“I commit to saying, ‘No’ to clients who ask me to do ridiculous things in pitches.”
Mat Baxter, global chief executive officer of Initiative – an agency within IPG’s Mediabrands unit – was preaching to the choir when he drew the line in the new-business sand at the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies) 2019 Decisions 20/20 conference held in the suburbs of Washington, DC.
“Just look at the pitching situation,” he continued. “We’re now being asked to work on 120-day payment terms. All these things are crazy.
“Agencies need to flip from being passive to being much more proactive....