A case of what’s being labelled “corporate bullying” in the UK advertising industry caught my attention this week.
UK industry body the Marketing Agencies Association attempted to take a stand to call out AB InBev – one of the biggest brewers and advertisers in the world – on pitch practices that are being called “despicable”.
The dispute centred on rates, free days, lengthy payment terms and rebates to fund a CSR program for the advertisers. MAA wanted agencies to boycott the pitch in the interest of improving things for the industry at large.
There was a certain irony that in the same week in the US the same brewer was being lauded for its great HR practices, that include boozing sessions and ‘Happy Hours’ for potential job candidates. It seems that positive treatment doesn’t extend as far as suppliers that are helping build its multimillion-dollar global brands.
However, the so-called “strike action” in the UK never got off the ground. Agencies weren’t willing to stand up and publicly say no. This both surprises me and doesn’t surprise me at the same time. Pitch practices are a constant gripe and it seemed like finally someone was taking the bull by the horns and protectively trying to address it. To tell the client that it was being unfair.
I look at what Scott Knox, who leads the MAA, is trying to do and I can’t help but feel like he’s trying to swim against the tide in an uphill river with his arms chained behind his back. The issue is that, however bad the terms are, someone will always bend over and take it instead of standing up straight and demanding a fair deal.
The power that clients of this scale wield over agencies both locally and globally mean that, for instance, a global multinational can call on its incumbent agency to pitch three times over four years. That sounds pretty despicable to me and hardly the recipe for a good relationship. I’d wager there’s a fair whack of resentment harboured – hardly conducive to the best work or motivation.
Time and time again I hear agency bosses talk about the strain that a pitch brings, but, inevitably, agencies still vie for the account, because new biz is the life blood of business.
What Knox is trying to do is commendable, even if it isn’t everyone’s chosen course of action, but he’s determined, telling me that “the creative industries cannot idly stand by whilst this kind of corporate bullying continues to gain momentum”. He’s over sitting around chatting about it. He wants to take action. And I hope that it gets somewhere.
Read the full news feature online here: www.adnews.com.au/news/pitchpractices and how payemnt terms of 150 days are creeping into client demands in Australia.
This article first appeared in the 17 April issue of AdNews in print. Subscribe to AdNews in Print, or get it now on iPad.