British advertising trade bodies ISBA and IPA have launched a new website designed to clarify the pitching process. The new site, www.thegoodpitch.com, will focus on “six principles” of pitching: openness and transparency, respect, bravery, access and navigation, timing, and the power of collective action.
Paul Bainsfair, director general at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), says the new initiative aims to encourage more collaborative thinking in the pitch process. By sharing information, he says, the site expects to cut costs for pitching, which have been escalating across the advertising industry.
“Pitching has become a bit of a war zone for agencies and advertisers; they are not as efficient as they should be,” Bainsfair told Marketing magazine. “There is a crying need on both sides to address this.”
Debbie Morrison, director of consultancy and best practice at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA), said the site would contain “examples of better practices, examples of new ways of doing things, [and] some key principles that can help guide you when you’re planning the process."
“I just maybe think that information’s been forgotten and people need to be reminded about it,” she said in The Good Pitch’s promotional video.
Helen Weisinger, chief marketing officer at McCann London, adds that recent market trends have expedited the need for clear pitching guidelines.
“The moment has finally come where it’s no longer agency versus client,” she said in the video. “Actually we’re getting to this time where both clients and agencies are both fed up with how pitching is running.”
You can find more information and videos about The Good Pitch’s six principles of pitching here.
