to pitch or not to pitch, that is the que$tion....

I've never been a big fan of pitches.

Let's be honest- how many of us good agency folk actually REALLY enjoy that gruelling process, starting with the RFI, then the RFP, the RFQ, then that mother of all presentations -THE CREATIVE PITCH!

You and your agency have just spent an untold number of days, hours, sleepless nights, exchanging ideas, criticism, insults, pats on the back, cursing color printers that run out of toner at 3am, cursing the art director, copywriter, planner, CEO, potential new client, Spray Mount, delivery guy, receptionist....

....all for the sake of one, maybe one and a half hours in front of the potential client(s).

I know you know how that feels, or if you don't, you can probably imagine walking into a (usually) hot and stuffy boardroom, being met by a group of people that most of the time look like they would rather be elsewhere (especially if you've gotten that lousy Friday afternoon final slot).

You feel (and probably look) as if you haven't slept in days, yet strive to project an image of vigour, wisdom, love for the clients brand, love for the creative response to their brief. You then pull out and turn over the first board...

The room either falls to a painful hush... blank expressions... or maybe a set of blank gazes transform into mild interest, or mirth, or maybe that magical moment when you KNOW you've won it- you see an instant sparkle in their eyes... the mood in the room is suddenly electric... and you leave the pitch feeling like you've just conquered Everest... exhausted and ecstatic.

OR... as is often the case, you leave feeling mildly optimistic and hanging on every word, every glance from the guys on the other side of the table. one, maybe two weeks of cautious excitement follow.... then you get... THE CALL. Sometimes even THE E-MAIL (yes, it does happen..)

From that moment on, you've either won or lost the pitch. And either way, after every result, I find myself asking a series of questions;

Was this really the best way to gauge my agency's competence?

Was this really the best way to test if we can do business over the next 12, 24, 36, etc months?

Can this truly be the ultimate test to see if we, and you, our potential clients, have chemistry?

Why is it that we only get one shot, one performance, to show how creative we can be?

Why is it that we get only one shot to demonstrate our strategic capacity?

Surely we would best solve these two above issues together? Through a working process, and not just one brief?

Maybe there's a less costly way, both in terms of time and money, to find if we're a good match?

On my next pitch, I'll probably be asking myself the same questions, and still striving to create the answers.


Best Regards / The Icebreaker