In light of recent situation whereby we pitched an idea to a client, including an outline storyboard, only for them to take our tirelessly created storyboards and commission another – quite evidently sub-standard production company to produce our concept – I ask the question “Why is our most valuable commodity – our ideas – expected to be provided free of charge?”
From speaking to fellow creatives in Manchester, it is apparent that this is very much a BIG issue in our industry.
I have found that we are certainly not alone in this circumstance and one business owner claiming that this has happened to them 4 times this year.
In the creative sector, we are expected to invest a serious number of hours working on moodboards, website mock-ups, storyboards, focus group research and target audience analysis, before any money has changed hands – why?
Even with an impressive back-catalogue of high-profile client productions, it appears that some clients still won’t trust that you’ll do a fantastic job for them too, without you presenting your ideas prior to them commissioning the work. This comes down to trust. We trust that in a cafe your cappuccino will be a good cappuccino – we certainly aren’t allowed to try one first before buying the next one.
One apparent solution, that has been discussed with peers, is to ask our new potential client, whom we hope to build a strong and long-lasting relationship with, to sign an NDA form. For me, this means we are immediately starting the relationship on a negative and positioning ourselves by saying “we don’t trust you”.
One creative agency I have discussed this with have a very strong stance on the matter – “we don’t pitch for work”, they build a relationship first and then take it from there. An interesting take on the situation, which they said has been very successful. In the creative sector this is seen as a high risk strategy, but I’m pleased to hear they have been successful with this approach.
So, answers on a postcard please, as it is very much an issue that needs addressing.