Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun has reignited the agency pitch debate after telling the group’s third-quarter earnings call that AI-led business transformation is creating direct conversations with company chief executives. That access, he says, is helping Publicis win major accounts outside the traditional competitive pitch. The claim raises a straightforward question for the industry: is the formal pitch losing its grip, or just changing shape?
Talent and pricing still anchor media pitches
Shashi Sinha, former executive chairman of IPG Mediabrands India and former strategic advisor at Omnicom Media India, sees the fundamentals unchanged. For media accounts, he argues, the decision still comes down mainly to talent and pricing. When a client spends crores, he points out, even a small improvement in buying efficiency has real financial value.
Sinha says relationships are not new. He cites Amul, an association that began in 1986, and Tata Motors, awarded when Ravi Kant was vice-chairman and managing director. In both cases senior client and agency leaders worked closely enough to judge value over time. But relationships alone are not enough, he adds: agencies have to earn confidence, show capability and be willing to tell clients the difficult truth. He also flags artificial pricing—agencies quoting unrealistically low fees to win and hoping to fix the economics later—as a persistent risk.
The pitch becomes final validation
Anita Kotwani, senior partner growth at Zoo Media, believes pitches are not disappearing but are less dominant than a decade ago. She describes a hybrid model: “Relationships get you to the table, but capability wins the business.” Many significant assignments now open with a conversation about business challenges, not a formal request for proposal, and the pitch works as a final validation of fit rather than the starting point.
Clients are also demanding more than creative ideas. Kotwani says creativity now has to work alongside technology, data intelligence, commerce and AI-led production. The questions have shifted from “do you use AI?” to whether AI will improve speed to market, efficiency, personalisation and decision-making.
That changes what good pitching looks like. Kotwani suggests:
- Start with direct conversations about growth problems before a formal RFP.
- Use smaller shortlists with paid strategic workshops, collaborative sessions or pilot assignments.
- Evaluate demonstrated business impact rather than award credentials and broad capability claims.
AI is increasing pitch volume, not reducing it
Neel Gawde, chief business officer at Schbang, offers a different angle on AI and scale. Digital agencies are pitching more now than before, he says, because AI helps them generate more output faster. The traditional model of large teams and substantial retainers is being challenged by brands that need quick responses to consumer conversations.
Budget structures are shifting too. Brands that used to pair one large agency with several digital specialists are now choosing a larger digital partner and multiple smaller creative shops, creating room for smaller agencies to compete. At the same time, clients expect more for the same fee: a monthly retainer of Rs 10 lakh for 100 pieces of work, Gawde says, may now come with the expectation of 150 deliverables for the same amount.
Gawde cautions that faster output doesn’t automatically mean better thinking. AI makes it easier to produce polished but generic presentations, so distinctive strategy and deep understanding of a client’s business still matter.
What this means for new-business teams
The experts’ shared view is that the pitch will evolve rather than disappear. Talent, pricing and measured business outcomes will still decide accounts. Pay-for-performance remuneration models are likely to become more important, Sinha suggests, tying agency compensation more closely to results.
For agency leaders, the practical shift is to build senior-client access before the formal process, prove how AI changes speed and efficiency, and, as Kotwani puts it, trade “beauty parades” for working sessions that demonstrate partnership.
Source: ETBrandEquity.com
