Code of Conduct
The agency intermediary market plays a pivotal role in connecting brands with agencies by running selection processes and pitches to create high-value, long-term client/agency partnerships. As independent matchmakers, intermediaries are expected to embody fairness, transparency, and ethical practices. However, certain problematic practices within the industry have raised concerns among agencies, undermining the integrity of intermediary services. Unbeknown to brands, many agencies routinely decline certain pitches or are not even invited to them because they refuse to work with the intermediaries running them.
Without an agreed set of standards, some intermediaries are compromising the fairness of their pitch processes, reducing competition, and potentially compromising the outcomes for both the brands they serve and the agencies that participate.
Brands are often unaware of the full extent of conflicts of interest. Agencies, for fear of losing favour with powerful intermediaries, rarely disclose these conflicts. As a result, brands are often left in the dark about which agencies may have declined their pitches or the real reasons behind such decisions.
To safeguard the business interests of all parties involved, HTBAG is proposing the following code of conduct. It is designed to ensure that all intermediaries signing up to the code will operate with transparency, impartiality, and integrity.
Rather than an expression of promises or intentions, the code requires tangible actions to be taken and commitments to be made in so doing in the form of explicit declarations of transparency.
We call on all intermediaries, including market leaders, to adopt this Code of Conduct forthwith and help create a transparent and fairer industry.
Financial Transparency
Intermediaries will disclose to brands and all agencies under consideration for the brand’s pitch all financial interests in those agencies, including any payments received from the agencies within the previous five years and any expected payments in the next two years, including payments for products, services or subscriptions. This ensures all stakeholders are aware of potential conflicts of interest.
No conflicting interests
Intermediaries will receive compensation for their intermediary services only from the brand hosting the pitch. Under no circumstances will intermediaries accept payments or fees from agencies participating in or winning their pitch process. This includes the practice of inflating other fees or subscriptions to achieve the same purpose.
Pre-defined process
At the outset of a pitch process, intermediaries will clearly outline a pitch process to agencies that they have agreed with their client, including timelines, selection criteria, and evaluation methodologies, to ensure transparency and clarity for all participants.
We welcome additional suggestions that can be universally applied to pitch processes across all marketing services disciplines. It is our intention that this Code of Conduct continually evolves to establish and uphold a gold standard for pitch practices.