Key information
Executive summary
The GLA seeks to keep Londoners informed and engaged in the work of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly, but 2015 research showed that only 26% of Londoners report being adequately informed by the Mayor and Assembly about the work they are doing for Londoners, down from a third in 2014.
A centralised marketing, planning and budgeting process will allow the GLA to effectively plan resource requirements and communicate the work and priorities of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly in a more integrated, cost effective way, with much greater impact.
A centralised marketing budget will support ambitions to engage in a better dialogue with Londoners and ensure that the GLA is responsive to their needs. It will also result in cost savings for the organisation by bulk-buying media and investing in longer term media and digital partnerships.
Decision
That the Mayor of London:
• approves expenditure of up to £1 million on services and tools required to deliver effective marketing and engagement campaigns for the Greater London Authority.
• delegates the decision on whether to allocate paid-for advertising to a campaign and the proportion of funding to be allocated to each campaign to the Assistant Director, External Relations in consultation with the Mayoral Director for External & International Affairs.
Part 1: Non-confidential facts and advice
1.1 The GLA Marketing, Creative and Digital teams are responsible for promoting the work and priorities of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The team works alongside all departments in the organisation that require marketing support, providing an expert consultation service as well as campaign management as required.
1.2 The GLA seeks to keep Londoners informed about and engaged in the work of the Mayor and the London Assembly. This includes making Londoners aware of the Mayor’s formal responsibilities so that they may respond to statutory consultations or attend statutory events, and also making them aware of wider opportunities which stem from the Mayor’s work, which could include cultural events, programmes or services such as volunteering, or apprenticeships. 2015 market research conducted by GLA showed that only 26% of people report being adequately being informed by the Mayor and the Assembly about their work, down from a third in 2014.
1.3 The ambition is to engage in a better dialogue with Londoners and to ensure that the GLA is responsive to their needs. Implementing a centralised planning and budgeting process will enable the Marketing team to communicate with impact and deliver more effective engagement opportunities that promote the work of the Mayor of London and London Assembly in a more integrated, strategic and impactful way.
1.4 Centralising the marketing budget and planning process will also help to save money for London by finding economies of scale through bulk-buying media and securing longer term more cost-effective media and digital partnerships.
1.5 This budget will be used to promote the policies, programmes, events and statutory activities of the Mayor of London and London Assembly. This would cover relevant advertising, digital, print and production costs, as well as research and content production. The marketing budget would fund relevant tools, research and assets that enable the team to communicate the work and priorities of the Mayor of London and London Assembly, and allow Londoners to better understand and engage with the work of City Hall.
1.6 This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
o Media buying including print and online advertising space
o Printing, racking and production costs associated with utilising TfL advertising space
o Social media advertising and paid search
o Media agency auditing and strategy fees
o User research and testing
o Social content production
o Live video production tools
o Development of email marketing capacity, including tools and training
o Creative freelancer requirements
1.7 The decision on whether to allocate paid-for advertising to a campaign and the proportion of funding to be allocated to each campaign will be made by the Assistant Director, External Relations in consultation with the Mayoral Director for External & International Affairs. Each allocation will be determined on a case-by-case basis dependent on the campaign objectives.
2.1 A centralised marketing budget will result in the following:
o Strategic, annual planning and a co-ordinated view of how the GLA communicates to Londoners
o Reduced duplication and streamlined messaging i.e. mitigate the risk of communicating to the same audience in an uncoordinated way
o Full accountability and transparency over marketing communications spend
o Better value for money for Londoners
o More efficient and effective use of the GLA’s gifted ‘on-system’ inventory from TfL - approx. value £2.2m per annum
2.2 This in turn will enable the GLA to meet the Mayoral strategies and business priorities below:
o An increase in awareness of the work the Mayor and the GLA are doing on behalf of Londoners
o An increase in understanding and participation in key projects and events
o Open up the ability for Londoners to access and influence London government
3.1 Due regard will be had to the GLA’s obligations under the public sector equality duty in relation to the procurement and commissioning of the activities described above. The GLA will ensure that participants are sourced through a range of networks, organisations and communities and that all communications are designed to be as accessible as possible.
3.2 The construction of all GLA marketing campaigns take into consideration the audience which the campaign is aimed at. In every case, materials are assessed to ensure they are fully accessible and in line with the public sector equality duty.
a) key risks and issues
4.1 A centralised Marketing budget will enable the GLA to produce the most coherent and cost effective marketing communications. If the GLA did not proceed with a centralised Marketing budget, there is a risk that it would fall behind in how it communicates with Londoners, as well as miss out on cost savings. New developments in social media and other digital channels provide cost-effective ways of reaching and engaging tens of thousands or millions of Londoners – but investment is needed in order to take advantage of these opportunities. Failure to do this could lead to a decline in those who are informed about the work of the Mayor of London and London Assembly. As a result, the strategic aims of keeping Londoners aware of the work of the Mayor of London and London Assembly would not be met.
b) links to Mayoral strategies and priorities
4.2 This work is linked directly to the GLA’s core business objectives to:
o Raise awareness about the work of the Mayor and GLA
o Increase understanding and participation in key projects and events
o Open up the ability for Londoners to access and influence London government
5.1 As part of the 2017-18 budget process, a budget provision of £1m has been allocated for the proposed Centralised Marketing budget in order to effectively deliver marketing and engagement campaigns for the GLA. The budget will be held within the External Affairs Directorate, who will be responsible for the delivery of the GLA marketing campaigns and the associated expenditure during the 2017-18 financial-year.
6.1 The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the marketing budget proposals in respect of which the Mayor’s approval is sought may be considered to fall within the GLA’s powers to do such things as are facilitative of or conducive to the fulfilment of its principal purposes, namely, promoting economic development and wealth creation, social development, and the improvement of the environment, all in Greater London.
6.2 Officers must ensure that any services or supplies required are procured by Transport for London Procurement, who will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code, and that appropriate contract documentation is put in place and executed by the GLA and providers before the commencement of any such supplies or services.
6.3 In carrying out any marketing, in any form, due regard must be paid to the GLA’s Use of Resources Guidance, and the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Government Publicity. The promotion of political purposes must be avoided. In case of doubt legal advice should be sought.
6.4 Section 38 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 permits the proposed delegation of campaign funding decisions.
Signed decision document
MD2099 GLA Marketing Budget 2017-18 (signed) PDF