LEVEL PITCH

REVOLUTIONISING AGENCY SELECTION

Agencies and clients often view pitching as a necessary evil: time-consuming, costly, and riddled with uncertainty. However, by revolutionising the process with greater focus, efficiency and transparency, pitching can become an opportunity for genuine partnership.

SUSTAINABLE PITCHING

The vast majority of work produced for pitches is wasted. All work from unsuccessful agencies is wasted and it's estimated that just 20-30% of the work that winning agencies produce for pitches sees the light of day.

If 4 agencies pitch, that means that 95% of the work on every pitch is binned.

Such a level of wasted effort and money is simply unsustainable. It's also completely unnecessary.

FAIRER, SMARTER PITCHES

Enter LEVEL PITCH, a better way to connect brands with the right communications partners.

A way that's better informed, fairer, more focused, and built to find the best client-agency fit.

Without the wasted effort.

Or the guesswork.

HOW IT WORKS

Understanding your needs

We begin with an in-depth session to define what you need in a communications partner - what's working at present, what's not, and what qualities matter most to you and your team. Then we'll develop a unique pitch process that has been described by both agencies and clients as "a breath of fresh air".

Curated agency selection

Using our unrivalled knowledge of agencies, inside and out, we present a carefully considered long-list of potential agency partners, with insights on why they would (or wouldn't) be a great fit. We'll then agree a shortlist of not more than 3 agencies, ensuring a focused, high-quality process.

A smarter, fairer pitch brief

We'll help you devise a brief that really cuts to the chase. A one-pager is great; less is even better. For creative pitches, agencies are asked to respond with one clear, compelling creative idea: just one AV concept, and one print concept. No research. No endless decks. Just great thinking. For strategy, brand and other pitches, the 'ask' is similarly straightforward.

Q&A and compatibility check

Each agency does a 1-hour structured Q&A session with the client team online. These are partly to answer any questions the agency has. But they're just as much a real-world chemistry check between agency and client teams.

Fair, merit-based pitches

In-person pitch presentations, of up to one hour's duration, attended only by those who would work on the business - we don't want to see a 'pitch team'. Presentations are judged against predetermined scoring criteria. So the best agency wins on merit, not showmanship.

Final selection and onboarding

To ensure fairness, each member of the client pitch team scores each agency against the pre-determined criteria. Then the decision is made and it's time to kick off the partnership on the right footing. We can also help with fee negotiations and contracts and we recommend periodic check-ins to make sure everything is going well.

WHY LEVEL PITCH?

More sustainable pitches - an estimated 95% of the work done for pitches is wasted. That is simply unsustainable and totally unnecessary.

A fairer process - less speculative and expensive work for agencies leading to better decisions for clients.

More efficient for agencies - an incredibly tight pitch brief, with no time wasted interpreting brand guidelines and developing unnecessary executions.

More efficient for clients - getting only the right agencies right from the start saves a huge amount of time for the client team, and means lower associated pitch costs.

Better partnerships - by concentrating on what's really important, the process creates successful, lasting client-agency relationships.

In everyone's interest - nobody benefits when agencies spend too much on pitches. The agencies and, ultimately, clients pay for this wastage. And clients are far too busy to waste their time on drawn-out pitch processes that don't focus on what's really important.

ABOUT

LEVEL PITCH was founded by Ray Sheerin and is a registered trading name of Ray Sheerin Consultancy Ltd.

With a career spanning hundreds of agency pitches - both as an agency leader and, in the past 5 years, as a pitch consultant - Ray has helped clients select the right advertising, brand, media, and strategy agencies.

A lifelong advocate for fairer, more effective pitching, Ray is committed to creating a transparent, results-driven pitch process that benefits both clients and agencies. His deep industry knowledge and understanding of the agency landscape enable him to navigate the complexities of pitching with clarity and insight.

Ray is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland and a Chartered Director of the Institute of Directors.

TESTIMONIALS

Kerrie Sweeney

Managing Director, The Public House

"Ray ran a pitch process that was both fair and well-structured, always respecting our time and the effort agencies put in. He communicated clearly, set realistic expectations on both sides, and ensured a level playing field throughout. It's a pleasure to work with someone who really understands the value of creativity, the people behind the work and the impact both of those can make on a client's business."

Vaunnie McDermott

Managing Director, Connelly Partners

"From start to finish, the pitching experience was seamless. The instructions were clear, and for the first time ever, the work we produced for the pitch is the exact work that will soon be in market. Timelines were followed meticulously, which really helped us manage resources, holiday leave, and plan effectively.

Pitches are, by their nature, stressful — but the opportunity to have tissue sessions and present directly to the client made a huge difference. It helped build genuine chemistry between agency and client, and it's something that should be part of every pitch process.

The mutual respect, trust, and collaboration between Ray and his client were evident throughout. Ray's deep understanding of and respect for the agency process created the ideal working scenario."

Jamie Helly

Executive Chairman, Dynamo

"Ray has a very rare combination of laser commercial focus married with a passion to fight for great creativity. I've never known him to shy away from a challenge, which he didn't meet head on. He's a pragmatist but not at the cost of landing greatness. The creative industry needs more Ray Sheerins."

Mairead Maher

Marketing & Growth Strategist, Brand Consultant, Fractional CMO, NED

"Knowing the vast experience and integrity Ray brings to everything he does, I have no doubt this will be a huge success! It is certainly solving a huge pain in the industry."

David Slattery

Head of Marketing, Pinergy

"Thanks so much for your help and guidance on the pitch. It was a seamless process for us and great learning (and a huge amount of time saved!). It was great to be in front of the right agencies from the start."

Clodagh Coffey

Head of Marketing & Digital Communications, CCPC

"We are a very small team and having Ray's knowledge, expertise and help made a huge difference to us. He really helped keep the phases of the project moving and his input to the tender process was invaluable."

Mike Garner

Executive Creative Director, Founder SFX

"Well done Ray! What a great idea. This will provide a much needed alternative to current practice which does little for long term business relationships or indeed long term effectiveness."

Sarah Love

Managing Director, Goosebump

"I had the pleasure of working with Ray as the Pitch Doctor on a recent pitch, and I found his approach genuinely refreshing. He designed a process that was smart, respectful, and highly effective.
Ray struck exactly the right balance: the ask of the agency was minimal but meaningful, enough to demonstrate strategic strength and rigour, paired with a creative challenge that allowed us to showcase our flair.
The structure also encouraged plenty of interactions between us and the client, giving both sides the chance to get a real sense of chemistry and shared ambition.
Too often, pitches focus too heavily on "the big pitch idea", when in reality, the client needs to find the right agency partner, not just buy a one-off concept. Ray kept things lean, intelligent, and respectful of everyone's time and talent. I'd recommend him wholeheartedly.."

David Quinn

Founder, Bloom

"We thought the brief and the ask were a breath of fresh air when compared to other pitch requests. We enjoyed the whole process."

Ally O'Neill

Client Director, Spark Foundry

"Working with Ray made the pitch process refreshingly clear and efficient. From the outset, we had a precise understanding of what was needed, allowing us to focus our efforts on delivering relevant, high-impact thinking. His deep market knowledge and ability to streamline the selection process meant we weren't wasting time on unnecessary guesswork. It was one of the most focused and well-structured pitches we've been part of ."

Greg Ward

Founder, RAW Marketing & Events

"From his vast experience of agency land to just having a sounding-board on day-to-day issues, I would strongly recommend Ray for all he brings to a project from a strategic level. Also, he is just an all-round good guy."

Una Herlihy

Founder, The Indie List

"I've known Ray for most of my career and have worked with him on many projects. He is an absolute gem - highly intelligent, razor sharp and never afraid to challenge the thinking in service of better outcomes"

Giles O'Neill

Director, Enterprise Ireland

"It's very hard to put a value on the insight and depth of experience Ray brings to a project. Great to work with too."

Dr Bairbre Fleming

Deputy Director, Access & Lifelong Learning, UCD

"We've had an exceptionally positive experience working with Ray. He has a remarkable skillset and we benefited from his input significantly."

Mike Garner

Executive Creative Director, expert on advertising effectiveness

"What a great idea. This will provide a much needed alternative to current practice which does little for long term business relationships or indeed long term effectiveness."