Why is pitch still a glitch in the advertising matrix

A few months ago, there was an Instagram reel of a client talking about how they went through more than a hundred scripts before approving one. Some time ago, there was a pitch for a large business, with over 14 agencies participating. A few years ago, a pitch was conducted on Facebook Live by a famous founder. Recently, something similar happened on LinkedIn.

Ten years ago, if a brand called for a creative agency pitch, it was headline news in advertising and marketing media. It was a big deal. Now, as a large portion of the industry has shifted from retainers to projects, pitches have become a norm, an everyday part of the business.

And if it’s every day, there should ideally be some process, a universally accepted and followed method. But does one such process exist? I don’t think so. Does it need one? Absolutely.

First, let’s do some housekeeping. Clean up. Let’s list the things that are complete no-nos, the "never-do-this" ones, and the things that harm the industry.

Rules of Civility

Brief agencies on a campaign. Disappear. Brief agencies on a campaign, hear the agency presentations. Disappear. Brief agencies on a campaign, hear the agency presentations, and don’t go ahead with any agency. Disappear. Brief agencies on a campaign, hear the agency presentations, and choose one agency. Don’t inform others. Disappear.

It might sound like basic courtesy, sort of corporate-civic-sense, not to do this. Some clients might even be surprised to hear this. But ghosting happens. And more frequently than one would imagine.

Ethical Participation

There was a pitch where the brand consultant, who was also a brand planner working for an agency, sat through the pitch presentations of other agencies. Finally, the planner’s agency did the campaign themselves. Wrong. Unethical. The examiner can’t set the question paper and then go ahead and answer it themselves.

Another example: Agencies are called for a pitch, but there’s a catch—the client’s internal creative team will also take a shot at the brief (until here, it’s fine; it’s tricky but can work with). But the internal team decides to sit through the agency pitches, hear all the ideas, and eventually, they only do the campaign. Same. Unethical. Bad practice. Please don’t do it.

Marketing/Campaign Budgets

Pitch briefs are sent out, but no budget is indicated. When asked, the client coordinator tells agencies that if the idea is good, there’s no issue with the budget. Once all the presentations are over, the client coordinator gives out their budget. The total budget, including production and creative fees, is one-fourth of what any decent agency would charge for their creative fees alone. Big bummer.

It’s like you go to an architect and say, “Build me a house, no issue with the budget.” Once they come back with a full design philosophy, complete blueprint, floor plans, and interiors—including a sexy portico, sky deck, and garage with wooden flooring—you tell them you were actually looking for a 1BHK. Doesn’t make sense, right? Same here. Unless you’re John Lewis, and unless you are looking for a marquee advertising piece, please don’t say you don’t have budget issues. Putting those numbers down as part of the brief saves time and embarrassment. All of us would be better off without this fundamental expectation mismatch.

There’s one more thing that’s super important. It’s part of the basics, but I am going to get to that at the end. Meanwhile, here are a few other things that we can do better.

Briefs

This is a topic in itself. But in the context of a pitch, having the brief aligned internally is the most important thing. If the CEO or CMO comes to the meeting and asks questions of the brand manager about the brief, it’s not a great start for a pitch presentation—the brief needs to be discussed internally multiple times before it goes out. The clearer and sharper the input, the more it will show in the agency’s output. It will also show if it’s otherwise.

Celebrity Vs Non-Celebrity

The pitch happens. The client tells agencies that if they want to use a celebrity, they can, and they’re open to it—it’s the agency’s choice. How can it be a choice by the agency? It’s a 3-4 crore decision, either you can afford it or not. It’s a decision that has to be made before the briefing. Because one agency will present ideas without the celebrity and another with the celebrity. And how does one evaluate? It’s comparing apples and oranges.

Clarity of Execution and Media

We are keeping the brief open, and the agency can come up with anything that could solve the marketing problem—on-ground activation, a celebrity stunt, a film, a full-page newspaper ad, an influencer video, an idea for a reality show on TV, or whether we should project a QR code on the moon, etc.

It sounds enabling, empowering, and so on, but it’s not right for a pitch brief. Open briefs can only be given to retainer agencies, where their time is already paid for and where endless exploration is possible. In a project pitch, there needs to be supreme clarity on deliverables. This will allow agencies to focus their efforts and facilitate a fair evaluation for the client.

Timelines

There are two parts to this. One, there needs to be a clear end date. Ideally, the process should be completed within four weeks from the day of briefing. A maximum of six weeks if there’s a second round. A pitch cannot go on forever. Even with pitch fees, after a point, it will bleed the agency.

Two, briefing for a pitch on a Friday and expecting presentations by Wednesday is not good practice. Buffering time is bad. Giving time for the agency to develop work is as important as paying them.

Pitch Fees: A Must

Has to be paid.

I saw a video of a founder talking about how it’s very difficult to pinpoint which advertising idea is the best, and they had to meet 13 agencies before finalising one agency's script (I’m sure the other 12 agencies weren’t paid any pitch fees). The person compared the process to shopping for clothes—you see more and more, but nothing impresses you, until one day, something in a show window catches your eye. In that moment, you realise: this is what you were looking for, though you didn’t know it until you saw it.

It sounds like a valid point, an almost fair argument. But in reality, it’s the opposite. An advertising pitch is not the same as apparel retail. It’s not that ads have been created for multiple categories by agencies and kept on their front-office shelves, and clients can walk in and choose which one they like. Unfortunately, that’s not the business model of this industry.

An advertising pitch is like asking a tailor to make you a suit. It’s a commissioned project. The agency needs to come up with a communication strategy, develop a campaign idea, and flesh it out in five different forms. 50-60% of the job is done at this stage itself. Once approved, it’s only fixing a few things based on client feedback and then executing it. How can that not be charged?

There could be another counter-logic saying that it’s a service industry—pitching is part of business development for agencies, and they should factor it into their overheads. Yes, if you’re committing a multi-crore retainer for the next two years and asking three agencies to pitch for it, then maybe (even those, I believe, must be paid for), but calling for a campaign pitch and not wanting to pay will kill the industry. It’s one degree away from exploitation.

Here’s the thing: Clients need to see themselves as part of the advertising industry—if not the CEOs, then at least the CMOs. And it’s in their interest to protect the agency ecosystem.

This is not an emotional ask; it’s logic.
If agencies do well, who benefits? The brands.
And what does it take for agencies to do well? Good talent.
And what does it take to hire and retain good talent in the industry? Money.
I rest my case.

(The author is the founder of The Script Room.)