"Closed" Agency Pitch Process?
What you need to know.
A very good article by Ewan Larkin and Ad Age on what are called "closed" agency reviews.
Closed reviews: Everything Agencies and Brands Need to Know About the Pitch Process”
I've done a few of these recently, as most of my clients don't want to spend a lot of money or time on an agency search but do want a strategic process for reviewing a small number of highly qualified agencies.
After reading the article, I do feel compelled to point out one statement that marketers should be aware of if they decide to run a "closed review.
Why?
Because it's a terrible and unfair way to run a review. And no search consultant should agree to it.
"In a closed review, the usual standards of fairness and uniformity don’t always apply—the brand isn’t necessarily giving the same information, time or requests to each agency, said the first consultant. “It’s like a street fight,” this person added."
Even if you start with a small list of agencies that move immediately into a final stage of presentations, all agencies should be given the same opportunity to succeed. It's simply wrong for any agency to have an advantage over the others: it's counterproductive and doesn't allow for a fair process.
A closed review? All good. Make sure you hire a consultant that knows how to run one in a manner that will allow agencies to succeed, not be put in a position where other participants have an unfair advantage.