free pitching
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- rabattski0
generally nay (cheap tossers) although sometimes yay is advised (new client, potential big ass job etc.). i actually hate free pitches (they never paid off) and hate the attitude of the client regarding free pitches but sometimes i'm sucked into it doing it for nothing. maybe i really should stop doing free pitches.
- rabattski0
thing is. there are always people around who would do it for free. so the client laughs his ass off. and yeah, it's basically you or them. depends also if your famous or not. most famous agencies don't do free pitches. but they prolly have done in the past when they weren't famous.
- dstlb0
Nay. New clients just need to check out your folio to see what you can do (unless it's shit). Free pitches are just clients fishing for ideas they'll get someone else to finish off.
- save0
I've never agreed with it, why should we provide a free service? Nobody would expect a solicitor or a bricklayer to do something for a free.
I was reading about six companies in London all pitchingfor the same job, so they all decided to get together and provide the exact same costs....
- rabattski0
well "good" clients pay for the pitches or pay a certain amount that all the agencies involved get. normally it depends on the market / economy. if the economy is doing bad and/or there are too many agencies a client can easily do free pitches. everyone will jump on really. it's a guerilla you know. all about survival. and it's hard to get all agencies involved saying no to free pitches. just checking out a folio doesn't always work because most of the time it's about the concept and not so necesseraly about the design. you can distill if an agency is good in concepts from the folio yet again it's impossible to say if that will match the client. e.g. an agency which has a lot of sportbrands doesn't necessarly has to be good in carbrands. most of the time pitches are done by major companies who want to switch agency because either they are not happy with their current agency or they want to keep their current agency sharp and keen on the client (most of the time the one who's already doing the stuff is involved in the pitch as well). these days you see a lot of big companies move to smaller agencies since they get way more attention and "service" while bigger agencies have a lot of bigger clients and so they sort of feel not important anymore. look you can say nay to free pitches but if nike knocks on your door for the new european campaign it's really hard to say nay. everytime you have to make a decision. you can always work with non-disclosures and it rarely happens that your work will be stolen (not by big clients).
- JamesEngage0
A pitch doesn't need to take over your life... I'd rather come up with an idea and pitch it... so much more interesting than going through your portfolio with them for the umpteenth! time. As you only end up with them saying 'Ooh we like that thing you've done... can we have that?'
'er... Not really, because we've done that!'
- smellvetica0
well, recently i've been in plenty of pitches client-side. from the client's point of view, why should they pay for a shoddy last minute knocked up 'presentation' with typos and the design agency not even having done any research on the project that they're pitching for?
the best stand out from the rest and get the job, which can then return a great relationship with the client, exciting projects and a tidy financial reward.
- rabattski0
depends though. pitches really can take up a lot of time. especially if it's concept based. you know above the line, below the line, complete campaigns either tactical or strategic, sort of worked out down to a certain level of detail. i was never involved in a pitch where it was just about a poster or a sleeve design. always concepts. don't understand why a client would pitch for that, that's really something you can decide on the portfolio. if you're freelancing it's a lot easier but agencies are more sluggish though. which reminds me, clients already know your portfolio / work or else they wouldn't ask you to do a pitch.
- smellvetica0
so then it's more like a commission?
- rabattski0
"... can then return a great relationship with the client, exciting projects and a tidy financial reward."
which is very true. sad part is that you only get 1 out of 10 clients based on pitches (personal experience). but if it does it does but you have to invest a lot of time (more than you think) to get there. but in the end that's what it's about.
- JamesEngage0
The pitch is usually the easy part as you can just go for it. easy.
- rabattski0
yeah. the more understanding clients pay a commission for pitches to at least cover the costs. to those pitches i say more yay than to a free pitch (which is downright annoying).
- JamesEngage0
trouble is where do you draw the line and not pay for the pitch if it is shite?
- rabattski0
"The pitch is usually the easy part as you can just go for it. easy." yes. if you don't have a briefing (which is most of the time the case). then again, one of the most important rules is to not read the briefing (seriously). but you still work out the pitch with the idea back in your head that you have to land the job (which makes it more difficult). so really going mental on it doesn't always cut it (but is the nicest way to work on it, at least get some fun outta it).
- rabattski0
"trouble is where do you draw the line and not pay for the pitch if it is shite?" elaborate. from the client point of view?
- JamesEngage0
yes. i've paid you to pitch. and it's pish.
- smellvetica0
ok, i've paid you to pitch and you miss the point completely.
and spell my name wrong.. or even worse, the project's title.
fair?
- smellvetica0
god my grammar's shite today.
- rabattski0
if it's commission based than you have to pay (most of the time there's a contract). but commissions aren't that high. it merely covers the costs (like proper printing, transportation, meetings etc.). so it's not a big of a deal. and on the other side it's quite arrogant if you would say i'm not gonna pay if it sucks since it's almost a free pitch. plus you're asking way more than 1 agency to pitch and you just want to have the best option.
anyways that's hardly not gonna happen. it's not like a client chooses agencies based on the yellow pages, you know the quality / capability beforehand.
- 10mtl0
i just won a free pitch yesterday
against 9 of the biggest agencies in austriaso
if the clients phat enough
and i am confident to win
or a bit low on money
i do it