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In a recent (July) survey of over 35 multi-national corporate members, WFA found that the practice of clients charging agencies a fee to pitch is uncommon amongst its members. Out of 35 responses, 33 said that they have never done this and do not plan to.

The industry trade press has recently featured a number of articles about clients charging agencies a fee to participate in pitches, or similarly, a signing-on fee for winning the business.

Several members commented along the lines that a pitch is "already a cost to an agency, which can further mount if creative ideas are developed in depth." Some members felt that charging on top of that would not attract the best players in the market.

Despite this, a small number of respondents (two) said that although they have not done this in the past, they "may look at it in the future".

While not statistically relevant, the findings drawn from this study are indicative of the thoughts and actions of the large multinational marketers in the WFA's Membership.

For more information please contact Steve Lightfoot.


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