From free pitching to real partnerships

In most industries, work is paid for.
Time, expertise and intellectual contribution are recognised as having value.

In ours, this principle is often suspended.

Each week, agencies are invited to respond to calls for tender involving a large number of competitors. Not only through credentials or strategic intent, but through fully developed concepts, campaign territories, and sometimes near-final creative outputs.

This work is, in the vast majority of cases, unpaid.

The process is often standardised, sometimes mediated by platforms, with little to no direct interaction between client and agency. The outcome follows the same pattern. A short notification. Selected or not. Rarely more.

This model has become normalised.
It should not be.

Because the issue is not only one of fairness. It is also one of effectiveness.

> From an agency perspective, it creates structural inefficiencies. Significant time and resources are invested in speculative work, with no guarantee of continuity. This inevitably limits the depth of thinking and the level of attention that can be dedicated to each opportunity.

> From a client perspective, it leads to a paradox. The more agencies involved, the less meaningful the process becomes. Without dialogue, without context, without iteration, proposals tend to remain surface-level. Polished, but disconnected from operational realities.

More importantly, this approach contradicts the nature of the challenges many organisations are trying to address today.

Whether in sustainability, public policy, social impact or corporate transformation, these challenges are complex, systemic, and long-term. They cannot be addressed through isolated creative exercises developed in a vacuum.

They require partnership.

As an agency working exclusively with organisations committed to social and environmental impact, we see a clear contradiction. It is not possible to advocate for responsibility and sustainability externally, while relying internally on processes that disregard the value of work.

At MOJO Agency, we have made a clear and deliberate decision.
We will no longer participate in unpaid pitches that require substantial strategic or creative work.

This is not an ideological position. It is an operational one.

We believe that better work emerges from better conditions.
And that better conditions are built on clarity, mutual respect, and structured collaboration.

There is an alternative model. It is both simple and already adopted by a growing number of organisations:

• Limit consultations to a small number of relevant agencies
• Select partners based on proven experience, strategic thinking, and alignment
• Request a clear intention and a budget, rather than speculative creative production
• Create space for direct exchanges to assess understanding and working dynamics
• Compensate any substantial strategic or creative work required during the selection process

This approach does not reduce ambition.
It increases it.

It allows agencies to engage with the right level of depth from the outset.
It enables clients to assess not only ideas, but the ability to collaborate, challenge, and deliver over time.

Ultimately, it shifts the focus from competition to contribution.

As an industry, we often speak about responsibility, impact, and long-term value.
These principles should also apply to the way we choose to work together.

At MOJO Agency, this is the standard we choose to uphold.

Because how we work is as important as what we produce.

Reconsidering free pitching is an opportunity to build more meaningful collaborations, and ultimately, more impactful work.