Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK76AA
Contact
Clare Fitzhugh
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKJ12 - Milton Keynes
Charity Commission (England and Wales)
RC000391
Internet address(es)
Main address
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Media Services/CPN/PRO/2022
Reference number
OUPA10798
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 79340000 - Advertising and marketing services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKJ12 - Milton Keynes
two.2.4) Description of the procurement at the time of conclusion of the contract:
The Open University (The OU) has tendered for the provision of media services, to include media strategy, domestic and international media planning and buying, econometric, modelling, campaign optimisation, media partnerships and other media deliverables.
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Duration in months
48
Section four. Procedure
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Contract award notice concerning this contract
Notice number: 2023/S 000-002413
Section five. Award of contract/concession
Contract No
1
Title
Media Services/CPN/PRO/2022
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:
26 January 2023
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract/concession has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
OMD Group Limited
Bankside 3, 90-100 Southwark Street
London
SE1 0SW
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKI - London
Companies House
02078820
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (at the time of conclusion of the contract;excluding VAT)
Total value of the procurement: £70,000,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The Open University
Milton Keynes
Country
United Kingdom
Section seven: Modifications to the contract/concession
seven.1) Description of the procurement after the modifications
seven.1.1) Main CPV code
- 79340000 - Advertising and marketing services
seven.1.3) Place of performance
NUTS code
- UKJ12 - Milton Keynes
seven.1.4) Description of the procurement:
This procurement included the following services:-
Media strategy, planning and buying - all online and offline channels. Econometrics modelling Campaign optimisation
seven.1.5) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Duration in months
60
seven.1.6) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession:
£82,500,000
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
OMD Group Ltd
Bankside 3, 90-100 Southwark Street
London
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKI - London
Companies House
02078820
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
seven.2) Information about modifications
seven.2.1) Description of the modifications
Nature and extent of the modifications (with indication of possible earlier changes to the contract):
The OU is extending the the agreement with OMD for a further 12 months, 1st February 2027 to 31st January 2028, taking the contract length to 60 months in total. This extension provides the stability required while the new University- wide strategy across 4 Nations is developed and embedded. This allows the emerging martech capabilities to be fully realised and avoids operational disruption and unnecessary expenditure. Maintaining the current partnership during this transitional period is therefore the most efficient, proportionate, and strategically aligned option for the University.
seven.2.2) Reasons for modification
Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire.
Description of the economic or technical reasons and the inconvenience or duplication of cost preventing a change of contractor:
The Open University (OU) has partnered with OMD for the past three years to deliver media and marketing technology (martech) services that directly enable the University's marketing strategy across the 4 Nations and the continued development of our digital capabilities. Over this time, OMD has played a central role in designing and implementing a scalable martech ecosystem that supports multi-channel intelligence, deeper personalisation, enhanced automation, AI-readiness, and data-driven optimisation across campaign activity. Innovation and growth are being supported by a few flagship strategic partnerships under Omincom Media Group and tools and platforms including Salesforce.
During this period, the higher education sector has undergone significant market change, characterised by increasing competition, shifting learner behaviours, and a rapidly evolving media environment. The emergence of AI-first search, zero-click consumer journeys, and heightened expectations around tailored digital experiences are reshaping the advertising and martech landscape at pace. Continued progress in this environment requires accelerating innovation through expanded AI-driven capabilities, greater personalisation at scale, and further advancements in automation, integration, and measurement. To avoid disruption to our commercial performance, it is essential that momentum behind the OU's marketing and technology strategy is maintained.
OMD's work has been integral to building the OU's current capabilities, ensuring that our martech infrastructure is aligned to sector trends and positioned for future innovation. The OU is now in the process of developing a new University-wide strategy, scheduled for launch in 2026. Initiating a full re-tender at this stage would be premature, as any specification developed now would need to be reworked once the strategic workstreams are finalised. Proceeding with a procurement exercise before the strategic direction is settled would risk duplication of effort, additional cost, delays to the digital transformation roadmap, and the potential misalignment of martech requirements with long-term institutional objectives.
Transitioning to a new supplier at this point would also introduce significant operational disruption. The martech and media ecosystem established with OMD includes complex, interdependent components that would require reimplementation, retraining, and extensive knowledge transfer. Such disruption would jeopardise continuity across critical student recruitment and engagement activity and could negatively affect performance during a highly competitive period.
seven.2.3) Increase in price
Updated total contract value before the modifications (taking into account possible earlier contract modifications, price adaptions and average inflation)
Value excluding VAT: £70,000,000
Total contract value after the modifications
Value excluding VAT: £82,500,000