New pitch guidelines from intl ad bodies

Said Stephan Loerke, WFA MD, “In difficult economic times, marketers need practical advice based on what has been proven to work. These guidelines can save everyone valuable time and money and ensure our agency partners compete on a fair and level playing field.”

"Joint best practice"

Added Dominic Lyle, director general, EACA, “The pitch process is one of the most time and resource-consuming aspects of agency business and often frustrating because of lack of clarity or direction. A joint ‘best practice' guide, endorsed by agencies and advertisers alike, is a big step forward in creating a better environment for both parties. We are delighted that the WFA has agreed to co-publish these important guidelines.”

The guidelines aim to promote best practice globally: to help agencies pitch successfully and marketers to find the agencies that best fit their needs. Beyond focusing on the pitch process, they also propose best practice on managing client-agency relations more generally. These include proven alternatives to a full pitch, which may not always be the best solution.

Plan effectively

Pitch processes can be time-consuming and expensive. In a recent survey of WFA members, the average amount of time taken for a global/regional pitch was just under four months. Marketers recognise that, given the complexity of the task, bad planning is one of the biggest obstacles to concluding a successful pitch. These comprehensive guidelines respond to this by describing the key stages of the pitch process in order to plan effectively.

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) (www.wfanet.org) is described as the voice of advertisers worldwide, representing 90% of global marketing communications expenditures, through a global network of 55 national advertiser associations on five continents, as well as direct multi-national corporate members. Through the network, WFA represents more than 10 000 businesses operating in a broad spectrum of sectors at national, regional and global levels. WFA has a dual mission: to champion responsible commercial communications and to facilitate a media environment, which stimulates maximum effectiveness of ad spend.

Important link

The European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA) (www.eaca.be) is a Brussels-based organisation which brings together the advertising, media, healthcare and sales promotions agencies across Europe, enabling international experience and issues to be shared and dealt with on a pan-European basis. It provides an important link between agencies, advertisers and the advertising media in Europe and around the world and participates closely in the setting of standards in many aspects of the business across Europe.

To view the new pitch guidelines document, go to www.wfanet.org/press_releases.cfm?id=28 or download WFA/EACA Pitch Guidelines pdf.