TO PITCH OR NOT TO PITCH

I contacted someone I know in the business recently to see if he wanted to meet up.

He works for a big network.

He said, ‘Not right now -  I’ve just been put on a pitch, and I’m just about to find out how much hell my life is about to become’.

I think that sums up how it can feel to work in a traditional agency right now.

When I worked for one, it was very different.

Pitches were always huge fun.

The short deadlines, the late nights, the team spirit, the growing excitement as the big day approached, seeing the work come to life in the studio, the drama of the presentation itself, the ‘pitch-winning’ stunts, and the celebrations afterwards, however, well it went.

You wouldn’t want every week to be like that, but once in a while, it was exhilarating.

But today, the big agencies are struggling along with fewer people and less experienced people.  Teams are working on multiple briefs for existing clients, with less time to deliver.

 When a pitch comes in on top of all that, it’s the opposite of fun.

In fact, there is much talk about the process exacerbating mental health issues.

No wonder a recent survey showed that 92% of agency Chief Execs think that pitches are not fit for purpose.

And 57% of CMOs agreed.

The process was described as not being in line with modern business expectations and ethical practices.

At BLITZWORKS, we were recently asked to pitch on a very worthwhile project on which we had done some initial thinking and for which we have huge heart.

We had to say that while we understood their desire for alternative points of view and different set-ups,  our approach does not allow us to pitch in the way that other agencies do.

There are just a few of us, and we do not retain creative teams.

The way we work is to create bespoke, larger-than-usual elite squads, appropriate to each project, drawn from the freelance pool, and meet (online usually now)  for a few days in what we call a Blitz to create solutions at high speed.

We have worked for clients willing to fund that approach in a pitch.

But we cannot fund it ourselves when there is a possibility that we will get nothing out of it.

However, the other important thing about our Blitz is it’s very collaborative: we go through it together with our clients, working in multiple short ideation sessions.

And over the course of a few days they may get to see over a hundred ideas on the brief.

That’s many, many more than they will see in the usual agency shoot-out.

So we don’t pitch, but we do pitch.

Clients see lots of different perspectives and explore different tonalities, even unexpected strategies, working with some of the top creatives in the world.

And as there are so many options, there’s a good chance that one or usually several ideas will hit the bullseye.

In fact, on one satisfying and memorable occasion when I helped another agency do something similar on a big pitch, I saw no less than twenty clients, representing various regions and countries, align quickly and quite effortlessly around a single big idea, hugely excited about its possibilities, as well being impressed by the sheer volume of other ideas they had seen.

So, here’s a thought.

It is fair for clients who are seeking a new agency to want to meet lots of people and see the work they have done for other clients. If it was me, I would want to meet their other clients too.

 In fact, it is often said that it is the ‘chemistry’ that usually determines the outcome of a pitch anyway.

 It is fair for them to expect a robust strategic discussion around their brief.

But what  if they were to stop there, as creative agency Mother are saying they should, and appoint an agency on the basis of those initial meetings?

Perhaps it would then also be fair for them to see a whole range of ideas from that agency , albeit in rudimentary form, developed at speed in the way that I have described.

Clients should pay for that.

And the agency should be able to bring in talent from outside to help them, should that be needed.

Which could of course include us, the BLITZWORKS partners, to help them do it most effectively.

When we developed our guiding principles, we made sure that ‘fun not fear’ was one of them, and we are happy to share our brand of fun with other agencies, if required.

Alternatively, of course, clients can just come straight to us.

Just as we develop creative work at speed, we have a creds pitch that we can deliver at speed too.

In as little as five minutes, if you are really stretched for time. (After all, you know what they say about first impressions.)

So, that’s this pitch over with for now.

We are, as always, ready to Blitz whenever you are.

- JOHN PALLANT, Founder & Global Cheif Creative Officer