"We are confident that the level of bids will increase towards the end"

"As a small boutique agency, it's not just easy: you work professionally, closely coordinated and with passion - overall much more efficiently than in a large agency, but often stumble over supposedly relevant key figures when acquiring clients. Number of employees, turnover, etc.," says David Wick, Creative Director and Partner at Kollektiv. In addition, the smaller the budget and the less professional the client, the greater the challenge of the pitch - high, often futile expenses, unclear framework conditions.

Kollektiv makes a virtue of necessity and launches the 60-day campaign. The interested client makes a bid for 60 (person) days of agency services and advertises their project. In the end, the agency decides which project will be realized.

Advertising Week: Is the 60-day campaign intended as a one-off or is it possible that this model will be used as a permanent customer acquisition tool afterwards?

David Wick: This is the first time the campaign has been carried out and, as far as we know, is unique in this way. However, we can well imagine that this auction will become a permanent tool in our acquisition process - after all, it balances the client's willingness to pay with the agency's interests. The agency's reputation and previous work play a role here, as do the attractiveness and versatility of the project to be realized.

How far can you get with 60 person-days? Is there a risk that a half-finished product will be presented and the customer will have to increase their budget to complete it?

As a small, closely coordinated agency: far. That's basically enough for a comprehensive campaign, a nicely told product, corporate or store page. Or even: Completely different projects that we would otherwise not have access to. And if it's not enough after all: We offer plus/minus ten days at the same conditions, or even more after consultation.

What criteria do you use to select the projects?

We talk to our internal consulting bot and trust it blindly. But because he always comes to the conclusion that we should decide of our own free will and with a clear conscience, we will make sure that the project is attractive and challenging for our team and makes sense for humanity.

Is less or more offered than the service is worth?

We are currently still well below our usual "value" - although this will be redefined during the campaign. However, as the campaign will run until September 22 and we know the auction behavior of Ricardo etc., we are confident that the bid amounts will increase or be adjusted.

But if it's not the prospect of agency services at a bargain price - what should motivate customers to have to "apply" as such?

In addition to the prospect of us choosing a project that is (possibly too) tightly budgeted, the customer can massively shorten the tendering/tendering process in this way: with just a few clicks, an exciting project and a fair bid.

Have potential customers who have never dealt with Kollektiv before also taken part?

So far, only potential new customers have taken part. However, we assume that some existing customers will also make an offer in the course of the auction.

If pitches and key figures get in the way - what other options does a small agency like Kollektiv have to get client orders?

Well, the most important channels are the network and personal recommendations from customers and friends. But more is needed to overcome these boundaries - either cold acquisition or ads. But neither of these is really ours. Instead, we want to demonstrate our expertise and experience with an intelligent campaign. And that's how the 60-day idea came about.

Interview: Thomas Häusermann

Collective.ag