Yesterday, B&T’s Tom Fogden hosted a webinar with TrinityP3’s Darren Woolley covering everything a marketer or procurement person needs to consider to run a successful pitch to hire your next agency in 2024.
The online event saw dozens of marketers, agencies and procurement people asking questions about how they can improve the pitching process.
For those who missed it (full video below), B&T has helpfully summarised the 10 key points from the Q&A session:
Pitch Process Issues: Agencies face challenges with the current pitch process, including unclear requirements and unfair practices. Pitches are often poorly run, leading to frustration.
Agency Concerns: Agencies feel the pitch process is inequitable, with some experiencing significant mental and physical strain from pitching. This is a key concern, though it’s not always openly discussed.
Procurement’s Role: While procurement teams only manage about 30 per cent of pitches, they are often seen as adding unnecessary bureaucracy. Procurement needs to balance governance with relationship building.
Marketer Accountability: Marketers need to be more aware of how their pitch processes impact agencies. Poorly run pitches can damage their personal reputations and hinder future opportunities with top agencies.
Mental Health and Workload: Agencies are increasingly concerned about the negative impact of pitching on staff well-being, especially with unpaid overtime and high workloads during the process.
Customising the Process: There’s a growing need for tailored pitch processes rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Different types of projects or relationships require different methods of agency selection.
Rebuilding Relationships: Marketers should prioritise fixing relationships with incumbent agencies through regular reviews instead of automatically going to pitch every three years.
Value-Based Pricing: The rise of AI and automation is pushing the industry towards value-based pricing, where agencies are paid based on the output rather than the number of hours worked.
Agency Feedback: Agencies should be vocal about their concerns in the pitch process. Saying “no” to pitches that are unfair or poorly structured is a legitimate response.
Winning Formula: The key to winning pitches is building trust and demonstrating strong alignment with the client’s values, rather than relying solely on a creative idea or pricing.
TrinityP3’s Darren Woolley has also kindly answered all the questions we did not get time for!
Questions we did not address during the webinar (due to overwhelming demand!):
How do you measure success in a pitch?
The easy answer is that it results in the marketer choosing the right agency. I say right, instead of best, because it can be better to select the right fit, than what is considered the best agency. But as pitch consultants, we believe a successful pitch results in long-term, high-performance, sustainable relationships. That is the measure of success.
Can financials be discussed at the start of a pitch and agree that the arrangement if suitable before going through any strategy or creative work?
For an agency to make an informed decision on whether to participate in the pitch or not, they need to be provided with an indication of what they are pitching for. This can be the scope of services, the duration of the engagement and an indication of the financial size of the prize. Without this how can they decide?
How many people should be involved in selecting a new agency partner?
As many as needed to ensure all direct decision-makers and influencers are included and as few as possible. The problem with large selection panels is they are more likely to compromise to choose an average agency. But leave out an important decision maker or influencer and they will never own the choice of agency.
Should agencies allow clients to claim the IP for materials presented?
Only if they are suitably and commercially compensated for the value of the work.
How do you provide some objectivity for clients to grade the ‘chemistry’ or ‘fit’ of an agency?
As humans, we make subjective choices and decisions all the time. That does not mean they should be ignored. In a commercial decision that could be worth millions of dollars, it is important to be able to quantify or measure these subjective factors with a comparative scoring system so we are better able to discuss and consider them in the decision-making process.
How frequently should clients test the market? How frequently should a 360-degree review be conducted?
Pitching or tendering is a great way to select a new agency, but it is a flawed methodology for evaluating an existing relationship. Instead, marketers should use regular and structured reviews (minimum annually, but more often if possible). But to understand what else is available in the market, feel free to meet with other agencies to better understand what they offer, without wasting everyone’s time going to tender.
What’s more important, the team or the solution presented in the pitch? Why?
This depends on the objective of the pitch. If the marketer is buying a campaign idea, then the idea is more important and will most likely be tested by research. But if they are buying a relationship that will generate ideas over a number of years, then the team that will deliver this is more important than any one idea.
Is there an education piece required on not evaluating only based on price? Is this something TP3 is actively leading?
Price is an important component of determining value. Buying on price alone is foolish. TrinityP3 works with our clients, assessing capability and chemistry and using multilayered benchmarking to determine value. But you must consider that we currently only manage less than 10 per cent of the pitches occurring in Australia*. So our influence is limited. However, there is an educational role for the whole industry, particularly the industry bodies such as the AANA, MFA, ACA, and others.
State of the Pitch Research Australia 2023
How often should you include smaller agencies in your recommendations to a marketing team? How big does an agency need to be for your consideration?
With the rise in the profile of independent agencies, marketers are much more open to considering smaller indie agencies over the perceived larger network agencies. The biggest challenge for smaller agencies from a procurement perspective is they are seen as representing a higher financial risk. But size is only one consideration marketers must factor in when selecting agencies to pitch for their business.
