MD2275 GLA Marketing Budget 2018/19

1.1 The GLA Marketing, Creative and Digital teams are responsible for promoting and engaging Londoners in the work and priorities of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The teams work 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, such as People’s Question Time with the Mayor and the London Assembly. It includes making them aware of wider opportunities which stem from the Mayor’s work, including cultural events, programmes or services, such as events on Trafalgar Square or volunteering opportunities across the capital.

1.3 The continued ambition is to engage in a better dialogue with Londoners and to ensure the GLA is responsive to Londoners’ needs. A centralised marketing, planning and budgeting process has enabled the Marketing and Digital Communications teams to work strategically, communicate impactfully and deliver integrated and effective engagement campaigns that promote and engage Londoners in the work of the Mayor of London and London Assembly.

1.4 The centralised marketing budget is used to promote the policies, programmes, events and statutory activities of the Mayor of London and London Assembly, enabling Londoners to better understand and engage with the work of City Hall. This covers all marketing and communications related activity, including strategy, research, creative services, advertising, digital, print and production, content production and tools and services required to deliver the Marketing and Digital Communications teams’ work.

1.5 This includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Media planning and buying, including print and digital advertising. This includes social media and paid search advertising

• Printing, distribution and production costs associated with utilising TfL advertising space

• Media agency strategy and auditing fees

• User research and testing (qualitative and quantitative research)

• Content production including a range of creative and digital assets, such as social media content

• Video, live video and photography, including production tools and filming and editing services

• Email marketing, including strategy, tools and assets

• Creative agency and creative freelancer requirements

• Strategic work to improve the GLA’s marketing and digital communications function

1.6 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 and International Affairs. Each allocation will be determined on a case-by-case basis dependent on the campaign objectives, audience, etc.

1.7 The decision on whether to generate external sponsorship for a campaign or campaign activities will be made by the Assistant Director, External Relations in consultation with the Mayoral Director for External and International Affairs. This will be determined based on campaign or project objectives, audience, etc.

2.1 The GLA’s centralised marketing, planning and budgeting process works successfully and the GLA would like to continue this way of working in 2018/19. Objectives and benefits of the centralised marketing budget include:

• Strategic, annual planning and a coordinated and holistic view of how the GLA communicates to Londoners

• Full accountability and transparency over spend on marketing communications, digital communications and engagement campaigns

• Better value for money for Londoners, for example visibility of annual advertising budgets helps achieve cost savings

• More efficient and effective use of the GLA’s gifted ‘on-system’ inventory from TfL – approx. value £2.2m per annum

• Budget control, enabling GLA Marketing and Digital Communications teams to work with agility and respond quickly to external factors and changing priorities

• Budget control, enabling efficiency of finance and procurement processes to ensure GLA Marketing and Digital Communications teams are working as efficiently as possible

2.2 External sponsorship for a campaign or campaign activities will be generated to complement GLA resources and complement the campaign activity. The contracts and funding code and Sponsorship Policy will be followed to ensure the GLA acts in a fair and open manner and gives a wide range of organisations access to sponsorship activities.

2.3 This enables the GLA to meet the Mayoral strategic and business priorities below:

• An increase in awareness of the work the Mayor, the London Assembly and the GLA are doing on behalf of Londoners

• An increase in understanding, engagement and participation in key projects, events and campaigns

• An increase in Londoners’ opportunities to access and influence London government

3.1 Under s149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Equality Act), as a public authority the Mayor must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act; and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2 The construction of all GLA marketing campaigns takes 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. The GLA will ensure that marketing materials reflect the diversity of London’s population.

a) key risks and issues

4.1 The GLA’s centralised marketing, planning and budgeting process, introduced in 2017/18, has led to significant improvements in the GLA’s marketing and digital communications function. This includes working more strategically, efficiently and with agility, enabling the Marketing and Digital Communications team to respond quickly to external events and changing priorities.

4.2 The GLA’s marketing and digital communications function is able to plan and manage large-scale, long-term campaigns, such as the gender equality campaign, Behind Every Great City, and the knife crime prevention campaign, London Needs You Alive as well as work quickly and reactively via digital communications and social media.

4.3 Both of these successes will be at risk if the £1m centralised marketing budget is not approved. A smaller budget or budget devolved to other departments across the GLA would mean less impactful campaigns and would have a detrimental effect on the ways of working to deliver these campaigns and activities.

b) links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.4 This work is linked directly to the GLA’s core business objectives to:

• Increase awareness of the work the Mayor, the London Assembly and the GLA are doing on behalf of Londoners

• Increase understanding, engagement and participation in key projects, events and campaigns

• Increase Londoners’ opportunities to access and influence London government

c) impact assessments and consultations

4.5 The GLA contracts and funding code will be adhered to to ensure services are procured competitively and sponsorship activities are managed in a fair and open manner.

4.6 The £1m centralised marketing budget will be closely managed and monitored to ensure effective use of GLA resources.

5.1 As part of the 2018-19 budget process, a budget provision of £1m has been allocated for the proposed Centralised Marketing budget 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 2018-19 financial-year.

5.2 It should be noted, while it is intended that any sponsorship income secured for specific campaigns will be utilised in supplementing GLA resources, officers will look to make efficiencies to reduce the GLA contribution to campaign costs (wherever possible).

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 In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regards to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion) and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regarding to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3 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.

6.4 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.

6.5 Section 38 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 permits the proposed delegation of campaign funding decisions.

6.6 The GLA may seek sponsorship when exercising its section 30 general power under its power to charge third parties for discretionary services under section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003 provided that the charges levied do not exceed the costs of provision.

6.7 If the delegation proposed in this MD be approved, the entry into such sponsorship agreements may be approved by the Assistant Director, External Relations in consultation with the Mayoral Director for External and International Affairs, who may agree and execute sponsorship agreements governing those arrangements without the need for further MD/DD approvals.

6.8 Under section 38 of the Act the Mayor may delegate the exercise of the GLA functions to any GLA staff member.