---
title: "Engagement and Marketing Activities"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06c6a0"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06c6a0"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06c6a0.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06c6a0.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT"
published: "2026-07-08"
---

# Engagement and Marketing Activities

Buyer: THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06c6a0

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## Summary

The University of Kent has unveiled a procurement process for the provision of Engagement and Marketing Activities, appointing Hybrid News Limited as the supplier. Focusing on the sector of marketing management consultancy services, the objective is to enhance recruitment efforts through a strategic media campaign. This direct award contract, valued at £1,200,000, spans from 21st July 2026 to 30th April 2027. The procurement, under the status of 'complete', was executed through a direct award due to the time-sensitive nature of the university's recruitment cycle and the necessity for a seamless transition in marketing activities. The university is situated in Canterbury, UK, and the contract includes activities aimed at boosting brand awareness and optimising marketing efforts amidst external challenges affecting applicant behaviour.

This tender represents a growth opportunity for businesses specialising in media strategy and digital marketing services, particularly those with experience in higher education branding. Ideal candidates for future such opportunities are firms capable of agile campaign management and possessing capabilities in innovative advertising methodologies across various platforms such as Google, Sky TV, and streaming services like Netflix and Disney+. A focus on integrating advertising efforts seamlessly while adjusting to market dynamics will be crucial. Given the need for continuity and the integration of past marketing data, companies with a proven track record of delivering cohesive, strategic marketing frameworks will find this sector lucrative, contributing to their business expansion objectives.

## Notice

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

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064327-2026 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 7 Jul 2026 |
| Contract period | 20 Jul 2026 - 30 Apr 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £1,200,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT |
| Locality | CANTERBURY |
| Post town | Canterbury |
| Postcode | CT2 7NZ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ4 Kent |
| ITL 3 | TLJ44 East Kent |
| Local authority | Canterbury |
| Electoral ward | Blean Forest |
| Westminster constituency | Canterbury |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | HYBRID NEWS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79413000 - Marketing management consultancy services

## Release History

- 8 Jul 2026 at 14:26 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064327-2026
- 8 Jul 2026 at 14:20 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064319-2026

## 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

## Notice URLs

- http://hybrid.co
- http://www.kent.ac.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06c6a0. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06c6a0.json.