Hurry Up and Wait
30 July, 2009 at 12:32 pm 1 comment
Following on from my bullet pointed rant about the pitch process, it now seems clear to me that the entire attitude of the UK marketing industry could be summed up as Hurry Up and Wait.
From fast turnaround pitches that result in weeks of client indecision, to urgent meetings cancelled at the last minute and amazing opportunities that seem to fizzle away, as an industry (both client and agency side) we really are rubbish at time and resource management.
I don’t know what the answer is, but it does feel like the problem has been getting worse during the eleven years I’ve been in the industry.
Perhaps its that as email, text, skype, ftp, messenger, videoconferencing and so on make communications and data exchange faster, more accessible and cheaper, changing the plot has become easier to do.
On the other hand, the inability of many agency types to say ‘no’ to client demands can’t have helped, creating the impression that in the average agency 50% of the head count is sitting around twiddling their fingers and waiting for an exciting brief to come in. And conversely, that should the exciting brief be delayed for some reason, everyone will find themselves something else to do until it appears.
Entry filed under: agencies, clients. Tags: hurry up and wait.
1. chandni | 24 August, 2009 at 9:23 am
believe me, it’s the same here in India.
It’s more than a hurry to pitch, and a life loonnggg wait to get the client’s decision.