Claire Hollands comments in Campaign: How marketers have become secret weapons in the great pitching wars

Claire Hollands originally posted in Campaign

If an agency is going to take this approach, it’s usually wise to involve client-side expertise at the beginning of the pitch process, according to Claire Hollands, chief executive of Interpublic’s MullenLowe, who credits this way of working with winning at least one “big piece of business” over the past couple of years.

“Agencies are increasingly trying to get smarter and smarter around how they’re going to win a pitch,” she says. “If there are still gaps, we think about bringing in expertise that might not sit directly in our agency or holding company, but would be invaluable in helping us convert and win that piece of business.”

Bringing an ex-marketing chief in at the beginning, “ideally right up front”, Hollands explains, means that they’re adding value at the strategy, creative and presentation phases.

Alternatively, she points out that an ex-marketer may be brought in for a short set period to do some “heavy lifting at a certain juncture. It could be around the strategy phase – in which case a week or two upfront”.