Is your relationship with your advertising agency over, and you’re never, ever getting back together? Are you looking to spark a connection with a new one? Or, are you generally satisfied but just want to check out the playing field and sample the merchandise? Well, you’re in luck. There’s now an app for that.
A newly released Tinder-like “dating” app allows clients to peruse profiles of the some of best advertising agencies in Amsterdam. The app, Pitcher, is available for both iOS and Android phones.
Similar to dating apps, clients have the ability to specify criteria such as brand category and campaign type. From there, clients can browse through a selection of Amsterdam’s crème de la crème of advertising agencies. Each profile provides a company overview and portfolio of their latest work. Users swipe to left to dismiss and right to make a selection. Oh, and it’s free.
Created by Amsterdam advertising agency Woedend! (meaning “Furious!” in Dutch), content for the app is provided by Amsterdam Ad Blog. Though Pitcher has yet to reach the United States, there’s a strong possibility that similar mobile apps may come into play.
Merien Kunst, creative director at Woedend!, believes the current pitch culture in the Netherlands is not sustainable, and that agencies should invest more time and money into building shorter relationships and smaller, more manageable projects.
“It’s all about competitive analysis, I’m constantly watching my competition,” says Andrew Di Genova, President of Ingenious Machines. “I’d use this in a heartbeat to find out who’s doing what, who’s offering what and how these companies are garnering all this high-ranking attention.”
Pitcher illustrates just how much technology, in particular the advent of smart phones and mobile devices, has changed the way business is conducted. Gone are the Don Draper days of skimming the yellow pages of the phone book and trying your luck with the first ad listed. Fast forward to now, and the typical hunter-gatherer approach to finding a compatible agency is frustrating and full of uncertainties.
Now more than ever, both clients and agencies have several means of making a connection thanks to the impact of technology.
“I could definitely use this to get insider clues about my competition and bring that knowledge back to my clients,” says Di Genova