selecting a digital agency partner - Campaign Brief Guide_FINAL.pdf · selecting a digital agency...

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selecting a digital agency partner a step by step guide for australian marketers C The Communications Council

Transcript of selecting a digital agency partner - Campaign Brief Guide_FINAL.pdf · selecting a digital agency...

Page 1: selecting a digital agency partner - Campaign Brief Guide_FINAL.pdf · selecting a digital agency partner a step by step guide for australian marketers C The Communications Council

selecting a digital agency partner

a step by step guide for australian marketers

C The Communications Council

Page 2: selecting a digital agency partner - Campaign Brief Guide_FINAL.pdf · selecting a digital agency partner a step by step guide for australian marketers C The Communications Council

White paper prepared by the Communications Council digital committee.

background

The internet contributed $50 billion, or 3.6% of gross domestic product, to Australia’s economy in 2010 – equivalent to the size of iron ore exports – and is growing at 7% to reach $70 billion over the next 5 years. Ref: “The Connected Continent: How the Internet is transforming the Australian economy” – Deloitte Access Economics

Digital now accounts for 17% of Australian marketing spend becoming an important constituent of many traditional businesses. Today, marketers and their procurement departments, and agencies are required to get involved with, and make decisions about digital marketing.

What quickly becomes clear even after a cursory exploration is that there is a confusing array of options and skillsets available for hire.

Businesses looking to get the best results possible from their digital marketing efforts need to thoroughly understand the landscape and how to clearly articulate their requirements.

So, whilst selecting a digital partner has many similarities to and indeed often overlaps with creative and media agency selection (particularly in today’s heavily integrated landscape), there are a number of key considerations that are specific to digital.

Our aim with this guide is to highlight the key areas of focus, provide some food for thought, and offer/suggest a few tools aimed at making clients and their prospective digital partners more successful at pitching.

who is this guide aimed at?

– Client-side marketers looking to engage agencies for digital services. (It is aimed at the larger client, probably spending $500K-plus annually on digital marketing initiatives.)

– Agencies looking for possible digital partners.

what kinds of agencies and digital disciplines does this guide represent? This guide has been produced by digital practitioners working in both integrated and specialist digital agencies. The authors also hail from both independent and multi-national network businesses.

A list of Communications Council digital agency members is contained at the back of the guide.

selecting a digital agency partner

a step by step guide for austral ian marketers

what services do i need?• digital marketing consultancy• e-business consultancy• e-commerce, online retailing• digital media strategy• search• search engine advertising• online advertising• website development• campaign websites• content development• application development• information architecture• technical architecture• data analytics• web hosting• mobile marketing• mobile advertising• mobile development• email marketing & deployment• social media strategy• social media monitoring• social media engagement• affiliate marketing• adserving• site tracking, reporting and analytics

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Conducting a pitch provides an organisation with an opportunity to witness an agency’s strategic, technical, creative and/or digital media capabilities as well as providing a forum for assessing the relationship chemistry.

For an agency, it represents an opportunity to demonstrate the quality of their work and the value they could bring to the client’s business. While a potentially fruitful exercise, the pitch process can be time-consuming and demanding of resources on both sides, so having a good understanding of how to manage a pitch is incredibly important.

In the case of digital partner selection, there are a number of big differences compared to a traditional agency pitch. That’s because, as well as strategy and creative, there is a third dimension at play: technology/software development.

Not only does this add complexity that pushes many marketers outside their core skill-set, but it also means that digital agencies can be called on to provide services that, in the past, might be seen as being/falling outside the remit of an agency partner.

For that reason, the first part of this guide is designed to help clients define their requirements. ‘Requirements gathering’ is a typical digital development phrase that describes the definition of the scope of a project. Defining the requirements of a digital partner is a critical first step. All too often we see clients having to use the pitch process to determine what they might need in a digital partner because they aren’t sure what they need. This is wasteful of both the clients and agency’s resources when some simple tools could have been employed to assist in the definition of requirements.

The second part of this guide is dedicated to the pitch process itself and some suggested approaches. This is based on work that has already been undertaken by various parties at the Communications Council and external third party sources.

introduction

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If the key to success in finding a digital partner is in defining requirements, then what are some of the questions that should be asked here?

• Stakeholder analysis: often a digital agency appointment involves many internal groups within an organisation – who should/needs to be involved?

– Marketing (brand, customer, product, channel)

– Sales– IT and or Web Services– Procurement– Corporate (comms and/or strategy)– International (stakeholders affecting policy

or agency alignment).

• Technology: do we have any strong technical requirements?

• Do we need one agency?• Do we need full-service digital, or can we accept

parts of the value chain being outsourced?• What skill sets do we require?• Are there any skills the agency does not offer?

It is vital in this step that the importance / weighting of each requirement is also gathered. Frequently one requirement dominates the pitch when in reality it only makes up a small component of the overall quality of the output. For example, an idea brief is hijacked by the technology department. This also will enable the establishment of a clear decision matrix.

The key to success is to assess which services and capabilities can be offered in-house as opposed to outsourcing. Core competency is the key here. Also note that outsourcing may not necessarily be a bad thing. It is rare that an agency can claim to be self-sufficient in a world of multiple competing development technologies. If they do partner for this, then in which areas? Do they have a philosophy around partnering?

The following 2x2 matrix is a simple approach to mapping the market – you can probably plot some of your existing relationships onto this.

Whilst we are not suggesting that the matrix will completely define your agency shortlist it will help you shape and define it, equally provide you with a clear direction on what areas of expertise you need to focus on and as such, assign the appropriate team to respond.

the digital dimension

Ideas

Brand &Communication

Business Process

Implementation

Mapping the digital landscape

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Ideas

CommsAgency

ManagementConsultancy

High-EndDeveloper

Pure PlayDigital Agency

Brand &Communication

Business Process

Implementation

Digital Development Competencies

Of course there many of other dimensions, including:

– Media Capability – Social Media Capability – Proven Integration expertise

One important dimension is that digital is often pitched in relation to a specific assignment, rather than as a retained Digital Agency of Record.

Often this means that a process more akin to software development kicks in:

Request for Information [RFI] – May not involve responding to a specific brief. More like a credentials document, often with a need to respond to a specific technical capability.

Request for Proposal [RFP] – responding to a specific project request.

If you’re in doubt about any of these areas, then the good news is that there are a number of very digitally savvy pitch consultants out there.

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step 1: reason for pitching Ensuring that both the pitch management team and the agencies involved clearly understand the objectives and evaluation criteria behind the pitch goes a long way toward achieving a successful process outcome.

step 2: setting up the pitch management team Acrucialfirststepineffectivelymanagingthepitchprocess is to establish a pitch management team which is representative of all levels of key stakeholders and decision-makers. The pitch team should conduct a thorough requirements gathering, will help determine the makeup of the team. For example, if technology is a key element of the requirements, then this/technology specialists should also form part of the team.

Additionally, consider nominating a Pitch Champion to be responsible for managing all aspects – internally and externally – of the pitch. While this person will most likely beresponsibleforpreparinganddeliveringthefinalpitchbrief, they can be most helpful in canvassing all of those who are expected to work with the agency on their views of what Agency capabilities and experience are required.

Itcanbedifficulttoachievetheoriginalpitchobjectivesifthe stakeholders change throughout the pitch. This can befrustratinganddifficultforeveryone(bothclientandagency).

Ensure all key stakeholders are included on the pitch management team and remain involved throughout the entire process.

step 3: selecting the pitchers Creating an appropriate ‘Digital Agency Pitch List’ is another key step in the successful pitch process.

This starts with preparing an initial shortlist of the agencies you believe may be able to add value to your business.

When looking for a digital partner, suggested areas for consideration are:

•Thequalityandeffectivenessofrecentwork•Agencyreputation•Relevantexperience•Experience/skillbaseofkeyagencypersonnel•Businesscasestudies•Priorassociationswiththeagencyor

personnel, and recommendations and referrals from colleagues

•Conflicts •CommunicationsCouncilaccreditation

Gaining some preliminary insight into the agencies’ offerings can help you more effectively and efficiently narrow the list of agencies considered for the pitch. As a general rule of thumb, the number of agencies you consider and ultimately invite to pitch will correlate with the size of the assignment.

the pitch process

onto the process itself

number of agencies

stage major assignment minor assignment

Shortlist 4 – 5 3 – 4

Pitch List 3 – 4 2 – 3

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Oftenthebestwaytorefineyourpreferredpitchlististoask each of the short-listed agencies to submit or present their credentials. Typical credentials and capabilities might include:

• Agency philosophy/history • Current client list • Relevant experience of agency • Sample campaigns • Case studies • Specificskills,areasofstrength

and/or differentiation • Curriculum Vitaes of key personnel

Recognising that the industry is changing quickly, you might also ask for views on the future of the industry!

Some clients prefer to solicit a presentation of agency credentials, thus allowing them the opportunity to develop a feel for potential relationship chemistry.

Clients with years of experience working with agencies stress the importance of feeling comfortable with the individuals working within them. Openness and honesty of communication is generally considered crucial.

If you are also looking for a specialist digital partner then you should potentially involve your other agency partnerships, including the development of guidelines on how they’ll work together and collaborate. Moving forward this will also help define clear roles and responsibilities so that agencies can effectively work together to produce the best work.

step 4: the written brief It is often said that the best pitch will only be as good as the brief. Having a clear written brief to provide each agency with and guide your own team’s verbal delivery, can help ensure the pitch brief and requirements are communicated consistently across all agencies. This in turn provides greater validity to ensuing comparisons of the work presented by all agencies.

Different organisations approach the pitch process in different ways. Some companies provide the agencies with a written brief up front and follow it up with a verbal brief and opportunity for Q&A. Others prefer to deliver both the verbal and written brief at the same time and include Q&A as part of the same meeting whereas some companiesconductajointAgencybriefingmeetingfollowed by individual Q&A sessions at a later date.

Regardless of how the brief and background information are provided to the agencies, they will most often include commercially sensitive information and are thus provided onaconfidentialbasis.Allagencieswillreadilyenterintoaconfidentialityagreementintheinterestsofobtainingmarket data, research and other details that will help themmeetthespecificationsofthebrief,includinganagreement to return all data and documentation at the conclusion of the process.

what to include in the brief Manycompaniesandagencieshavestandardbriefingtemplates they use on a regular basis. While they may vary in format, they tend to cover many common areas.

briefing topics • Business issues • Market/category overview (competitors, market

share, market dynamics) • Brand marketing objective • Brand overview • Brand positioning and key messages • Communication objectives • Marketing activities to date (salesforce activities,

advertising and media, direct mail, brand reminders, promotion, medical education)

• Market research• Competitive overview (marketing activities,

key messages) • Global branding requirements if applicable • Budgeted spend level (this is very helpful to

understand the scope of activities that can be considered)

• Terms of business • Draft contract including details on IP ownership

specifically your policy on source files• Special consideration should be given to include

all technical background, such as legacy systems, IT platform, hosting environment, database, programming languages.

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types of pitches 1. presentations of credentials Based on the Agency’s experience, service offering and people.

2. strategic presentations Considered comments on a company’s marketing situation and strategy.

3. creative presentations Thecreative-basedpitchrespondingtothespecificsofabrief.

evaluation criteria It is best for everyone if you clearly spell out the criteria you are going to use to evaluate the agency and the weighting you plan to attach to the various criteria.

common criteria sample weighting

Market understanding 10%

Strategic thinking 25%

Creativity 20%

Technical capability 15%

Independent thinking 10%

Companyfit 10%

Resources 5%

Terms of business 5%

pitch response/presentation deliverables

In order to increase the likelihood of your expectations being met, try to be clear and transparent about the expected pitch response desired. Communicate your view on things such as:

•Whatyouexpecttheagencytopresent(i.e.strategy, creative, campaign elements, media, budget, etc)

•Presentationparameters(presentationduration,facility, format, number of people, etc)

•Evaluationcriteria•Timing•Termsofbusiness(i.e.pitchremunerationconfidentiality,intellectualproperty,etc)

You must inform the agency who will be attending from your side so that they can ensure the appropriate people are also in the presentation. For example, you cannot expect a creative to answer technical or social media questions.

The more clear you can be in communicating your expectations to the pitching agencies, the more likely you are to get the kind of response you are looking for and the easier it will be to compare agency presentations.

If you only need to see the agency’s relevant experience to make a decision, or need a strategic positioning recommendation, spell it out in your written brief. If you also expect to see a creative articulation of the strategy or a complete campaign, be clear about it. If you want a media plan or program for Year Two and Three, make sure you ask for it in writing. What you are asking of the pitching agencies by way of presentation content should link back to your reasons for pitching and your evaluation criteria.

To maximise both the efficiency and effectiveness of what can often be a very time and resource demanding pitch process (for the client and the agency), try to restrict the required response to the key parameters you believe will enable you to select the best Agency to work on your business in the future. Different types of pitches will enable you to evaluate various criteria.

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Remuneration for the acceptance and use of the successful agency’s strategic development and/or creative concepts would be negotiated as part of the successful agency’s contract.

response time

In order to maximise the quality of the response you get from the agencies pitching, consideration of a reasonable timeline for the pitch process is important.

A general guide seems to be:

requirement credentials presentation strategic submission full creative pitch

Minimum preferred 1 week 3 weeks 4 weeks

Preparation 2 weeks 4 weeks 6 weeks

step 5: determining fair compensation for pitching Pitching can be a costly and time-consuming process for all concerned. Some clients choose to recognise the effort and resources the agencies invest in the pitchthroughagestureoffinancialcompensationtocover basic out-of-pocket costs associated with pitch presentations. This compensation is unrelated to purchase or ownership of intellectual property or creative concepts.

Based on past experience of clients and agencies, some general guidelines relating to pitch compensation follow.

The COSTS TO AGENCY represent total out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the preparation of the pitch (includes things such as research, printed materials, external supplier costs, etc – but not head hours, ideas, concepts, etc).

The PAID BY CLIENT represents ranges of what would be considered fair compensation to each of the agencies pitching.

guidelines for pitch compensation

requirement credentials presentation strategic submission full creative pitch

Costs to agency $2,000 $5,000 – $10,000 $15,000 – $25,000

Paid by client $0 $1,000 – $2,000 $3,000 – $5,000

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step 6: confidentiality agreements and intellectual property

confidentiality Anexchangeofsensitiveand/orconfidentialinformationand materials is often an inherent part of the pitch process.Allpartiesbenefitfromparticipatinginformalconfidentialityagreements.

intellectual property To avoid misunderstanding on the part of either party, discussion and clear agreement should ensue between the company and the agencies in terms of the expected treatment of intellectual property. As mentioned in the previous section, the cost to the company of purchasing the agency’s strategic plan and/or creative concepts presented in the pitch would form part of the contractual agreement between the company and the successful agency.

step 7: briefing meeting Face-to-facebriefingmeetingsbetweenthecompany’smarketing team and those of prospective agencies can represent a good opportunity for Q&A sessions to clarify the needs of both parties, not to mention the chance to assesstherelationshipfit.Afewwaysofimprovingtheeffectiveness of these meetings are to:

•Havetheconfidentialityagreementsignedinadvance of this meeting

•Beasclearandconcisewiththeverbalbriefaspossible

•Provideawrittencopyofthebrief(eitherbefore,during or following the verbal brief)

•Providecopiesofallrelevantmaterials (sales aids, research reports, clinical trials)

•Beopenandhonestonallquestionsandissues•Provideaccesstokeystaffandanyother

information sources

Agencies may seek exclusive answers to their inquiries bothduringandafterbriefingmeetings.Alotcanbelearned in terms of quality of thinking indicated by follow-up questions from agencies, so it can be a good idea to record and share these questions with the whole pitch management team.

Agencies may ask to work with you in the strategy or creative development. This may involve attending research or strategy sessions, competitive war gaming, or tissue sessions. Each of these meetings allows you the opportunity to get to know how the Agency works, so it can be a valuable process all around.

working sessionsAs feedback is critical in getting the response right, we would recommend organising working sessions. Feedback can then be incorporated by the agency making for a better final response. It is also highly recommended that the information and direction that comes from these sessions is not shared amongst the wider agency list, as this, the questions asked and the information extracted will help one agency stand apart from another.

step 8: establishing an objective evaluation system The establishment of an objective evaluation system for the assessment of competitive pitch presentations can greatly assist decision-making later. Advising the agenciesofyourdecisioncriteriaatthebriefingcanalsohelp to ensure the pitch response meets your needs.

examples of broad assessment criteria the pitch

• How good is the response? • Is the pitch response in line with the brief and

your expectations? How good is the response? • What is the quality of thinking the Agency has

demonstrated? • Have they demonstrated a genuine understanding

of the key issues and have they addressed them effectively?

the people • Which agency team members will be working

on your business? Were they present and participating in the pitch?

• Howdoyoufeelaboutthepotentialfitforanongoing relationship with the agency team?

• Professional history, relationships with other clients and length of employment with the agency or within the industry may help you evaluate participants’ likely contribution to your business. Ask yourself – can I work with these people?

• Is the “chemistry” right?

the work • How impressive and potentially effective is the

strategic and creative work? • Is there strong compelling insight? How sound is

the thought process? • Is it “on brief”? Does the creative work match the

strategy? • Is there a big idea? • Will your target audience react to it in the way

you desire?

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step 9: pitch presentation

The presentation phase of the process provides a face-to-face exchange with agency personnel proposed to work on your business. The best way of assessing their compatibility with your own people is to have the two teams meet.

The presentation also allows you to access the agency in terms of a working relationship.

relationship checklist Youmayfinditusefultoaskyourselfafewquestionsabout the agency teams, including:

•Howwelldotheyappeartoworktogether?•Howwelldotheylistenaswellastalk?•Howwelldotheyseemtounderstand...

– your business? – your position? – your objectives?

•Howwelldotheyrelatetoyourpeople?•Howwelldotheyrespondtocriticism?•Howkeenaretheytogainyourbusiness?

Itcanbeofsignificantbenefittoeveryonetoensurethat all relevant stake-holders and decision-makers within the organisation understand the importance of their attendance at each and every pitch presentation. Itshouldbeaprerequisitetoinvolvementinthefinaldecision. To facilitate an easier and more inclusive decision making process, it is recommended that each member of the pitch team is asked to review the selection criteria before each presentation.

It helps if each decision-maker takes independent notes. These will prove invaluable during discussion after the presentation.

The time you need to allow for pitch presentations should be agreed on in advance with the agencies, with two hours being most common for a full strategic and creative pitch. Agencies should be judged on whether theyadheretotheseagreedtimings.Ensuresufficientbreaks in the presentations to avoid fatigue. Also be sure to set adequate breaks between presentations to allow each to be approached with equal open-mindedness and freshness. From a logistical standpoint, the time between presentations will also allow the presenters time to set up the room.

Two presentations per day with 90 minutes between them is a good rule of thumb. The location of the pitch is usually in your boardroom as it generally makes it easier for the entire pitch management team to attend. Check with the agency on their audio visual needs. If you are able, holding the pitch at the agency may give your team insight into the agency culture.

Immediately after each presentation, plan on meeting with the selection team to discuss the presentation while the information is still fresh.

step 10: making the decision and advising the agencies There is no hard and fast way to make a decision.

Havingpredefinedselectioncriteriahelps,butyouarestill often faced with comparing apples and oranges. Sometimes,anagencypresentsabigideathatdefiesthecriteria. It is therefore advisable to debate the merits of thevariousagenciesassoonafterthefinalpresentationas possible. Discuss what the brand needs, what marketingreallyneeds,thepersonalityfit,theworkingrelationship,andtheconfidencethattheagencycandeliver. Then make the decision.

This decision-making process should ideally take no more than one week.

If you find yourself uncertain, you can always bring the final two agencies back for a short meeting. Ask how they would handle specific situations. Ask for references from existing clients. Sometimes this helps make the final decision easier.

While not common, the situation can arise where two or more agencies present similar creative work during the pitch. If this happens it is generally recommended that those agencies are told of the situation, shown the similar work at the same time together and thus informed that the pitch decision will then come down to other parameters. This prevents copyright issues and/or ill-will from emerging after the process. Once you make the decision, it should be advised to all contenders on the same day in the same way. Your selection should not be communicated elsewhere until each of the agencies has been informed.

Any agency materials held by you should be returned at this time, and you can also formally request the return of any property belonging to your company.

For commercial reasons, it is good practice to document the decision and the basis on which it has been made.

Increasingly, agencies failing to win the business are requesting a verbal debrief, as it not only helps them improve their skills but also shows an appreciation and respect for the time and effort they invested in thinking about your brand and your brief. Such requests are usually being granted.

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step 11: formulating contracts and remuneration

The next step moving forward consists of getting terms of business agreed in writing between the company and successful agency. While the past has witnessed a proliferation of compensation models, agreements based onfixedfeesorheadhoursarenowmorecommon.

Regardless of the form of payment, most full Digital Partners will aim to achieve at least 20% of income as profitbeforetaxandinterest.

In order to obtain accurate advice on cost structures and expectations, you should be as explicit as possible about the nature and extent of services you expect the Agency to provide. Get terms and conditions committed to contractual form as early as possible.

agency relationships Current remuneration models

•Negotiatedflatfee•Basefee&incentive•Paymentbyproject•Paymentbyheadhours (includingprofitcontribution)

•Performancebasedmodels•Combinationsoftheabove

The more clarity the contract provides, the better the platform for the overall working relationship.

agency remuneration Some questions to consider when selecting a compensation model are:

1. Does it allow for the provision of adequate professional service to the client?

2. Does it fairly compensate the agency for its work?

3. Does it provide an incentive to both parties? 4. Is it simple to operate? 5. Can it be effectively reviewed periodically?

step 12: managing the change Obviously you now want to get down to business as soon as possible.

Achangeofagencycanbedifficultandshouldbehandled with some sensitivity in regards to the outgoing Agency.

Being seen to treat all of those involved with respect andcourtesyhasthepotentialtobenefityouthemost. Remember that you may be repeating the pitch process at some time in the future. A period of 90 days is generally accepted as fair and reasonable for the transfer of responsibility from one agency to another, and depending on the contractual arrangement in regard to termination, the outgoing agency may be entitled to regular remuneration and cost recoveries during this time.

checklist 1. Clearly identify your reason for pitching and

discuss with your existing agency 2. Select your Pitch Management Team 3. Establish initial shortlist of agencies 4. Prepare a detailed written brief with clear

objectives and agency deliverables 5. Outline pitch remuneration agreement for

strategic advice and/or creative ideas, if applicable

6. Reach an agreement with participating agencies relatedtoconfidentialityandownershipofintellectual property

7.Organisebriefingmeetingswithprospectiveagency personnel

8. Determine objective evaluation criteria for agency presentation and share with pitching agencies

9. Pitch Presentations 10. Make the decision and advise agency selection

to all participating agencies 11. Agree on terms of contract with selected agency 12. Manage the change of agency

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common mistakes and pitfalls.

These are very real scenarios from clients and agencies alike that highlight some of the frustrations with the pitch process. Below we have gained some real quotes from the industry and extracted some key points.

FRUSTRATIONS:

• Briefs being too loose/unclear• Lack of functional analysis of mobile requirements• Unrealistic time constraints• Late consideration of mobile, too last minute• Restrictive design mock-ups• Lack of explanation of handset restrictions to

clients• Low budgets• Perception of mobile as cheap

PITFALLS:

• Trying to do the website on mobile• Not understanding consumer behaviour• Leaving it too late to deliver• Assumptions that the world has an iPhone

what frustrates you about pitching or being pitched?

“It’s always a lot of work and some clients don’t appreciate quite how much; we recently had a pitch where the ‘brief’ kept stretching and stretching, until eventually they were asking us to do half the actual job to evaluate us; we walked away at that point!”

are the client briefs clear?“Not terribly, mainly I think because clients aren’t

always clear what it is that they want, because they are not up to speed with the media. We’re finding that clients often don’t know what they want, don’t understand it, and depending on the industry, are afraid of the media. It’s not as simple as asking for TV and print campaigns. There’s even more jargon, and lets face it, it is fast moving.”

should creative be pitched in a digital assignment or is process more important?

“I think it’s good to pitch sample creative so they can assess whether you ‘get them’ and can deliver the right stuff; however, this can sometimes be addressed perfectly adequately through examples for other clients. As a lot of a digital pitch can be about the strategy, and then about implementing the brand work in a digital way (focusing on CPC etc etc) then going too far, unpaid, with creative is a bit unreasonable.”

do digital agencies ‘get’ brand?“Depends on the digital agency in my experience;

the ones that are part of the larger groups usually do, and then selected indies. But digital agencies that have come out of ‘web’ environments tend to not have the training in brand and can be quite flaky on it.”

From the perspective of service provider to agency:

1. Don’t waste time speaking to the wrong person2. Make sure that person actually understands

digital (otherwise refer to #1)3. Do not assume that the person actually

understands anything about what you are talking about (refer to #2)

4. Agency people tend to have limited ability to value engagement as opposed to traditional measurement of reach and frequency.

5. Do not assume that the person you pitch to can actually articulate the benefits of what you are offering to their client (most cannot and therefore innovative digital propositions usually get put into the ‘too hard basket’ )

From the perspective of service provider to direct client:

1. Make sure you find an ambassador for your ideas and proposed solution (someone who can articulate the benefits of the solution to their management teams)

2. Focus on the solution and benefits, rather than the technology

3. Highlight the innovation but do not get caught up in it.

4. Differentiate through service not price.

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practitioner feedback

We asked a number of agency heads and client practitioners…

what frustrates you about pitching or being pitched?

“Unclear requirements for the pitch – what exactly are you looking for in a pitch – if you say “no creative”, will you penalise people who present creative, or secretly be impressed by it and award them the job?”

“Unclear requirements for the ongoing relationship – don’t use a pitch to determine what type of agency you’re looking for, or who best suits your needs – that’s what creds presentations are for.”

“Not knowing the size of the prize – what is up for grabs, and what are the budgets surrounding it – you’re asking for people to work for free, At least let them know what they’re working towards.”

“No budget for project pitches – digital projects can often be sized to the budget limitations. Don’t tell me you want the best possible option and then tell me I lost the pitch because I presented the Rolls Royce option, but you only had money for a Lada.”

“People asking for the entire solution as part of the pitch – asking for “a sample home page, sitemap and navigation” means that we have to do nearly all of pre-production up front – which is a huge issue if it’s an unpaid pitch.”

“Not knowing how many other agencies are involved, or who they are - what’s the benefit of a blind competition? - Athletes know who they’re competing against, why shouldn’t agencies?”

“Pitching against more than 2 other agencies – if you can’t get a short list of 3 people, you don’t know what you’re asking for or who you’re asking.”

“Pitches where there is no access to the client prior to the pitch presentation – in the real world, you’d work closely with your agency to develop work, not just give them a brief and expect them to present the entire solution fully thought through. Allow contact through the process so you can mimic the real world.”

“Pitches where the key decision makers don’t turn up – if we can put in the effort to pull together a pitch, make sure you can put the right people in the room to watch us present – and someone internally “representing the ideas” is NOT acceptable.”

“Pitch outcomes where the decision was made on poor information and there was no chance to negotiate / correct it – getting the call saying that you’ve lost the pitch, and then the reasons given are misconceptions, things that would be easily corrected, or things that weren’t asked for in the first place. “We decided to award it to an agency who could do our offline print as well”. “If you’d asked for that, we could have shown you we can do that stuff, but your brief specifically said Digital Stuff Only” .

“Having to pitch solutions, rather than capabilities and credentials – the success or failure of most digital projects is based on capability to implement and ability to come up with great ideas, and then execute those. Most digital pitches fail to look at the creds of the agency and its ability to actually deliver what it’s promising against the budget. “

what are some of the watch-outs or pitfalls?“Clients who are clearly clueless about the digital

space and are using the pitch process as a way of working out what they should be doing, who they should be asking and what their budgets should be.”

“Too many people on the pitch. (Most of the stuff listed about, but stated as a pitfall rather than an annoyance).”

are the client briefs clear?“Very seldom.”

should creative be pitched in a digital assignment or is process more important?

“Depends on what it is that the client is looking for.

If it’s doing a one-off digital advertising campaign, with a defined brief, budget and timeline, then creative is appropriate. And if creative is presented, and they choose that agency, they must run with the creative presented with minor amends, not start the whole process all over again.

If they’re looking for an agency relationship, a web build, an eCRM programme then no, creative capability should be assessed on previous work, rather than being part of the pitch.”

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top tips

We asked a number of agency heads and client practitioners for tips to a successful pitch process:

• Be absolutely clear about requirements for the pitch response – if you say no creative, be fair and stick to the agreed guidelines when you make your judgment on agency selection

• A pitch shouldn’t be used to determine the type of agency you’re looking for - a credentials presentation will help you define that

• Be clear about the requirements for the on-going relationship, are you entering in to a long-term agreement, a roster position or is this simply a project?

• Be clear about the size of the opportunity for the successful agency

• Be upfront about what budget you have for project pitches, this saves any confusion over agencies presenting ideas that blow the budget

• A pitch is an opportunity for an agency to show off their skills, not provide the entire solution, be fair about expectations from a pitch process

• Inform your shortlist how many agencies are pitching, you might even want to tell them who they’re up against

• Don’t just write a pitch brief then disappear until pitch day, make yourself available for questions, workshops and tissue meetings during the process, you’ll get a much better handle on how an agency works

• Make sure all the key decision makers can make the pitch, agencies go to a lot of effort preparing pitches and it’s only fair to have the right people in the room

• Don’t move the goalposts when making your decision, i.e. you awarded the business to an agency that has offline capabilities, but you didn’t ask the other shortlisted agencies if they also have those capabilities

• Ask to meet the people that will work on your business, nothing is more frustrating than seeing senior people in the pitch, then not seeing those people once you’ve started working together

• Be prompt in your decision making, don’t leave agencies hanging for weeks/months on end whilst you pontificate over a decision

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the communications council digital council member companies

Iain McDonald (Chair) Amnesia

Mike Zeederberg Zuni

Nic Chamberlain 303

Nic Hodges Mediacom

Simon Morgan Publicis Digital

Craig Galvin The White Agency

Charles Clapshaw Tequila

Aden Hepburn Ideaworks

Joshua Frith The Dubs

Heather Albrecht Digital Connections

Graham Christie Big Mobile

David Whittle M&C Saatchi

Kathryn Apte Google

Ruud Spierings Facebook

Stephen Von Muenster Von Muenster Solicitors

P. +61 2 8297 3800 W. www.communicationscouncil.org.au