How Marketers Can Validate Agency Promises and Avoid the Pitching Fantasy

The modern agency pitch is supposed to be a rigorous process built on transparency and strategic merit. Yet, for too many marketers, the final selection often feels like a gamble. You award the contract, only to discover six months later that the spectacular promises made during the pitch—the aggressive media rate discounts, the bespoke data dashboard, the instant efficiencies from Generative AI—were nothing more than “pitch candy.” They were designed to secure the win, with little regard for deliverability.

This recurring disappointment is not a failure of agency ethics alone; it is a failure of the pitch process design. When the selection criteria incentivize promises over proven capability, the process itself encourages exaggeration. TrinityP3 calls this critical flaw the “Flawed Buying Exercise,” a procurement practice that puts marketing integrity at risk and leaves clients legally exposed with a partner who can’t deliver.

This isn’t just about media. Whether an agency is over-promising media value, the immediate ROI of an econometric model (MMM), or radical cost reductions through automation, the core issue is the same: the client is using a flawed mechanism to assess future performance, leaving them with little recourse post-appointment. Marketers must regain control by validating these promises before the contract is signed.

The Pitfalls of the “Flawed Buying Exercise”

The concept of the “Flawed Buying Exercise” originated in media pitches, where procurement teams insist on agencies committing to specific, future-dated media buying positions (rates and volumes). The goal is to maximise upfront savings by forcing agencies into a “race to the bottom” based on cost alone.

However, as our analysis demonstrates, this practice is deeply flawed for several reasons:

1. It Incentivises Dishonesty: When the buying exercise is the primary selection filter, the agency that wins is often the one that exaggerates the most, not the one with the best strategy or buying power. They commit to an unachievable position just to secure the business.
2. Market Dynamics Change: Media markets, like technology, are volatile. Locking an agency into a rate based on a historical or static model ignores the dynamic nature of supply and demand, platform shifts, and unexpected market events (like the rapid changes seen during the pandemic).
3. It Fosters Unethical Practices: This pressure can force agencies toward previously “unethical behaviour,” such as media arbitrage or the opaque use of value banks, which compromise the transparency and trust vital for a long-term partnership.
4. The Client Always Loses: Once the agency admits the rate or promised capability is unachievable, the client is in an impossible position: pursue messy, public legal action; terminate and signal to the market they made an error; or, most commonly, grudgingly work with the underperforming agency until the contract expires. The marketer is left holding the bag for a decision based on a lie.

This dynamic extends far beyond media. It applies to any pitch where the marketer requires a massive, uncompensated commitment to a future outcome—like a data agency promising a custom dashboard or a creative shop guaranteeing a specific reduction in production time via AI.

The New Pitch Candy: AI and Automation

The emergence of Generative AI and automation has created a new category of dangerous pitch promises. Agencies now tout massive reductions in creative costs and a doubling of content speed. Marketers, desperate for efficiency, are often blinded by the promise of instant transformation.

However, the reality is that the application of AI requires:

• Significant data integration and governance work on the client side.
• A clear, ethical policy for machine-generated content.
• Specialist training for human creative and media teams.

An agency that promises “50% cost reduction by month three” without detailing a phased, investment-heavy implementation plan is likely making an unkeepable promise. To prevent this, the marketer’s pitch process must shift from asking what the agency can promise to demanding how the agency will prove it works.

Five Ways to Validate Promises Before Appointment

The solution is not to eliminate commercial assessment but to shift its focus from a crude “race to the bottom” to a sophisticated demonstration of capability and commitment. Here are five actions marketers can implement immediately to validate agency promises and guarantee accountability:

1. Transform the “Buying Exercise” into a “Trading Strategy Exercise”

Stop asking for a lock-in rate. Instead, ask the agency to:

• Outline their trading philosophy: How do they leverage volume, market intelligence, and technology?
• Model a dynamic scenario: Present their anticipated buying position today, and explain how that position would shift under two stress-test scenarios (e.g., a major competitor floods the market, or a key media channel sees a 20% spike in CPM).
• Define their KPIs for Value: Focus on performance outcomes (e.g., Cost Per Acquisition, viewability, attention metrics) rather than just the cheapest unit cost. This forces them to focus on delivering the best result, not the lowest rate.

2. Demand a Proof-of-Concept (POC) for Technology Promises

If an agency promises a new dashboard, an econometrics model, or an AI-driven automation process, do not accept slides or case studies. Instead, incorporate a small, paid, time-boxed Proof-of-Concept into the final stages of the pitch.

• For Data/Tech: Ask them to ingest a small, anonymized subset of your historical data and demonstrate the actual output—the dash they built, the model they ran. This reveals whether their platform is plug-and-play fantasy or a workable reality.
• For AI/Automation: Ask them to take a single recent brief (e.g., five social media posts) and demonstrate the entire automated workflow, proving the claimed speed and cost savings are tangible.

3. Formalise the “Promise List” in the RFT

Move high-value, high-risk promises out of the informal presentation and into the formal Request for Tender (RFT) documentation. Create a dedicated section where the agency must list their top 3-5 high-impact commitments (e.g., “Achieve a 10% media cost reduction within 12 months,” “Fully integrate MMM data pipeline by Q2”).

Crucially, you must then require the agency to provide a detailed, phased implementation plan and the necessary inputs (client data, resources) required from the client to achieve each commitment. This shifts accountability from a vague future guarantee to a tangible project plan, revealing fatal flaws early.

4. Audit Key Personnel and Capability

Agencies win pitches with their A-team, but often staff the account with their B or C-team post-win. Ensure that high-impact promises are tied directly to the specific expertise of the people who presented them.

• Require the CVs and job descriptions of the dedicated team members who will actually run the account.
• For data or tech promises, require a meeting with the actual developers or analysts to validate their understanding of your tech stack, not just the glossy front-end presenter. If the person who built the promised tool isn’t available to answer technical questions, the tool is a façade.

5. Include Breach of Promise Clauses

While litigation is rarely desirable, the threat of legal action provides vital governance. Include specific language in your final contract that ties the most critical promises (from your “Promise List”) to specific performance metrics and commercial consequences.

For instance, if the agency promises a specific reduction in production time via a new automated workflow, the contract should stipulate that failure to meet this benchmark after a defined remediation period will result in a fee reduction or the agency covering the cost of the promised tool. This provides a legal hook for accountability without requiring a full termination.

Master Your Selection with BetterPitch Power Coaching

It is time to end the cycle of agency over-promising and client disappointment. Your pitch process should be a test of deliverability and partnership integrity, not a contest of reckless commercial promises.

TrinityP3’s BetterPitch Power Coaching gives you the expert-level knowledge needed to design a pitch that validates promises and holds agencies accountable. We help you move beyond the Flawed Buying Exercise to construct a selection process that:

• Focuses on performance outcomes and value, not just unit cost.
• Incorporates paid, validated Proof-of-Concept stages to stress-test technology and data claims.
• Ensures contractual arrangements are tied to measurable commitments.

Don’t let your next strategic partner be chosen based on an empty fantasy. Ensure your preparation is robust enough to separate the deliverers from the dreamers.

Master your pitch process. Validate the promises.

Contact us today to secure a partner you can trust, not just one who promises the world.

Contact us here to book your BetterPitch Power Coaching Session