New business ‘flatlining’ so far this year
Australia’s new business scene has been relatively sluggish so far this year, with the value of advertising pitches from May 2010 to May 2011 “flatlining”, according to pitch intermediary The Agency Register.
In 2010, a total of $1.59bn in billings moved in Sydney and Melbourne, with creative pitches up 6% in value, and media pitches falling by 12%.
Compared to 2009, the value of the 2011 new business market has shrunk by 22% overall so far.
The hottest new business categories are currently retail, making up 28% of pitches, followed by leisure and entertainment (24%) and banking and financial services (20%).
The biggest creative moves so far this year have been ANZ, Foxtel, Kmart and Domino’s, with Unilever being the biggest media review.
“Even Tourism Australia and Woolworths, large pitches that are ongoing, are unlikely to have an effect on the year overall,” said The Agency Register’s MD Peter McDonald.
More than 60% of new business wins have been worth below $2m in adspend. “Are slim pickings the new normal?” questioned McDonald. “Today’s pitching is either akin to speed-dating or competing in a triatholon – so don’t burn up valuable resources, unless the odds are really in your favour, or you can live with low returns.”
“Finding the right talent balance to handle the less predictable demands of project biased versus retained clients will challenge the acumen, patience and resilience of agency management,” he said.
“While we expect that major clients will thoughtfully prune their mix of agency partners, the second and third tier clients will continue to award projects without a formal pitch – minimising their commitment and retaining the utmost flexibility,” he added.
Last year, the major creative account moves of $35m+ included Hungry Jack’s, David Jones, Virgin Airlines and Vodafone. The key media pitches were New South Wales government, L’Oreal, Holden, Bunnings and Yum Restaurants.
we don’t call it ‘flat lining’; we call it planking.
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I’d hope that Mumbrella would “thoughtfully prune” when it comes to rehashing press releases of this ilk. Where’s the new news here? Pitching is hard? Only pitch if you think you can win?
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Funny. We have never been busier.
Ooh, pitch consultant bitchfight!!!
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Damn you Hmmmm … there goes my ‘pitchfight’ gag.
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“Triathlon”.
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