Decision details

Cabinet will be asked to consider the principle of whether advertising on the Council’s website is acceptable with a view to raising income and to agree a way forward.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Strategic Support which provided details of a proposal to introduce advertising to the Council’s website via the Council Advertising Network for a one year pilot.

Decision Made: That

(1)       approval be given to the principle of allowing external advertising on the Council’s website and intranet;

(2)       approval be given to officers working with the Council Advertising Networkfor 1 year to pilot income-generating advertising on the Council’s website; and

(3)       it be noted that the pilot will be monitored by the Cabinet Member – Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services on a quarterly basis with a report produced after one year with findings and proposals for the future.

Reasons for Decision:

The Council is constantly seeking ways to make efficiencies, identify savings and create additional income. Analysis shows that an increasing number of local authorities are currently pursuing revenue generation through their websites and this is growing year on year.

Officers have spoken to other local authorities who have implemented advertising on their websites who confirm that there have been no complaints from local residents, that the content has been suitable and that projected revenue targets have been met. Councils currently using the service include:

Wokingham, Hackney, Bolsover, West Dorset, Northamptonshire, Weymouth & Portland, COSLA (association of Scottish Authorities), North Dorset, Christchurch, North East Derbyshire, East Dorset, Purbeck, Birmingham, Derby, Norfolk, Blaenau Gwent, Stratford, Carlisle, Mid Suffolk, Monmouthshire, North East Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire. 

The Communications Team had recommended a 12 month pilot of the use of advertising on the website and intranet as a way to generate additional income for the Council. Website advertising is a recognised way of generating income but can be resource-heavy. The Communications team has advertised the opportunity on the CHEST and received one response from CAN Digital Solutions.  CAN is offering Sefton Council a 50% share of all revenues generated from advertising in year one. This offers value for money as:

·         It requires minimal resources to effectively manage the activity, by providing simple tools to veto any adverts before they appear.

·         the Communications team recognise they do not have the access and same national level contacts that CAN will have which will make the sales job much more efficient through accessing the large national corporates.

·         there is no contractual commitment to display adverts, so the Council could stop advertisements appearing at any time.

The Council will review this arrangement in 3 and then 6 months from pilot commencement. The duration of the contract will be 12 months with a 1 month notice period.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

The Council had sought alternative providers via the CHEST, CAN was the only provider to respond.  Other councils that are using the service had also been consulted. These local authorities had conducted their own research and had also been unable to identify an alternative solution that provided the same level of service or match the level of income.

The Council could consider delivering this opportunity in house, however, councils that have undertaken an in-house approach report that the income generated did not exceed the salary costs of specialist advertising officers.