RE: UKNM: Wasting time on tenders

[Robin Edwards]

There seems to be no real solution. New media agencies who stand firm and

say "no fee, no pitch" are surely running the risk of not being shortlisted.

The stiff competition will always mean that our "industry" has no weight to

throw around on this issue. The only approach I can think of is to set your

internal pitch budget as a proportion of the value of the job - be it based

on the confirmed or estimated budget, or the importance of having a

relationship with that client. I am struggling to think of any industry that

supports paying for pitches/quotes/tenders.


It is frustrating when you are pitching and there are too many unknown

quantities (i.e. crap brief) but, as Chris points out, utterly demoralising

when the outcome has been decided before you even begin to prepare a pitch.

Perhaps one positive note is that a high quality pitch will always impress,

and may eventually lead to work after the client (or someone else other than

the sponsor within the client's team) realises the "mistake" that has been

made. It may, however, be too late at this point, notching up one more for

the "the Internet is crap - didn't work for us" brigade.


I would question the value of blacklisting clients who practice this (and I

have witnessed it from both sides) on the grounds that it is nigh-on

impossible to prove, and inevitably sounds like sour grapes.


Robin



> Good in theory - in practice we write this off as 'cost of sale' then

> bitch about client's walking in on 'fishing trips'.

>

> Remember three years ago the same debate was running in the 'analogue'

> Agencies?

>

> I can't remember a single client confessing to paying a pitch fee -

> unless anyone knows different...