Positive Pitch Pledge

I spent 10 years leading international business development for global media agencies. Whilst there were many leadership and strategic elements to the role, the majority of time was spent working on pitches.

The nature of global agencies is that targets have to be met, growth achieved and margins improved. Ultimately it’s what pays salaries and bonuses so, having benefited from the latter I’m not going to bemoan the system.

What I did try and do was reduce unnecessary workloads for already overworked teams – advising against pitching for clients with poor reputations or unworkable payment terms or those likely to chop and change agencies regularly. I was the Business Development Director arguing against pitching for new business. Sometimes my perspective was agreed with, but many times it wasn’t.

So, I’m pleased to sign up to the #PitchPositive pledge which aims to drive positive outcomes and improve mental health across the advertising industry. Looking after talent should be the No 1 focus.