Official UK procurement notice
Framework Agreement for the Provision of Marketing and Communications Services
Authority: Belfast City Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionBelfast City Council's Marketing and Communications Department requires a renewed Marketing and Communications Framework, which will be put out to tender later this year.
The new Framework will be multi-supplier and will cover the following indicative areas:
- Strategic Brand Services
- Design, Copy Writing, and Content Services
- Advertising and Media
The pre-market engagement session will give a brief overview of the new Framework, including further details regarding the above areas of work and potential requirements. It will also give a brief overview of the procurement process including an indicative timeline.
Please note the above three areas are provided for guidance purposes only and may be amended, updated, or revised as necessary.
CPV: Advertising and marketing services · Advertising campaign services · Advertising management services · Advertising services · Graphic design services · Marketing management consultancy services · Marketing services · Writing agency services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 1 yr 11 mo · up to 3 yrs 11 mo from 1 Apr 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- “Framework Agreement for the Provision of Marketing and Communications…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Belfast City Council buys Advertising and marketing services (CPV 7934), and who usually turns up
Belfast City Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Advertising and marketing services (CPV 7934) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 42 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid35% / 2%
2–335% / 9%
4–612% / 28%
7+19% / 62%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Our matching links this notice to “Framework Agreement for the Provision of Marketing Services for the Marketing and Corporate Communications Business Area of Belfast City Council” and “Framework Agreement for the Provision of External Support Services for the Delivery of the Belfast City & Region Place Partnership (BCRPP)” of this authority, but none of the 9 panel members sit in a category matching this notice.
Lot #1CPV 9231Published estimate£5.0m
This lot is listed as CPV 9231. The table above uses the notice category.
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 48 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid13%
2–317%
4–623%
7+48%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardmore advertising and Marketing LTDEarlier contract | Framework Agreement for the Provision of Marketing Services for the Marketing and Corporate Communications Business Area of Belfast City Councilnotice published Oct 2022 | Advertising and Media | — | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Krow GroupEarlier contract | Framework Agreement for the Provision of Marketing Services for the Marketing and Corporate Communications Business Area of Belfast City Councilnotice published Oct 2022 | Advertising and Media | — | Matched as the earlier contract |
| ASGEarlier contract | Framework Agreement for the Provision of Marketing Services for the Marketing and Corporate Communications Business Area of Belfast City Councilnotice published Oct 2022 | Advertising and Media | — | Matched as the earlier contract |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
67% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
67% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (67% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Framework Agreement for the Provision of Marketing Services for the Marketing and Corporate Communications Business Area of Belfast City Council, winner not published; no contract end date published.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 10 Sept 2026, 11:46 BST
- Last source update
- 10 Sept 2026, 11:46 BST
- Authority reference
T2762- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-085806- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f6a2Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
10 Sept 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published48 days ago10 Sept 2026, 11:46 BST
- Market engagement22 days ago5 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
The purpose of this Pre Market Engagement Notice is to notify the market of Belfast City Council’s intention to hold a pre-market engagement session with interested parties to inform them of a new Marketing Services Framework which will be put out to tender later this year.
The Council will be holding a consultation session on Wednesday 7th October 2026 at 10.30am. The consultation session will be a short presentation on MS Teams, and representatives from the Councils Marketing and Communications Team and Procurement Team will be present.
If you are interested in attending the consultation session, please send an expression of interest email to cps@belfastcity.gov.uk (FAO Rachel Crothers) by 5pm Monday 5th October 2026. Please provide your name, your Company's Name and an email address.
Please be advised that a maximum of 2 individuals from each Company will be permitted to attend.
- Today28 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 154 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Sept 2026, 11:46 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender