Free pitch advertising is anything but free to the ad agency, but sometimes these presentations are worth their high cost.
Free pitch advertising is a term that is specific to the advertising industry and consists of pitching, or trying to sell, a prospective client on choosing the agency to represent their company or have part of their advertising business.
Cost
Despite the name, free pitch advertising is anything but free. It can cost an advertising agency hundreds of thousands of dollars to try and win over the client. According to online advertising resource Ad Age the thought behind spending money on a client that isn't even on board yet is that to in them you have to wow them so many agencies shuck out major dollars to sell their agency. The client hunting for an ad agency typically gets this whole show for free.
Process
According to Eric Pfanner's article "On Advertising: Pitching and Pitfalls" in the New York Times, the process of pitching can be grueling, with many pitfalls. Free pitch advertising begins with a client announcing that their business is up for grabs. Then agencies either express their interest or the company invites them to participate. Once the candidates are selected the agencies put together their pitch. It can include story boards, commercials, radio spots, print ads and any other details the agency is pitching. After this process the client chooses which agency will represent them.
Purpose
While free pitch advertising seems like it can waste a lot of money if the agency is not chosen it can be a good investment if it lands a high profile client. According to Noelle Weaver's article "Lessons Learned after Losing the Pitch" win or loss the pitching process holds some purpose and lessons. According to her article the right client can make or break an agency or be a "game changer". The entire process is controversial due to the high amount of money and resources expended by agencies for sometimes such a small chance to gain business.
