Pitch, Pray, Repeat - The PR Industry's broken cycle

PR at its core is storytelling, relationship-building, and reputation management all of which rely heavily on intellectual labor.

In nearly every other service industry law, design, consulting or architecture. Early-stage thinking is valued and billed for. Discovery sessions, idea workshops, or exploratory consultations are compensated for. But in PR, the pitch has somehow become a free product.

In the world of public relations and brand communication consulting, pitching  to a potential client is a major part of the process. Over years, it has evolved from sharing credentials into something much more demanding. The norm is sharing a detailed deck with research, industry statistics, multiple ideas that display the team creativity, along with proper media planning. This means days of unpaid strategic thinking and campaign ideation.

The reality? Most of these pitches are not even acknowledged, far from being compensated.

The Unspoken Norm in PR

For agencies and consultants, preparing a new business pitch today often feels like doing half the job before the job even begins. It’s no longer just about showcasing capability. It is about creating customised narratives, researching the brand’s positioning, aligning with the founders’ vision, and sometimes even outlining an entire launch strategy.

All of this is offered upfront, in the hope that a contract might follow.

And yet, in many cases, the only response is radio silence.

Why pitching Methods needs rethinking

In nearly every other service industry law, design, consulting or architecture. Early-stage thinking is valued and billed for. Discovery sessions, idea workshops, or exploratory consultations are compensated for.

But in PR, the pitch has somehow become a free product. Agencies are expected to hand over ideas without any assurance of future engagement. That creates a system where time, creativity, and strategic thinking are repeatedly invested with no return and most times, no feedback.

Even more concerning is when these elements of a pitch resurface in a brand’s campaign or messaging later, whether executed internally or with another partner is a quiet but recurring pattern.

Building a case for a pitch fee or drawing clear boundaries

This is not a call to stop pitching. It is a call to value the intellectual capital behind every pitch. A call to consider evolving the norms of the industry in small but meaningful ways.

Some solutions worth could be worth exploring:

●      Charging a nominal strategy fee for customized pitches that can be refunded or adjusted in bills upon signing of a contract

●      Staging the pitch offering credentials first, followed by deeper strategy only after mutual interest and budgets are confirmed

●      Clearly outlining IP and usage rights for any original ideas shared by the agency in question

These steps are not about being rigid. They are about setting clear expectations and preserving the value of strategic thinking that PR professionals learn over years.

Respecting the craft

Public Relations is often misunderstood as a profession that is based on pure execution. However, PR at its core is storytelling, relationship-building, and reputation management  all of which rely heavily on intellectual labor.

The time, research, and insight that goes into crafting a solid pitch deserves acknowledgment if not in fees, then at least in feedback.

And at the very least, the silence needs to stop. Offering closure is not merely a formality rather a matter of professional courtesy, mutual respect, and basic ethical conduct. It acknowledges the effort and time invested, upholds industry standards, and promotes a culture where strategies and creativity is valued, not taken for granted.