Marketing & Communications Market Report: June 2026

The Month in One Line

June was defined by NHS England's winter communications brief and a wave of council digital and engagement framework renewals.

What Moved in June

NHS England winter communications: NHS England published its winter 2026-27 communications agency brief in June — the earliest in five years. The brief covers flu vaccination, urgent care behaviour change, and mental health campaigns. Estimated annual value: £22m. Framework award expected August, with campaigns live from October.

Public health campaigns: twelve ICBs published individual public health communications briefs in June, covering obesity, alcohol, and sexual health. ICB commissioning of communications (rather than NHS England or councils) is a structural shift in the market from 2024 onwards.

Council digital content and social media: fourteen councils published social media management and digital content creation contracts in June. Average contract value: £180k over 3 years. AI-assisted content scheduling is now a standard tender requirement.

Consultation and engagement: following the Planning and Infrastructure Bill's community consultation requirements, 28 planning authorities published consultation and engagement service contracts in June. This is a new and growing procurement category.

Print and design: councils reducing in-house design capacity are procuring managed print and design frameworks. Six councils published managed print notices in June, with a combined value of £8.4m.

Who Is Buying Right Now

• ICBs: integrated care boards are now the primary public health communications commissioners, replacing PHE/UKHSA at local level. 28 ICBs had active communications procurement in June.
• Combined Authorities: with devolved public health budgets, mayoral combined authorities are building communications and campaign capacity. Three published agency framework notices in June.
• National government departments: DLUHC, DEFRA, and the Home Office all had active communications procurement in June through Crown Commercial Service's Communications Management (RM6101).

Forward Signals for July

Government Communication Service framework renewal publishes in July. This is the primary route to central government campaigns and consultancy spend. Application window is typically 6 weeks.

The Number That Matters

£22m — estimated annual value of the NHS England winter 2026-27 communications brief. It is the single largest public health communications opportunity in the UK this year.

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