by Shauneen Procter (@procter101) When it comes to bidding for new business, the South African ad industry is getting it wrong. There are people who love pitching, and others who loathe it; few are neutral on the subject. Instead of dueling the dichotomy, let’s put the beast on the table.
Let’s unite to find a way
Let’s unite to offer alternatives, and find a way to deal with this beast for once and for all.
I’m in two minds about the business of pitching myself. It’s the beginning of the year — high season for pitching. We already have three pitches waxed, and part of me loves the thrill of the race to try and win a new client. The other part hates the idea of stressing the agency – the late nights, stretching the team so early in 2014, and the prospect of turning on a tickey for what isn’t always good odds.
As a serial entrepreneur, my experience of sales is that referral business trumps the pitching business every time. Referrals on the back of excellent work and relationships are a more efficient and sustainable way of doing business.
And I’m not the only one who’s divided about pitching.
New research
New research conducted by market research firm, Provoke Insights, shows about half of the agency people surveyed for this study hate the process of bidding for business.
The poll showed some 47% of advertising professionals are unhappy with the approach their agency takes to pitching. One ad professional canvased stated: “I hate the pitch process. It means working 24-7 and completely wears everyone out.”
Key sources of frustration
The survey cited unrealistic timelines (66%) and long work hours (65%) as the key sources of frustration. People answering the online survey said their experience showed pitch processes were usually “very chaotic, [with] no clear direction until the last minute.”
Other frustrations cited included the lack of appropriate data and research during client bidding wars.
For as long as I can remember, pitching has been an agency issue locally, with much grumbling that periodically bleeds over into resentful interviews in the marketing press, and angry debates.
If our industry is so divided about the issue, why don’t we learn from advertisers in the UK who’ve taken a smart approach to the problem by banding together to solve the issue?
Good Pitch Week
Our marketing compañeros in England have joined together to create a themed week to educate the market about best practice (good perspectives) when it comes to pitching. Called the “Good Pitch Week” the campaign, founded by the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), it creates a platform where clients and agencies can share thoughts and ideas about the pitching process.
The effort has yielded great tools and guidelines for both clients and agencies, as well as a united forum for lobbying the industry to move towards better practices that suit both parties.
The Good Pitch campaign has come up with a “New Business Pitch Pack” with guidelines on how the bidding-for-business process should work. Other support offered to agencies and clients includes information on intellectual property rights, a pitch protection service, templates for clients and a tender alert service.
The Good Pitch drive also has advice for clients on how to go about finding an agency, briefing an agency, and evaluating and remunerating an agency. There are insights, too, on how to judge creative ideas and how to develop a communications strategy.
Good work being done locally
Don’t get me wrong. There is some good work being done on pitching locally. The Association for Communication and Advertising has put together a best practice guide on pitching, while the likes of Angelika Kempe of relationship-management consultancy Ad-Ops have brought rigour to the process. Others which have boosted the positive fundamentals include management-by-measurement company, Yardstick.
When looking at the pitching process, what we need is a bigger view of things. The debate isn’t just about the process; it is also about results, efficiencies and the sustainability of the advertising system.
If the industry is to mature and move to a place where we truly serve clients by growing brands and building an intelligent, integrated industry, isn’t it about time we stopped complaining and did something to make pitching less imperfect and more useful for business growth, brand values and advertising sustainability?
— Shauneen Procter is a founder member of Idea Engineers, a brand, advertising, social media and reputation management agency that engineers bespoke marketing solutions for companies in a complex, socially networked world. Procter is an advertising veteran who started her career at Grey Phillips in the ‘80s. She was the founder of Sorcery Advertising, voted by clients as the “Best Local Advertising Agency”. A champion of sustainability, Procter is an investor in smart new businesses, a mentor to emerging brand talent, and an iconoclast who eschews awards but believes in building value and respect.
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