Pt 12 – Small Is Good

There appears to be a changing envioronment in what companies are looking for in agencies when they have a particular brief.

Without reference to any specific agency there was a recent pitch involving a direct marketing brief within the retail sector. Some of the usual suspects were involved in the pitch but the client also involved a couple of smaller players into the process. Now these smaller agencies did not necessarily have the historic pedigree required for the brief but what they lacked in this area they more than matched with a less muddied approach to the brief. Smart thinking away from the norm, mainly because they were less tied up in having been through this process before, allowed them to deliver succinct pitches which stood out. The end result out of 5 pitching agencies – the two smaller ones were the chosen Tier 1 and Tier 2 agencies and the larger agencies, whilst not a distant third, were still not perceived to be shall we say hungry enough.

The old adage “all good things come in small packages” is being seen more and more in the decision making process. Larger agencies that have been around the block for quite a few years need to change their approach and discard the replicated work that appears to come through. That’s not to say the effort is not made by all concerned but it’s all about the perception. Whilst the major agencies will always be a step ahead in terms of resource this may not necessarily win the day – lean and hungry is also a must, something you find more so in these smaller agencies.

The bottom line is listen to the market, follow the wins, adjust the approach. Build on what you are good at but remember your roots, remember those first forays into the world of pitching and what worked well for you.

Thanks, as always, for reading!