What if your pitches are costing you the best agencies?

Brands are losing access to the best agencies without realising it

An agency participates in nearly 24 pitches a year on average. For many disciplines, the total cost consumes a significant share of annual profit.

As a result, agencies are becoming increasingly selective. The first pitches they decline are usually those with unclear briefings, oversized shortlists or timelines that do not match the scope of the request.

The strongest agencies quietly decline the invitation. Brands continue to receive responses, but not necessarily from the partners best placed to tackle their challenges.

Brands are paying for short-term thinking with long-term consequences

Partnership pitches have fallen by 44% in a single year. Project-based work now dominates the market.

This shift reflects a desire for short-term flexibility, but it comes with a real, less visible cost. Every time a brand resets the relationship clock, it loses accumulated knowledge, trust and strategic depth.

Research consistently shows that long-term partnerships deliver stronger work and greater efficiency. Short-termism has a price; it simply does not appear on the pitch invoice.

Your pitch sends a signal, and agencies are paying close attention

Agencies were asked why they decline pitches. Their answers read like a checklist of what not to do:

• a budget that does not match the scope of the assignment;
• too many agencies on the shortlist;
• a vague briefing, unclear objectives or unclear evaluation criteria;
• unrealistic timelines or excessive workload demands;
• concerns about the fairness or transparency of the process.

Every one of these factors is within the brand’s control. The quality of the pitch process determines who participates and how motivated they are.

The hidden cost of a poor pitch

A poorly structured process does not reduce costs. It simply shifts them elsewhere.

Inviting too many agencies, requesting speculative work or relying on vague criteria creates more noise than insight. The winning agency may simply be the best at pitching, rather than the best partner.

At the same time, a sector under increasing financial pressure has less capacity to invest in talent and innovation. Over time, this directly affects the quality of work available to brands.

What a better pitch can deliver for brands

The Pitch Guidelines developed by UBA, ACC and UMA were created to help brands build better selection processes. Their purpose is not to protect agencies, but to improve the quality of outcomes for all parties involved.

A process built on the Guidelines — a clear briefing, a maximum of three agencies on the shortlist, realistic timelines and transparent criteria — sends a positive signal to the market. It attracts stronger candidates, generates better responses and helps build lasting partnerships.

5 practical tips to run a better pitch

1. Keep your shortlist genuinely short
   Invite no more than three agencies. Start with a credentials and chemistry round to narrow the field. A shorter shortlist leads to better responses and more motivated agencies.
   
   
2. Write a briefing worth responding to
   Provide brand context, budget information, expected deliverables, evaluation criteria and details of the decision-makers involved. The quality of the responses depends directly on the quality of the information shared.
   
   
3. Only ask for what is necessary and allow sufficient time
   Creative or strategic work is not always the best way to assess whether an agency is the right partner. A credentials presentation and a live chemistry meeting often provide a much clearer picture. And if the budget is below €250K excluding media (€100K for specialised agencies), requesting creative work should simply not be on the table. If you do require strategic or creative input, allow at least four weeks. Tight deadlines do not save time; they simply result in weaker responses.
   
   
4. Offer compensation
   Compensation is not a symbolic gesture. It signals that the process is being taken seriously and encourages agencies to invest accordingly. Pitches that compensate participating agencies consistently attract stronger responses. Agree the amount upfront and communicate it in your briefing. ACC can advise on appropriate levels.
   
   
5. Give feedback to everyone
   Once a decision has been made, explain to the unsuccessful agencies what worked, what was missing and what ultimately tipped the balance. It is a small market. How you treat agencies that do not win is also part of your reputation.

The bottom line

If the best agencies continue to decline pitches quietly and the market keeps shifting towards short-term transactions, the sector will gradually lose its ability to invest in real talent, and brands will feel the impact. Not through a single poor pitch, but over time, through the steady erosion of the quality of work available to them.

Better pitch processes are not an agency ask. They are a competitive advantage for brands. The brands that attract the best partners and build lasting relationships will be the ones that outperform.

Considering running a pitch? Follow the Pitch Guidelines developed by UBA, ACC and UMA. They provide a practical framework for organising transparent, responsible and fair selection processes. An approach that benefits both brands and agencies. Discover the full publication here .