Idea theft or coincidence?

Agencies being cheated out of ideas during the pitch process is unfair and unethical but it still happens. Tina Junday asks whether more can be done to tacke the ongoing problem

We all know great ideas are hard to come by, making them an attractive target for thieves and fraudsters.

Steve Jobs admitted being “shameless about stealing great ideas” and how he wasn’t so nonchalant when he accused others of copying him.

But it was his unique ability to shape those ideas in the way no other rival could emulate, which led to his unprecedented success in the consumer electronics market.

While Jobs was one of very few who brazenly confessed to the unfavoured practise, how transparaent is the region’s advertising industry when it comes to stealing ideas, esepcially during the pitch process?

Richard Copping, executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi, Dubai, says: “If you have integrity as a human being and you know that was someone else’s idea – as an agency – I don’t understand why anyone would do that.

“Our business has become so prolific in terms of the work generated that we can’t check everything from every corner of the globe. At the same time, as an agency you need to know what’s already out there. Once a month we check work from around the world and we’ll have ideas that are very similar to what’s out there and have to start again.

“If we have an idea, only to find out it’s similar to what’s already out there, you just pray to God it’s better. Someone very special told me if your work has been done before and you don’t know, then you just have to trust yourself because we can’t live our lives checking. There are those who make honest mistakes and people who deliberately look at something and copy it.

“Sometimes it’s unavoidable but you hope people will have self-respect and integrity. It’s an unfortunate thing for all members of the party when that happens – you do have a bit of anxiety when you come up with an idea – you think, it’s similar to what’s already out there but you should check. There is something wrong with you if you have to deliberately copy it. You should be able to create – originality is what we all aspire to. At the same time we should be smart enough to be aware of what’s already out there.”

He adds: “You might go for a pitch, but does it stop the client from sharing your work with another agency? No. But it doesn’t stop you from going all out on a pitch – why wouldn’t you?

“Most briefs you get on any given job will be generic and I believe that, if you have four creatives in one room and four creatives in another room, most of them, if not all of them, will have the same idea.”

One of the biggest gripes for agencies is pitching to clients, who subsequently share their ideas with a favoured agency that inevitably wins the account. It has become commonplace for a clients to want the whole package and that doesn’t necessarily come from just one agency.

Some clients target agencies that are good at coming up with the idea and others that are better at executing them, but does this mean sharing an idea with the incumbent agency is fair and ethical?

Copping added: “A client might like you but not like your work. The latest pitch we won was because the client thought ‘great team, good chemistry and the work was great’ – the other agency that pitched had great work as well but didn’t have the whole package – and credit to that client to tell us.

“There should be a system where all work is copyrighted. One agency actually copyrighted their own work before the pitch.”

Mounir Harfouche, CEO at Lowe MENA, said: “Many factors and coincidences happen. Sometimes agencies pitch and see their ideas executed by another agency.

“It has happened to Lowe and it’s frustrating, especially when the other agency executed our idea badly. It all depends on the RFP document we sign before accepting to pitch. Often the documents that we sign state everything we submit during the pitch becomes the propriety of the client. We usually challenge this and try to reject such a clause.”

While agencies might be reluctant to go against a client, it would also be a difficult one to prove, so how do you thwart the thieves who are steal-

ing the big ideas?

Lance de Masi, president of the International Advertising Association, says: “Every time I’m asked similar questions, it reinforces my belief that integrity is pretty much a matter of common sense.

“The basic premise here is that it’s unethical for clients to use something they don’t own. Full stop. In fact, depending on what is agreed between clients and agencies participating in a pitch, such use is illegal.

“In its Best Practice in the Pitch Process document, the IAA UAE chapter has recommended the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in pitches. The signing of an NDA or like document protects both parties against misappropriation of work and/or divulgation of confidential information. An NDA can be structured in any way to which both parties agree. Sometimes, however, misappropria-

The only way to combat this is through fairness and ethics. Clients should respect agencies’ work and efforts

Mounir Harfouche, CEO of Lowe MENA

tion or indiscretion can be hard to prove; but at least the NDA makes the possibility of legal action top of mind.

“The IAA does not monitor and regulate such instances. It is simply not within our remit. We have indicated best practice and called for voluntary adherence. Over 25 agencies and the ABG (Advertisers Business Group) have endorsed our pitching code. Compliance is a question of knowledge and, of course, courage.”

Harfouche adds: “The only way to combat this is fairness and ethics. Clients should respect agencies’ work and efforts. First of all, I believe that clients should pay a fee to the agencies that they are inviting to pitch. This will have a twofold effect: a financial declaration of intent will make the process more serious, while limiting to pitch process to a smaller number of more relevant agencies.

“Unfortunately, today, clients can invite as many agencies as they want, and get tonnes of great, integrated solutions and ideas from strategy to creative for free.

“I can’t say that agencies are always aware of the situation. Let’s not assume that agencies are stealing ideas. Sometimes, the winning agency is influenced by the client’s input and suggestions, which might be inspired by another agency’s proposal.

“I know that the IAA had many attempts and suggestions regarding the pitch process. Some of these failed because agencies did not respect the rules.

“My suggestions are a pitch fee paid to the pitching agency, work submitted at pitch to be copyrighted and owned by the agency and if the client wishes to buy any of the ideas presented, another fixed fee should be paid to the agency.

“If agencies have strong doubts about the integrity of the client, they should not even pitch for his business – and if they do they should assume full responsibility for the decision to pitch, if they know there is a risk.”

Rafic Kamaleddine, chief strategy office at TBWA/Raad, adds: “Falling victim to an idea that’s been stolen has happened to a lot of agencies at some point in varying degrees. Some will take an element of an existing ad and adapt it to suit their objectives – this is inevitable. Some will lift the ad as is – font, design, colour etc and put their name to it – this is a problem.

“At the RFP or presentation stage, an agency can stipulate that all ideas given in a pitch are their own property and cannot be used by other agencies. Clients, however, may not accept this approach.

“The debate over copyright laws has been going on a long time in this region, mostly in relation to music, images and technology. It is very difficult to copyright ads; a concept or taglines can be copyrighted but an ad may be similar yet not identical to another ad. Honestly, it depends on the client you are pitching for and how much you want them or whether you are willing to run that risk.”