Tourism department rebuked over Canadian pitch process

A Canadian trade organisation has rebuked the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism as a result of its request for proposals process.

The Department, however, has stood by its process, saying it is guided by Cayman laws.

The not-for-profit Institute of Canadian Agencies was founded in 1905 and represents Canadian advertising, marketing, media and public relations agencies. Last week it told its members not to proceed with a new business pitch from Cayman’s Department of Tourism, which is thought to refer to a recent procurement request for a media buying agency operating in the Canadian market.

In an email to its members, Scott Knox, president and CEO of the Institute of Canadian Agencies, said, “Despite contacting the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (CIDOT), they have decided not to amend their current media agency RFP in any way. In response the ICA’s Pitch Watch is issuing an industry Red Alert.”

‘Speculative work’

A red alert signals to the agency community to stop and not proceed with a client’s pitch process and means, according to the Institute, that “the pitch is not consistent with qualification-based selection best practice and requires major revisions that the client is unwilling to action. The pitch is deemed ineffective at achieving the client’s desired results and furthermore leads to the detriment of the marketing industry and the agencies asked to participate.”

In his email to clients, Knox warned that “participants should be aware that the process requires an inordinate amount of speculative work by all participants in an open call process. Although this is not a mandate, the ICA encourages agencies to make a full commercial assessment of the process before taking part.”

Knox told industry magazine Campaign that the Institute started looking at the review after multiple agencies reached out about the request for proposals – often referred to as an RFP – which is for CAD$1.5 million in media spend.

“The RFP requires a fully worked up 12-month media strategy,” said Knox. “In other words, the entire planning bit of the account needs to be done to win the business.”

The Institute of Canadian Agencies launched its Pitch Watch practice in 2017, but this is only the ninth time a client has been so unwilling to make changes, necessitating some sort of alert to the agency community, Knox said.

Department of Tourism response

In a statement to the Compass, the Department of Tourism said it “acknowledges the ICA’s position, however given the progression of procurement it is inappropriate and unfair to any proponent who may have prepared or already submitted a response to modify the requirements at this stage.

“CIDOT’s tender was a request for proposals and agencies are free to decide whether to participate. All requirements were clearly outlined in the RFP document along with a stated mechanism for submitting questions or raising concerns, which remains the appropriate channel for such feedback.

“CIDOT is guided by the Procurement Law, 2016 and Regulations (2022 Revision) and we remain committed to a fair and transparent process for all participants. As a matter of legislation, policy and to ensure fairness we do not publicly discuss procurements. We will make no further comment at this time.”