The Virtual Strike

 The Virtual Strike

Twenty five ad agencies in Belgium are participating in a virtual strike by dedicating their websites to a collective expression of discontent of how clients conduct pitches in the county.  

The action is organized by the ACC (Association of Communication Companies) in Belgium, which is a national trade association developed to protect the interests of commercial communication companies. The "story" is told across the following agencies:

 VVL BBDO, Boondoggle, Famous, Punta Linea, LDV, AIR, N-BBDO, Saatchi, Open Here, Fe Online, Kunstmaan, Bubka, Polygone Group, Tagora, McCann-Lowe, JWT, LBi, Ogilvy, 7 Beaufort, Happiness Brussels, TBWA, Publicis, DVN, Grey, G&CO.

Basically, clients in Belgium have been inviting up to ten agencies to pitch on new business.  The ACC's point is that pitching for new biz is both very expensive (citing up to 80,000 euros) and time consuming. Where agencies should be servicing their existing clients, resource is being spent on pitches, which often (when you're pitching against nine other agencies) is a waste of time.  The point is to encourage clients to narrow down their choices before engaging with an agency.  They're clear about how this can be done:

"... judging an agency isn't rocket science..."

The Virtual Strike

I'm really impressed with this effort because clearly it has become a big issue for agencies in Belgium, and it's great that they've united to take a stand.  The experience is fluid and clean and I think it definitely makes its point!  Agree or disagree??

Check out the strike here.

via adjoke