Are we giving too much away?
I want to get a discussion going about working on spec. When i was starting out, I was pretty shocked to see how much work UK PR agencies did upfront just to get a foot in the door. I was at an agency in Milton Keynes that would take whole teams of people off billable client work to research and write a proposal that usually included full creative treatment and a one-year communications plan!! Then they’d devote hundreds of hours to creating and rehearsing a compelling ’dog and pony’ presentation show! And this was for what was often a for five-way competitive pitch…so a 20 per cent chance of ROI.
In Washington DC we never did this. We’d present credentials and references and win the work off that. Then we’d get paid to do the creative treatment and communications plan….which seems to me to be a much more sensible approach.
One by One Media has an interesting article on speculative work on their blog devoted to graphic design consulting. Their situation doesn’t seem that disimilar to ours.
Strivers….what are your experiences about working on spec? What are the current client expectations at the pitching stage? What about working with other agencies….should we charge for assisting in business development do we see it as an investment? I usually don’t blog at weekends, but this issue is worth discussing. I’m interested in hearing your comments.
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I think we should do what fits the market. The UK expects loads of free upfront work to win a pitch, so I can’t see how it can be avoided. If we said pay us they would just laugh.
I think if we’re pitching for UK business we’ll just have to suck it, if we’re pitching for US business then we wouldn’t have to bother.
It does suck big time though: having to spend time doing stuff for quite possible nothing.
And, you wonder why we held that little ol’ tea party in Boston Harbor!
You would think that publishing white papers about prior successful campaigns, or getting clients to give you references would provide enough information to a firm to use to help it decide you’re worth their “investment.” After all, aren’t there “out” clauses in proposals? Cannot a British firm be fired as quickly as an American one?
Didn’t you all in the UK outlaw slavery in many of your territories before the US did? Hmmm…
This notion of giving away thousands of dollars/pounds of worth of man hours bugs me because it’s unjust and it presumes that a person or company can survive on air and empty promises.
Your humble defender of justice,
Rita
Now listen my American friend, you seem to have forgotten about a little skirmish called the War of 1812 when we burnt down your White House. We don’t want to have to come back over there and finish the job!
That said, I do believe your idea about white papers, case studies and reference has merit.
xo
This is a situation of the market dictating the terms of doing business. If there was one statutory body that all communications professionals had to belong to (eg the Law Society), then we would have less of a problem. The principal issue here is one of trust. If I tell you and others that I will routinely charge a fee for researching, developing and presenting a client pitch, then I would expect you to do the same. When everyone agrees to sing from the same hymn sheet there is not problem. In the real world, however, that simply doesn’t happen.
Because I’m old and gnarled now, it concerns me a lot less. If we decide to charge a fee for pitching, simply because of the volume of work we are required to do, we will advise our potential clients accordingly. If they reject the charge before work is commenced, then I will advise them to go to a less-experienced firm who are so desperate for business, they will provide the necessary research etc for nothing!
As it stands, we don’t spend hours of our time preparing for a presentation. We don’t always win everything we go for but no one does.
Have faith people – stand up and be counted!!
Lloyd
I often get asked the question about pro-bono, and my answer is always the same. I’m VERY pro-bono. You humans tend to forget the simple pleasures in life; and a tasty, juicy bone is right up there with the best of them.
I know what you’re thinking: “Hey! A dog that can type”. Well of course I can, but please excuse the spelling. I’m not a poodle after all.
If you want my recommendation – the next time the bono question comes up, just say yes. Good for your teeth, your coat and your spirits. I’d say sniff a bottom or two too, but I guess that’s more advertising than PR? Stay away from the more advanced stuff for heavens sake!
In any case, thanks for bringing up the question. It’s important and I’m always glad to contribute, but posts can take a little longer the week of Crufts or if I’m locked out for chewing stuff.
Adieu mes amis.
Sir Rastus Watermelon IV.
(Vizsla)
You mean Westminster right?
The only butt I want to kiss up to is the one that actually gets me kibble, or can lead me to kibble or has provided me with kibble in the past. But, anybody who tips over my water bowl while pretending to be the conduit to kibble….grrr!
Faithfully yours,
Garnet IV
Certified Canine Companion for Independence, Maryland, USA.
I agree with Lloyd on this one. Maybe it’s different for large, multi-national agencies, but for smaller ones (especially those promoting themselves as ‘straight up’, lean and no posh offices), I think it’s completely unrealistic to spend significant amounts of time and money on a pitch. If a potential client exects that, they should be willing to pay for it. Otherwise, crudentials, experience, previous/current successes etc can all be presented to enable a client to make a decision. Maybe I’ve been self-employed for too long, but beyond quickly putting together some ideas for a project, gathering previous examples of work, and occasionally having one brief meeting, I would have to say that I just don’t do work on spec.
These are all valid views, that’s for sure. But fyi, I recently met with a prospect who, in the space of a one hour meeting, asked seven times, in seven different ways, if I’d be willing to work without payment. This was not a registered charity. I’m not kidding.
This is an emotive issue and one that has been kicking around the industry for as long as I can remember – and nothing ever changes. I think this is just the way of the world! A creative speculative pitch without payment is industry standard practice in the UK. The PRCA and PR Week backed by various large agencies have previously lobbied for paid creative pitches/ideas but to no avail.
There are always agencies that will do it for free (and not just the little guys) – so why would companies choose to pay? The market is so competitive that non-payment for upfront and speculative creatives are the least of our worries – there are agencies that are offering loss-leader deals on actual contract work i.e I’ll work for three-months free to prove we can do it, or agreeing to results generated payments or halving day rates to get work…now that’s scary!
Most briefs specify ask for a 12 months PR/comms programme or project-based outline of strategy and tactics.
Therefore not to drill down to this level would be a non-response and you certainly wouldn’t be asked to present your pitch if your written document didn’t cover every area specified. In addition, in a competitive pitch if you are the only agency refusing to give this level of detail you certainly wouldn’t be offered the work. I guess it could be interpreted that you had something to hide, or maybe just couldn’t come up with the ideas….?
Only once have I been offered expenses – in 15 years of PR practice. This was a LG contract where I submitted a 70 page written tender document and got shortlisted to the last three. We were then given £2,500 to create a full pitch presentation.
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