So you’ve decided on a creative pitch as a way of selecting your agency (but check out our ‘Ways to select an agency’ blog if you’re still undecided on if a creative pitch is for you)
The next step is to write your marketing agency pitch brief to inspire strong agency responses. A good agency will only respond if they see you’re also invested in providing a thorough brief, it’s a two-way street.
In this blog, we’ll break down the must-have elements for your pitch brief, from sharing who you are as a brand to outlining your objectives, deliverables, and target audience – as well as sharing the Moreish Agency Pitch Brief template to use. Let’s take a look at what you need to include in your pitch brief.
What do agencies need within a pitch brief document?
1. Objectives of the process
Be absolutely clear about what you want to achieve through the partnership, including your sales and marketing outcome objectives.
2. Market and brand context
Comprehensive context about the industry you operate in, your positioning within it, key challenges you face, your unique selling points and how your branding compares to competitors.
Beyond facts and figures, share the authentic heart of your brand – your brand story, mission, values, and driving purpose. These deeper insights allow agencies to capture your brand’s true voice and personality with authenticity.
3. Your audience
Provide your agency with as much insight as possible into your different audience segments – what are their drivers and pains.
4. The agency pitch requirements
Define the timeline of the pitch process and be specific about what you want the agency to respond on at each stage.
5. The supporting info & mandatories
Be clear on what is in and out of scope for change. Provide agencies with any guidelines and highlight any no-no’s.
6. The timings
Providing a clear timescale for the pitch process and the work they’re pitching for. This allows agencies to determine right away if they have the time and resources to take this project on. A good proposal takes good time. Of course, you want things to get moving asap, and we don’t want to drag it out any longer than necessary either. But give us a couple of weeks, at least and tell us if there’s anything driving timings at your end.
7. Budget
We’d always recommend including this in a pitch brief even if it is a ballpark range – as it shows to agencies you are serious about the work and allows the agency to recommend an appropriate response and use of the budget. What you’d recommend with a £50k vs. a £500k budget would be very different.
8. Scoring criteria
Lastly, for complete transparency why not inform the agency of how they will be scored (by letting them know your selection criteria). Give the agency every chance to understand how success will be judged and they’ll accurately funnel their recommendations in the pitch towards achieving them. See this blog for an example: How to manage a successful creative pitch process
No need to start from scratch though – let the Moreish briefing template guide you through the entire process. Download it here to get started: Moreish Agency Pitch Brief template.
In conclusion
Taking the time to prepare a considered marketing agency pitch brief will help you get clear on exactly what you want and don’t want from your agency partnerships and actually save you time responding to different agency queries. It will also be the springboard for strong responses and set the foundation for a successful future partnership that could take your brand to the next level.
Moreish have plenty of experience writing, and receiving briefs and are happy to help you finesse yours. If you have any questions about running a pitch process, simply get in touch here.