A number of agencies have grumbled that they were given 40 minutes to present two creative campaigns as well as their credentials.
A bell was used to alert agencies to the time they had left to make their presentations, prompting one participant to liken the pitch to a school exam.
Koh Ching Ching, head of group corporate communications, responded: “The invited agencies were provided with a clear brief of what was required in the first credentials presentation meeting and the time-frame provided.”
Koh also moved to correct a story published in Media’s e-mail bulletin, which suggested that a number of agencies had withdrawn from the pitch.
“At the end of our evaluation, only two agencies were short-listed, as they presented good creative ideas and strong credentials.
“The selected agencies are Y&R and Euro RSCG. The agencies that were not selected were informed of our decision last week, by mail.”
They were Bates141, which was pitching with 10AM Communications, BBDO and McCann Erickson.
“We want a partner with proven talents and capabilities in planning and creative, who can support our marketing programmes in Singapore and beyond,” said Koh.
Some participants claim they had withdrawn from the pitch before they had been informed of the short-list, tempted by R3’s creative review for Maybank.
OCBC creative pitch leaves agencies sour
SINGAPORE - OCBC's regional creative review has turned sour after complaints by agencies that the pitch has been unprofessionally run.
