WIREDGOV

The Central Office of Information (COI) has announced that it will create a centralised media buying framework, meaning that one company will handle all of its media buying.

To date, COI has tendered its media buying contracts by medium. These arrangements are set to expire in March 2010.

Full integration across media platforms and channels is expected to deliver a number of benefits for both COI and its government and public sector clients.

As the media landscape is transforming, pulling all COI spend together - digital, mainstream and sponsorship - will deliver increased efficiencies both within and across channels, including further savings on media costs.

It will also lead to even more effective campaigns as COI embraces new and emerging opportunities into its solutions. Plus, a more streamlined administrative process and more efficient gathering of data will speed up the evaluation process.

Peter Buchanan, COI Deputy Chief Executive said:

"Our media buying performance has been outstanding with nine years of continuous improvement and very impressive results compared to the Billett's pool. The support we have received from our clients has been a key factor in this success.

“However, the market is changing with the integration of on and offline, multi channel media ownership and deeper partnerships with media owners. COI needs to maintain a market leading position and continue to deliver the very best prices for all our clients.”

COI’s decision to create one single supplier framework forms part of its ongoing ‘Agenda for Integration’ announced last April following an independent review of its media buying systems by RAB (Radio Advertising Bureau) founder and media industry expert, Douglas McArthur OBE.

The review, which captured a wide range of industry opinion from media owners, agencies and other government departments, recognised that media buying does not exist in isolation, but needs to be defined within a wider planning system and a much more inter-related and interactive ‘media ecology’ that delivers effective integrated solutions.

All suppliers interested in applying for the contract should register at coi.bravosolution.co.uk and complete the pre-qualification questionnaire by 25 September 2009.

COI welcomes applications from consortia and holding companies as well as individual organisations.

Questions about the contract can be sent via the messaging tool on the website, and questions and answers relevant to all applicants will be published online. Suppliers should not telephone queries to COI direct.

Notes to Editors

• COI currently has six media buying contracts covering Cinema, Interactive/Online media. Outdoor, Press, Radio and TV. For a full list of the incumbent agencies.

• COI was one of the first advertisers to introduce centralised buying. Currently around 95% of its media buying is centralised. The remainder relates to specialist areas of recruitment and statutory notice advertising handled by agencies on its recruitment-advertising framework.

• The latest COI annual report and accounts shows that government departments and public sector bodies spent a total of £211m on media and £40m on online advertising during 2008/9.

Please contact Rhona de la Mer or Tracey Cobbett or COI on 020 7261 8306 or 8763 to arrange an interview or ask further questions.

Contacts:

COI Press Office.
prenquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk