Contract notice – utilities
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Thames Water Utilities Limited
Procurement Support Centre - 3rd Floor East, C/O Mail Room, Rose Kiln Court
Reading
RG2 0BY
UK
E-mail: procurement.support.centre@thameswater.co.uk
NUTS: UKJ11
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.thameswater.co.uk
I.3) Communication
Access to the procurement documents is restricted. Further information can be obtained at:
https://www.thameswater.co.uk/procurement
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically to:
https://www.thameswater.co.uk/procurement
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to the abovementioned address
I.6) Main activity
Water
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Creative Agency
Reference number: FA1382
II.1.2) Main CPV code
79340000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Thames Water Utilities Limited (TWUL) are looking to award a longer term Framework Agreement(s) to a supplier(s) who can provide effective, creative and innovative content for our campaigns and branding requirements that is in line with our brand, values and ethos.
We have grouped our requirements into 2 lots:
— Lot 1: Creative Agency — create customer perception and behaviour change campaigns,
— Lot 2: Brand Agency — implement our refreshed brand throughout Thames Water; increase awareness of the Thames Water brand to customers of all ages.
Thames Water’s programme of work over the period of the Framework Agreement is expected to include:
— brand strategy development,
— brand development and implementation,
— brand engagement planning and implementation,
— perception change/awareness campaigns,
— behaviour change campaigns,
— content and asset development,
— design support,
— copy writing support.
II.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT:
5 000 000.00
GBP
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
Yes
Tenders may be submitted for all lots
The contracting authority reserves the right to award contracts combining the following lots or groups of lots:
We reserve the right to combine both lots into a single contract depending on the responses received to the Contract Notice.
II.2) Description
Lot No: 1
II.2.1) Title
Creative Agency
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79341000
79341400
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKI
UKJ
Main site or place of performance:
Whole of Thames Water region
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 1: Creative Agency.
The successful agency needs to be innovative and creative on a tight budget. We want a proactive agency that will provide concepts and creative that will cut through on a limited media spend. Our media plans include OOH, VOD, Radio, Display, Experiential, Print and YouTube/Social and TV.
Overseeing the brand through campaign activity to ensure consistency, impact and recognition will be an important part of the job.
A collaborative approach is essential. It is really important that we have a strong partnership with our agency and have good visibility and relationships with the full team but especially with the Account Manager. The expectation is that the agency is an extension of the team and we would like to see our main contacts on a weekly basis. We need strong project management to retain focus and pace.
We want the agency to challenge our thinking and stimulate discussion on how we work to help us develop. Providing support on our marketing strategy and planning will be expected.
The brand and marketing team have an appetite to be more creative and make a real difference in how Thames Water is perceived, which will mean taking risks with the approach. The team is keen to learn and engage and would like to test and learn new ideas and ultimately be disruptive.
The preferred agency will be expected to create perception change campaigns and behaviour change campaigns. The creative needs to be cohesive, aligned and show Thames Water as one strong entity.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
II.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT:
2 500 000.00
GBP
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months: 60
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 2 years with options to extend up to a maximum duration of 5 years.
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
Yes
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 2 years with options to extend up to a maximum duration of 5 years.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Lot No: 2
II.2.1) Title
Brand Agency
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79341000
79340000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKI
UKJ
Main site or place of performance:
Whole of Thames Water region
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 2: Brand Agency.
We’ve recently developed our brand purpose, supporting principles and “verbal strategy” – built on customer insight and an understanding of how we can play a relevant and meaningful role in the lives of our customers. Our purpose is to “Build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet, because without water there is no future.” Our task now is to bring this to life for our customers through all our touch points and by creating experiences that our customers remember for the right reasons.
This is no small task, as Thames Water historically has not been a brand-led organisation, and we still have a lot of work to do to help people understand the importance and value of the brand, before we can get everyone to consistently deliver the brand.
Our plan needs to include:
— changing perceptions: we have some strong insight around the brand perceptions we need to change/influence to boost our NPS, including value for money, leakage and water quality,
— telling our story: We do great things every day, but people don’t know anything about it. We have some strong stories to tell – particularly in terms of education, so we need a clear plan and positioning
— engaging our customers – in 2018 we have done some great work to promote our water quality and help reduce plastic waste, including our travelling tap water bar. We have much more ambitious plans going forward, including our multi-million pound project to install water fountains across our region,
— owned channels – how do we best utilise our own channels and capitalise on our customer interactions to build our brand (for example when a customer moves into our region – how do we give them a fitting welcome that puts us top of mind for the right reasons)
— leveraging our partners: We’ve invested hundreds of thousands of pounds with charities and attractions through our corporate responsibility team, however there is not a clear enough brand association or benefit with our existing partnerships. We need to do a full review and establish which partners will bring us the greatest benefit measured by NPS,
— Support the wider business (particularly marketing, press office and digital) with clear themes and tools to bring our brand to life and tell our story.
Our task is to bring this all together under our brand purpose with a clear strategy that the business can get behind. We need to prioritise our brand activity and expenditure in support of our objectives.
Brand identity.
Following a brand identity refresh in 2015 which touched everything from our company logo to our livery, an additional “identity” project is under way to evolve this further to overcome some limitations – particularly around illustration and photography, and also to evolve our tone of voice. This is due for completion by February 2019. Longer-term we are looking for an agency that will help implement the brand throughout Thames Water - providing toolkits and training to make every single employee a brand advocate who can talk knowledgeably and passionately about the Thames Water brand. We will also need to continually evolve the brand as required.
We have a small in-house team so we will also require design support.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
II.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT:
2 500 000.00
GBP
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months: 60
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 2 years with options to extend up to a maximum duration of 5 years.
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
Yes
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
Thames Water envisages that the contract will be awarded for an initial term of 2 years with options to extend up to a maximum duration of 5 years.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions for participation
III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
List and brief description of conditions:
As detailed in the PQQ.
III.1.2) Economic and financial standing
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
III.1.3) Technical and professional ability
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
III.1.4) Objective rules and criteria for participation
As detailed in the PQQ Documentation.
III.1.6) Deposits and guarantees required:
Bonds and -or parent company guarantees of performance and financial standing may be required.
III.1.7) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
Specified in the ITN Document.
III.1.8) Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
Consortia may be required to form a legal entity prior to award.
III.2) Conditions related to the contract
III.2.2) Contract performance conditions
As detailed in the ITN.
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated with call for competition
IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement with several operators.
Envisaged maximum number of participants to the framework agreement: 2
IV.1.4) Information about reduction of the number of solutions or tenders during negotiation or dialogue
Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
20/12/2018
Local time: 12:00
IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
EN
IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Duration in months: 9 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement:
Yes
Estimated timing for further notices to be published:
Between 2 and 5 years.
VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic ordering will be used
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
VI.3) Additional information
All suppliers who wish to respond to this notice must request a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) by using the link in Section I.3 of this notice, i.e. https://www.thameswater.co.uk/procurement
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
Reading
UK
VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
Thames Water Utilities Ltd will incorporate a standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. The standstill period, which will be for a minimum of 10 calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
Thames Water Utilities Ltd
Reading
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
05/12/2018