Mazen Jawad, CEO, Horizon HoldingsI’ve spent 32 years in this industry and have been directly involved in the pitching process since 2005, both at a regional level and within global reviews that included our region. While our industry has evolved dramatically, one area has remained largely unchanged: the pitching process.
To be fair, many pitches we receive are human, inspiring, fair, and even fun and motivating. However, many still fall into one of two categories: A recycled, copy-paste brief issued by the same organisation repeatedly every one, two or three years, or a deck originally created by another organisation, where only the company name and introduction have been changed – accompanied by a strong emphasis on the importance of ‘results’.
A successful pitch, one that leads to a successful relationship and tangible business outcomes, requires mandatory presence, involvement, and participation from the client side. It’s simply impossible to run a meaningful review if the client expects the agency to build the relationship alone, or with minimal engagement from their end.
‘‘Experienced agencies know how to ask the difficult, sometimes uncomfortable questions. The ones that are necessary to uncover the real problem.’’
The real winner of a pitch is not the agency that signs the contract; it’s the agency that wins the relationship and subsequently delivers on the required business objectives. The win never stops at contract signature. That moment is only the beginning. At times, we see this client floating a similar pitch ingwithin a few months or a year at most.
Whenever we receive an invitation to participate in a review, the same initial questions inevitably arise:
- Is this a real pitch?
- Is the list of agencies have a fair chance to win? or is the winner preselected?
- Is the organisation’s leadership aware of it?
- Is procurement aligned with marketing? With leadership?
- Is marketing aligned with sales?
- Is the decision maker going to be present during our pitching presentation?
- Is there a realistic budget allocated to cover the list of deliverables?
This is where internal alignment becomes critical, and where the concept of relationship first plays its role – starting within the client’s organisation before extending to the participating agencies.
Improving fairness in the pitch process is also a critical priority. Agencies commit substantial investment – financial, operational and personal – whether internally or through external costs. This often means cancelling holidays, shifting priorities and mobilising teams in good faith, trusting in the transparency and integrity of the evaluation process.
Unfortunately, there are still instances where that trust is compromised, including situations in which ideas or work are taken and passed to a preselected partner. When this happens, the pitch ceases to be a genuine competition and damages the trust of the pitching organisation in future reviews.
The second, and perhaps the most important question agencies ask is: What are they really looking for? Too often, this is not clearly defined in the brief. In many cases, the real challenge lies beyond what is written – whether it relates to strained human relationships with a previous agency or deeper business issues that often remain unspoken.
This is where relationship-building becomes essential. Experienced agencies know how to ask the difficult, sometimes uncomfortable questions. The ones that are necessary to uncover the real problem.
Once identified, both parties can align on solving it together. When this happens, the relationship becomes a partnership, a single marriage working to solve challenges that then become far simpler to address.
If a client is serious about the pitch and genuinely committed to hiring an agency that drives results, then senior-level involvement is non-negotiable. Without this, the outcome is often predictable: a loss of time for both parties, talented agency teams unable to fully showcase their capabilities and ultimately, failure to extract the best from the participating agencies – regardless of whether a winner is announced.
Whether the pitch ends in celebration or disappointment for either side, the cause is almost always the same: relationship. Nevertheless, this relationship should never be used to favour one party over another, but rather to create an equal opportunity for all. The goal is not to ‘win the pitch’, but to win the relationship.
Much like dating, you cannot build an ideal long-term relationship – or marriage – without spending time together, understanding one another and openly discussing sensitive subjects and expectations. Only then do both parties truly have the chance to win a lasting relationship.
I will avoid diving into pricing, a topic that procurement executives understandably focus on. Once the relationship is established and a clear plan exists to achieve agreed KPIs, pricing discussions typically find their natural balance, resulting in a genuine win-win outcome.
In conclusion, we will continue to encounter countless short-lived pitches. Yet, we’ll also continue to value and celebrate the few that unite client and agency forces to create something meaningful and actionable. These are the relationships that endure, or at the very least, last longer and achieve their objectives.
By Mazen Jawad, CEO, Horizon Holdings
