IAPI has introduced a new Charter for Media Agency Selection which sets out a set of guiding principles for companies looking to retain the services of a media agency.
The new charter was agreed upon by a working group of IAPI member agencies, marketers and pitch consultants and follows on from the similar Charter for Creative Agency Selection.
The Charter for Media Agency selection provides brands and agencies with guiding principles to consider before deciding on a pitch process for their media agency partner, “with the objective being to significantly reduce the volume and scale of pitches, particularly for clients with media billings under €500,000.”
According to the charter, If a pitch process is decided upon, it also contains guiding principles for all parties involved, focusing on preparation and behaviours during the process.
The Charter is being supported by several leading companies including Allianz, An Post, An Post Commerce, Diageo, Irish Ferries, Laya Healthcare, ptsb and Vodafone..
In addition, pitch consultants Ebiquity, Empirica, pt78 and Open Communications have endorsed the Charter and will work alongside IAPI members and senior marketers to adhere to its principles.
“This charter is a welcome resource for all parties as we strive to create more sustainable working practices,” says Jonathan Conlon, chief operating officer GroupM.
“ According to media agency respondents, statistics from the IAPI census show an estimated 20 pitches annually, with each pitch taking up 561 hours, which equates to a total of 6 fulltime employees working on pitches per year in each media group. This cannot be maintained so designing an industry wide charter with a call to action for all parties to respect and observe these guidelines is a positive move for our sector”.
This Charter for Media Agency Selection is the culmination of several months of work by IAPI who formed a working group of agencies, pitch consultants and leading marketers in the Irish industry. The need for guiding principles such as these became apparent after the positive feedback from both marketers and IAPI members to the article in IMJ last year ( “The untenable facts about pitching”) While IAPI has existing Pitch Guidelines which offer detailed processes for running pitches, this Charter differs as it asks all parties to consider whether a pitch is required in the first place.
Charley Stoney, CEO of IAPI says: “IAPI exists to promote and support the growth of the sector and initiatives like this are vital. Of course, by applying fair business practice to the selection of media agency partners our aim is to maintain a profitable industry that is flourishing, and most importantly an industry that is actively supporting the indigenous media that Ireland is so proud of.”
A copy of the new Charter for Media Agency Selection can be downloaded HERE.
