I was recently contacted by an old prospect who had become engaged in a dispute with their chosen agency. They’d blown 10s of thousands of dollars on a campaign with no results, and they were furious.

The buyers’ remorse that a communications or marketing head can feel during this period can be distressing – you passed on a lot of promises to your board in exchange for your budget, and you’ve been left with little to show for it.

So what’s this got to do with dating? A lot. If you go on a date and tell the other person the things you think they want to hear versus telling them the truth, any ensuing relationship won’t last long.

During a competitive agency pitch process, you only get to peek through the door of what your agency relationship might look like once you get underway. The agencies will be keen to get your business – Cognito is no different. But if we make huge promises about results rather than advise you about how to use our people and processes to form the ingredients for a successful campaign, we too will open ourselves up to being on the receiving end of an unhappy client.

Here are my top three tips for agency selection:

1. Seek out agency processes over promises

What are examples of successful and failed campaigns and why? How do you discover themes that are ripe for the news cycle? What does your media pitch process look like? What’s the strategy for moving from reactive techniques while building media relationships to proactive outreach once the media understands how to use our corporate knowledge?

These are better questions to ask than, “How much coverage will I receive per month?” or simply thumbing through creds decks.

2. Focus on ‘challenges before channels’ – this is a Cognito mantra

Depending on the readiness of your spokesperson bench, newsworthy insights, proprietary industry data and cadence of corporate news, your brand may or may not be ready for earned media. Top tier journalists demand that our story ideas constitute ‘news,’ and news is created using our agency experience and your corporate insights.

While it’s often the case that we can dig deep and find the quality of story ideas within your business required to earn your position across daily and trade media, it might be the case that market research, media training, messaging workshops, social audits and owned content creation are required prior to successful earned media outreach.

3. Success is co-created – be bold, be accessible

More than ever, reporters are overworked, and publisher network resources are stretched. The ability for your spokespeople to buy in and be ready to take our calls is essential – fast-moving topics demand accessibility. Publishing deadlines don’t wait for sources, so being able to pick up the phone, answer an email or respond to a WhatsApp message will help us secure you great opportunities.

A reporter won’t wake up and decide they want to write about your business, unless you’re in the news for the wrong reasons. They need strong opinions and hard-earned expertise, and those attributes will form the authority and trust we seek to plant in the minds of your key audiences.

Conclusion

An agency pitch is just the start of what can be a long and invaluable relationship in bringing your brand to life in front of your publics. Chemistry is important, but advice and process are more important. Make sure competing agencies are actively advising you on your approach based on the resources you have available to feed the relationship, rather than simply providing the answers they think you want to hear.

Scott Schuberg is the managing director of Cognito Australia office