Image by freepik

Whether or not you’re currently contemplating a pitch, chances are it’s something you’ll have to deal with at some point in corporate life.

While it’s true, some pitches can be complex and the process can be time consuming or disruptive, they don’t have to be. There are some simple steps you can take to set your pitch process up for success and perhaps even enjoy the process along the way.

Whether or not you’re contemplating an agency search consultant to help, here are some dos and don’ts to help get your pitch process off to a great start and keep things on track while you select the agency that’s right for you:

THINGS TO DO

Come to a strong point of view on why you’re looking for a new agency

Sounds easy but unless you’ve got some outside help, the real answers can be tough to uncover.  Ask yourself why you’re looking for an agency now. How does your incumbent agency really feel about you as a client? Do they have insight into how your organization works that would help in searching for a new agency?

Drill down into what you’re looking for and why

One of the things we hear most often is “creative! – they’ve got to be creative”.  Fair enough.  But is your incumbent creative?  And if so what aspects of the relationship aren’t working?  Quality control?  Budget planning? Delivery?  Or is the incumbent not creative because there’s a briefing or other input issue?  Finding out the why’s now will help deliver a stronger solution at the end of the process.

Be prepared to ask and answer some tough questions

Parting ways with your incumbent agency can be a bit like a divorce.  Set aside the harsh comments and take a really good look at your own organization, process and teams and ask what you could have done and will do better in future.  Again, this is difficult without outside, objective help from an Agency Search Consultant, but asking tough questions can reveal a lot about your organization, how you work and the kind of agency that’s really suited to your needs.

Be flexible

You think you’re after something in particular when in reality the qualities you’re most looking for may appear unexpectedly. The search process, if done correctly, should provide a spectrum of agency approaches and capabilities which help frame up what’s really right for your business.

Empower a small, dedicated team

It’s very difficult to steer an agency search by committee, so creating a small empowered team to help manage your pitch process will help deliver the best result. And yes, you may have corporate in there, the marketing group wants key representation, IT want to make sure you’re not hiring the techno-illiterate, finance want to look at the numbers and several other groups have found time to come up with their own opinion.

But I implore you to whittle those numbers down and create a focused and empowered team to drive this process on your company’s behalf.

Make sure your (real) team meets their (real) team

OK, it’s true – sometimes the agency brings their ‘A’ team to party and the pitch team isn’t always the team that’s going to work on your business.  And if we’re honest here, sometimes the same can be said of clients.  Senior executives are part of the pitch process and those in the trenches sometimes never get to meet the agency until handover day. So at some point in the process make sure you have a live working team meeting.

And then…

THINGS TO AVOID

Forget you need a budget

The reality is, the pitch process is going to cost you something and it’s obviously good business practice to make sure you’ve accrued enough to see you through the process.  Are you going to compensate agencies for strategic or spec work? How many agencies times how much? Is there travel involved?  Do you want to capture soft costs against time spent?  The other benefit of this exercise is it can help keep everyone focused on keeping the process on track.

Have all the presentations at your office

Sounds silly but it’s true. To get a true measure of agency chemistry, where your future team operates and how their agency is physically set-up can be insightful.  Are offices open and set up for collaboration?  Do you get a good sense of teamwork?  Does everyone seem happy or are they running around like headless chickens – and how would they integrate your business into their day-to-day?

Throw everything you can think of into a project brief

A project brief should a window into how your proposed agencies tackle problems, think, work and demonstrate their ability to come up with solutions within a defined period of time.  Expecting agencies to solve a massive strategic challenge in one pitch meeting is unrealistic.

Get distracted by shiny objects

I’ve never been a big fan of stunts, short-term one-off technical maybe’s, or highly finished creative simply because it distracts from the core question:  Is this agency right for our company for the mid to long-term?  There can be any number of criteria you’re looking to evaluate so make sure those criteria are held front and centre – even in the face of shiny objects.

Make the process inconsistent

Once you’ve started your search – you have to be consistent and ensure there’s a level playing field for all participants. This applies to process, answering questions, evaluation criteria and consistency of participation among your core team – either in or out from start to finish.  Again, this is something an Agency Search Consultant can help you with.

Overthink the process

Yes – switching agencies can be disruptive. It can be time consuming and it can prompt tough questions within your own organization about your own marketing approach. But in the end, remember the reason you’re in a pitch process is to create a stronger marketing offering and to help create a stronger business for your company.

If you’ve done your homework and hold fast to some of these basic principles during the process you can rest assured you did good.

So do good. And focus on finding the right agency that’s right for you. If you’d like to know more, call us or ask the Association of Canadian Advertisers for their best practice guide on Searching For A Marketing Communications Agency Partner authored by us.

Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik.

With laptops open and a lively discussion underway recently, a client asked me where to look on an agency website for the information she was looking for.

In this instance, the client was looking for a long-list of agencies to put before her Agency Selection Committee and with multiple choices in-hand, said client was trawling through an array of irrelevant content in an effort to find the detail she needed to provide context and verification for her choices. In one example, the agency home page was so confusing, the client asked how the agency could even be a realistic consideration if their own site was virtually unintelligible. Wrapped up in some sort of paintbox game, there were no clear links to content, navigation was unintuitive, lots of focus on describing how smart they were and no obvious connection to the content that a potential client might be looking for. So the lesson here is if a client (or perhaps a search consultant – even investors) has landed on your website, chances are they’re looking for something.  And it’s not how to play game of hide and seek with who you are. Rather, they’re looking for very high level overview of your agency – not a barrage of television commercials or websites that demonstrate your creativity. Yes, that may come later, but typically, first blush, vital statistics will encompass:

A list of major clients

Why?  At this stage a long-list selection is likely around clients that may be a conflict and perhaps a search for relevant industry expertise.  It’s not about a drilling into creative (yet) in place of a list – it’s just not helpful.  In fact it’s distracting.

Offices

Why?  Typically clients or search consultants just need to know if you can service their needs in whatever market they’re searching for.

Size

Why?  It gives an instant sense of scale as to whether the agency is too small (or perhaps to big) for a client’s needs.  Criteria around size comes up more often than one might suspect.  Some clients have minimum revenue criteria, others cannot represent more than a certain percentage of an agency’s billing, while others want to make sure they’ll be a big fish in a smaller pond. Size matters!

Areas of expertise

Why?  A search is typically prompted by a specific need.  In many cases that today that need is often around digital.  So spelling out your broad areas of expertise will only help.

Contact

Well, hopefully this needs no explanation.  But you’d be surprised how many agencies make even that  difficult.  A specific name, Email and a phone number is typically what’s needed at this stage. I’m not saying this is all a client, agency search consultant or potential investor might be looking for – of course not.  But in doing an initial pass (particularly if no agency search consultant is involved, and the prospective client is unfamiliar with the market), then your agency needs to make clients, offices, size, expertise and yes – who to talk to – easy to find. Really.  It’s that simple. Please.  And thank you.
Image by freepik

Whether you’re a client looking for marketing services, or an agency pitching your wares, the question of who’s really calling the shots can be a pivotal one.

On the one hand, the organizational perspective might be that marketing teams are evaluated on and are seeking things like improved performance, chemistry harmony between teams and agencies, creative brilliance and / or strategic smarts. On the other, client procurement teams are likely going to be evaluated on things like cost based efficiencies, savings, synergies and risk mitigation.

And with those perspectives, it’s hardly any wonder marketing and procurement teams can find themselves at odds with each other, leaving potential agency partners a little bewildered as to who’s really calling the shots.

We’re increasingly asked to work with procurement when undertaking an agency search – either to work on the search itself, or to work with them through the negotiation or contract development process.  And while relationships between marketing and procurement vary between organizations, there are some consistent themes that are worth addressing.

In our experience, the primary issue many organizations still have difficulty coming to terms with is that marketing needs to be viewed as an investment – not a cost. In other words, it’s not something that needs to be “minimized” – it’s an investment that needs to be “maximized”.

So how should each side approach agency selection or contract negotiation in order to meet the goals of minimizing risk and costs, while ensuring maximum performance through best in class capabilities?

Here are ten approaches worth considering when marketing and procurement teams need to work seamlessly to achieve the best value (rather than just best price) for their organizations:

Same Team

First of all, marketing and procurement aren’t on different “sides” – there shouldn’t be sides at all. Both sets of players are on the same team – so eradicate the idea of “sides” from the get-go.

Start Early

Many will have read about the idea of starting the procurement exercise early – but how many actually define a working relationship between marketing and procurement before it becomes necessary? And how many actually involve procurement in the entire search process when they know procurement will take the lead on the negotiation?

Define Roles

Because marketing and procurement look at search and selection, and negotiation through different lenses – define and agree specific tasks for each group, leveraging respective strengths and skill-sets.

Get The Brief On Paper

Brief as you would an agency. Procurement work on multiple contracts for different stakeholders – just as agencies work on multiple clients. So define your objectives, propose your strategy, define go and no-go items, propose negotiation points and spell out your desired end state in a written brief.

Acknowledge Why You’re Here

If your agency search or contract negotiation is anything other than a corporate governance requirement, clearly define why you’re negotiating now. In all likelihood, lowest price isn’t the only or primary reason you’re here – so spell out why you’ve called an agency search or want your MSA or contract renegotiated.

Define Value

Lowest price rarely equates to greatest value, so define and agree what constitutes “value” to create an MSA or contract that delivers greatest value for the organization.

Don’t Chuck It Over The Fence

We’ve seen many agency search processes conclude with a winning agency, and the marketing team then hand-off the process to procurement to negotiate and finalize a contract. Procurement then have little or no context to negotiate “value” and marketing teams are quickly frustrated that the process takes longer than they’d like and / or key details aren’t covered.

Define Key Points

Every aspect of an MSA or contract is negotiable, so defining where you’re flexible and where you’re not up-front will help your organization create a true, value based MSA or contract.

Look At The Sum of The Parts

(Not just some of the parts.) As I’ve said before, every aspect of an MSA or contract is negotiable. Greatest value from a contract will be derived from looking at the agreement holistically, rather than piecemeal.

Be Like a Pilot

Because planes have dual controls, pilots identify who has control so they’re not pulling in opposite directions before they take-off.  Ultimately someone has to lead the negotiation process and whoever’s responsible can save everyone involved time, effort and uncertainty by defining parameters and expectations in the key objectives and outcomes of the negotiation.

One of the biggest mistakes made by marketing and procurement teams is leveraging the marketer’s brand to lower prices to unsustainable levels. Low rates that are too good to be true usually are, and the agency will ultimately have to cut corners to keep and maintain your business in the long-term.

Proactive planning between marketing and procurement teams to define expectations, objectives, true value metrics and negotiation points upfront adds value and will almost certainly help you avoid undertaking a new negotiation – or even agency search – sooner than you’d like.

Image by jcomp on Freepik.

As marketing management consultants, we’ve seen many agency relationships delivering on functional skill sets, but failing on their soft skills – overriding their functional capabilities.

Make no mistake, soft skills pack a punch with marketers when agencies are being evaluated. Wikipedia define soft skills as follows:

“Soft skills complement hard skills which are the occupational requirements of a job and many other activities. They are related to feelings, emotions, insights and (some would say) an ‘inner knowing’: i.e. they provide an important complement to ‘hard skills’ and IQ.”

When defining agency requirements, it’s relatively straightforward to establish a framework of requirements – whether that’s around business expertise, specific capabilities or perhaps technical knowledge. But soft skills aren’t so easy to define and quantify because they require marketers to really understand themselves, and what attributes enhance their own unique business environments. While soft skills are different for all marketers, here are eight of the most common attributes that we’ve seen make the difference – even when agencies seem to have the functional capabilities but the chemistry doesn’t seem quite right:

Innovation

As the marketing ecosystem has become more complex, innovation has steadily risen in importance for marketers when they’re choosing or evaluating agencies. The caution here is that “innovation” isn’t just another word for “creativity”. Innovation can take any number of forms – but it’s most often quantified around the strategic thought process and how insights are extracted.

Collaboration

Again, the complexity of the marketing ecosystem has spurned a growing requirement for multiple agencies to perform specialized roles. Agencies that can’t demonstrate an ability to collaborate and play nice in the marketing sandbox are typically ruled out faster because marketers want to focus on their own business, not their agencies.

Neutrality

Yup. It’s that complexity issue again. Now more than ever, marketers are looking for objectivity in their marketing mix modeling as ecosystems expand. Agencies that default to broadcast positions, or aren’t open to other agency partners leading a campaign launch, are often less appealing than those that demonstrate real neutrality in their approaches.

Accepting criticism

We’ve seen marketers test criticism in agency pitch situations because they want to understand how easy agencies are to work with. This absolutely does not mean marketers are looking for agencies to roll over and agree with whatever’s being said – but it does require a balance between confidence in a point of view and taking input and criticism constructively.

Flexibility

Because plans change on a dime all the time, any agency that can demonstrate the flexibility and ability to adapt is appealing because it means the agency isn’t weighed down by rigid or layers of process that can’t flex when marketers have earthquakes. (And they do).

Curiosity

Having a sense of curiosity typically enables an individual or agency to excel in problem-solving and gain a significant advantage over competitors. And when an agency displays a natural inquisitiveness towards a marketer’s business, it usually makes them more attractive than one that only has functional proficiency.

Working under pressure

Whether it’s a last minute change of plans, high table stakes or virtually no time, working under pressure is a normal occurrence in marketing. So how the agency team can handle and deliver under pressure is a reassuring attribute that sets agencies apart.

Embrace change

Any agency that demonstrates an ability to adapt and embrace change can give marketers confidence any given agency is the right choice for the long-term. And mid to long-term agency choices are generally more appealing than short-term quick fix solutions. These are the top soft skills that we’ve seen make a difference in some of the evaluations and searches we’ve been involved with. And the more marketers can be aware of their own organizations and what soft skills are really important in their own business, the better the long term fit with your agencies of choice will be. Got you thinking? What work could you do to define the soft skills that are important in your organization?
Image by Mateus Andre on Freepik.

It happens.  A one-off ad.  A captivating app.  A single pitch participant.  Perhaps even captivating theatrics.  It’s something that outshines everything or everyone else in a pitch – so much so that it distracts you from the other content or people in the pitch process.

Shiny objects are mesmerizing distractions that have you focusing on one thing rather than the holistic offering being presented. But unfortunately, usually the wrong thing.

Shiny object ideas can be a dangerous thing – for one thing, they can take many forms:

The list goes on. But the common thread is they’re all one-off ideas or an individual that captivates so intently, that it distracts you from everything else.

Generally speaking, shiny object ideas have short life-spans and once executed, the broader attributes of the pitch come to the fore and the cracks begin to emerge.

So what steps should marketers take to guard against and avoid shiny object distraction in a pitch situation?

Understand your own organization

Understanding your organization’s issues as they relate to calling an agency search sets the framework for what you’ll be looking for and what’s really important in your evaluation process. Our agency health check or incumbent agency stakeholder process can help focus your team on what’s important and avoid being distracted by shiny object ideas.

Know what you’re looking for

Before calling an agency search (and before the opportunity for shiny objects can present themselves), articulate the key criteria that are important in your search process.

Align your search team

As your search team comes together, ensure everyone understands the reasons for calling a search and what attributes you want them to uncover in a new agency – regardless of any shiny objects that may appear in the process.

Create a great scorecard

Developed properly, scorecards can serve as an invaluable tool in the search process. Well-crafted, properly structured scorecards are essentially the written defence against shiny object ideas. More on creating scorecards here.

Identify your deal-breakers

In any agency search process there are likely deal breakers that would likely prevent you from selecting a given agency.  It might be chemistry, it might be price, it might be process – whatever it is – be sure your deal breakers are addressed – irrespective of shiny object ideas that may have been presented.

Ask the right questions

I’ve written before on asking smarter questions for smarter results and these questions can be a valuable check against shiny objects presented in a pitch situation.

As bright and dazzling as shiny objects may be, don’t be mesmerized by their fleeting appearances that outshine what’s really important in an agency pitch and agency evaluation process.

Image by freepik.

If you’re a marketing or procurement team looking for a new agency, you’ve likely got a list of questions you’re ready to include in your RFP document. But are all those questions you have lined-up really necessary?  Are they helpful?  And will they really help you choose the right agency for you?

Well, let’s be honest here – based on some of the homegrown RFPs we’ve seen, chances are your questions are about as helpful as a bowl of lukewarm alphabet soup and could use a shot of espresso.

Too harsh?

Unfortunately, no.  Some of the questions we see repeated in RFP documents really aren’t helpful to marketers or their prospective agencies. Won’t delineate between good and great.  And won’t help find an agency that’s really right for you.  Here are a few examples and how to think about making some improvements:

How many awards have you won?

Answer: 100. Is that the right answer? Of course not, because it’s out of context and doesn’t break out what awards were won and for which campaigns. My colleague Darren Woolley at TrinityP3 in Australia wrote a powerful piece on this ‘cutting through the creative wank of creative awards‘ which makes for an interesting read on how to better ask the awards question.

If you want to short-cut to an insightful and more creative answer, what about asking, ‘what are the top five awards you’re most proud of and why?‘ This would give you a sense of what the agency values as success, whether results are tied to it and how relevant the awards are to your business.

Do you have a process?

We’ve heard both ‘do you have a process...” and “what is your process…” In either case, both are somewhat irrelevant because the answer to ‘do you have…‘ is undoubtedly ‘yes’. And I defy any marketer to look me in the eye and tell me they’re interested in someone else’s process chart!

Very few people are even interested.

What people are interested in is the specific part of the process that may not be working for them currently. So why not ask that question – i.e. ‘can you help us understand your Quality Assurance (or whatever it may be) within your process to ensure we get the highest quality work…‘? Wouldn’t that be more helpful instead of pages of process charts that nobody’s going to read?

What’s your hourly rate?

Here’s another particularly unhelpful question. Asked in isolation the answer has almost no relevance. It’s like asking what you’d like for dinner – answer: food!

Hourly rates quoted in isolation, without a scope of work and the amount effort required to deliver on that scope are just a number. Either an hour rate of $X x Y number hours, or a total fee is needed to complete the equation. So if you’re worried about hourly rates, you need to provide a detailed view of your ask for a meaningful answer.

How can you make our campaign go viral?

While an agency (or the internet) might bombard you with a million sure-fire possibilities to make your campaign go viral, the truth is, nobody holds the magic remote.

Campaigns typically go viral because the client and agency deeply understand their audience and have captured their message in a highly original way that then triggers an equally emotional response.

So a better question is to ask would be ‘how will you develop the deepest possible understanding of your audience and marry that with a media solution to reach them‘?

If your agency were an animal what animal would it be?

Hold the phone right there. Unless your ideal agency is a mind-reading psychic ferret, this question is truly best left unasked.

These are just some examples of questions asked in an agency search that need context in order to be relevant and for agencies to be able to answer thoughtfully. Other questions you may want to avoid include answers to questions that could easily be found with a little homework such as, do you have French capabilities, or do you have offices in the US, or are you part of a larger holding company?

The bottom line here is that unless you want to read potentially hundreds pages of information from agencies who have had to sweat for weeks on their submissions, ask fewer but more relevant questions. Restrict answers to a defined number of pages and ditch the snooze-fest by asking questions that will get you the agency that’s right for you.

Image by jannoon028 on Freepik.

Last year, the agency review scene resembled a singles mixer on steroids, with more than 150 pitches (that we were aware of) here in Canada alone. So what caused the frenzy of pitches last year – and what can we expect in the year ahead?

While there’s never going to be a single reason for all pitches in market, there are some consistent themes that are likely suspects:

So, what about this year – are we in for another record breaking year of reviews?

It’s our view that the pandemic review thaw is finally over and anything that was delayed because of COVID has now happened. But even if – as many suspect – inflation cools and interest rates dip, marketers are still laser-focused on protecting tight budgets. This, folks, is a recipe for a tinderbox of change potentially as explosive as last year.

Meanwhile, any marketer dreading the prospect of a disruptive search, proactive self-reflection can offer a valuable alternative and a chance to strengthen the brand-agency partnership. Corresponding agencies must be ready to add additional value and resolve lingering remote working challenges, or find themselves defending their turf from hungry competitors.

And if all that weren’t enough, we need to be mindful that a US election is doubtless going to add to the distraction and add to the uncertainty of economic challenges through to the end of November.

And that will will make things interesting.

Image by freepik.

During most agency pitches, emphasis is typically placed on the functional capabilities of the agencies you’re evaluating:  Size, scope, capabilities etc., balanced against strategic and / or creative proof points – all weighed against an acceptable financial model.

So, how do you discover if the presenting agency is truly your creative soulmate? Here are some insightful questions you might like to include:

Describe your ideal client. Do we match that profile?  This should open a discussion about mutual expectations and fit. Understanding their ideal client profile helps you assess compatibility and whether your values and communication styles align. It also gives you the opportunity to address any gaps and clarify your expectations.

When was a time you disagreed with a client and how did you navigate it? Collaboration needs to thrive on healthy debate and open dialogue. This question reveals the agency’s communication style, conflict resolution skills, and their ability to defend their creative vision while maintaining a client-centric approach.

What’s your biggest internal challenge, and how are you tackling it? No agency (and no marketer) is ever perfect. This question assesses self-awareness and the agency’s commitment to improvement. Their response shows how they address internal issues, which reflects their ability to handle yours with open communication and a problem-solving mindset.

What cultural, social, or technological trends excite you, and how could they impact our brand communication? Agencies with teams at the forefront of industry trends bring essential insights to the businesses they work on, and this question should help reveal their understanding of today’s of what’s going on the world and how and why that’s meaningful to your audiences and your brand.

Tell us about an accomplishment you’re particularly proud of that isn’t in the case studies you’ve shared. This should be an opportunity for your prospective agency to showcase hidden gems without missing a beat.  It’s should also give you a deeper understanding of what truly excites them and motivates them as a team.

What question haven’t we asked that you wish we had? Sounds overly simple perhaps but it’s a question that should empower your prospective agency to showcase their unique selling proposition and address any concerns you might have missed. It will also demonstrate their confidence, transparency, and eagerness to make a lasting impression.

But the reality is agency pitches aren’t just about dazzling presentations – they’re about finding the perfect partner, one that resonates with your brand values, understands your challenges, and shares your team’s work ethic. Remember, asking insightful questions is a two-way street:  You need to observe the agency’s team dynamic and how they answer  questions.  They need to demonstrate they’re really listening to your needs. And whether you ask some, all or none of these questions, chemistry sessions are no more complicated than being able to answer: Which begs the question – do you like your agency?  And does your agency like you?  What questions would help you better understand each other?  
Image by DCStudio on Freepik

Six years ago, with the help of an awesome network of marketers, clients, agencies, industry friends and colleagues, we started tracking as many Canadian agency pitches we could. And while our efforts could never be entirely complete, we created the first ever Canadian Agency Pitch Report, summarizing Canadian agency pitch wins. The Pitch Report delineates between Creative AOR, Media, Digital and PR pitches, and identifies companies by name and vertical, as well as winning agency(s).

Once again, the industry response this year has been overwhelming, and while many marketers and agencies proactively reached-out to share more information, we know there were more wins that could have been included.

2021 saw a 40 increase in agency search activity over the previous year, and 2022 has already exceeded that number – just with the number of searches we’re aware of to-date. So as fall draws in on this momentous year of change, we’re reaching out to marketers and agencies alike to share their wins with us to be included in this year’s report which will be released in January.

To make things easy, we’ve included a win notification link right on our home page to help provide the industry – and Canadian agencies in particular – with an overview of the buoyancy of the Canadian agency pitch market, while providing insight on the most and least active sectors year over year.  

My continued thanks to everyone who has helped keep us up-to-date over the past year. And a special thank you to my friends and industry colleagues who have already provided input into the construct of next year’s document, together with suggestions for additional content. 

To discuss the 2021 report, or to order your copy, please contact me directly, or click here to order online.

Image by yanalya on Freepik

With both clients and agencies asking if we’re beginning to manage pitches in-person rather than online again, it’s probably time for an update… And while I have my own views, it’s not exactly an easy yes or no answer.

Yes, businesses are opening up and most are implementing some sort of back-to-work routine which is encouraging. And one of Campaign’s lead stories this past week was about one agency group pushing or a ‘four and flex‘ back to work program with a £1,500 ($2,410) travel subsidy for its staff.

But even if we are seeing agencies and client teams heading back to their offices some of the time, perhaps the question to ask is ‘do we need to pitch in-person?’

And I’m not sure that we do. In fact, I think pitching online has inadvertently generated a number of efficiencies we may not want to part with. For example:

  1. Pitch processes can be faster – with less spacing between agency visits
  2. Client schedules – challenging at the best of times – are easier to manage
  3. Even if people are out-of-town – they can still participate

OK, so not everyone’s going to agree with that, but the reality is time is precious and I don’t see clients switching back to in-person meetings any time soon.

But hold on, what about chemistry? That only really works in-person, doesn’t it?

Actually, no.

We’ve seen some exceptional pitches over the past couple of years in which agencies have excelled at setting the stage with their prospective clients from the get-go with innovative introductions, underpinned with expert time management that immediately created empathy between teams. Energy, gravitas, enthusiasm, preparedness and team composition can’t be faked especially in an online environment, so in some cases we’d argue that chemistry is actually better evaluated online than in-person.

But there are those who will argue differently. And if you are contemplating seeing your prospective agency(s) in-person, here are some things you should consider while the current climate prevails:

  1. If you’d like to see a chemistry session (or pitch) in person, make it a request – not a requirement
  2. Keep your numbers small
  3. Be clear you respect the agency’s policy around in-person meetings and it’s their choice
  4. If you’re seeing more than one agency for your chemistry session and one says ‘no‘, change the other(s) to online sessions to ensure fairness for all.
  5. Recognize that even if agencies do pitch in-person, some staff may choose not to participate and be comfortable if some members choose to join online
  6. Be clear that if they choose not pitch in-person this will not negatively impact your decision (i.e. it’s not a decision criteria)
  7. Confirm everyone on your search team will follow safety protocols around social distancing and wearing masks and whatever additional protocols the agency may request
  8. Overkill perhaps… but check with your legal counsel to ensure you’re aligned with your company’s own policies around in-person meetings

Funny thing is, that even with all these protocols it’s still not that simple: We had a pitch the other day in which three client team members were in one place. And if you thought making sure you had the camera set-up properly for yourself was a challenge – let me assure you that squeezing three people into the same Teams frame on the same laptop is no easy feat! Fortunately, it became an unplanned moment of hilarity – but as we slowly drift back into the office, we have a whole new set of conundrums we’ll need to manage.

And as we all continue to stumble our way through these uncertain times, this will likely remain a hot and sensitive topic for many months to come. So let’s call it a work in progress and your additional thoughts and comments are welcome.