Last week we asked the communications industry how they would feel if a contact took an idea from an unsuccessful pitch and used it anyway. Though everyone that took part was in agreement that it’s an industry-wide issue, and a very serious one, responses were extremely varied about what to actually do about it.

The majority of those taking part in our poll said that their first step would be to go back to the contact in question and discuss it, which comes as no surprise. Tackling the issue head on, but privately, makes complete sense.

More unexpected however, was that the second highest answer (with only two votes in it) was to ‘name and shame on your blog/social network of choice’. This is a very aggressive way to deal with the situation, and we can’t think of an example of an agency actually doing this. As Andy West from Hotwire pointed out: “Naming and shaming will not achieve much other than to cause embarrassment, potentially tarnishing the image of both the client and the agency.”

However, is this notion true in all situations? Bud Caddell blogged about his disappointed with singer John Mayer after the star released a music video that bore starling similarity to an idea Caddell had pitched to Mayer’s team. “For the sliver of ideas that actually involve adapting or inventing technologies – you’re still better off executing, but you’ll need outside help, you’ll need to rally the like minded, engender their trust, and help to serve your collective purpose. With the ‘Hold Me Closer Tiny Mayer’ idea, I needed John and I needed friends of friends that could execute AR. I put it out there, shared it with John’s friends and fans, with the hope he’d find it through them and generally dig it. It didn’t work. Sometimes the best laid plains…”

This isn’t an issue that the PR industry alone has to deal with. The world of advertising has evolved to a point where paying for pitches has become the norm. As Claire English from Speed Communications commented; “Ad or design agencies would never tolerate this – and why should we, as PR professionals, when our teams have put thousands of pounds worth of time into a pitch – not to mention blood, sweat, tears and weekends?”

Barry Bridges from Intelligent Conversation told us that the world of comedy is faced with the same challenge, in terms of comedians stealing each other’s jokes. “The lesson learnt is a similar one: to create a culture where it’s just ‘not the done thing’ and to expose those who pinch ideas. In comedy, it’s a huge taboo, because fans and audiences talk and compare jokes all the time. Perhaps the secret then is not to be secretive with pitches; but the opposite: to be quite public with them and let others know that ‘this is *our* idea’.”

This concept of encouraging others within the industry to unite in making a change was also picked up by Allix Harrison-D’Arcy from mo-tiv, who said; “The issue is primarily one of ethics enforcement, and the most effective way to do that is politically (with a small ‘p’) – organise and ostracise. Set up an industry group that monitors this kind of activity and reacts appropriately (however that is) whenever it happens. Of course, this can only work if there are enough agencies (and, hopefully, clients) in the group to provide the teeth and enough will to use them.”
The general consensus seems to point towards the need for common ground across the agency community, but is there anything that’s already being implemented that consultants can learn from? Scott Knox from the Marketing Communications Consultants Associations (MCCA) offered a solution, saying that his organisation offers a pitch protection service in conjunction with legal specialists K&LGates.

“Using confidentiality laws we are able to give our members confidence that their ideas are subject to standard non-disclosure rules. This might sound simple but actually, in the few cases where prospects have gone on to use the ideas, it has proved to be an effective form of protection. In one case the prospect agreed to pay for the work that they did themselves, as if the agency had been employed.”

But the problem here is working out how prove that an idea really does originate from a specific agency. As Bud Caddell pointed out; “The majority of digital experiences people give their attention to are merely a recombination of existing technologies, cultures, and platforms; which means the majority of ideas are executable without breaking new ground.”

Ged Caroll from Ruder Finn pushed this point even further, saying; “An idea is only half the thing, how it’s executed is key. Part of the reason why I am in agency is ability to constantly innovate and come up with new ideas, or old ideas in a new context.”