“I’m off on leave, enjoy the brief.”

How many times I have heard this?
It’s often said with a wink, but sometimes it is borderline abusive.

The worst example?
One of our biggest clients had a mandatory re-pitch every three years.
They kicked it off early with a shortlisting exercise in July, which felt sensible.

Then they sat on it for months.
Silence, delays, more silence.

Suddenly, middle of December, the pitch brief landed. The due date was the second week of January.

No explanation. No apology. Not even an acknowledgment of what a challenge this might be.

When we raised it, they blamed procurement. Said there was nothing they could do.

My team had already booked holidays. They needed the rest. They’d earned it.
So I told them to go. I pulled together a team of freelancers who were grateful for the work. They created the foundations so that my team could review, refine and sign off when they returned.

It worked, technically. But the experience left a bad taste in my mouth.  
I still wonder whether I should have declined the pitch altogether.
But it was a major piece of business for us, and many livelihoods depended on it.

I still hear similar stories from agency leaders.
Last minute briefs. Benchmarking exercises disguised as pitches. Unrealistic timelines.
Most clients are not like this, but the few who are cast a long shadow.

So here are a few suggestions when inviting agencies to pitch:

1. Is it real?
Are you genuinely open to appointing a new agency, or is this a way to squeeze costs from your incumbent? Be honest with yourself before asking others to invest time and energy.

2. Why say goodbye?
Most of the best work comes from long term partnerships. Have you truly invested in your current relationship?  Is it really past the point of no return? Or are you looking for a scapegoat?

3. What’s the ask?
A creative pitch rarely predicts future performance. A strategic conversation and relevant case studies are often more revealing.

4. You need it when?
A two week turnaround for a ten year relationship is rarely reasonable. Good thinking needs oxygen.

5. Show me the money
If you want a full strategic and creative pitch, pay a fair pitch fee.

6. Be human
Behind every pitch are people juggling families, holidays, sick parents, burnout and real lives. Respect them and their time.

7. Who’s on stage?
The pitch isn’t just agencies proving themselves to you.
You’re also showing who you are as a client.
The best agencies choose their clients as carefully as clients choose their agencies.
So be careful what behaviours you are demonstrating.

That pitch that landed all those years ago taught me something.
It’s not about procurement or process.
It’s a mirror of the culture behind it.

How you treat people when you think they cannot say no tells the real story.