Purpose

This report recommends the award of the
contract for the buying of marketing and advertising services
within an estimated budget of £600000 to support the
implementation of the Cheshire and Merseyside All Together
Smokefree Programme for the Champs Public Health Collaborative
(Champs Collaborative) on behalf of the nine Directors of Public
Health in Cheshire and Merseyside and the Integrated Care Board.
This follows the completion of a competitive tender process in
which bids from two organisations were evaluated by an appropriate
panel.

Decision

The Director of Public
Health has decided to award the contract for the buying of
marketing and advertising services to Influential Agency Ltd.
within a contract price of £522,479 to support the
implementation of the Cheshire and Merseyside All Together Smoke
Free Programme, as the Most Advantageous Tenderer pursuant to a
contract commencing on 17th November 2025 and ending on
31st March 2027.
 

Reasons for the decision

All Together Smokefree
is a key collaborative project for Cheshire and Merseyside due to
the significant health, social and financial implications of
smoking for local populations and the economy. The updated Action
for Smoking and Health (ASH) Ready Reckoner estimates suggest that
smoking costs the Cheshire and Merseyside sub-region £1.75
billion annually with the majority of
this economic burden falling on businesses, impacting the regional
economy through early deaths and lost productivity from smoking
related ill health.
 
Behaviour change is a
key aspect of the All Together Smokefree programme. Effective
behaviour change campaigns have been
shown to be a highly effective method for reaching key audiences.
In addition to wider reaching campaign tactics, incorporating
highly targeted activity to multiple smoking audience demographics
will assure equitable campaign outcomes.

 
Media led behaviour
change campaigns are one of the most cost-effective public health
interventions and a powerful way to reach smokers and non-smokers
alike changing social norms around smoking, and to dissuade young
people and young adults from taking up smoking.

 
Planning and executing behaviour change campaigns is a
specialist skill and requires significant resource investment.
Neither the Champs Support Team nor Wirral Council have the
expertise or human resources to deliver a campaign of this scale in
house.
 

Alternative options considered

Removal of the
behaviour change campaign would result in a significant narrowing
of scope for the wider programme and would greatly reduce its
ability to meet its objectives. In particular, the programme would
struggle to engage some communities, many of which are where we see
the highest rates of smoking.
 
Reduction in the
allocated budget for this project would result in a direct
reduction in activity and therefore impact, rendering the campaign
less effective at reaching the right audiences and meeting its
objectives.
 
Should the behaviour
change campaign not progress, then there is a reputational risk for
the host authority and for the Directors of Public Health due to
non-delivery. There is an agreement in place with NHS Cheshire and
Merseyside and the Directors of Public Health who will deliver this
programme via Champs Collaborative. NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB
would also move to recoup this funding from the ATSF programme.