We rarely deal with industry-specific issues in this space. However, current events sometimes leave us no choice!
EACA (European Association of Communications Agencies) recently published the first pan-European survey on the cost of participating in advertising pitches, bringing to light the large – often unseen – burden borne by advertising agencies.
Based on responses from 412 agencies, the average annual expenditure of a company on pitches reaches €650,937, with the cost per pitch averaging €43,804! Human resources are a key cost driver, with teams of 5-8 people dedicating 44-48 hours on average.
In Greece, the numbers are lower, but remain impressive: the annual cost per company reaches approximately €300,000, while in countries such as Slovakia or Poland it exceeds €2 million.
On the other hand, only 42% of creative proposals that are selected are implemented in the end, despite significant investments, resulting in a large percentage of costs and effort being wasted. Employee burnout also emerges as a serious issue, while out-of-pocket expenses, such as productions and external partners, particularly burden pitches for new collaborations.
EACA highlights the need for transparency, clear briefing and the establishment of fair practices. It is suggested that marketers start their agency selection from credentials, rather than directly soliciting creative proposals from a multitude of potential suppliers.
The research is a wake-up call for the industry, highlighting the fact that without a change in the way it operates, pitching is evolving into an unsustainable practice that costs over €1 billion annually in the European market.
After all, we all want and work hard to win specs and jobs and sell our services and ideas. But what happens when the cost of selling itself becomes unsustainable?
