Why winning new business is such a pitch
Mumbrella’s Abigail Dawson argues that the advertising industry’s pitch culture is devaluing agencies, brands and the work they create.
Imagine that four local cafes were each offering free sandwiches. Given the choice, what would you do? You’d probably take one sandwich from each cafe, just to find out which one was the best.
But this free lunch scenario wouldn’t be without its problems. Firstly, I don’t think cafes would appreciate the increased number of sandwiches they would have to make.
They would probably find it difficult to maintain the quality and quantity of the free sandwiches, compared to the other items on their menu.
“Marketers know they can ask agencies to work tireless hours at any time of the day to win a piece of their business. History has proven they will.” And people want to work in advertising.
I left advertising because of this very issue. I loved pitching because it brought out the best (and admittedly sometimes the worst) we could do. But constantly competing with 4-5 other agencies, for no fee, and giving away great ideas, is demoralising and massively devalues what the industry has to offer.
Same in recruitment as well alas