Tackling the issue of fairness for all is a key objective for TrinityP3 and our new pitch process BetterPitch. Here are five excellent reasons why it is crucial to get this right, for all parties.
1 – A level playing field for all pitches, for everyone involved
Too often, a pitch can appear to be run with a bias towards a pre-determined result. This can happen for several reasons, usually when agencies feel that favouritism is at play, information is being withheld from some, or too much double-guessing of the brief is required.
Everyone involved must have the same view of the pitch and its objectives, the same access to the information and the same opportunity to produce the best work. The rigour of the process behind the pitch is what drives this, from the start point of a clear objective and brief right through to the decision-making process at the end.
2 – Transparency at every stage
Lack of transparency about any of these three issues can lead to major bad feelings and fall out.
· Size of the prize – every agency needs a clear picture of the scale and value of the relationship they are pitching for. Not just the monetary reward, but the nature of the relationship and scope of work that is being pitched. Is it a five-year retained relationship? A one-off creative solution? A place on a roster? Without this information, agencies cannot judge the return on the investment of time and talent they are being asked to provide.
· Transparency of process – timings, key stages, what is being asked for at each stage, how results will be judged, numbers of competing agencies at each stage. All are important, and it is to everyone’s benefit for this information to be shared.
· Transparency of results. Nothing causes more frustration in the agency community than pitches where the result is never announced. And it needs to be done in a timely manner, without the kind of six-month delay that we sometimes hear about – which can be almost as frustrating as no result
BetterPitch is designed with a focus on achieving transparency at every stage. It’s not that hard to do, but it does take commitment and a rigorous process
3 – Comprehensive debriefing
It’s only fair to provide a complete debrief at every stage of refining a pitch list; otherwise, how will anybody ever learn how to do things better next time? BetterPitch allows for a debrief to agencies losing out at the longlisting, chemistry and final pitch stages, and the TrinityP3 team will always carry this out with honesty. (We don’t believe there is much value in just hearing “you came a close second”)
There are many reasons for not being involved at the next stage, and not all of them are any reason to kick yourself. If chemistry isn’t working, or specific skills required by the brief are not available in enough depth, it’s essential to know this so that lessons can be absorbed and acted upon.
This is equally important for the marketing and procurement teams – a need to provide rational reasons for decisions takes the focus away from ‘gut-feeling’ and onto objective analysis.
4 – Informed decisions driven by data, not just opinion
To develop the last point further, fairness demands something more behind decision-making than a personal opinion.
BetterPitch involves a scoring system for each stage of the process, so that objectivity is built in. Commentary about the reason for the score is encouraged, and the results are analysed and presented by the TrinityP3 team.
It’s not uncommon for marketing teams to be surprised by the results – they can sometimes expect something different from what the data reveals. The debate that this approach encourages is a well-informed one and leads to robust decision-making.
5 – Financial fairness
We are unequivocal about this. The client will be paying the agency fees, the client drives the pitch process and the ultimately will be the prime commercial beneficiary of a productive agency appointment. So the client needs to be responsible for the pitch consultancy fees.
Other pitch consultants can, and do, indulge in various ways of charging agencies, some open and some hidden. Fees for inclusion on the longlist, fees for the winning agency (sometimes based on a percentage of the agreed client retainer fee), hidden fees for agencies to join a club enabling them to take part – these are all used and are open to abuse. They also mean that the longlisting process is not a comprehensive whole-market approach to finding the best partners. TrinityP3 and BetterPitch do not get involved in any of these practices.
BetterPitch offers rigorous fairness
It’s one of our “Five F’s”, the principles behind the platform of Fast, Fit, Focus, Fair and Fun.
We promise to bring all of these to every pitch we run, to achieve a better result for everyone involved.
You can read more about the BetterPitch framework here or contact us here about how we can help make your pitch a BetterPitch.
This article has also appeared on LinkedIn here.
