audiences Drive high quality traffic to key landing pages Generate enquiries, event registrations, and applications Support conversion from Offer Holder to enrolment Key challenges include: A highly competitive UK HE landscape Recent PR exposure due to the meningitis outbreak. Rising media costs and platform saturation The need for agile, real-time optimisation Multiple intakes and international market variations Shifting student behaviours, including a trend toward staying local
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-06c6a0
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064327-2026
- Current Stage
- Award
- All Stages
- Award
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- UK6 - Contract Award Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Direct
- Procurement Method Details
- Direct award
- 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
79413000 - Marketing management consultancy services
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- Not specified
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- £1,200,000 £1M-£10M
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 8 Jul 20261 weeks ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- Not specified
- Award Date
- 7 Jul 20261 weeks ago
- Contract Period
- 20 Jul 2026 - 30 Apr 2027 6-12 months
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Complete
- Lots Status
- Complete
- Awards Status
- Active
- Contracts Status
- Not Specified
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT
- Contact Name
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Email
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Phone
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Buyer Location
- Locality
- CANTERBURY
- Postcode
- CT2 7NZ
- Post Town
- Canterbury
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLJ South East (England)
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLJ4 Kent
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLJ44 East Kent
- Delivery Location
- Not specified
-
- Local Authority
- Canterbury
- Electoral Ward
- Blean Forest
- Westminster Constituency
- Canterbury
Further Information
Notice Documents
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064327-2026
8th July 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064319-2026
8th July 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
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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