Public-information and behaviour-change campaigns ran through many agencies on long-tenured frameworks whose contracts predated any audit clause, so quality was inconsistent, value-for-money could not be evidenced, and citizens had migrated to social and messaging the model never reached. Every campaign was procured almost from scratch, slowly and defensively.
VA built a streamlined, auditable agency framework — competency lots, a mission-aligned lead partner, transparent rate cards and call-off mechanisms — that lowers cost, reaches citizens on social and stands up to public scrutiny.
Head of Communication, Head of Marketing Procurement, Finance Director
The strategic problem
Public-information and behaviour-change campaigns ran through many agencies on long-tenured frameworks whose contracts predated any audit clause, so quality was inconsistent, value-for-money could not be evidenced and citizens had migrated to social and messaging the model never reached. Every campaign was procured almost from scratch, slowly and defensively.
Diagnose & Design
VA ran a marketing & production ecosystem audit and spend mapping & cost baseline analysis across every public-information and behaviour-change campaign, mapping agency frameworks, fee structures, channel mixes and turnaround times, and reading the master service agreements for the audit and access rights they lacked. Market benchmarking established what compliant public-sector campaigns cost elsewhere and what value-for-money evidence audit bodies expect; a gap & maturity assessment measured the distance to a social-first standard, and governance design (RACI, KPI framework, scorecards) built the accountability architecture public scrutiny requires, with AURA/FRC (Fulltime Ratecard Calculator) applied to framework rate-card validation.
Ecosystem & Remuneration
VA designed a streamlined agency framework through roster rationalisation & consolidation, replacing fragmented appointments with a structured panel of competency lots covering strategy, creative, social-first content and measurement; a multi-stage selection appointed a lead partner genuinely aligned to the body’s public-interest mission. Remuneration model design introduced transparent rate cards and call-off mechanisms that keep competitive tension without repricing every campaign; fee benchmarking & validation confirmed rates were defensible against public-sector audit standards. Scoping & SOW design standardised campaign briefing, ending the near-from-scratch procurement that had driven cost and delay.
Rollout & relationship management
Contracting & onboarding formalised the framework with compliant public-procurement agreements covering rate cards, call-off procedures, quality standards and, critically, the audit-access clauses the legacy contracts had lacked; handover, rollout & commitment tracking managed the transition from legacy arrangements, ensuring each campaign team used the governed model from the first call-off. AURA/Planner back-planned the rollout to two dates — framework signature and first live campaign call-off — while relationship management aligned procurement, communications and finance stakeholders throughout.
Execution Oversight
VA applied briefing & estimate review to every campaign call-off at intake, validating scope, fee and channel mix against the framework rate card before commitment. Production cost validation & budget control tracked delivery costs in real time, keeping expenditure within approved envelopes and documenting every variation for audit, with claw-back triggers where a charge fell outside agreed terms. Sustainable production & ESG/DE&I checks were embedded in campaign governance so that public communications met the body’s inclusion and sustainability commitments.
Performance Measurement
Value-for-money was made measurable and auditable. KPIs and scorecards from governance design — cost per campaign, turnaround time, call-off frequency, value-for-money evidence score — tracked via partner performance evaluation on a 90/180/360 appraisal cadence; cost saving and cost avoidance reported separately. Outcomes: 19% reduction in campaign cost, 12% cost avoidance from the reusable framework and competitive call-offs, 30% lower cost per campaign brought to market (today closure reports; full performance measurement on the roadmap).
Why VA
Public-sector marketing must be efficient and defensible at once. VA delivers an auditable framework that lowers cost, reaches citizens on social and stands up to public scrutiny.
Common questions
What is a public-sector agency framework?
A structured panel of competency lots — strategy, creative, social-first content, measurement — with a mission-aligned lead partner and call-off mechanisms, replacing fragmented long-tenured appointments that predate audit clauses and are re-procured from scratch each time.
How is value-for-money made auditable?
Transparent rate cards benchmarked against public-sector audit standards, standardised briefing, and call-off frequency and cost-per-campaign tracking — so value-for-money can be evidenced rather than asserted, and the framework withstands public scrutiny.
How does it reach citizens who have moved to social?
A social-first content competency is built into the framework and a lead partner aligned to the public-interest mission, so campaigns meet citizens on the channels they actually use — while call-offs keep competitive tension without repricing every campaign.