Euro-tender results in lucky 14 listed on UK Trade & Investment roster

DESIGN WEEK - 09 June 2005

Government body UK Trade & Investment has appointed 14 consultancies to its first design roster, after a Europe-wide competitive tender process which began in autumn 2004.

The Design and Related Print Services Roster will feed the organisation’s design requirements in areas including print, multimedia, brand photography, advertising, copywriting and creative development research.  The framework agreement runs for four years.

Consultancies were invited to tender to for one of two lots, full service agencies or small contracts, the latter covering design for print.  Inclusion on the full service list required experience across a wide range of marketing communications, including large corporate projects.  Six consultancies were selected for this category, with a further eight groups chosen in the design for print category.

Following the creation of UK Trade & Investment in October 2003 by the merger of Trade Partners UK and Invest UK, the enlarged body moved to create its own list of design groups and advertised the contract in the Official Journal of the European Union.  Previously, the two organisations had both used the Government’s Central Office of Information roster for design procurement.

‘The rationale for the OJEU advertisement was that, until UK Trade & Investment was created, there had been two separate, smaller organisations.  Afterwards, we needed to bring together a list of groups that we could draw on more quickly and easily,’ says a spokesman for the department.

The selection process was overseen by Olivia Reed, UK Trade & Investment Head of Marketing Services for trade development, in consultation with COI Communications.

Under the framework agreement, groups on the roster are not guaranteed specific project work, but will be selected to pitch for wok as it emerges.  The roster will be used for all of UK Trade & Investment’s communications, across both trade and investment sectors.

UK Trade & Investment Design and Related Print Services Roster: Full Service – Appetite, Brahm, Carlson Marketing Group, Rufus Leonard, Navyblue, The Team.  Design for Print – Acumen Design, Aqueduct, Crest Communications, N1 Creative, Pogo, Red Stone, Stairway Communications, Whitehouse Mainwaring

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