Pitching is part of an advertising agency's DNA; it's often mandatory if an agency wants to acquire new business. With the average length of the client relationship diminishing from eight years in 1997 to only three years today, pitching is occurring more frequently. Provoke Insights conducted an online survey among advertising professionals to determine what their thoughts are of the pitch process and their recommendations on how to improve it.

1. Research on the
Advertising Pitch Process
December, 2013
info@provokeinsights.com

2. Background & Objectives
§ Pitching is part of an advertising agency's DNA; it's
often mandatory if an agency wants to acquire
new business. With the average length of the client
relationship diminishing from eight years in 1997 to
only three years today, pitching is occurring more
frequently1.
§ With pitching playing such an important role in the
industry, Provoke Insights wanted to learn what
advertisers thought of the process and their
recommendations on how to improve it.
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1.ANA
West Coast Marketing Financial Management & Procurement Committee March 28, 2012 .

3. Methodology
§ Provoke Insights conducted an online survey
between November 8th - December 8th, 2013.
§ The survey was distributed through targeted
Facebook promoted posts (users employed by all
agencies listed in the 4As directory). In addition,
the survey was posted on fourteen industry
relevant LinkedIn groups.
§ 146 advertising professionals living in the United
States completed the survey. 140 employees said
they participated in the advertising pitch process.
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4. Key Findings
§ Approximately half (47%) of advertising
professionals say they are dissatisfied with the
current internal approach to pitching.
§ "I hate the pitch process," one account
professional confessed, under anonymity. "It
means working 24-7 and completely wears
everyone out.” It is not shocking that the industry
says unrealistic timelines (66%) and long work
hours (65%) are key reasons for such frustration.
§ "Very chaotic, no clear direction until the last
minute," a professional in media mentioned when
recalling his most recent pitch.
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5. Key Findings
§ Interestingly, those who are happy with their
experiences when pitching mention teamwork as
a key reason for their satisfaction. "Good
collaboration and clear understanding of a
common purpose," an account executive
indicated as success factors.
§ Another area of frustration during pitches is having
timely access to the appropriate research and
data. Forty-four percent of advertising
professionals stated that if there were better
availability of research and data, pitches would
run smoother and more successful. More so, those
who received data for pitches, 48% mentioned
the speed of resources was not quick enough.
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6. Key Findings
§ Without research and insights, no matter how
innovative the creative is, the pitch could be off
base. "Winning creative should be based on
research and insights. However, many times it
ends up being loosely based on not enough
research causing the strategy to end up being
lackluster," a strategic planner stated.
§ During the pitch process, receiving extra support
and resources in regards to understanding the
target audience (57%), competitive intelligence
(53%) followed by trends analysis (53%), industry
intelligence (47%) and social listening (42%) are
key areas employees believe can be improved.
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7. Detailed Findings

8. Vast majority of advertising professional
have participated in a pitch.
Participated in a Pitch
No
4%
Yes
96%
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Have you ever participated in an advertising pitch(es) ?
Base: All advertising professionals (N=146)

9. Almost half of respondents are dissatisfied
with the internal approach to pitching.
Satisfaction with the
Internal Pitch Process
45%
47%
35%
12%
8%
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very disstisfied
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Thinking about the last pitch you worked on, overall how satisfied were you with the internal pitch process?
Base: Advertising professionals who participated in the pitch process (N=140)

10. Reason for dissatisfaction with pitch process
Long Hours
Lack of Process
“I hate that the pitch
process means 24/7.
It completely wears
everyone out.”
“There is such poor
organization, it's a
huge (and
expensive) scramble
up to the last
minute.”
“Tight deadlines. All
night work. Weekend
work.”
“Inability to
effectively align
resources and
difficultly seeing
strategic platform
inform final
recommendations.”
Management
Issues
Lack of research/
strategy
“Everyone
competing to be the
smartest person in
the room. No
thought leadership.
Indecision and
changes up to the
last second.”
“Winning creative
should be based on
research and
insights. However,
many times it ends
up being loosely
based on not
enough research
causing the strategy
to end up being
lackluster.”
“Senior people
sweeping in last
minute and
upending
everything.”
“Not enough
market/ audience
information.”
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Please briefly describe why you were dissatisfied.
Base: Advertising professionals who say they are dissatisfied with the pitch process (N=66)

11. Reasons for satisfaction with the pitch process
Team Work & Collaboration
“Team work always pulls through”
“Team actually came together as a team.
Agreed on strategy and resulted in a great
solution.”
“It was a great team effort.”
“Good collaboration between disciplines.”
“The team worked together to assemble a
good deck/presentation.”
Availability of Resources (Research & Insights)
“I think I found some good insights that
strengthened the pitch focus.”
“We developed insights and positioning
that will really affect the brand. And the
client saw that in our presentation.”
“Efficient account people to help find
resources that were needed.”
“Availability of a plethora of research
sources such as focus groups, surveys and
market information. It gave us an upper
hand with the strategy. “
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Please briefly describe why you were satisfied.
Base: Advertising professionals who participated in the pitch process (N=74)

12. Unrealistic timelines and long work hours are
key reasons for dissatisfaction.
Aspects of Dissatisfaction with the Pitch Process
43%
Realistic timelines
38%
Number of hours worked
Organization
Available research/data
Relationships with clients
10%
29%
10%
23%
21%
46%
10%
34%
9%
5%
65%
48%
9%
36%
66%
50%
21%
39%
Budget for pitch
Relationship with management
27%
29%
Speed of resources received
Morale
23%
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
44%
39%
32%
26%
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How satisfied were you with the following aspects of the pitch process? (Scale: very satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied, very dissatisfied)
Base: Advertising professionals who participated in the pitch process (N=140)

13. Areas to improve the pitch process include
information regarding the target audience,
competitors, trends, and the industry.
Resources/Extra Support to Help Improve the Pitch Process
Analysis of target audience
57%
Competitive intelligence
53%
Trends analysis
53%
Industry intelligence
47%
Social listening
42%
In-depth interviews of the audience
38%
Market sizing information
34%
Insight videos
33%
28%
Survey research
Focus group research
25%
20%
Mystery shopping
8%
None
Other
4%
Which of the following resources/extra support would help improve the pitch process in the future? (select all that apply)
Base: Advertising professionals who participated in the pitch process (N=140)
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14. The majority of respondents work for
general or digital advertising agencies.
In-language
3%
CRM
4% Pharma
4%
Media
8%
Brand
consultancy
9%
General
49%
Digital
23%
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What type of advertising firm do you work for?
Base: All advertising professionals (N=146)

15. Respondents work in a variety of advertising
specialties.
Job Description
30%
26%
19%
8%
8%
8%
1%
Account
Planning
What is your job role?
Base: All advertising professionals (N=146)
Creative
New Business
Research/
Analytics
Project
Management
Production
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16. Over half of respondents work at agencies
with more than 100 employees.
Number of Employees at Agency
36%
26%
24%
14%
Less than 25
25 to less than 100
100 to less than 500
More than 500
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What is the size of your agency?
Base: All advertising professionals (N=146)

17. Questionnaire
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18. Questionnaire
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19. Questionnaire
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20. About Provoke Insights
Provoke Insights is a marketing consultancy and a full service market
research firm.
Whether you are creating a new brand or strengthening an existing
one, you need a plan that is sharp, actionable and captivating. Our
approach to strategy is rooted in a 360 degree-research method,
strategic thinking and creativity. We have experience in traditional,
digital, social, and relationship marketing.
As experts in traditional and innovative research methodologies, we
provide strategic solutions to help answer your marketing needs
through tools such as quantitative and qualitative research, social
listening, competitive intelligence, and trends analysis. Provoke
insights has experience serving clients across a variety of industries:
advertising, financial services, professional services, technology,
political/government, consumer goods, non-profit, OTC, health care,
and pharmaceutical. Our nimble internal process allows us to be
efficient in speed, flexibility and cost.
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