If your agency meetings have started to feel like a recurring subscription you forgot to cancel, it’s time for a reality check. There is a massive difference between a partner who drives your growth and a passenger who just enjoys the ride (and the retainer). Before you commit to the soul-crushing paperwork of a full-blown pitch, you owe it to your budget – and your sanity – to ask these ten questions:
1. When was the last time you surprised and delighted us ?
And no, a box of lukewarm cupcakes with the agency logo on them doesn’t count. We mean a strategic pivot or a creative “aha!” moment that didn’t make you wince. If the last time you were delighted was during the pitch, you’re officially in a “ghosting” phase.
2. If we didn’t speak for a week, would we actually notice?
This is the ultimate test of your retainer. If the agency disappeared into a silent void for seven days and your business kept humming along perfectly, you aren’t paying for strategic partnership – you’re paying for a very expensive security blanket.
3. What’s the last really smart thing you shared with us?
Agencies should be your external brain, not just your extra hands. If the last “insight” they gave you was “video is big on TikTok right now,” you’re paying for a news feed, not a consultant. You want the kind of smarts that make you feel like you’ve just had a double espresso.
4. Who actually works here anymore?
Is the senior lead who sold you the dream still on the business, or have you been quietly handed off to a more junior team? If the turnover is higher than a pancake house, your brand soul is leaking out the door.
5. What’s the AI plan (besides “we’re looking into it“)?
If your agency doesn’t have a clear AI roadmap, they’re basically bringing a horse and carriage to a Formula 1 race. You need to know:
- Are they using it to save time (and are they charging you less for that time)?
- Do we have guardrails so our data doesn’t end up in a public bot’s stomach?
6. Are you caught up in Holding Company Hunger Games?
With all the mergers and synergy talk you need to know: Is your account lead focused on your ROI, or are they busy updating their org charts because their department was ‘consolidated’ into a different business unit.
7. Are you growing our business or just keeping the lights on?
Is the agency a thermostat (changing the environment) or a thermometer (just telling you it’s cold)? If they’re just executing the SOW like a robot, they aren’t a partner; they’re a utility bill.
8. Is there a turf war happening on my dime?
If your creative agency and your media agency are fighting over who owns the brand’s soul like divorced parents at a birthday party, you’re the one losing out. Performance should be the only goal, not who gets to claim the most line items in a budget.
9. Does our contract belong in a museum?
If your Scope of Work hasn’t changed since 2021, you’re likely paying for ‘print ad coordination’ while your competitors are winning the Metaverse (or at least the current version of it). A stale SOW is just a slow way to overpay.
10. Would I recommend you to a friend, or would that be a mean prank?
Be honest. If a peer asked for a recommendation, would you enthusiastically hand over the agency’s number, or would you change the subject and ask about the weather? Your gut usually knows the ROI before the spreadsheet does.
The Request for Transformation (RFT)
If these questions left you feeling a bit awkward, don’t panic.
You don’t have to fire everyone and start a grueling six-month pitch process. You can issue a Request for Transformation. It’s the marriage counseling of the marketing world – a chance to reset the rules, fix the fees, and get the A-team back in the room without the drama of a breakup.
Agency pitches are essentially high-stakes first dates: A choreographed dance of tailored suits, polite laughter and a collective effort to keep the ‘quirks’ under wraps until the second meeting.
Whether you’re looking for a media, digital, or PR partner, a pitch is a rare chance to peer into the industry looking glass – and hopefully find a partner, not just a vendor who’s really good at PowerPoint.
When you invite smart people into a room to tell you how great your business could be, it’s bound to spark some soul-searching.
That’s the dream.
But sometimes, the dream starts to feel more like a fever dream.
And while most pitches go smoothly, keep an eye out for these six red flags that suggest you might be getting ‘pitched’ in more ways than one.
1. The Guru
The agency brings in a ‘Guru’- a person with a brain the size of a planet and insights that make you feel like you’ve reached enlightenment.
The catch? The Guru lives in a different time zone, possibly on a different tectonic plate, and is about as likely to work on your daily account as a unicorn is to lead your Tuesday status call. Once the contract is signed, they vanish into the mists of ‘Strategic Oversight’.
Reality check: What is the actual, physical access to this person? Will they be in the trenches with us, or are they just here for the opening act?
2. The Shiny Object
We’ve all seen it: a flashy VR experience, a viral stunt involving a high-altitude balloon, or an app that does something cool but totally useless. It’s easy to get distracted by the glitter, but remember: A one-off stunt is a sprint; your brand needs a marathon runner. Don’t let a clever ad distract you from the fact that they haven’t mentioned your actual business goals once.
Reality check: How does this cool toy actually integrate with our boring-but-necessary long-term requirements?
3. Theatre Overload
We love enthusiasm as much as anyone else, but there is a fine line between passionate partner and three-ring circus. If the agency spends more time on the choreography of their entrance than on their data strategy, be careful. You’re hiring a team, not a troupe of interpretive dancers.
Reality check: When the smoke machine stops and the confetti is swept away, what is the core offering that actually differentiates them?
4. It’s All About Me
This is the ‘Lead Role Casting’ trap. Either one charismatic ego-tripper dominates the entire 60 minutes, or less senior staff (the people who will actually be doing the work) are sitting in the corner like Victorian children – seen but not heard.
If your team are like ghosts in the room and don’t don’t hear from the people you’ll be talking to every day, you aren’t seeing the agency; you’re seeing a monologue.
Reality check: Can we meet the rest of the team for a coffee – without the Lead Actor present?
5. The Missing Connection
Chemistry is the secret sauce. You can have the smartest strategy in the world, but if your team leaves the room feeling like they just sat through a particularly cold dental cleaning, it’s not going to work. If there’s no spark, no amount of ROI will make those 9:00 AM meetings bearable.
Reality check: Why does this feel like a bad blind date, and what is specifically missing from the emotional connection here?
6. The Budget Magician
This agency promises the moon, the stars, and a Super Bowl spot on a shoestring budget. They’ve looked at your modest ;ocal radio budget and somehow produced a plan that includes a world tour and an A-list celebrity endorsement. It feels like magic … because that’s what it is – illusion. You’ll sign the deal, and three months later, the ‘unexpected costs’ will start appearing like rabbits out of a hat.
Reality check: This looks incredible, but can you walk us through the math? Which parts of this plan are based on best-case scenarios and which parts are actually guaranteed?
The Bottom Line
All these warning signs are your ‘check engine’ lights of the marketing world. And course any successful search depends on a solid process – not just your gut instinct.
For a comprehensive guide on how to prepare for your agency search process as well as things to look for (and avoid), call your friendly agency search consultant or check out the guide we wrote for the Association of Canadian Advertisers on Searching For A Marketing Communications Agency Partner: – A Guidebook for Marketers on Agency Searches.
Let’s be honest: the relationship between a brand and its agency is a lot like a long-term marriage. In the beginning, there were fancy dinners, blue-sky thinking, and a boat load of enthusiasm. But what about lately? Are things unfolding like you imagined, or are you acting like you’re roommates arguing over who left the AI-generated trash in the hallway?
If you’re wondering whether your agency is still “the one” or if you’re just paying a very expensive monthly subscription for mediocrity, it’s time for a serious vibe check. Here are a few questions to think about:
1. The “Surprise and Delight” Barometer
When was the last time your agency actually surprised you?
The Dream: They bring you a brilliant consumer insight that makes you say, “Damn, they’re smart.”
The Reality: They bring you a “trending” TikTok idea that was cool three weeks ago and features a dancing cat.
The Test: If you didn’t hear from them for a full week, would you notice? Or would you just enjoy the blissful silence and the extra room in your calendar? If the answer is “I’d finally get some work done,” your retainer might just be an expensive keep the lights on fee.
2. Holding Company Musical Chairs
The ad world is currently one giant game of ‘Hungry Hungry Hippos’ and with all the reshuffling, you could be forgiven for thinking your agency has been more focused on their new office floor plan than your 2026 goals.
So check the room. Is your senior leadership still there, or has the holding company shake-up replaced your seasoned veteran with an enthusiastic but more junior team?
3. The Robot in the Room (AI)
Sure, we’re all using AI, but is your agency using it to help you or just to invoice you faster?
Have they guided you through their AI workflow, or are they hoping you don’t notice the sixth finger on the hand of the model in your latest social ad? (Trust me – it’s happened…)
And… if you don’t have contractual language around AI guardrails and ownership, you’re basically living in the Wild West. Without a sheriff.
4. The “Play Nice” Factor
Are your agencies working together in a beautiful symphony, or is it more of a turf war where the PR team is currently staging a coup against your media agency?
If you’re spending more time mediating playground fights than reviewing creative, your integrated solution is actually a fragmented headache.
5. Recommendation or Restraining Order?
Here is the ultimate litmus test: If a fellow marketer asked for a recommendation, would you give them your agency’s number, or would you pull them aside and whisper, “Run for your life”?
The “It’s Not Me, It’s You” Solution
If these questions made you sweat, you don’t necessarily need a full-blown agency search which – if not done properly – is the corporate equivalent of moving houses during a hurricane.
Instead, try a “Request for Transformation.” It’s a formal way of saying: “I love you, but you need to start trying again.”It’s a chance to update your Scope of Work, set new AI boundaries, and remind them that you’re paying for a growth engine, not a night light.
Is it time to redefine the relationship? If so, we can help you draft a Request for Transformation framework to get your current agency back on track (or help you figure out if it’s truly time to swipe left).
Our 2025 Canadian Agency Pitch Report is officially live, and the data tells a fascinating story. While the total volume of pitches dipped slightly by 7.4% compared to the previous year, the real takeaway isn’t the quantity- it’s the vibe shift in how brands are choosing their partners.
With 163 pitches tracked last year, we saw some massive industry pivots:
- The Indie Surge: Independent agencies dominated, securing 79% of all AOR wins. Brands are clearly craving agility and direct access to senior leadership.
- Sector Rotations: Travel and Pharma are booming, while Tech and Auto have cooled significantly.
- Media Stability: The “Big Six” holding companies still command the media landscape, accounting for 63% of wins.
We Have the Data—Now We Want Your Truth
The report gives us the what, but we need you to help us understand the how. Statistics show us who won, but they don’t capture the actual “State of the Pitch”—the late nights, the chemistry sessions, or the process itself.
Last year’s inaugural “State of the Pitch” survey confirmed a painful reality: 31% of pitches in Canada were rated as “bad or very bad.” We saw avoidable issues like agencies being given less than two weeks to respond, cattle call pitches with over a dozen agencies, and demands for free strategy and creative upfront.
If you were one of the agencies involved in those 163 pitches last year, we need your voice. Whether the process was a gold standard of respect or a grueling marathon that should have been an email, your feedback is the only way we can move that 31% dissatisfaction rate downward. We want to move beyond anecdotes to quantify the boots on the ground experience of the 2025 cycle.
This isn’t about who won or lost. It’s about how the pitch was managed. Your insights help us advocate for a healthier, more transparent pitching ecosystem in Canada.
Join the Conversation
Your feedback is entirely confidential—we aren’t looking for data that links back to specific advertisers. We just want the truth.
- Submit your 2025 Pitch Experiences here (You can submit once for every pitch you participated in!)
- Curious about the full breakdown? Reach out to me directly for the full 2025 Canadian Agency Pitch Report to see the exact data points and granular insights as we head into an AI-driven 2026.
The traditional agency-client relationship is being pulled in two directions: On one side, the “holding company shakeups” are forcing consolidation and headcount reductions; on the other, the rise of “agentic AI” is redefining what value even looks like.
For marketers, this isn’t just about whether your agency is doing a “good job” – it’s about whether they are still the right shape for your business. But perhaps before you default to a gruelling RFP, you should ask if your relationship needs a Transformation rather than a Replacement.
Huh?
Well, hear us out. Because there are some questions you could ask that may reveal exactly where you want to take your agency relationship (or not):
The “State of the Union” Questions
Start by looking at the foundation and ask some questions that might help determine if the cracks you’ve noticed are surface-level or structural.
- Is our current model based on “Headcount” or “Outcome”? In an AI-driven market, paying for hours is a legacy trap. If your agency is still resisting performance-based pricing or hasn’t shown how they are using automation to reduce your costs, it could be a profit-maximizing strategy – at your expense(!)
- Do we still have “Institutional Memory,” or has the “Great Shakeup” erased it? With Forrester predicting a 15% cut in agency jobs this year, many marketers are finding their “A-Team” has been replaced by rotating juniors. If the people who knew your brand’s “why” are gone, you may have already lost the primary benefit of your incumbent.
- Are we a “Top-Tier” priority? It’s a tough question. But the truth of it is, that in Canada, if you’re not a US or globally aligned business with a sizeable budget, and your agency is part of a holding company undergoing significant restructuring, it may be they’re more focused on their own internal worries than your creative or strategic breakthroughs. (Did I say that out loud…? Well, sort of. I’m just encouraging you to ask yourselves the question and come to your own conclusions.)
The AI & Tech Litmus Test
AI is no longer a “roadmap item”. It’s the operating system of 2026.
- Does the agency have “Agentic Guardrails” in our contract? You shouldn’t just ask if your agency just uses AI. To one degree or another – of course they do. So ask how they govern it. Do you have clear agreements on data privacy, ethical red lines, and human-in-the-loop, leadership oversight? If they can’t show you their AI governance framework, you are carrying the brand risk.
- Are they collapsing the “Decision Drag”? Modern marketing moves at the speed of software. If it still takes your agency two weeks to iterate on a campaign that an AI-native shop could optimize in two hours, your “incumbent” is actually an anchor.
Transformation vs. Search: Which Path to Take?
Once you’ve answered the questions above, you’ll likely find yourself at a fork in the road. Here’s a decision map:
| The Case for Transformation | The Case for an Agency Search |
| Shared Ambition: The agency is eager to co-create a new SOW that reflects modern tech and pricing. | Cultural Stagnation: The agency is defensive about their legacy models and “the way we’ve always done it.” |
| High Strategic Value: They still provide “high-touch” human insights and “white-glove” strategy that AI can’t replicate. | Talent Brain Drain: The key leaders you trusted have departed, and the replacements lack category expertise. |
| Agile Willingness: They are willing to move from a rigid MSA to a “Product Roadmap” approach with flexible sprints. | Redundancy: You are paying for a massive overhead/bureaucracy that no longer serves your specialized needs. |
A Better Alternative: The “Request for Transformation” (RFT)
Before jumping into a full-blown RFP which – frankly – might take 3-6 months – consider the Request for Transformation (RFT) option. Instead of asking new agencies to pitch, ask your current partner to pitch why they should still be your valued, trusted and perhaps most sought after agency, by presenting a vividly different operating model. If they can’t envision a version of themselves that is faster, leaner, and more tech-integrated, then you have you’ll have your answer.
Either way. If you’re looking for an RFT – call us and we’ll show you how to get the wheels in motion. And if it turns out you need an RFP, we’ll make it is as painless as possible.
Our 2025 Canadian Agency Pitch Report is now available! And while the total number of pitches dipped slightly (down 7.4%), the real story isn’t about the volume – it’s about the vibe. The way brands choose their partners is fundamentally changing. And if you’re navigating the market right now, here are the three big shifts you need to know:
1. The Rise of the Independents
Perhaps the most exciting revelation in this year’s report: Homegrown talent is officially having a moment. Independent agencies secured a staggering 79% of all Agency of Record (AOR) wins this past year. This is perhaps a message that Canadian marketers are moving away toward agency partners who offer agility when markets get well, weird, and a perhaps(?) a cry for direct access to senior leadership.
2. A Tale of Two Sectors
Not all industries are moving at the same speed and we’re seeing an interesting rotationof where the budgets are flowing:
Who’s hot? Travel & Tourism (which jumped from 6 to 14 pitches) and Pharma/Healthcare. People are out exploring again, and health remains a top priority. Who’s not? The pandemic darlings of Tech and Automotive have both experienced a significant cooling period as those markets mature.
3. Media Remains the “Big Six” Stronghold
While independent agencies are winning the hearts of creative directors, the global “Big Six” holding companies still hold the keys to the Media kingdom, accounting for nearly 63% of media wins.
Looking Ahead: Making AI Work (For Real)
As we settle into 2026, the conversation has shifted. Agencies and their clients are done talking about AI as a shiny new toy; now, it’s an operational must-have. But the winners won’t necessarily be the agencies with deepest AI solutions. It’ll be the those who can deliver high-level strategic value in what promises to be a continuing market of unpredictability.
Curious about the full breakdown?
If you want to see the exact data points and more granular insights, reach-out to me for the full 2025 Canadian Agency Pitch Report.
Remember 2023? Simpler times. Before “AI integration” became every agency’s favourite buzzword and org charts started resembling abstract art. Well, here we are, staring down 2026, and if you’re a marketer, you’re probably feeling a bit like you’re in a perpetual game of agency musical chairs, but with higher stakes and fewer comfortable seats.
And if you’ve had an email with a subject line along the lines of “synergistic ecosystem re-alignment” land in your in-box as a result of “unified brand experience mandate” (translation: “you’ll be seeing another new org chart very, very soon…” ) you could be forgiven for wondering if your creative team is going to be replaced by an AI savvy plugin as early as Thursday.
It’s enough to make you long for the good old days when “digital transformation” meant getting a website that didn’t look like it was designed in 1998. Now, it’s about navigating a landscape where AI promises to revolutionize everything (and yes, maybe take your job in the process), economic uncertainty is the new norm, and your agency partners are seemingly more focused on their internal restructuring than your actual, pressing marketing challenges.
Let’s be honest, you’re probably a little irritated already. Irritated by the jargon, irritated with the constant change, and daunted by the thought of launching another full-blown agency search as your only alternative.
But what if there was another way?
What if you could transform your existing agency relationships without having to divorce them and start completely from scratch? What if you could inject new life, fresh thinking, and a healthy dose of strategic alignment into your current partnerships, all while avoiding a potentially disruptive RFI, RFP?
Enter the Request for Transformation (RFT)
Issuing an RFT has a huge advantage over an RFP in that you’re only sending it to your incumbent agency(s) as a formal way of bringing them to the table to talk about transformation for your business – not theirs. Consider that an RFT can help with:
- Addressing changes in scope from when your agency was originally appointed
- Under performance within the agency and / or shortfalls in key objectives
- Weakness in key service areas that have been lingering for too long
- Cost management issues – including overruns or uncompetitive pricing
- Significant resource changes that may be disrupting your business
And yes, understanding how the agency will leverage AI to deliver better results for you, not just talk about how it’ll transform business for everyone else.
In short, a transformation package designed to reinvigorate your business, address issues that have been impeding progress and reset the whole relationship for success.
Diagnostic: Fix or Finish?
Is your partnership a candidate for a “renovation,” or is it time to move to an RFP? Let’s look at the 2026 reality check:
| Pillar | The Case for Transformation | The Case for Search |
| Trust & Chemistry | You still like them, you’re just annoyed by the process. | You’ve started “ghosting” their check-ins because they’re too painful. |
| AI & Efficiency | They have the tools but are waiting for your “permission” to stop billing for manual tasks. | They still think AI is a “fad” or something they can charge a 30% premium for. |
| Knowledge | They know where the “brand bodies” are buried and why the 2025 campaign tanked. | They’ve had so much turnover that you’re the one onboarding them. |
| The “Vibe” | They feel like a partner who is stuck in a rut. | They feel like a vendor who is stuck in 2015. |
Listen, you’re a marketer, not a holding company M&A specialist. You’ve got campaigns to launch, customers to engage, and ROI to prove. You shouldn’t have to decipher agency family trees to get the support you need. So if you’ve reached the point where you’re convinced your agency is more interested in playing corporate musical chairs than delivering actual marketing results, and you’ve decided enough is enough, then yes of course – we’re happy to help you explore other options.
But before you embark on that journey, consider this: What if a little strategic transformation is all you need? What if you could achieve the results of a new partnership without the headache of finding one? Because this year, with all the shifting sands and technological marvels, the last thing you’re probably looking for is another agency pitch deck.
Ready to transform your agency relationship? Your sanity, your teams, your CEO, your budget, your business – potentially even your agency – will thank you.
In the same way marketers check-out potential agencies before they think about working with them, make no mistake – agencies do the same thing. And corporate reputations go a long way to help agencies understand whether clients will be a good fit within their walls and their respective roster of clients.
Why? Aren’t agencies just lucky to have clients and lucky to have clients who pay their bills…?
Sure, revenue is important – but it’s only one aspect of new business for agencies.
While agencies will typically be looking for a cultural fit, they’ll also be looking at the opportunity the client represents. Is this a creative opportunity? An opportunity to help shape or launch a new brand or products? Or is it a strategic opportunity to improve process and drive sales?
Revenue, profitability, cultural fit, size, location, opportunity and availability all play a role in an agency’s decision to participate in a new business pitch process, and whether you’re the right client for them if they’re chosen.
While most marketers and agencies understand that both sides have their own idiosyncrasies, your corporate reputation around how you treat agencies will precede you, and can weigh heavily depending on whether you’ve been naughty or nice (year round).
So if you think all agencies would kill to work on your business, take a moment to think about whether your ears have been burning recently, and what your agency might really say about you if asked?
Spoiler alert: Agencies have already been talking. And here are the signs that might have them running for the hills:
One-way dialogue
If you’re a client that doesn’t like feedback look out. Feedback is not only important to the health of an agency relationship, it also sets the stage for how agencies present, provide insight and rationalize recommendations. Good agencies don’t say “yes” all the time or always agree with your points of view, and good agencies will likely shy away from clients who have a reputation for not wanting dialogue.
No manners
Marketing has never been tougher. The demand for results, the demand for proof points to ROI, complex media ecosystems and the rapid advances in information technology make life stressful for all marketers. So if you can’t manage to gasp out a simple “thank you for that 48-hour all-nighter” or a genuine “oops, sorry I was 45 minutes late to the meeting I called“—well, think about it this way: Imagine working for a boss who treats you like that. A boss who makes you cry into your keyboard by 10 AM.
Not a fun place to be, right?
Your agency feels the same way. They’re already fighting algorithms, trying to hit impossible targets, and trying to look cheerful on Teams. They probably don’t need to feel like they’re being managed by a disgruntled medieval warlord into the bargain.
High staff turnover
High staff turnover is another red flag. If you can’t keep your staff at your organization, agencies will want to make sure that whatever’s eating your team won’t eat theirs. If you’re losing team members, make sure you understand what’s really causing it before you look to a new agency to help you out. Because they won’t just see a marketing challenge; they’ll likely wonder if they’re about to sign up for a toxic environment that will drain their own talent and crush their team’s morale.
Frequent agency reviews
Agency reviews are hard work, stressful and disruptive for both marketers and agencies. From an agency point of view, winning or losing a piece of business has implications on resources, team structures, office space and any number of investments that can make or break agency P&Ls. Agencies don’t want to staff up or find extra space, only to see a newly won client walk out the door a year later. If you’re undertaking frequent agency reviews – be prepared to defend and justify your reasons.
The work sucks
Most agencies will try and convince you they can do a better job than your incumbent agency. But if the work really sucks and you’ve been running it for some time, agencies will ask why you’ve allowed the work to appear for so long and indeed how you allowed it to run in the first place.
So here’s the thing: When agencies look at the work you’ve been running – the stuff that makes junior creatives choke on their lattes – they won’t blame the other guys – they’ll blame you.
Payment terms
This one needs shouting from the rooftop:
We’re constantly perplexed by marketers who set payment terms at 120 days and higher. Some now run to 365 days! (I’m not kidding…) So let us clarify one crucial point:
Agencies are not banks.
Agencies don’t issue loans; They try to deliver killer creative. They have payroll and their people need to eat this month, not next quarter. If you’re demanding terms that require a financial commitment usually reserved for buying a small yacht, don’t be surprised if they turn you down.
The industry says so
Let’s be honest: the global marketing community is basically a terrifyingly small, highly caffeinated village. Especially here in Canada, or really, any city where everyone knows the best places for overpriced cocktails. And thanks to social media, most agencies are just a single, gossipy text chain away from knowing everything.
If you are anything less than pleasant – trust us on this – word will circulate faster than a free sample at Costco. Because your new agency has likely already checked-in with the current one under the guise of ‘due diligence’. And they’ll know whether you’re naughty or nice (even if it isn’t Christmas).
There comes a time in every artificial fir’s life when it stops looking like a majestic ‘Winter Wonderland’ and starts looking like a radioactive tumbleweed that rolled through a cocaine factory explosion.
My tree and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary this year – but the spark is definitely gone. Actually, everything is gone. The tree is aggressively balding, leaving a trail of plastic needles and crusty white powder that makes my living room look less like Christmas morning and more like a crime scene involving a very fragile snowman.
So, I’ve been hitting the internet, hoping to replace this shedding disaster with something that doesn’t require a hazmat suit to decorate.
And what do I find…? A digital wasteland of scams, fake products, and mobile games that exist only in a parallel universe where goblins need saving from lava.
If you’ve logged onto Facebook recently to see how your aunt’s knee surgery went, you probably noticed something similar: Ads for a “Quantum AI Trading Bot” endorsed by a deep-fake Elon Musk, Ads for a mobile game where a goblin is being actively tortured in a puzzle that – spoiler alert – does not exist in the actual game, and for me at least, roughly seventeen ads for a $23, 12-foot, pre-lit, snow-flocked Balsam fir.
We used to call this “spam.” Although Meta apparently calls it a “growth sector.”
According to recent reports, Meta is projected to make roughly $16 billion this year from ads for scams, fake products, and banned goods. To put that in perspective, that is the GDP of a small Caribbean nation. By all accounts, Facebook isn’t just hosting a sketchy marketplace – they’re charging it rent.
The “Lumberjack” Con and My Christmas Tree Quest
Let’s talk about these mythical Christmas trees.
Common sense suggests that shipping a tree the size of a Honda Civic across the ocean costs more than $25, but the ad photos are so majestic you click anyway. You imagine your living room looking like the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel, devoid of fake snow. You enter your credit card information with a heart full of holiday cheer.
Six weeks later (if you’re lucky) a package might arrive. Probably not a box but in a padded envelope the size of a sandwich. Inside, you won’t find a 12-foot tree. You’ll find a single, pipe-cleaner pine sprig or, in some documented cases, a literal cardboard cutout of a tree roughly the size of a car air freshener (also covered in the “fake snow” of my nightmares).
You haven’t bought a Christmas tree; you have bought a very expensive lesson in international trade logistics and a decoration suitable only for a dollhouse celebrating a very depressing holiday. This is the new “normal” when you’re just trying to upgrade your festive decor.
The Final Scroll
So, what have we learned? The great promise of the internet -a universal library of knowledge – has been replaced by a global flea market run by robots who want to sell you counterfeit sneakers and pine sprigs disguised as 12-foot Christmas trees.
The media ecosystem we live in isn’t flawed; it’s optimized. Meta, a company that makes over $50 billion a quarter, is actively making $16 billion of that by ensuring the guy running the fake ‘AI Trading Bot’ scam can find me, personally, a few seconds after I search for “Christmas tree that doesn’t look like it has mange.”
The truth is, we are no longer the customer; we are the fuel. The engagement loop of outrage, curiosity, and disappointment which drives both the deep-fake political rant and the irresistible fake discount is probably a Meta cash cow.
Every agency that’s ever participated in a pitch knows RFPs and pitch processes can be far from perfect. We’ve all heard the horror stories, and whether the pitch is run directly by the client or a search consultant, win or lose, we all sense there’s probably room for improvement.
This is why we are running year two of the State of the Pitch survey—to continue the vital work of quantifying, tracking, and ultimately addressing any issues in Canada’s new business landscape.
Year One Confirmed the Problem
The success of our inaugural survey proves that this is a conversation the industry wants and needs to have. Developed first by our partners at TrinityP3 in Australia and adapted for Canada the 2024 survey gathered experiences from over 150 pitches.
The data moved us beyond anecdotes and confirmed a painful reality: A significant one-third (31%) of pitches in Canada were rated as “bad or very bad.” This is a staggering figure that represents wasted time, frustration, and avoidable anguish.
The value of the State of the Pitch survey is that it helps pinpoint the problems. The data shows that the majority of this dissatisfaction is completely avoidable, pointing to bad behaviour that included:
• Giving agencies less than two weeks to respond
• Inviting a dozen-plus agencies to a pitch
• Demanding free strategy or creative upfront
The goal of this year is to track these metrics and push that 31% dissatisfaction rate downwards by using the data to inform best practices for clients and consultants.
We Need Your 2025 Experiences
We are calling on every agency that’s participated in a pitch this year to submit your pitch experiences – irrespective of winning or losing. Simply complete the survey from this link – it can be used as many times as needed—one for each pitch experience.
The 2025 survey is now live and again hosted by Campaign Canada to ensure unbiased reporting. By sharing your current experiences, you provide the critical data needed to drive meaningful improvements across the industry.
Confidentiality Guaranteed
Because pitches are typically confidential, we are not mandating any information that could be linked back to a particular advertiser, agency, or pitch. Likewise, details of any single survey response will never be revealed.
This is not about who won or lost. It is about how well those pitches were managed.
The continued success of this annual survey will deepen our industry’s understanding, enable us to report on the latest trends, and ultimately drive a data-led dialogue about improving the pitch process for all agencies in Canada. Your voice is essential to make Year Two even more impactful.
Thank you for your support, input and yes, uninhibited commentary.