Comments on: Ad Agencies Strike to Protest Unfair New Business Pitch Process

By: Ad Network

Ad Network — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:22:08 +0000

Ad Network…

[...]Ad Agencies Strike to Protest Unfair New Business Pitch Process « FUEL LINES Fueling Ad Agency New Business Through Social Media[...]…

By: social media marketing

social media marketing — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:49:09 +0000

social media marketing…

[...]Ad Agencies Strike to Protest Unfair New Business Pitch Process « FUEL LINES Fueling Ad Agency New Business Through Social Media[...]…

By: Michael Gass

Michael Gass — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:07:41 +0000

I agree Mary. Thanks for your insights.

By: Mary Baum

Mary Baum — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:30:07 +0000

I think it’s time the ad agency business -and ad agencies – learned a few things from the direct marketing space.

Can you imagine Dan Kennedy, John Carlton or Robert Bly sitting still long enough for someone on the other end of the phone to get the words “speculative new business pitch” out of their mouths?

Dan Kennedy doesn’t even TAKE phone calls.

As to the idea of spending $100K of an agency’s own money for a 10% shot at getting the business . . . Those guys get $50K to write a letter. Plus royalties.

They’re who I wanna be when I grow up.

By: San Diego Electricians

San Diego Electricians — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:15:47 +0000

What a great blog. Glad to see that it is so popular. I was looking for a good place to read in my free time.

By: san diego electricians

san diego electricians — Fri, 21 May 2010 22:31:41 +0000

What a great blog. Glad to see that it is so popular.

By: Howard J. Sewell

Howard J. Sewell — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:52:59 +0000

Maybe I’m naive, but I just don’t get it. What exactly is the problem here? So you don’t want to participate in an RFP that you only have a 10% chance of winning? Then don’t. Don’t want to spend $100K on a pitch? Then don’t. Last time I checked, Belgium was still a free country.

I hate RFPs also, and it’s pretty easy to tell when a company is inviting every agency under the sun. But some are very worthwhile, particularly if the numbers are more in your favor and you sense that your particular strengths play well to the client. We participated in just such an RFP recently and won a huge deal against firms five times our size.

Surely instead of complaining about how clients want to hire us, we should be marketing and selling our services more effectively so the clients want to hire ONLY us. Right?

By: Rebecca Caroe

Rebecca Caroe — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:23:22 +0000

Michael – we’ve had quite a discussion about this in the UK. What is certain is that an organised strike of this nature couldn’t have been set up here. The industry is too diverse.
There was a great comment from Neale Gilhooley about his views on how agencies should service their clients http://tinyurl.com/yhbwfe3
Maybe you’d care to add your observations?
Rebecca

By: Carey Jernigan

Carey Jernigan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:56:19 +0000

I think that many clients do not invest in researching the agencies that they are asking to participate in their RFP. Much information is made available on agency websites, blogs, third-party listings, associations etc. today.

In my opinion, the clients who get the best agencies are ones that devote significant time talking with the agency in advance of issuing an RFP. They are open and transparent about their business and its needs. In the course of those upfront conversations both parties engage in the manner that they would normally do business and each has an opportunity to determine capabilities and compatibility.

Following that would be the time to send out the RFP and obtain an informed response with pricing.