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Part of Media buying agency RFP template UK: sections to include and ask
Media buying agency RFP template UK: sections to include and ask
A media buying agency RFP template for UK buyers: the sections to include, the questions to ask, and the evidence to demand from every bidder.
What to take away
- A media buying agency RFP is a scored procurement document, not a description of your brand.
- Six sections carry the weightbackground, scope and channels, budget and fees, data protection, measurement, and commercial terms.
- Send a response template with the questions, so bids arrive in the same order and compare line by line.
- Demand named staff, a worked cost example in pounds, and media owner contacts you can check.
Write the decision before the background
Decide what you are choosing between before you describe the business. Renewing an incumbent, moving buying in-house and appointing an agency for the first time are three different tenders with three different risk profiles. The scoring grid should follow from that decision, not from the shape of the last pitch you sat through.
Set pitch gates early and record who cleared them. A written note of why a bidder advanced protects the appointment if a losing agency asks questions later. The media agency selection checklist sets out those gates and the appointment record.
Sections every media buying agency RFP should carry
| Section | What it must state | Evidence to request |
|---|---|---|
| Background and objectives | Category, trading season, previous spend and what has changed | Two years of channel spend and the results claimed |
| Scope and channels | Channels in scope, channels excluded, who plans and who buys | Channel roles, media owner contacts, trading desk described |
| Budget and fees | Total media budget, fee basis, technology costs, VAT treatment | A worked example with pound figures and a full-year fee |
| Data protection | Lawful basis, data map, processors, retention and deletion | Completed data schedule and a sub-processor list |
| Measurement and reporting | Metrics, dashboard, access rights, audit trail | Sample report, attribution method, raw data access |
| Commercial terms | Term, notice period, benchmarking, exit and handover | Standard terms plus every proposed change marked |
Keep the budget row honest. State the media budget, the fee and the technology line separately, because one blended percentage hides which part moves when spend changes. A bidder who cannot complete the worked example rarely improves it after appointment.
Sections every media RFP needs
- Background and objectivesspend and changes
- Scope and channelswho plans and buys
- Budget and feesmedia, fee, tech separate
- Data protectionlawful basis and processors
- Measurement and reportingdashboard and audit trail
- Commercial termsterm, notice, exit, handover
What to put in the response template
Give bidders a response template with numbered answers matching your questions. Anything asked outside the template should be copied into it, so the evaluation pack is complete. This also stops agencies from burying an important caveat in a covering email, where a scoring panel will not see it.
Include the scoring weights in the template, not just the questions. Bidders who know that exit terms carry a stated weighting will answer that section properly rather than leaving it to the legal annex.
Questions that separate a bid from a pitch
- Who is named on our account, and how much of their week do we get?
- Which media owner contacts will trade our campaign, and are those terms disclosed?
- Where does our money sit between the media owner invoice and our payment?
- Which technology sits behind the buy, who holds that contract, and what is the fee?
- What happens to our accounts and data on the day after notice is served?
Send the same questions to every bidder, in the same order, with a word limit for each answer. Long submissions reward the agency with the biggest new business team rather than the best trading desk. Where bids come back in different shapes, the method for comparing agency proposals lines them up by scope rather than by presentation.
Five questions that separate bids
- Who is named on our account?
- Which media owner contacts will trade?
- Where does our money sit?
- Which technology sits behind the buy?
- What happens after notice is served?
Data, payment and competition rules
Put data protection in a schedule, not a paragraph. It should name the lawful basis for each processing activity, list sub-processors, set retention and deletion rules, and describe how audience data moves between platforms. The ICO UK GDPR guidance hub is the reference bidders should answer against.
Data, payment and competition rules
- Data schedulelawful basis and sub-processors
- Retention and deletion rules stated
- Paymenthow fast media invoices settle
- Early payment discounts handled
- No-collusion warning in instructions
Payment terms need their own question. The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 introduced reporting on payment practices, so ask how quickly the agency settles media owner invoices and how it handles early payment discounts.
Add a no-collusion warning to the instructions. Agencies that share pricing, agree who bids or discuss a cover price create a competition problem, and the Competition and Markets Authority publishes guidance on bid rigging and can investigate cartels. Say plainly that each bid must be prepared independently.
Weights and timetable
Set the weights before bids arrive. In a buying-only brief, trading capability and measurement transparency carry more risk than creative thinking does. Publish the timetable with the RFP, giving a closing date and a notification date for every bidder, including those you reject.
Common questions
How long should a media buying agency tender take?
Four to eight weeks from issuing the RFP to notifying bidders is realistic for a mid-sized UK advertiser. Most of that time goes on clarifications and checking evidence, not on the pitch.
Do we need a formal RFP for a small media budget?
Yes, but shorter. Three pages covering the same six sections, plus one working session, protects a five-figure budget as well as a seven-figure one.
What belongs in the data schedule?
Every processing activity and its lawful basis, the systems involved, the sub-processors, retention periods and the deletion method. Marketing and legal should both sign it off.
Should we show bidders the incumbent's fees?
Only if you are content to discuss them with every bidder. Otherwise give a budget range and ask for fee mechanics rather than a headline percentage.
