Pitch festival: Media agencies juggle between festive planning and pitching

New Delhi: The festive season is the busiest time for media agencies, as brands ramp up efforts to attract consumers who tend to spend more during this period. This year, media agencies are even busier, juggling major brand pitches alongside the usual festive campaign planning and execution.

Pitches for brands like Tata Consumer Products, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, Lenskart, Kenvue and others (which BestMediaInfo.com can't disclose) are currently underway. 

Typically, the pitching season starts in January as brands prepare for campaigns from March onwards. However, this year, they are already gearing up for an all-out push starting in January.

Advertising insiders told BestMediaInfo.com that brands are calling for pitches during the busiest time of the year to keep their agencies on their toes, improve efficiency, and track competitive market rates.

A senior media agency leader explained, "During the festive season, ad rates typically increase by 8-10%, and with more advertisers on screen, viewers' attention spans drop, reducing effective TV ratings (TVR). A budget that normally delivers 1,000 impressions during a regular period only gets 850-900 impressions during the festive season."

This makes efficiency crucial, and by initiating pitches, brands push both their current and competing agencies to perform better, the leader added.

What changed this festive season?

An industry veteran explained, "Many pitches are now being handled by EY. They've likely advised brands that this is the perfect time to hold pitches, as it forces both the current agency and competitors to offer better rates, giving brands a clearer picture of their festive ad spend versus the market. Unfortunately, it's an unethical practice, but it's becoming more common."

This festive season presents a double-edged sword for media agencies. 

"Festive season planning alone is challenging, but now we're also juggling brand pitches during such a critical period," said a media agency professional involved in multiple pitches.

According to a source from one of India’s top media agencies, some brands don’t have strong reasons to switch agencies but have still put their media accounts up for grabs to keep their current partners on edge.

Most of the brand pitches were initiated back in June-July, and since then, presentations and meetings have been ongoing. Many of the brands have already narrowed down their selection to 2-3 agencies from the pool that initially pitched for their accounts.

Unexpectedly, this year’s festive season has kept the media platforms on their toes as they remain apprehensive about media investments. 

The automobile sales during Navratri will be a strong indication of the growth of adex as they splash advertising across mediums. 

Until the first day of Navratri on Thursday, ROs (release orders) were trickling in slower than last year for platforms.