Sails of the South Advertising

Portsmouth City Council (The Council) is seeking to procure an advertising solution associated with digital projection advertising at the "Sails of the South" (Tri Sail structure).

The Council has a need to update existing non-digital advertising infrastructure and create digital advertising infrastructure on the M275.

As a dynamic waterfront city at the heart of South Hampshire, Portsmouth attracts visitor numbers of in excess of 12.4 million per year. The Sails of the South are a prominent 43-metre gateway structure located on the M275 at the primary entrance to Portsea Island. Installed in 2001, the landmark reflects Portsmouth's maritime identity and forms a highly visible feature for vehicles entering the city.

The location benefits from significant traffic flow, with approximately 31.4 million vehicle movements per year (c. 86,000 per day), providing a strong advertising proposition in a gateway location.

Historically, the structure has supported projection-based advertising, generating income for the Council. However, the previous system is no longer operational, and PCC is now considering options to reintroduce a modern, flexible, and commercially viable digital advertising solution.

PCC is considering the installation of a modern projection system comprising:

Three high-powered mapping projectors (one per sail)

Capability for multiple adverts to be displayed on rotation

Remote content management, removing the need for on-site intervention

Improved image quality and flexibility compared to previous systems

Operation assumed dusk to dawn (approx. 8 hours per night).

The system would ideally allow both static and potentially animated content (subject to safety considerations due to the highway setting).

The sails provide a large-scale projection surface which functions as a "blank canvas", offering a unique city gateway advertising asset. However, design suitability and safety considerations (e.g. animation levels) will need to be factored into content.

Options

PCC is exploring two potential delivery approaches:

Option A - Council-Owned Model

• PCC funds the purchase and installation of the projection equipment
• PCC markets and sells advertising space.

Option B - Concession / Partnership Model

• An external advertising operator funds, installs, and maintains the projection system. They also assume operational and commercial risk
• PCC receives a share of advertising revenue.

We are interested in hearing from the market on option B.

This engagement is intended to inform PCC's preferred delivery model and procurement approach, and no formal procurement process is being launched at this stage.

We recognise the experience and innovation that suppliers can bring to these services. As such PCC would welcome your organisation's market information, which will be used to support PCC to deliver a high quality specification that meets the needs of both PCC and local business.

A market consultation questionnaire has been published on the InTend procurement portal:

in-tendhost.co.uk/portsmouthcc/aspx/home ↗

Subject to the response PCC may wish to engage with you further in an informal discussion, however this is purely a market consultation and is in no way an indication of the selection of your organisation or a guarantee of future work.

Organisations participating in the market consultation will not have any advantage over organisations who do not participate in this process. Similarly, organisations not participating in the market consultation will not be disadvantaged.