Opinion

Pitch doctor Shufen Goh on bottom feeders, the agency integration myth and the toughest pitch of her life

Shufen GohMumbrella was in Singapore to catch up with Shufen Goh, principal and co-founder of pitch consultancy R3.

In this Q&A interview, Mumbrella Asia editor Robin Hicks talks to her about pitches for pitch doctors, the myth that is genuine agency integration, and a pitch that reduced Asia’s most prestigious client to tears.

R3 has been good at convincing government-linked advertisers, particularly in Singapore but also elswhere, that they need a pitch doctor. What have you done to convince them? 

In the context of Singapore, there is a strong appreciation for meritocracy and transparency to begin with. We are a long way from that in China.

You might wonder why a government advertiser does not have a procurement policy process that is sufficiently robust, and needs external help. But we’ve been in business for 11 years. We’ve done pitches for the likes of Johnson & Johnson, Coke and Singapore Airlines. Clients have confidence that we know what we’re doing. We are able to say, look, we handled the largest media pitch in the world for General Motors. We’ve run pitches for SC Johnson and Wallmart, which are very large, influential American companies. I think that removes a lot of skepticism that is sometimes associated with pitch consultancies. It’s easy to sell ourselves in.

In the government sector, the next opportunity for us could be Hong Kong.

What’s the most difficult pitch you’ve ever had to manage and why?

Singapore girlSingapore Airlines [from 2007 – one of Asia’s most high profile pitches of the last ten years. It was contested by DDB, Publicis and TBWA, which eventually won it]. The pitch attracted a lot of attention, because SIA is one of the most prestigious brands in Asia. It was covered on BBC World and CNN, and everyone wanted to know what would happen to the Singapore girl.

The client was very professional. They really trusted us. But the industry was skeptical. Many people thought that as SIA had been with Batey for 38 years they just going through the motions. “Are they really serious?” many wondered. “Do they want to get rid of the Singapore girl?”

Of course we understood these concerns, and we had to think hard about how edgy or brave should we be in our recommendations. But we simply needed to find an agency with a point of view that was right for the brand. In all honesty, there was no ‘correct’ answer to the brief, and the process was a real eye opener for me. It dawned on me that agencies are conditioned to giving the client what they want. It was quite sad, actually. I didn’t think any of the agencies was brave enough in their pitch.

The toughest part was convincing the industry that we were really looking for the right partner for SIA. We were under so much scrutiny, both from the industry and the government. We were finally taken seriously when Batey [the incumbent] was eliminated in the early rounds. But that was very difficult and emotional for the client. There were people in tears on the client side. It was easily the most emotional pitch I’ve ever been involved with, because the client had so much respect for the incumbent.

But SIA did not only show respect to Batey. They were exceptionally professional in how they treated the others too. It’s much easier and more convenient for the pitch consultant to be the one to inform a contender that they’ve lost. Or break the news with a phone call. But the client, led by Cheng Eng Huang [the then EVP of marketing and the regions for Singapore Airlines] took our recommendation to inform the losing agencies in person.

I’ve always been a Singapore Airlines customer, and you have to be nice to a customer. You don’t see many companies be so dignified to their suppliers. Very few brands are so true to their brand DNA as SIA was in that pitch.

There are pitches for pitch doctors these days. Has the pitching world gone mad?

That doesn’t happen much in Asia. But at a global level we have to pitch against the likes of Accenture, McKinsey, and Select Resources. That’s the reality as procurement gets more involved. But on small assignments, it’s probably not worthwhile for the client. Why go through a pitch to choose someone for under $50,000?

Pitch consultants often have a reputation for being bottom feeders who couldn’t make it in an agency. Do you think this is completely unfair?

There’s probably some truth in that, at least in some mature markets. But I think in a fast growth market, it’s totally unfair and completely untrue. Look at the average age of our people at R3 – they’re not people who’ve retired or have been fired.

When we started R3, we were young, driven and wanted to change the world. Yes, there were people in other parts of the industry who were jaded and disgruntled. But I love the ad industry. I didn’t leave it [Goh used to work at M&C Saatchi] on a bad note, nor did I have an axe to grind. I don’t get up in the morning wanting to screw agencies and make them look bad.

I find it troubling that in some parts of the world consultants tend to bully agencies. Our role is to get the best out of both worlds. We’ve often very tough on the client. We are empowered to be. We’re objective. We do not playing politics. We’re not bottom feeders who are just about saving money.

Some agencies will always think that you, as a pitch consultant, take sides and have favourites. You used to work agency-side [M&C Saatchi and Ogilvy]. How do you make sure you go into a pitch with a neutral frame of mind without preconceived ideas of which agencies are good, and which aren’t?

The last time I worked in an agency was 11 years ago, and M&C Saatchi has opened and closed three times in Singapore.

I never answer questions about which agency is the best in town, because every client looks for a different sort of agency. And any agency who thinks they are the best choice for every client does not understand the fundamentals of marketing or how client-agency relationships work, frankly.

I’m a scientist by training. We focus on the evidence – whether it works or not. I noticed that you ran a piece on ‘initiative work’ recently. Well, we never use creative rankings to draw up a shortlist. Awards mean nothing to 90 per cent of clients. An agency wins a pitch based on what the client asked for – did they answer the brief?

We don’t get paid by the agency who wins a pitch. Why would we compromise our integrity? There’s no personal gain to be had. It would be easier for us to be popular if we chose agencies who were fashionable and on a winning streak. But we’re not hired to make ourselves popular.

R3 now increasingly manages acquisitions as well as client-agency relationships. You’re now even writing books on Chinese CMOs. Where’s the R3 business model headed?

Our vision is to be consultants that clients, and some agencies, go to to drive marketing effectiveness and efficiency. And it’s about putting a process, a partnership and a measurement framework in place.

Our M&A consulting is limited to partner identification. It’s like a pitch, really. We ask an acquisitor what they are looking for, and draw up a long list. We don’t get paid by the seller, we get paid by the buyer. Our business model is clear to make sure there’s no conflict of interest. We will never be a McKinsey and offer general business consulting – our expertise is in marketing management.

As for our book [titled China CMO: Best practice in marketing effectiveness and efficiency in the Middle Kingdom co-authored by Greg Paull, R3’s co-founder], we wanted to get under the skin of Chinese CMOs. We can never claim we know China as well as those featured in our book. But we have access to these people and their stories. Their insights need to be heard.

What’s the biggest bugbear clients have with their agencies at the moment?

Agencies saying they can do everything, when they can’t. And saying they’re integrated, when they’re not. That’s the biggest headache for clients. It would be the easiest solution for a marketer to find a partner who can do everything under one roof. But in reality, while many agencies have experimented, they’ve found that true integration is nearly impossible.

What’s the secret to a successful pitch?

Two things. Talk less about yourself, and more about the client. And make sure you put together the right team. Agencies seem to think that assembling a pitch team that has never worked together can work in a pitch. Well, it rarely does. The chemistry of your pitch team is probably the most critical factor.

What’s the most common mistake agencies make in pitches?

Not being honest about their own ability to meet the brief. There’s been a lot of talk of clients flippantly calling pitches and that being a huge cost for agencies. That wouldn’t be a problem if agencies were more grounded about their own capabilities. They need to be more discerning about the clients that will fit their brand. They could save a lot of money if they’re more selective about the pitches they go for.

 

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