- Id
- 2
- Rationale
- Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire: 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.
- Description
- 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.