New Business Pitching: Is there a better way?

What is Pitching?

Pitching is integral process within an advertising agency for proposing new marketing ideas and strategies for brands, products or services to future prospective clients and also retaining current existing accounts. An Ad agency pitch includes agency’s marketing strategy in creative way and express how their marketing efforts will accomplish the client’s goals and deliver the brand’s message and story. Clients typically invites several agencies to pitch when they are planning a new campaign which intensifies competition. Agencies also make pitches to clients to introduce themselves and be shortlisted for future campaign pitches.

Processes — Vicious Circle

Pitching for new business is “Vicious Circle” the time involved with it, the traditional procedures, following client’s proposals and complicated briefs with very tight advertising budgets all adds to making it a love hate relation between an Agency & New Business while going through Pitching but at the same time is a lifeline to Agency’s survival.

Opportunities –What’s in it for an Agency?

Pitching and attaining new accounts is crucial for Ad Agency’s business growth and success and is very good practice for an Agency to involve in Pitching as they can represent their Agency culture, Portfolio, Strengths and Expertise, show the New Business how they would deliver and turn around things for their brand keeping in respect to the brand guidelines, story and message they are wanting to be delivered across to the altered audience from the campaign. A new account surely turns out beneficiary for the long run economic prospect of the Agency and should be worked hard enough and take as a rewarding challenge as winning it would definitely be fruitful.

The DO’s

-Know the brand and their customers — Match up customer needs with client -concerns and wants by thoroughly understanding client brief.

-Show don’t tell.

-Do the homework — Must be Data Driven.

-Chemistry Meetings: Know the client, Keep Communicating through the first day of contact.

-Effective Pitch Deck.

-Protecting your ideas: Intellectual property.

Challenges –Pitching? Well, it can be a Drainer!

Pitching new business is drain on resources, time and sometimes morale for an agency as it not always results in success and a better Agency & Client relationship. It is also a costly process to be involving in Pitch as hardly any cost is bare by the new business. The Pitch also take away the stability for Agency people to coupe up with existing accounts as people with brains gets on the new business client brief and work out for it, so the flow of work eventually gets disturbed within the agency around that period. Budgeting within already less spendings from new accounts is key as your idea can be great but if your competitor can be cost competitive and deliver more with the same or less of clients spending budget then the new account will definitely be pursuing with them.

Is there a better way?

Pitching is lifeblood of advertising world and must be embraced more and fear less. It keeps the industry fresh by encouraging new ideas and better ways of doing things in a cost-effective manner. Pitching also challenges the people involved within an agency as it pushes them to be more creative with their executions and idea generations and also helps knowing what their competitors are upto.

Fact being the traditional Pitch process is expensive and time consuming for both Clients and Agencies with both the parties knowing what they are signing up for but very little is done over years to find alternatives for the Pitch process. A survey conducted by Creative Brief in the UK had very interesting findings.

67% of advertisers would consider hiring an agency even if they refuse to take part in the traditional pitch process.

82% of agencies agreed that they should be prepared to refuse pitch for an account to encourage the process to change and modernise.

The respondents were also of the opinion that Pitch process is no longer “fit for purpose” in today’s environment with 61% of brands and 93% of agencies wanting to see change.

The figures reflect that sooner or later a change is must for agencies to move away from traditional Pitch process and adopt some more effective means of attracting new accounts.

What could be the alternate?

To my understanding with recent ongoing disturbance with economies of the world due to Covid and surge in more and more digitalisation of businesses, Agencies would need to have more of correct data driven approach and turning them into favourable outcomes to be convincing new businesses. Strong research about the brand and right data insights of the industry would be key for delivering success.

Authenticity of data is vital and how agency can be result driven with it is crucial too. The Agency can show in real time on how their data driven approach is helping their existing portfolio brands and show in live numbers like an exchange or in-house software on how their existing portfolio is growing their sales / reaching to their target audience and then reflect how their creatives have played along to be achieving this in changing consumer behaviours. This strategy would also aid to maximum return on investments by the new account.

Digitalisation and playing along with the numbers game would definitely make it easier for agencies to attract new accounts, if they can deliver on showing them how they are helping their existing clientele accounts. Also, some changes in the traditional pitch processes could be handy like making the pitch process times shorter and instead of proposals more direct communication from the clients to the agency would work more to achieve favourable outcome of the whole exercise.

By :Moeed Vayani

Final Year Media & Advertising Student @ Macleay College