For years, maybe decades, agencies and clients have complained about the process of searching for and hiring ad agencies. Both sides complain about the time consumption. Agencies gripe about having to give their work away and often how vague clients are about what is expected of them.  

Clients complain about how agencies throw everything into a pitch including their “A” team, who never seem to be around when it’s time to get down to work. 

Now Forrester is out with a report that purports to show a better way for agencies and clients to hook up and engage in fruitful, long-term relationships. 

The report, “Ditch The Pitch,” written by a team led by principal analyst Jay Pattisall, proposes a new method dubbed the “Forrester Partnership Lifecycle Approach.” 

The paper asserts that the process is designed to “strategically prepare client-side marketers, evaluate agency credentials, and manage a successful collaboration.” 

Instead of forcing agencies to give away work during a pitch, Forrester suggests designing paid projects that clients can assess when selecting an agency. 

Under the Forrester scheme search consultants would extend their remits to help manage “ongoing productivity.” 

Forester’s approach also deploys a model for involvement by numerous client-side units that tightly defines their contribution and roles. There’s also a process within the approach that defines precise agency roles and how they will collaborate with other roster shops.  

Forrester’s process, on paper at least, takes about six weeks from the start of preparation through selection. It’s not uncommon currently for pitches to last four months or longer. And the cost is enormous: Forrester estimates that U.S. agencies spend a whopping $12.5 billion annually on pitching business. 

The agency selection process is “broken,” the report declares, as it lays out what Forrester believes to be the solution.