What CMOs can learn from the best run pitches

If recent industry data is anything to go by, agencies can expect another busy year of new business activity.

Much has already been said about whether pitching remains the right way to select an agency partner. But AAR’s own research, gathered directly from agencies, suggests that not only are pitches still prevalent, they are increasingly demanding. More processes now require agencies to respond with integrated strategic, executional, technology, operational and commercial proposals; what we describe as a fully loaded pitch.

After 28 years supporting brand teams to identify and appoint agencies, I’ve seen first-hand what distinguishes a well-run pitch from an average one. The best processes not only lead to better decisions, they also make clients more attractive to the agencies - and the people - they most want to work with.

If you're planning a pitch and want to bring out the very best in competing agencies, here are ten behaviours that consistently lead to stronger outcomes.

Preparation is everything

• Be sure to have internal alignment and buy-in to the project before going to market
• A RACI, DARE or similar will clarify roles and responsibilities, whatever the selection programme
• Have a clear and ideally ambitious brief together with success criteria that will keep you focused, and inspire competing agencies

Balance assurance and insurance

• Be clear about what degree of each you and your organisation needs
• Assurance can be gleaned from what an agency has done on behalf of their other clients that matches the skills and resources you want from an agency
• Insurance is achieved by asking pitching agencies to apply their skills to your specific circumstances and challenges

 Choose the team before the work

• Use the pitch to select the team you think will be able be able to deliver the best work and outcomes
• Work presented in a pitch rarely gets made. The idea may be strong, but the execution requires a lot or refinement or a complete re-work
• You’ve demonstrated your belief in the agency’s creative abilities through your invitation to pitch. Don’t place unreasonable expectations on them or you by placing too much emphasis on the execution shown in the pitch, which will always be improved by you and your team’s involvement

Don’t ignore the plumbing

• How agencies deliver is as important as what they deliver. Make sure sufficient attention is paid to this aspect of the agency’s offering
• Integration between client and agency tech stacks is no longer a nice to have, it’s a must have
• Get the subject matter experts to deep dive into an agency’s capabilities, rather than a superficial reference with a couple of slides in the final pitch presentation

 Use subject‑matter experts, especially for media

• Paid for media will be one of the biggest investments by a brand. It’s technical, complicated, and can be mis-understood
• If you don’t have the expertise in-house, use some external support. It will more than pay for itself
• Any agency can promise cheaper media, and while cost competitiveness is important, it shouldn’t be the sole - or even predominant - judgement criteria

Don’t overly focus on AI

• AI can be a brilliant tool to improve many aspects of comms, but it’s not the answer to everything. Don’t over-index its role in a pitch
• Be clear about what aspects of AI you want agencies to address in the pitch brief
• Think about it in terms of General AI to address decisioning and optimisation, Generative AI to address content optimisations, and Agentic AI for workflow automation

Don’t try to boil the ocean

• The best pitch briefs are tight and focused. The worst are shopping lists
• Identify what’s important and use the best medium to assess and judge, which could be a written response, workshop, technical deep dive, presentation or a combination of those
• Think in terms of what you need to convince you of an agency being the right partner, and not everything you want the agency to do for you

Create commercial equity and equality

• Try not to be prescriptive in the construct of the commercial recommendations from agencies
• Give them the necessary information summarised in a scope of work
• Invite agencies to propose a commercial construct that will get the best from the agency

Remember the pitch doesn’t end at appointment

• The shared ambition of a newly formed relationship is full of promise and expectation, but all healthy relationships need nurturing and attention to thrive
• Commit to regular relationship reviews, particularly after 100 days, before un-intended bad habits have become muscle memory
• Think of a relationship reset as a positive rather than some sense of failure. What was right to get the brand to where it is may not be right for what’s needed to get it where it’s going

Keep your promises. Always!

• For agencies, how you behave as a brand team in a pitch is a microcosm of what it will be like to work with you
• Commit to the process, the timetable, the team, and the deadlines, because that’s what you’re asking from the pitching agencies
• Of course, things change, and if they do, communicate with the pitching agencies quickly and openly

Ultimately, a well-run pitch is not just a procurement exercise but the foundation of a long-term partnership. When CMOs invest the time to run a disciplined, fair and thoughtful process, they attract better agencies, make better decisions and build relationships that deliver stronger commercial results over time. The quality of the pitch often predicts the quality of the partnership, and the outcomes that follow.