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.
State of the Pitch Survey can be found here.
Stephan Argent
Stephan Argent is Founder and Principal at Listenmore Inc, Canada’s leading confidential advisory consultancy that specializes in Agency Search Management. Read more like this on our blog Marketing Unscrewed / follow me @StephanArgent