Name Paul Heath
Title President, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Asia-Pacific
Pitches Probably been in 70 and led 20
First pitch Central Office of Information, UK; graduate trainee, Ogilvy London
Biggest pitch Motorola Asia-Pacific; president, pitch leader and incumbent
As a part of the world's second oldest profession, it is too late to start a debate about whether it is fair or clever for agencies to enter into pitches and give away their time and thinking for free. Instead, let's talk about how I think the best ones are run for the benefits of both sides of the fence.
Ex-chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola Sergio Zyman wrote an excellent guide called The Client Agency Mating Manual. It broke down the process into five stages and prompts good, clear questions the client should be asking himself at each stage of the process. Most importantly, it reminds us to stay focused on the idea, as it is ideas that determine success in the marketplace.
He also suggests using a scoring system and asks questions about the agency's track record on effectiveness. I believe the scoring system takes courage to use, but does give agencies a real sense of a level playing field by minimising the subjectivity of the pitch. The effectiveness questions are also smart — I'd want an agency which could talk about how its work contributed to business success.
A great pitch presentation should understand the brand's competitive environment and put the issues or opportunities into the client's business context. It should describe the consumer's decision-making process, fully interrogate the brand and its role in the consumer's life. And it should show how the agency will measure the work and paint a picture of what success will look like.
From the agency perspective, pitches act as accelerated learning curves for junior people and help teams bond. No two pitches are ever the same and, win or lose, the agency can often come out stronger than it went in. Importantly, we also need them to grow our business. Good agency people have strong competitive streaks and there is a prize for the winner and a lot of stories and learnings for the losers."
Is the pitch working? Yes It is alive and well, but should also be taken in moderation. There is, of course, no feeling quite like winning, especially when you were the underdog going in. The worst pressure is to be the favourite and the worst starting position is to be the incumbent.
