David+Martin Commits to Pay Film Production Companies for Pitch Work

The German agency group David+Martin, with offices in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg, is known for its clear position, especially when it comes to eliminating discrimination and advocating for fair cooperation on an equal footing. And since this goes both ways, the agency as a group will demand a budget for film production pitches from its clients in the future. Also they will include at least one female director in every pitch from now on.

The elephant has been in the room for years, but no one has had an answer yet. There has been philosophising, discussion and debate. In the associations, between agencies and productions, and of course with the clients. And although the productions' demand clearly echoes through the industry, the lived reality is unchanged: Film productions still have to pitch, uncompensated, for production budgets while putting in a lot of creative and commercial work along the way. While the effort for each pitch is immense, no one talks about a possible compensation. Clients pay for agency pitches - but film productions, which sometimes put a huge amount of work into a pitch, are left sitting on their costs.

According to a data survey of the German Commercial Film Producer’s Association from 2021, it can be assumed that with an average cost of around EUR 6,500 per pitch, at least EUR 15 million in economic output is currently lost every year in the advertising film industry - for uncompensated pitch work that does not lead to a commission. David+Martin would like to change that and for this reason will demand a pitch fee for film productions from its clients in the future and, in case of doubt, bear the costs itself. In the eyes of the agency this is less about the amount, which is often more symbolism than cost compensation, but about the right morale and appreciation: "Film productions are an essential cornerstone of our ecosystem and make a big investment in every pitch to develop and offer outstanding ideas and executions to us and our clients" Nicklas Juntke-Krüger explains. Until he started as head of TV and creative production at David+Martin, he was a producer himself for a long time and knows the situation of film productions all too well. "Paying them a small fee for this work as an appreciation of their services should actually be a no-brainer. We want to sustainably improve the pitch culture throughout the industry and make it more equal for everyone. That's why it will be a given for us to pay productions a pitch fee in the future." He estimates that, depending on the client and the project, this will be in the form of a cost-sharing fee of around EUR 2,500 to EUR 3,000 for those productions that don't win the pitch.

Timm Reinfarth, executive producer and partner at Tempomedia, has also been dealing with the issue of pitch fees for many years in the Association of German Commercial Film Producers and praises the agency's move: "This is a great thing, because a pitch reform is long overdue. I'm convinced that the entire industry will benefit from it in the end, simply because it's more than just a matter of clients sharing the costs. The days when you could win over up-and-coming talent and directors with only the prospect of great projects are simply over. These days it's much more about participation, respect, fairness, transparency and sustainable cooperation." Reinfarth also refers to the unwritten agreement that the productions want to share the remuneration they receive with the directors, since they usually do most of the creative groundwork.

David Stephan, founder and creative managing director of David+Martin, can't yet say how accessible the pitch fee will be in practice for his clients, but for him it's a matter of the heart: "We talk to our clients and explain the situation to them. After all, in most cases they feel the same way we do: films are often at the heart of campaigns, and our clients always expect the best possible quality from us as an agency, which we have to ensure then."

Juntke-Krüger intensifies this point: "It is precisely this demand that we then pass on to the production companies and since we and our clients pay particular attention to the craftsmanship of the films, we have come to believe that such complex commercial and creative work that productions deliver during the pitch should not be for nothing."

Stephan concludes, "It's 2023 and we need to look at where we're going as an industry. We need a paradigm shift on so many levels and I think as an agency you can't always hide behind your clients." He also believes that it's not enough if everyone is always just talking about change. In the end, there have to be those who are brave enough to implement it - a responsibility he sees not only for himself and his agency.

In the founder's view, this also applies to the issue of women's quotas in pitches: "While we are fortunately finding more and more women in management positions in agencies, female directors still have a much harder time asserting themselves in the industry. This is shown by a peek at the still too low proportion of female film creatives in major productions in Germany." Abroad, the proportion of female directors is significantly higher, he notes, explaining this with the existing quotas for women, some of which have already been established for a long time and have brought a lasting positive change. "Of course it would be ideal if one day we didn't need quotas at all anymore, but until then it must be our task as creative directors to firmly anchor a creative view from a female perspective in our thinking and thus ensure equal opportunities, a new perspective and at the same time also better results for all of us."

David+Martin has become known as an agency that repeatedly makes tough demands on itself and the industry, but has so far also proven that it lives up to its word. This time, however, it is meant a bit differently, says Laura Müller-Rossbach, creative managing director at David+Martin Munich: "Our goal with the pitch fee and the women's quota in pitches is of course not to be the lone pioneer and to use that as a unique selling point for us," she concludes, classifying her agency's advance, "it’s quite the opposite: we would like to call on all our colleagues in the executive suites of the agencies all over the globe to catch up, to seek dialogue with their clients and to develop even further together as a creative industry. If we want to continue increasing the quality of our work and only work with the very best service providers, then ultimately we need to recognize and pay for the value of their work."