Canadian agency pitch activity climbed again in 2023, according to data compiled by agency management consultancy Listenmore, a development that founder and CEO Stephan Argent calls “a little bit of a surprise.”
More than 150 pitches were completed during the year, representing a 23% increase over 2022's 124 pitches, according to Listemore's latest "Canadian Agency Pitch Report."
More than 150 pitches were completed during the year, representing a 23% increase over 2022's 124 pitches, according to Listemore's latest "Canadian Agency Pitch Report."
While 2022’s 195% increase over 2021 could be attributed to a recovery from the pandemic, Argent said that several factors may have contributed to the increased activity of Canadian agencies, most notably a shift in the economy that could be driving increased "price sensitivity" for marketers
“Whenever the economy goes south, the first thing that gets hit is marketing budgets, and when they get hit, there’s a tendency to either pull back on scope or look at where the expenditures are,” said Argent. “Agency rates have gone up post-pandemic, and so there may be the requirement for marketers to take a good look at their agency rosters.”
The pandemic also brought with it significant turnover on both the agency and client side, “so teams are different and new, and the fallout of that is the redefinition of agency assignments,” said Argent.
A third factor is the redefinition of client and agency responsibilities, “as marketers look at their budgets and what work they can insource versus outsource," he said.
Among the report's other key findings: consumer packaged goods became the top mover among Canada’s market sectors, even eclipsing the government, which is traditionally a leader and was also up over the previous year. Not-for-profit also saw a significant increase according to Argent, but is still not among the nation’s top five sectors.
While independent agencies maintained their lead in creative AOR pitches, their wins did decline by about 9% over the past year. The big six holding companies retained their lead in media AOR wins. Further details about the report can be found through ListenMore’s website.
