As the person in charge of the sales function at Alstin for some time now, I’ve seen my share of RFPs (Requests for Proposals), from the most basic boilerplate info that reveals nothing about the quality or experience of the ad agency, to exhaustive, forest-killing, hundred page (literally) documents where they ask for the most minute details about your agency including all the work you’ve done in the last 15 years, anyone you ever talked to and what flavor ice cream you prefer. I’ve even seen some RFPs that call for free speculative creative, research and media planning, which the organization issuing the RFP will then own all rights to, whether you’re selected as the agency or not.
When you think about it, it’s not surprising that over the last few years more agencies have been “pushing back” against the RFP process, either by not engaging or participating on their own terms. There has also been a big increase in articles like these calling for the end of RFPs for ad agencies or, at minimum, a complete overhaul of the traditional RFP process.
Now before you think that this blog is nothing but a rant by a grumpy, bitter, rain cloud of a man, I want to say that I am always truly, legitimately excited when any company wants to learn more about us–no matter what method they choose. Furthermore, we have won many of our finest clients through the RFP process, and I take pride in the fact that we’re constantly being applauded for the level of quality, style and creativity we bring to RFPs.
Obviously, I think we have a very special, unique agency at Alstin and I want the world to know about it! That’s a big reason why I (unfortunately) agree that RFPs are usually a poor way to select an ad agency.
As anyone who works with RFPs knows, many RFPs are boilerplated templates that come out of the Purchasing Department with a few relevant ad agency questions thrown in–meaning the RFP issued for an ad agency is essentially the same as one issued for HVAC, building materials, window cleaning and copier service. That’s a big part of the problem–and no disrespect to the HVAC and copier service people–but when you choose an ad agency, you’re selecting qualitative things like the capability of the account staff, creative talent, relevant experience in your industry, knowledge of emerging technologies, organizational philosophy, etc.–things that are so crucial to a successful agency-client partnership–and things that RFPs rarely do an adequate job of capturing.
Of course, the most common complaint about RFPs from salespeople is that, too often, they aren’t “real.” This is probably one of the worst kept secrets about RFPs, and many studies suggest that a good bit of the time (I’ve read depressing estimates putting it at 75%) the RFP process is a more an exercise than a valid process. The organization already knows who the selected vendor is going to be, but they put out an RFP because:
• They need to make the process look legitimate and strategic
• All vendor services have to be evaluated every certain # of years regardless of the level of client satisfaction
• The organization likes their current agency, but issues an RFP as a way of both “keeping them on their toes” and as a leverage tool to negotiate lower fees
• A new person comes in, wants to switch agencies and they need to do an RFP so it looks like it’s a fair process for the agency getting the boot
Sounds cynical I know, but it does seem that the # of times an organization does an RFP because they truly want to see what type of ad agencies are out there and the quality of work they do is pretty small.
Of course, that raises a big issue for us at Alstin. As an agency that takes so much pride in detailed, targeted solutions, we extend our “no cookie cutter” philosophy to our RFPs and put a tremendous amount of time and effort into them–which in many ways is great and “real” because that’s the same approach we take to working with our clients–but again, if the RFP process is not valid; well, it’s easy to see why it can be frustrating to put so much work into something that never has a chance of coming to fruition.
Okay, Mr. Smartypants you say–do you have a better way? As a matter of fact I do, and in the next few weeks, I’ll be writing a Part II to this article with some thoughts on how to choose an ad agency. In the meantime, please respond to the comments section below. I want to hear your RFP horror stories, and learn what you think is the best way of choosing an ad agency or any vendor.
