Changing Pitch Culture in Germany with David+Martin
Pitching culture is something that has long needed reform. In 2023, it would be shocking to anyone outside the industry to learn that screenwriters and directors have to go through the effort of presenting their ideas and bidding to be chosen without any monetary compensation. The time, effort and slog of each pitch is no easy task and there have long been calls for people to be paid for their time and effort during the process.
This is exactly why the David+Martin agency in Germany has decided to make a stand, demanding a budget for production pitches and further committing to fairer standards by including at least one female director on every pitch. With the German Commercial Film Producer’s Association determining that each pitch costs around €6,500 and that in total leads to €15 million lost each year, it’s no surprise that companies want clients to budget for this and in turn, pay for pitches.
To share more about why the changes were necessary and the considerations being made to future-proof the agency, LBB’s Nisna Mahtani speaks to David+Marthin’s head of TV and creative production Nicklas Krueger.
LBB> Talk to us a little bit about the pitching culture in Germany and why you were keen to do something to make a change.
Nicklas> Germany is not so different in general from other countries in Europe and maybe even the rest of the world when it comes to the bidding culture for film projects. I think it’s important here for a better understanding that we need to differentiate between agency pitches for client budgets and brands and film production pitches for single-client projects.
For both, there are a lot of global industry standards and I believe that for the better part of the history of commercial film production (in Germany), there was always a common sense to have not more than three production houses in the same pitch – the classic triple-bid. Each participant had a fair 33% chance of winning the bid, a calculable business risk. In recent years this standard was more and more softened and pitches with more than three participants became the norm while from time to time even pitches with more than five or in extreme cases (or with certain clients) even pitches with more than ten participants were done.
This change in culture and execution was mainly due to more extended price fights or big commercial clients really trying to have production companies outbid each other for the sole purpose of the lowest offer. This killed not only creativity but mid- and long term also the production companies suffer from this kind of business conduct from a financial perspective.
LBB> What are some of the costs and timescales associated with pitching and the ramifications of this?
Nicklas> A regular film pitch in Germany costs a production company on average around €6,000 including external costs for treatment designers, mood scouts, sometimes bidding producers and ghostwriters for treatments as well as an allowance for in-house producing staff such as producers and production assistants but also executive producers and logistical costs on top.
The more complex the pitch gets the higher the costs are and on some pitches, production companies need to spend more than €10,000 to deliver a solid pitch. That same thing goes for directors writing their treatments. These days film treatments have turned into little creative books. What used to be a couple of pages are nowadays often presentations with close to 30 or even 40 pages. For a director, I assume it takes at least around three to five days per treatment to gather their thoughts, come up with ideas and write it all down. If on average a director only wins every fifth pitch or so (and I guess that’s still a good rate) they must work anywhere between 15 and 25 days FOR FREE to get a job.
Putting all this together we figured that we need to change this style of how business is done. Because if we – as an agency – expect only the best quality from our production partners and if we – as an industry – do still require a certain level of dedication and passion, we need to honour the work that is going into the production pitch work more than with just handshakes and a thank you.
In the end, almost all agencies don’t even enter a client pitch when it’s not paid and the same should apply to everybody down the line. In the end, it’s even an investment in great local talent and maintaining an infrastructure of great film service providers that we need to achieve great creative output.
LBB> By demanding a budget for film production pitches from clients in the future and including at least one female director in every pitch, you’re setting a real precedent for other companies to follow. Why were these two elements the focus of your commitment?
Nicklas> I have been working on the production side for almost my entire professional career. Until most recently I was even running my own production company in Berlin before I decided to team up with David+Martin and run their TV and production department.
For me, it felt natural to look at how I could make a little impact within the margin of my work at David+Martin. It was amazing to see how everyone at the agency supported this idea both from a creative and a business point of view. However, as we also stated in the press release, this is not something we would like to stand out with alone.
Both the pitch fee and the quota for female directors in pitches only establish and sustain if we manage, as an industry, to reach a critical mass of fellow agencies and clients to pursue this with us because this will be the only way to achieve a sustainable and long-term change both in the thinking and the execution. And finally, I must tip a hat to our clients that have committed to going down this road together with us because even if all this seems legit and consecutive, it still requires all parties to sign off and support this move and in the end, the client is still the one that pays the party in that sense.
LBB> Why do you believe there’s been a disparity between the compensation for agency pitches and production pitches and what has that meant for the production side of the industry?
Nicklas> To be honest, I don’t really know why there has been a disparity in the first place. I always assumed that it goes without thinking that you must pay for something if you put people to work, no matter what the business or the industry is. Even the tiniest businesses (in Germany) work like this. And obviously, clients never questioned this method when asking agencies to pitch though even their compensation most likely never covers the actual work that goes into the pitch but that’s another topic.
Over the years I have tried to find out why this disparity was holding up and why production houses would not go up against this business conduct, but too often I was lectured that pitching is a ‘natural business risk’. I believe that in the past, it might have been OK when quoting a film project was a matter of hours and treatments were just sketches of a creative film approach laid out on just a few pages. However, those times are gone and nowadays film pitches require a production company to deploy multiple people and sometimes weeks to do research, get service quotes from other countries and put together an elaborate creative deck, that most of the time is more than just an extension of the original creative idea from the agency.
I hope that people will come more and more to their senses and understand the importance of that and how in the end a successful film project for the client relies to a certain extent on the quality and level of detail that is put in a pitch.
LBB> You mention how in Germany, there are a low proportion of female film creatives compared to elsewhere in the world. How do you hope this will support a more even balance within the industry?
Nicklas> That is a good question. In the end, we have little proof or actual data since it’s not even researched or gathered, but I can just tell from when I look at all the projects we do, we know of or even when I look at the number of nominees and winners at creative and film awards.
Female film creatives are still heavily underrepresented and sometimes unfortunately even undervalued and this is sadly because film is still considered to be a very male-driven industry that doesn’t put enough women on the radar. While we see and foster more and more men making their way into once female-focussed departments, for example, makeup and styling – and take this with a certain self-understanding of how equality should work – I still see too many people having that certain kind of look of confusion when they receive a call sheet with a directress and a female dop leading the crew into the shoot.
I believe the only reason people are still struggling is that female creatives haven’t been part of the production landscape for too long yet. I hope that one day pitches will ideally have more female than male directors – because their time has clearly come – but for now, I believe that having a quota that comes with a minimum guarantee for female seats in a pitch makes the first important move that shapes the conception of female roles in the creative work process.
Getting more and more trained female creatives and down the line more female crew members into the industry will long term support a more even balance within the business because when the day comes that we take crew pictures after the wrap and at least half the crew is female, then we know that this won’t go away any more.
LBB> How do these policies fall into line with David+Martin’s company culture and ethos?
Nicklas> David+Martin as an agency but also the founders behind the company, David Stephan and Martin Eggert, are well known for their Zeitgeist, their forward thinking and their very straight-up stance and attitude on things. They have well understood that moving forward in an industry that is still kind of controlled by established big players, you not only need to allegedly be more creative than the rest, but you also need to have a good moral compass and put your word where your mouth is.
From the beginning, they have supported female talent, worked on social issues, and communicated their opinion on things even if this might have cost them a client here and there. They never hid behind their views on the industry and never bent a knee to antiquated practices or processes. Just recently the agency developed a case together with The Female Company (thefemalecompany.com) that might have found a clever workaround for individuals that will suffer from a cutback in parental allowance possibly happening in Germany very soon.
LBB> What advice would you give to other companies looking to implement similar policies? Where should they start and what’s important to keep in mind?
Nicklas> I believe that most of the hesitation to not change the status quo is because it might feel uncomfortable in the beginning, or it requires people to change their habits, mindsets and ways of practice. So, I tend to say it’s not actually a question anymore of whether companies will implement similar policies but just when this will happen.
People look for progressive players with work-friendly policies that include and promote different thinking and courage. So, if you want to keep the pace at which change is happening you need to join in the movement anyways. I see them as great chances to move forward as an industry as a whole and I strongly believe that it will bring nothing but upside for everyone who follows through on them.
LBB> It’s early days for this, but looking to the future, what other implementations does David+Martin see itself considering to future-proof itself and make meaningful strides towards change?
Nicklas> As you say it’s early days for this but next to everything we are doing already, and we have in the pipeline the next big thing we are all looking at is the topic of green production. It is obviously inevitable that we change our perspective on production processes and that it needs to be done fast. For too long this cause has been resting – once again – only on the shoulders of production companies who were considered the ones responsible as they provide the services and set up the productions, but I think it goes without saying that this topic is a lot bigger than just this and that it must concern all of us.
Agencies need to gain a lot more expertise and knowledge about green production since they are the ones advising and leading the clients and clients need to implement global regulations and policies on their side to make green production measures more pervasive and at the same time to make it easier for production providers to execute those. As the creative industry we still operate in a high-emitting environment and as a collective of companies and players, we are responsible to decrease our carbon footprint, and this means that we will need to rethink a lot of production and working processes that we have been using all those years. Here at David+Martin we are embracing this topic and are looking for solutions and ways out though there is still a lot to discover and learn for all of us.
