"We Only Eat What We Kill": The Toll of Pitching as a Production Company

Production industry leaders say the process of pitching for agency work has “invisible” costs, and mystery often hangs over why a pitch is accepted or rejected: “Is it the treatment? A sharp price? The director’s reel?”

Most production pitches involve a three-way bid, wherein agencies see treatments from multiple companies for a single campaign before selecting a production partner.

Executive producer of New Zealand production company Film Construction, Belinda Bradley, said an unsuccessful pitch can be “deflating”.

“You’re investing serious creative energy, time, and money into something that may never see the light of day,” Belinda told LBB. “It’s inherently speculative -- that’s the gamble.”

Entropico co-founder and executive producer Erin Moy added her production company has turned down pitch opportunities because the costs outweighed the benefits.

“We weigh up every opportunity in terms of risk and reward,” Erin said. “We include our rostered talent in that decision-making, too.

“It’s not just about potential profit for us – we also weigh factors like do we love the client or cause, is the creative something really special, or is it a great piece for someone we are developing and extends them in a way that we’d like to invest in?”

Erin, like Belinda, believes agencies could be better at evaluating whether a pitch is needed for every brief, given the pitch phase often eats into pre-production time.

“Lower budgets could also be single bid or double bid, rather than triple,” she added.

“There used to be more of an unsaid rule around budget minimums to warrant a three-way director pitch, but that minimum seems to be slipping lower and lower.”

Clemenger BBDO executive creative director Paul Meates will often “push back” on three-way bids.

“We'll recommend a single bid because the budget is too small to expect partners to competitively pitch,” he said.

“But we'll also recommend it if our budget, despite being a decent size, doesn't quite meet the ambition of the idea. That's when we look for a single partner with the enthusiasm to bring it to life regardless.

“We [also] single bid when the timeline is too short to waste time on the pitching process.”

Central to a production company’s response to a brief is the development of an original treatment: a document outlining and summarising a story or concept. A treatment is a way for production companies and directors to communicate, and ultimately sell, a creative idea.

It is “a calling card”, Belinda said, and a way to ensure “you’ve set the tone, the creative is aligned, and everyone [is] on the same page.”

“Crafting a treatment takes real creative energy,” she added.

“You go through winning streaks, and then there are dry spells where nothing lands. I remember one very prominent director losing 12 in a row. That was brutal. But he kept going — and he’s still a successful director today.”

Photographer and director Cybele Malinowski emphasised the importance of the treatment, describing its creation as the prodco and director “strategising the ‘how’” of the brief and budget.

“The director fuels the project with their artistic, creative vision,” Cybele said. “They work hand-in-hand as the director shapes concepts and direction.”

Clems’ Paul said, from an agency perspective, “Chemistry is important, but you won't have any chemistry with a partner if your taste is wildly different.

“I'm not talking about just shortlisting production companies. It's about shortlisting the talent within those companies … out of respect and love for what they have done in the past.”

The process only works thanks to the “invisible labour” of production houses, Belinda said, just as agencies invest significant resources into winning a marketer’s business, whether as agency of record, or -- as has become increasingly common -- on a project basis.

“Directors invest emotionally and creatively, and companies often cover costs without a fee,” she said.

“Sometimes you’re ghosted entirely — no feedback, no explanation. That lack of closure is deflating. And when decisions are made on politics or pricing, not the creative, it’s easy to become jaded.”

“The mysterious part is -- what actually wins a pitch? Is it the treatment? A sharp price? The director’s reel? I’ve seen elaborate, beautifully designed pitches fail, and plain, honest ones win. Sometimes, it’s the relationship. Other times, it’s puzzling.

“More transparency would go a long way.”

Erin also wishes the process was more transparent and collaborative.

“[I wish] we had more access to agency creatives during the treatment phase to better understand client and consumer context, and what’s feasible or what might need to be reimagined in terms of time and money,” she said.

“Staying collaborative after the decision has been made is also very helpful for us and we love transparent feedback on why a job went another way, and what worked, or didn't work. If we've put in the time unpaid to do the pitch, I’d love to at least get that context.”

Belinda and Erin’s concerns mirror those raised by production companies in other markets like Perth and New Zealand. In a panel discussion during LBB’s Immortal Awards’ inaugural Auckland showcase, The Sweetshop co-CEO Melanie Bridge suggested the three-way pitch process is “brutal” and agreed, “It would feel fairer if there was full transparency, because it feels like often there isn't.”

“If there was absolute full transparency and honesty, we would be able to do the best possible pitch, no matter what, and collaborate through that process, and I suppose, not feel blindsided at the end, because you sort of realise that they were always going to go with somebody else.

“We pitch all the time, we do hundreds and hundreds of pitches every year, and lose so many of them, and pour our heart and soul in it, and it's hard, it costs a lot, and it's hard for everyone's mental health, to be honest. But I think if there was a lot more full transparency all the way through, it would make things a lot easier, and it would feel a lot fairer.”

​At the corresponding Perth showcase, Beautiful Pictures EP Kate Downie agreed, advocating for agencies to “tell us where we’re standing.”

“Because it's an expensive process … [and] at the moment, there's not a lot of funds floating around. So if we're not preferred -- I'm happy to do a check quote at any time, but the pitching process is quite laborious.”

Amid rising pitching costs, some suggest moving to a ‘paid-pitch’ model, but Belinda remains wary.

“I’m not convinced by the paid pitch model some have suggested. The money will just come out of the production budget,” she said.

“I wish agencies would recognise we’re not on a salary. We only eat what we kill. If there’s already a front-runner, or the budget is pinned down unrealistically, don’t send the rest of us into the pitch arena.”

Cybele added time could be “better spent” by agencies and production companies alike by avoiding pitching where possible.

“The meticulousness required in the treatment and quoting stages to achieve high-quality results … adds another layer of time and effort to this [process],” she said.

“The extended selection timelines then ironically compress the already limited window [to] execute the production.

“The pressure to deliver small miracles on ever-shrinking budgets only exacerbates the issue. It begs the question: how much incredible work is being left on the table due to the sheer volume of energy consumed by this demanding and often speculative pitching culture?”