Pitching and Briefing Best Practise Guidelines

C A A N Z An industry association (formerly the AAA) representing advertising, media, direct, interactive and PR agencies 55 members representing about 80% of agency billings Elected Board - Media, Education, Independents and Finance Committees Revenue from subs, education and awards programmes Non-profit organisation

CAANZ Best Practise Guidelines Two Types of Pitches Reviews New Business

Reviews - Changing Agencies Questions you should ask yourself Have your own people given your agency a fair and reasonable chance to perform? Have you set realistic deadlines? Have you given proper briefs? Are you using your agency as a scapegoat for internal issues? Have you been upfront with your agency about the reasons for change?

Establish the pitch ground rules up front Who will make the decision – you or a committee? Decide by what criteria the decision will be made Draw up a checklist and allocate points for each agency - enthusiasm, experience, personnel, understanding of strategy and good ideas

A Check-list of Questions Clarify potential conflicts of interest Determine whether they want the business – don’t assume Be honest about your budget The duration of the agency’s appointment Give an honest and measurable picture of your expectations

Credentials The Strategy Pitch The Creative Pitch The Three Stage Pitch Process

Stage One – Credentials Agency Profiles Where will your account rank in the agency’s portfolio? Who will service your account? What kind of deadlines do you expect the agency to work to? What is the agencies charging structure – media and production commissions, creative development? Why do you think the agency should be appointed?

Stage Two – The Strategy Pitch Understanding the Business Short-list only – 3 to 4 agencies Objective is to determine which agency best understands your business Be upfront about your marketing strategy – even highly confidential information If you’re still not sure go to a creative pitch

Stage Three – Creative Pitch The Execution Very expensive process for agencies Only invite a creative pitch if you would be ultimately happy to appoint all on the short-list Allocate a budget if you want a creative pitch Make sure the agencies know how much money you have for the campaign

Appointment – The Easier Part Put in place remuneration agreement – terms of payment and notice Pre-determine announcement procedure Examples of standard contracts and full Pitch and Briefing guidelines available from CAANZ. Contact me at or visit our site

Current Issues On-going account review processes generally sound New business and one-offs problematic –Lack of forethought about requirements –GETS – little or no information about what sort of agency is required –Changes of focus mid-stream –Tight/counterproductive time frames