Having worked for over 20 years in the events industry, we’ve done our fair share of creative pitches. And while pitching to prospective clients is an essential part of the business, the current process is riddled with challenges that leave event companies holding the short end of the stick.
A creative pitch entails the conceptualisation and sharing of valuable intellectual property. Yet event companies are expected to provide prospective clients with this information free of charge – without batting an eyelid.
Whether due to fierce competition, desperation, or both, event companies continue to pitch without questioning the fairness of the process as it currently stands.
Many supporters of the current set-up will justify the current pitching process by arguing that if event companies want to get their foot through the door, they have to do what’s necessary. In addition, event companies who don’t know any better swallow their pride and offer up their blood, sweat and tears, for free. And thus, the problem is perpetuated.
You’d never walk into a hotel, ask to have a nap in one of the rooms and then inform the hotel manager that the bed wasn’t quite right and you won’t be paying for your afternoon siesta on 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton. In fact, there’s a very good chance you’d be arrested. What makes this scenario unacceptable, but presenting a concept that’s taken your time and human resources away from existing work – often for days at a time – ok?
Coming up with and then pitching a creative concept is not only labour intensive and time-consuming, it entails the sharing of valuable, extremely sensitive information.
It requires countless hours and an army of staff, from copywriters and graphic designers to videographers and ops managers. This, on top of the fact that the turnaround time given by corporates is extremely narrow – often as short as 24 hours.
After all of this, nine times out of ten, the client will reject your offer (without giving you a reason). The majority of the time, one member of the client’s team will object to some superfluous detail, like the suggested MC or colour palette, without evaluating the true test of an event planning team: their capability. (On that note, appointing work based solely on a creative concept is dangerous – the client has no proof that the event company in question can actually pull off their proposed plan.) To add insult to injury, the client will then proceed to use some (if not all) of your ideas. Safe to say, it’s high time this practice changed.
We’re all for fairness, which is why we’re of the opinion that clients should pay a creative fee. This reimbursement would then give them the right to make use of our creative concepts. Alternatively, clients could pay a “pitch fee” – a percentage of the value of the event.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter! Tweet us or comment on our Facebook page.
