Do you have a clear brief? Gain full
agreement with all those involved in the
decision-making process about what the
requirements of the agency are. Invest
time and effort in agreeing the budget
and producing a written brief describing
the brand or company’s current position,
and where it wants to be in the context of
clear marketing and business objectives.
Decide whether the client is acting as
the orchestrator of a series of agency
relationships, needs a ‘lead’ agency, or
requires a ‘one-stop-shop’.
What kind of pitch will you hold? Give
some thought to the type of search
that will best assist you in making the
appointment. The traditional pitch process
is expensive for both parties, so agree
fees where appropriate to offset a fair
proportion of agency costs and to ensure a
professional approach on both sides.
Note that many successful agency
appointments are based on reputation,
personal chemistry, credentials and
references from other clients, as opposed
to pitches. Workshops and trial projects
are also effective methods of choosing an
agency.
One all of this in place you will get into
the next stage of searching and selecting
an agency. Here are some guidelines.
Prepare all the necessary
background information
Prepare an outline brief, including a
clear indication of the brand or company
marketing/communications
budget.
Consider the scope of work you will be
asking the successful agency to undertake
and ask the agencies to prepare some initial
financial estimates accordingly, right at
the outset. This avoids misunderstandings
and manages expectations on both sides.
If you have chosen a consultant to help
manage the selection process, work with
them to develop a brief on the type of
agency required in terms of size relative
to budget, location, and specialization,
potentially conflicting business; and draw
up carefully the criteria that will form
your checklist against which to judge the
initial agency longlist.
Identify relevant existing work for
other clients, within the appropriate
communications discipline, which you
rate highly.
86 MAL32/19 ISSUE
Prepare a concise but thoroughly written
brief for the competing agencies. It must be
clear from the brief whether strategic pro-
posals alone are required, or some creative
ideas or a full creative pitch are expected.
Alternatively, a workshop or trial project
could be envisaged. Agencies should respect
the client’s wishes in this. Be sensitive to the
fact that creative pitches are an expensive
and resource-draining exercise for agencies.
Undertake any necessary desk/online
research for additional background
information about agencies that might
interest you.
Hold chemistry meetings
and sign a confidentiality
agreement
Seek credentials information and case
studies from, and hold initial chemistry
meetings with, selected agencies that
match the criteria in your outline brief.
A mutual non-disclosure/confidentiality
agreement ought to be signed before
undertaking any meetings.
You should decide whether to make a
monetary contribution to the pitch. If so,
this can be included in the non-disclosure
agreement to form part of a wider pitch
agreement. Some financial contribution
shows commitment and the seriousness of
your intent.
Be aware of the dangers of information
on your search becoming widely known.
Early, uncontrolled leaks can lead to
you being inundated with unsolicited
approaches.
Think of the response
required and prepare a
written brief accordingly
Prepare a concise but thoroughly written
brief for the competing agencies. It must
be clear from the brief whether strategic
proposals alone are required, or some
creative ideas or a full creative pitch are
expected. Alternatively, a workshop or
trial project could be envisaged. Agencies
should respect the client’s wishes in this.
Be sensitive to the fact that creative
pitches are an expensive and resource-
draining exercise for agencies.
Be clear about the nature of the services
that you expect to use. Some or all
of brand planning/strategic thinking,
communications
planning,
creative
development, media planning and buying,
digital, PR and / or event. Make the
budget explicit from the outset.
Identify and make clear all criteria on
which the agencies’ presentations will be
judged. This could for example be strategic
thinking, creative concepts, costing
proposals. Also consider whether policies
on sustainability/environmental issues will
be taken into account.
Invite up to three agencies
to pitch (or four if
incumbent included)
Be disciplined on how many agencies are
invited to respond to a preliminary ‘due
diligence’ questionnaire or ‘Request for
Information’ (RFI). Asking more than 7
agencies is usually very wasteful of both
client procurement and agency resources
and indicates an unclear brief. No more
than five agencies should be asked to
prepare extended credentials or ‘think-
piece’ presentations for shortlisting.
Decide on a pitch list of up to three
agencies only. If the incumbent is invited,
the list can go up to four agencies in total.
Don’t invite the incumbent to pitch if you
have no intention of re-appointing them.
Make competing agencies aware of the
number of agencies on the pitch list and
whether the incumbent is included. The
client should confirm in writing whether
or not the pitch process and the names of
the participants are confidential.