Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Directive 2014/24/EU
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Tourism Northern Ireland
Linum Chambers, Bedford Square
BELFAST
BT2 7ES
UK
E-mail: SSDAdmin.CPD@finance-ni.gov.uk
NUTS: UKN
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.tourismni.com/
Address of the buyer profile: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
ID 2342618 DfE TNI - Advertising and Marketing Services
Reference number: ID 2342618
II.1.2) Main CPV code
79340000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Following a competition advertised in the Official Journal of the EU on 29/09/2019 the Department for the Economy Tourism NI entered into a contract for the supply and delivery of its marketing and associated services, but due to the impact of Covid-19 the level of support required by the tourism industry has been unprecedented and unforeseen at the time of securing the contract. This contract has 8 months remaining on the initial contract period, with 3 x 12 month options to extend. Therefore, Tourism NI requires a variation to the value of the contract to avoid an imminent change in supplier which would incur substantial inconvenience/duplication of cost, and to ensure continuity of service to cover until 16/02/2024. This will allow sufficient time to retender the contract. Tourism NI wishes to increase the value of the contract by £10,500,000 ex VAT (50% of the original contract value), to cover requirements until 16/02/2024.
Tourism NI is relying on the Regulation 72(1)(c) provision as the need for change could not have been foreseen by a “diligent” Department, the changes do not affect the overall nature of the contract or exceed 50% of the value of the original contract value. Covid-19 could not have been predicted; therefore, these increased requirements could not have been foreseen or accounted for when estimating the contract value at the time of tender. The services provided through the contract will remain in line with those specified at the time of going to tender. The proposed change to the estimated contract value does not exceed this threshold.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
Yes
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
21 000 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
Lot No: 1
II.2.1) Title
Strategic and Lead Creative Agency
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79341200
79341400
79340000
79341000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Tourism Northern Ireland wishes to appoint a Contractor or Contractors for the supply and delivery of its marketing and associated services. These requirements have been split into 4 Lots as detailed below. Whilst no spend is guaranteed against any of the Lots, the anticipated value of each Lot over the lifetime of the contract is detailed below. Lot 1: Strategic and Lead Creative Agency with an estimated contract value of £4m Lot 2: Online Media Services with an estimated contract value of £3m Lot 3: Offline Media Services with an estimated contract value of £6m Lot 4: Design, Marketing and Content Services with an estimated contract value of £8m.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: AC1 Contract Management
/ Weighting: 8
Quality criterion: AC2 Business Continuity
/ Weighting: 8
Quality criterion: AC3 Presentation of Marketing Strategy
/ Weighting: 64
Cost criterion: AC4 Average Hourly Rate
/ Weighting: 20
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
3 options to extend for periods of 1 year each
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
Online Media Services
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79341200
79341400
79340000
79341000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Tourism Northern Ireland wishes to appoint a Contractor or Contractors for the supply and
delivery of its marketing and associated services. These requirements have been split into 4 Lots as detailed below. Whilst no spend is guaranteed against any of the Lots, the anticipated value of each Lot over the lifetime of the contract is detailed below. Lot 1: Strategic and Lead Creative Agency with an estimated contract value of £4m Lot 2: Online Media Services with an estimated contract value of £3m Lot 3: Offline Media Services with an estimated contract value of £6m Lot 4: Design, Marketing and Content Services with an estimated contract value of £8m.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: AC1 Digital Marketing Strategy
/ Weighting: 64
Quality criterion: AC2 Contract Management
/ Weighting: 8
Quality criterion: AC3 Business Continuity
/ Weighting: 8
Cost criterion: AC4 Average Hourly Rate
/ Weighting: 20
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
3 options to extend for periods of 1 year each
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: 3
II.2.1) Title
Offline Media Services
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79341200
79341400
79340000
79341000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Tourism Northern Ireland wishes to appoint a Contractor or Contractors for the supply and
delivery of its marketing and associated services. These requirements have been split into 4 Lots as detailed below. Whilst no spend is guaranteed against any of the Lots, the anticipated value of each Lot over the lifetime of the contract is detailed below. Lot 1: Strategic and Lead Creative Agency with an estimated contract value of £4m Lot 2: Online Media Services with an estimated contract value of £3m Lot 3: Offline Media Services with an estimated contract value of £6m Lot 4: Design, Marketing and Content Services with an estimated contract value of £8m.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: AC1 Offline Media Strategy
/ Weighting: 48
Quality criterion: AC2 Audience led
/ Weighting: 16
Quality criterion: AC3 Contract Management
/ Weighting: 8
Quality criterion: AC4 Business Continuity
/ Weighting: 8
Cost criterion: AC5 Media Commission Rebate
/ Weighting: 10
Cost criterion: AC6 Average Hourly Rate
/ Weighting: 10
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
3 options to extend for periods of 1 year each
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: 4
II.2.1) Title
Design, Marketing and Content Services
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79341200
79341400
79340000
79341000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Tourism Northern Ireland wishes to appoint a Contractor or Contractors for the supply and
delivery of its marketing and associated services. These requirements have been split into 4 Lots as detailed below. Whilst no spend is guaranteed against any of the Lots, the anticipated value of each Lot over the lifetime of the contract is detailed below. Lot 1: Strategic and Lead Creative Agency with an estimated contract value of £4m Lot 2: Online Media Services with an estimated contract value of £3m Lot 3: Offline Media Services with an estimated contract value of £6m Lot 4: Design, Marketing and Content Services with an estimated contract value of £8m.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: AC1 Content Commissioning
/ Weighting: 64
Quality criterion: AC2 Contract Management
/ Weighting: 8
Quality criterion: AC3 Business Continuity
/ Weighting: 8
Cost criterion: AC4 Hourly Rates
/ Weighting: 20
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
3 options to extend for periods of 1 year each
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 IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition
Justification for selected award procedure:
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive
Explanation:
Regulation 72(1)(c) provision as the need for change could not have been foreseen by a “diligent” Department, the changes do not affect the overall nature of the contract or exceed 50% of the value of the original contract value. Covid-19 could not have been predicted; therefore, these increased requirements could not have been foreseen or accounted for when estimating the contract value at the time of tender. The services provided through the contract will remain in line with those specified at the time of going to tender. The proposed change to the estimated contract value does not exceed this threshold.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2020/S 040-095930
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Lot No: 1
Contract No: 1
Title: Strategic and Lead Creative Agency
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
20/02/2020
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
TRAMWAY INVESTMENT HOLDINGS LIMITED
17 Gilford Road
Dublin
4
IE
Telephone: +44 12060600
E-mail: susanmcentegart@bbdo.ie
NUTS: IE
Internet address(es)
URL: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot/concession: 4 000 000.00 GBP
Total value of the concession/lot:
6 000 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Lot No: 2
Contract No: 2
Title: Online Media Services
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
20/02/2020
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
LOUD MOUTH MEDIA LTD
Thomas House 14 -16 James Street South
Belfast
BT2 7GA
UK
Telephone: +44 2890997001
E-mail: mark@loudmouth-media.com
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
URL: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot/concession: 3 000 000.00 GBP
Total value of the concession/lot:
4 500 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Lot No: 3
Contract No: 3
Title: Offline Media Services
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
20/02/2020
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
MAMMOTH DESIGN CONSULTANTS LTD
84-94 Great Patrick Street
Belfast
BT1 2LU
UK
Telephone: +44 2890240250
E-mail: sara.magee@mammoth.com
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
URL: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot/concession: 6 000 000.00 GBP
Total value of the concession/lot:
9 000 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Lot No: 4
Contract No: 4
Title: Design, Marketing and Content Services
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
20/02/2020
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
TRAMWAY INVESTMENT HOLDINGS LIMITED
17 Gilford Road
Dublin
4
IE
Telephone: +44 12060600
E-mail: susanmcentegart@bbdo.ie
NUTS: IE
Internet address(es)
URL: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot/concession: 8 000 000.00 GBP
Total value of the concession/lot:
12 000 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
The successful contractor’s performance on the contract will be regularly monitored in line with PGN 01/12. Contractors not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in CPD for further action. If this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a Certificate of Unsatisfactory Performance and the contract may be terminated. The issue of a Certificate of Unsatisfactory Performance will result in the contractor being excluded from all procurement competitions being undertaken by Centres of Procurement Expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement Policy for a period of twelve months from the date of issue of the certificate.
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR 2015 as amended.
Belfast
UK
VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
CPD complied with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) and incorporated a standstill period (i.e. a minimum of 10 calendar days) at the point information on the award of contract was communicated to tenderers. That notification provided full information on the award decision. This provided time for the unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract was entered into.
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
13/01/2022