In a single day, we got the news that we've lost out on two pitches. We've all been there. Forget the investment in time and resource. The loss is emotional. Pitches aren't about money. They're about really, really wanting something and having it taken away. You feel the loss in the pit of your stomach. Your legs ache. Even as you're taking the call, all you're thinking about is how you're going to break the news to your team. It nearly always happens on a Friday as well. Great if you win, shit if you lose. Pitches. We're talking about the rawest, most intense emotional rollercoaster ride of an agency. Rightly or wrongly, it's far beyond the day to day. It's what could have been. It's your chance to invent a new future for a brand. The 'hypothetical' becomes reality because you live it and breathe it for weeks. You can see the future for the client and it looks SO right. It hurts to be told you haven't won because it makes you feel wrong.
But the feeling doesn't (shouldn't?, can't?) last long. Agencies are naturally resillient. We're naturally restless. We're always glass half full. By the time it's taken me to write this, the whole agency knows the news, we've all had that horrible losing feeling and now we're talking about new things, new opportunities, new ideas. It's Friday afternoon. Dire Straits is blasting out of the speakers ("so far away from me" - how ironic?). Dave is on the phone to Alistair. Alistair has told the agency to finish early and go down the pub for a drink. If you think that makes us seem a bit shallow and fleeting, you've never pitched.
Posted by Jonathan Rigby
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