Both BBDO and Publicis Worldwide cited concerns about an unrealistic pitch structure, and poor communication between the client and agency.
"We felt it was totally unprofessional," said BBDO Asia vice-chairman Tom Kao. "They led the agencies to work on a lot of things without telling the agencies what to expect."
As an example, Kao pointed to a series of meetings which took place at Standard Chartered's request between local market agency and client offices: "It was not a good way to measure the chemistry and capability of the agency - my observation was the local people had very little to say."
In addition, Kao expressed his displeasure with the tight deadlines.
"The last presentation happened at the end of August and we were given very short notice that it had to go on because a decision had to be made on September 1 - only to wait for a month to hear the result."
"I was a little bit taken aback by the involvement of a procurement agency so early in the process," said Publicis regional chairman Guillaume Levy-Lambert. "Our impression of StanChart is that they were not looking for a partner, but a supplier."
A bank spokesman said: "The pitch process was very comprehensive and designed to find our right communications partner and we are really looking forward to starting work with the TBWA Group to help us build our brand across our regions."
Tequila\TBWA will create a global team to handle the account, which will eventually span 30 countries across three regions. "We have been impressed with the collaborative process of the client team throughout this pitch," said its managing partner Dan Paris.
