Historic Royal Palaces: HRP Media Buying Services

UK-East Molesey: Advertising and marketing services.

Scope

Description: CONTRACT OPPORTUNITY – MEDIA BUYING

Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) is a registered charity, responsible for the care, conservation, and presentation of HM Tower of London (TOL), Hampton Court Palace (HCP), Kensington Palace, (KP) the Banqueting House at Whitehall (BH), Kew Palace (KEW) and Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, (HCG) the official residence of HM The King in Northern Ireland and residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

HRP is an independent charity for everyone, receiving no regular government funding and derives its income principally from admissions, retail, licensing, commercial events, sponsorship and support from donors and members.  

The palaces in our care are the setting for the stories that shape us all, and we’re bringing them to people in ways that mean more to them. We want everyone to find themselves in the spaces and stories we share.

We will be running a Competitive Flexible Procedure tender process with the intention of awarding contracts for the provision of Media Planning and Buying Services. This tender will be run in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.

This procurement will be run as a two-stage tender process:
Stage 1 – Expression of Interest and Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ)
Stage 2 – Invitation to Tender (ITT) (Shortlisted suppliers only)

Requirements:
We are seeking expressions of interest from suitably experienced / qualified organisations.

The contract will be divided into two lots:
Lot 1: Offline Media
Lot 2: Digital Media

One supplier will be appointed to each lot. Organisations may apply for one or both lots, and HRP reserves the right to appoint one supplier for both lots.

Contract Value:
Total expenditure is estimated at £2.4m per annum and based on a 3 + 2-year arrangement would represent £12m.

Exclusion criteria:
Please refer to the PSQ document for information on exclusion criteria.

Tender Process:
Stage 1 - Expressions of interest and Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ):
The tender process will be run through HRP’s e tendering system, Delta e-Sourcing. All expressions of interest and PSQ’s must be received by HRP by 8th April 2025 at midday and must be submitted electronically via Delta e-Sourcing.

Stage 2 – Invitation to Tender (ITT):
Tender documents will be made available on Delta to those suppliers who are shortlisted at PSQ stage.

Please note that HRP reserves the right to refine award criteria during the tender process.

Registrations:
Suppliers will need to register on Delta E-Sourcing in order to participate in the tender process.
Suppliers can register here https://www.delta-esourcing.com/register/

Suppliers must be registered with on the Central Digital Platform
Supplier can register here www.gov.uk/find-tender

Shortlisting:
Suppliers will be shortlisted based on responses to the PSQ. There will be a maximum of 5 suppliers per lot invited to stage two of the tender.

Anticipated contract start date: March 2026

Contract period: 3 years with the option of extending for an additional 2 years

Contract location: UK with sites in London and Northern Ireland

Additional information included: As part of our pre-tender research we conducted a session presenting outline details of the opportunity to potential tenderers that had previously expressed an interest in working with HRP. Details of this session can be found in the attached documents, including a recording of the presentation and the slide deck

HRP reserves the right not to award a contract. HRP are at liberty to amend / refine the process and the evaluation criteria (subject to advising everyone via another transparency notice)
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-East-Molesey:-Advertising-and-marketing-services./252867J49A

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/252867J49A

Total value (estimated):

GBP 12,000,000 excluding VAT GBP 12,336,000 including VAT

Maximum number of lots a supplier can bid for: 2
Maximum number of lots a supplier can be awarded: 2

Lots

Lot 1 : Lot 1 – Offline Media
Description: The appointed offline media agency will be responsible for the strategic planning, buying, and delivery of offline media campaigns. This includes, but is not limited to, print, out-of-home, radio, and direct mail channels. The agency must demonstrate expertise in audience insight, media channel selection, and cost-efficient buying, with a proven ability to deliver campaigns that maximise reach, engagement, and return on investment. The agency will be required to work collaboratively, providing regular performance reporting, and aligning campaigns with the organisation's brand values, target audiences, and specific campaign objectives.

Technical Proficiency (50-60%)
Priorities and areas of assessment will include (but not be limited to):
Media campaign strategy and planning
Innovation and approach
Insightful campaign evaluation
Service Quality
Research, analysis and media selection skills
Budgeting strategy
Contract management
Reporting
Commercial value and buying power

Social Value (10-20%)
Priorities and areas of assessment will include (but not be limited to):
Sustainability
Carbon Footprint
Value (estimated):
GBP 6,000,000 excluding VAT GBP 6,168,000 including VAT
Contract dates (estimated)
01/03/2026 to 28/02/2029
CPV Classifications:
79340000 - Advertising and marketing services. 79341000 - Advertising services. 79341200 - Advertising management services. 79341400 - Advertising campaign services.
Delivery regions:
UKI LONDON
UK UNITED KINGDOM
UKN NORTHERN IRELAND
UKN0 Northern Ireland

Award criteria:
Quality criterion - Name: Social Value (refer to lot description for further detail) / Weighting: 10
Quality criterion - Name: Technical Proposal (refer to lot description for further detail) / Weighting: 60
Quality criterion - Name: Commercial Proposal / Weighting: 30



Lot 2 : Lot 2 - Digital Media
Description: The appointed digital media agency will be responsible for the strategic planning, buying, and delivery of digital marketing campaigns across key online channels, including display, paid social, paid search, video, programmatic and influencer marketing. The agency must demonstrate expertise in audience segmentation, performance marketing, and data-driven optimisation to maximise reach, engagement, and return on investment. Collaboration will be essential, with the agency expected to provide regular campaign performance reporting, actionable insights, and strategic recommendations aligned with the organisation's brand objectives and digital marketing goals.

Award Criteria:
Technical Proficiency (50-60%)
Priorities and areas of assessment will include (but not be limited to):
Media campaign strategy and planning
Innovation and approach
Insightful campaign evaluation
Service Quality
Research, analysis and media selection skills
Budgeting strategy
Contract management
Reporting
Commercial value and buying power

Social Value (10-20%)
Priorities and areas of assessment will include (but not be limited to):
Sustainability
Carbon Footprint
Value (estimated):
GBP 6,000,000 excluding VAT GBP 6,168,000 including VAT
Contract dates (estimated)
01/03/2026 to 28/02/2029
CPV Classifications:
79340000 - Advertising and marketing services. 79341000 - Advertising services. 79341200 - Advertising management services. 79341400 - Advertising campaign services.
Delivery regions:
UKI LONDON
UK UNITED KINGDOM
UKN NORTHERN IRELAND
UKN0 Northern Ireland

Award criteria:
Quality criterion - Name: Social Value (refer to lot description for further detail) / Weighting: 10
Quality criterion - Name: Technical Proposal (refer to lot description for further detail) / Weighting: 60
Quality criterion - Name: Commercial Proposal / Weighting: 30


   

Submission

Enquiry deadline: 31/03/2025 Time: 17:00
Submission address and any special instructions: www.delta-esourcing.com
An electronic auction will be used: No
Languages that may be used for submission: English, Award decision date (estimated): 31/08/2025

Procedure

Procedure type: Competitive flexible procedure

Contracting authority

       Historic Royal Palaces, PMHC-9885-MMJV
       Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, KT8 9AU, United Kingdom
       Tel. 0044 020 8132 9662, Email: sarah.white@hrp.org.uk
       Contact: Sarah White

Organisation type: BODY_PUBLIC
Devolved regulations that apply: None