The Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) supported by the Association of Advertisers in Ireland (AAI) and the Marketing Institute of Ireland (MII) has re-launched guidelines for prospective advertising clients in how to go about selecting an advertising agency. There are now three Pitching Guides, as follows:
What is a Pitch Consultant?
A Pitch Consultant is a person or company who is not a communications agency, but who presents themselves as having a specialist expertise in understanding communication needs and how to select the most suitable communications advisers that a company or client might need. They would therefore understand what communication agencies offer (advertising, public relations, sponsorship etc) and be able to competently compare and assess how those offerings can best match a potential client’s needs.
Accreditation of a Pitch Consultant
If you choose to use a pitch consultant then IAPI would encourage you to use IAPI accredited consultants; to this end IAPI has set up an accreditation process which should benefit both the advertisers and the agencies.
Against this background, IAPI outlined in their Guide the kind of Accreditation process that they would conduct so as to consider applicants who would wish to be accredited as Pitch Consultants.
Approval of Pitch Consultants
Selecting and appointing an agency is a time-intensive process for the marketing department, the agency and pitch consultants. It can be a complex process and making the wrong decision can be costly in terms of time and money for all concerned.
If you need to discuss these guidelines and/or need any clarification, please email charley@iapi.iewho will be happy to offer guidance. Alternatively, you can contact barry.dooley@aai.ie who will be happy to discuss these from a client perspective.