Call: Provision of  services related to defence spending campaign: creative concept, strategy,  audience research and implementation for the NATO HQ in Brussels, Belgium

Buyer: NATO HQ

Budget: The maximum total price payable for the products and services to be provided under the Contract is €1.600.000

Deadline: 17/8

REQUIRED SERVICES – NATO expects as part of the proposal from Bidders:

• Previous campaign concepts, strategies, channel strategies, visual identity guides and example content from campaigns. Links to campaigns are acceptable or PDFs with no more than five pages per campaign. This includes performance metrics/KPIs and the results of the campaign and evidence of lessons learnt, including improved brand recognition.

• A bid proposal outlining the contractor’s proposed high level approach for meeting the deliverables in the Statement of Work, which should not exceed 15 A4 pages.

!!! NO CASE STUDIES !!!

CONTRACTOR TASKS

The Contractor will develop an overall campaign strategy and creative concept, informed by audience research conducted as part of the project, capable of effectively engaging the target audiences identified through that research. The campaign must address the dual objectives of demonstrating why European Allies are increasing defence investment and explaining the importance of these investments for collective security. Additionally, the Contractor will deliver a new visual identity for the campaign, accompanied by a detailed implementation plan. This will provide the foundation for a multi-year campaign rollout planned for 2026 and 2027.

The campaign should sensitively frame the need for increased defence spending primarily as a means to ensure both national and collective security in a way that feels relevant and reassuring. It should highlight how these investments contribute to a safer, more stable environment that underpins everyday life across Europe.

Equally important is emphasising the wider benefits of increased defence spending that resonate more directly with people’s daily lives – such as supporting local economies, creating and safeguarding skilled jobs, fostering innovation and new technologies, and strengthening the defence industry. By presenting defence investment as a positive force that strengthens both security and economic wellbeing, the campaign should build a compelling narrative that seeks to encourage broader public understanding and support.

NATO encourages fresh thinking and a dynamic creative approach to effectively engage target audiences, fostering a stronger connection with NATO’s role and the importance of defence spending. The strategy and creative concept should be designed for long-term application and engagement across multiple years.

In order to ensure that proposals are substantiated by a robust understanding of NATO member nations’ defence commitments, bidders are encouraged to reference the defence expenditure estimates as detailed in the Secretary General’s Annual Report (2024), available via this link: https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2025/4/pdf/sgar24-en.pdf

Language and messaging must be clear, accessible, and compelling for a non-expert audience. The contractor will be responsible for proposing key messages that are high-level, broad, and adaptable to local linguistic and cultural contexts. While all deliverables must be made available in one of NATO’s official working languages (English and French), the contractor will be required to recommend additional languages for campaign delivery based on audience insights and strategic considerations in chosen markets. The campaign strategy should incorporate a clear plan for localisation, ensuring messaging resonates effectively across different countries, and outline the timing and approach for rolling out languages across participating nations. All messaging must align closely with NATO’s established messaging and communication guidelines. Themes to focus on may include, but are not limited to:

• The importance of defence spending, including enhanced defence industrial capacity, for national and collective security;

• The role defence spending plays in the broader economy, supporting jobs and livelihoods;

• NATO’s continued role in maintaining peace and stability and protecting 1 billion citizens.

While the campaign will be led by NATO HQ, it is important that the different entities within the NATO Enterprise – particularly military entities on both sides of the Atlantic – as well as national administrations, can support and contribute to the campaign. The campaign should be designed to allow for localisation and flexibility in implementation. In this case, localisation means the campaign must be adaptable for use across different European countries, taking into account local interests, behaviours, and demographics. It will be not be sufficient to merely translate assets into different languages. It should be scalable and versatile, enabling effective engagement with target audiences while maintaining consistency in messaging and visual identity across multiple national contexts.

Deliverables for the contractor will be:

Audience insight

Separate to qualitative and quantitative research findings made available by NATO to the successful bidder, the Contractor (and subcontractor if applicable) must design and deliver audience research for each nation included in campaign roll-out. Research must result in actionable insights that will form the evidence base to direct: prioritisation of audiences and channels; asset and narrative content; and campaign evaluation; as described in paragraphs below.

Bidders are invited to propose a suitable research mix to deliver insights required. It is envisaged that a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods will be implemented. The contractor will be responsible for planning, coordinating and conducting all planned research, which must be carried out in local language(s). Development of all research materials, such as: survey design, sample screening material and discussion guides, will be subject to sign-off by NATO. A timetable sequencing research design, fieldwork, analysis, and debriefing/reporting phases by number of weeks, should be included in the proposal for each research aktivity.

For the purpose of bid evaluation, bidders are required to provide:

• A detailed proposed research mix, with associated costings and timelines, for each of the following three nations: Belgium, Italy and Spain;

• An overall estimate of total research costs for the full scope of the 2026-2027 campaign; or, alternatively, an estimate of the total research cost if bidders prefer not to specify costs for each individual nation beyond the three pilot countries.

Should the campaign scope be expanded to include additional countries than the three nations listed above, the contractor shall also design and deliver audience research in these new markets. NATO will retain approval rights over the methodology, research mix, and timelines for any such additional research activities.

Campaign strategy and creative concept

The Contractor will develop and deliver an overarching campaign strategy and creative concept during 2025, presented as a comprehensive report. This report will articulate the proposed core narrative and storytelling framework, key messaging, thematic elements, tone, and positioning of the campaign. The strategy should follow the OASIS model as used by NATO (Objectives, Audience insight, Strategy, Implementation, and Scoring/Evaluation), incorporating robust audience insight findings, including those derived from nation-specific research.

The strategy must clearly outline a proposed distribution approach, specifying proposed platforms and channels, user journeys, and calls to action. Any proposed creation of new platforms or digital assets must be explicitly detailed within the strategy and reflected in the creative concept.

The concept must be designed for NATO Enterprise-wide use at a global level, accommodating the Organisation’s official languages. However, it is essential that the campaign be localised for specific priority nations to ensure relevance and impact. Accordingly, the final report shall include a comprehensive explanation of how the campaign’s implementation will differ by nation, reflecting each country’s unique audience insights, media landscape, and cultural context. This localised approach will initially focus on the pilot countries of Belgium, Italy, and Spain.

To facilitate effective and context-sensitive deployment, the contractor is required to demonstrate the presence of a local office or authorised representation within each relevant market. This local presence is needed for adapting the creative concept and strategic execution to the specific needs of the pilot countries during the planned initial rollout period of 2026–2027.

The strategy and creative concept developed during the initial phase should be scalable and adaptable to accommodate potential future expansion of the campaign to additional NATO member states beyond the initial pilot countries. Any requirements related to audience research and adaptations for expanded scope will be addressed separately if and when the campaign is extended, in line with provisions outlined elsewhere in this document.

The Contractor is expected to demonstrate how all proposed activities contribute to the overall campaign objectives, supported by clear and measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) to guide ongoing evaluation and optimisation.

Finally, the campaign and creative concept must be developed in accordance with NATO’s multimedia and social media standards to ensure all materials are fully compatible and can be effectively utilised across NATO’s own communication channels as a complementary element of the campaign.

Implementation

During 2025, the Contractor will develop and deliver a high-level integrated dissemination strategy, presented in a formal report. This document will articulate the guiding principles of the proposed campaign activities and detail the selection of channels, assets, and approaches to localisation and dissemination within the identified pilot member states. Pilot implementation should begin in 2025. Individuals plans for pilot countries should be incorporated into the full report.

Following delivery of the strategic framework, the Contractor will be responsible for executing the campaign throughout 2026 and 2027, ensuring all activities align with the approved strategy, objectives, and key milestones. The Contractor will maintain a flexible approach, making ongoing refinements and adjustments as necessary to optimise campaign effectiveness.

Work in 2025 will largely focus on development of the campaign and pilot implementation. 2026 and 2027 plans will be refined by the winning contractor and NATO, based on the overarching concept.

Country-specific campaign adaptation

Campaign assets and communications will be tailored to reflect the unique contexts, audience insights, and cultural nuances of each pilot country – Belgium, Italy, and Spain – and any future nations. This localisation will ensure messaging resonates effectively and is delivered via the most appropriate channels, guided by robust research. The strategy must clearly define the approach to country selection in line with overall campaign objectives, and detail how localisation will be planned and implemented to maximise relevance and impact across diverse European audiences.

Creative approach/visual identity

The Contractor will develop a comprehensive creative approach and visual identity for the campaign, presented in a report format. This will include a campaign overview guide and detailed visual identity guidelines, covering elements such as colour palettes, typography, and a suite of adaptable template visual assets (see 10.8.5) for use across all platforms, channels, and content types proposed in the contractor’s strategy. If the proposed strategy includes the creation of any new platforms or digital environments, these must be clearly outlined and integrated within both the creative approach and broader campaign concept.

When creating a visual identity, NATO’s expectations include, but are not limited to:

• Third party endorsement: Materials must be adaptable by any NATO institution/partners/stakeholders willing to endorse the campaign. Use of content creators/influencers should be considered.

• Fonts: The selected fonts must contain the characters of NATO’s member states’ official languages.

• Social media: Assests developed for use online should be fully optimised for each platform where NATO is present.

Creative assets templates

NATO expects the contractor to provide a list of proposed assets to be used in the campaign and these will form the basis of the templates in the campaign guide and visual identity guideline report. These should be focused on appropriate channels as determined by audience insights. Evaluation and measurement of effect

The Contractor is required to develop a robust evaluation framework that clearly defines how the campaign’s effectiveness will be measured against its stated objectives, including the audience research. This should include both quantitative and qualitative KPIs linked to awareness, engagement, understanding, sentiment analysis and support for defence investment. The evaluation plan must also allow for demonstration of impact at a country or market level, supporting procurement decisions and resource allocation. The contractor should justify the chosen methods and provide clear mechanisms for ongoing measurement and adjustment throughout the campaign lifecycle.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) at NATO HQ communicates NATO’s purpose and priorities to audiences worldwide. The Division aims to strengthen NATO’s public image by increasing public awareness and understanding of NATO’s policies and activities, and ultimately enhancing trust in and support for the Alliance. As part of this effort, NATO aims to engage the public in discussions on the importance of increasing defence spending and its impact on national and collective security.

Ongoing support for the principle of collective defence – based on fair burden-sharing among Allies – remains essential to NATO’s ability to deter threats and safeguard the freedom and security of its members. This campaign aims to strengthen support for NATO by highlighting its continued relevance as a modern, forward-looking Alliance responding to today’s challenges. It will do so by underscoring the importance of increased defence spending to meet new capability targets, support defence industry, and ensure both security and economic resilience across the Alliance.

NATO PDD recognises the need to develop a new campaign strategy and a concept that will explain the need for increased defence spending by Allies. The campaign should enhance public awareness of why these investments are necessary to deliver on new capability targets, strengthen collective defence, and enhance security and resilience across the Alliance. It should explain the ‘defence dividend’ and the economic benefits of increased defence spending. It should incorporate relevant deliverables from the NATO Summit in The Hague 2025, particularly highlighting how European Allies and Canada are stepping up their commitments. The campaign should be designed to:

• foster greater public support for defence investment, particularly in Europe; using tailored messaging and examples to highlight the increased threat picture and the economic benefits such investment will bring;

• highlight NATO’s continued relevance in the face of new and emerging security threats, including how a strengthened defence industry will be more capable and better able to deliver on core task to defend one billion people; and

• demonstrate non-US Allies stepping up investing in their defence.

NATO seeks a contractor to support the development and execution of a multi-year strategic communications campaign aligned with NATO’s core campaign objectives (as outlined below). This engagement will span from the formulation of a comprehensive strategic approach, creative concept and pilot implementation in 2025 through to the full implementation and management of the campaign during 2026 and 2027.

The initial phase in 2025 will be dedicated to developing the overarching campaign strategy and a compelling creative concept. This development will be informed by robust audience research, ensuring insights are effectively integrated into the strategic direction. The approach may build upon insights and assets from previous campaigns or introduce an entirely new framework. The contractor will be expected to collaborate closely with NATO to refine the strategic direction, audience segmentation, and key messaging to ensure alignment with Alliance priorities.

Subsequently, in 2026-2027, the contractor will be responsible for supporting NATO in production of campaign assets, as well as the coordinated rollout, management, and iterative adaptation of the campaign across designated platforms and target audiences.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

Corporate objective

a) The new campaign concept and strategy will enable NATO to engage more effectively with key target audiences – as identified through robust audience research conducted during 2025 – particularly focusing on the persuadable general public across European Allies of the need for increased defence spending. The campaign aims to raise awareness, deepen understanding, and build broad public support for enhanced defence investment by clearly communicating how such investment bolsters the Alliance’s collective security and resilience.

As part of this, the campaign will highlight examples of increased defence spending, including strengthening of the defence industry, and demonstrate how these investments enhance the Alliance’s capabilities to fulfil its core mission of defending over one billion people and bringing economic and other benefits, such as dual-use technology.

The campaign will directly support NATO’s overarching communication priorities and contribute to the sustained reinforcement of public backing for increased defence spending, thereby underpinning the Alliance’s capacity to maintain credible deterrence and defence capabilities in a rapidly evolving security environment.

Contract objective

b) Delivery of a campaign strategy and creative concept, developed in 2025 and informed by audience research conducted as part of the project, designed to engage the general public across selected European Allied nations. The objective is to increase support for increased defence spending by demonstrating how such investment strengthens NATO’s collective security and capability to deter threats. The strategy and concept must be adaptable for wider rollout across additional Allies and aligned with NATO’s communication standards for use across its own channels.

Management objective

c) Allow the Contractor the maximum flexibility to innovatively manage its corporate resources, expertise, and subcontracts (if any) so as to provide a high-value contribution in support to NATO’s corporate and contract objectives.

PERSONNEL AND RESOURCES

The Contractor must appoint a Project Lead who will be considered as key Personnel for the performance of this task order. This person must:

Demonstrate at least 5 years’ experience in communications campaigns strategy and delivery,

Demonstrated experience of public sector campaigns will receive a high score for the resource and capability evaluation. Please include examples of public sector experience among the examples provided. Experience managing international campaigns and multilingual campaigns essential. Experience of campaigns targeting youth audiences desirable. Experience in planning and delivery of digital and online media campaigns required.

Possess excellent communication skills, both oral and written.

Demonstrate at least 5 years’ experience in the localisation of communications campaigns across segmented target markets.

Provide both a portfolio and professional references that demonstrate competencies of past performance on a mimimum of at least three relevant projects within last 5 years.

The Contractor must provide a Project Lead and their details such as email address, landline phone, mobile phone and provide contact details for an alternate project manager who will act as back up, for business continuity.

The Contractor shall appoint contracted or subcontracted Research Expert(s) who will be responsible for design and delivery of research activities under the contract. These experts must possess and demonstrate relevant experience in end-to-end research design concerning:

Quantitative research methods, statistics and analysis;

Qualitative research, including, discussion guide design, focus group moderation, analysis and reporting;

Message and collateral testing, including and not limited to, A/B testing, focus groups and online community moderation.

The Research Expert(s) must have at least three years’ experience conducting international research to support development and evaluation of resonant communications messages. Experience conducting research to support public sector messaging campaigns is desirable. Examples of up to five relevant research projects should be provided.