18 THE AGENCY THAT SAID “NO”

“Would you like to pitch for the Bacardi account?” It’s a question that just about every advertising agency would surely like to hear. And if you were a relatively new agency it would be music to your ears, wouldn’t it? The opportunity to pitch for a £7-8 million blue-chip account must be a chance too good to miss.

So it came as something of a surprise to Bacardi when the fledgling agency HHCL+Partners said no. There were no conflicts and the agency wasn’t anti-alcohol or tee-total, yet despite being asked again HHCL continued to say no.

Based on a set of principles and the reputation of its founders, HHCL had been established in 1986 and soon established a name for itself as an agency that created distinctive and provocative advertising. One of those principles was that, as a small agency, it would close for new business if it felt it was growing so fast that it needed to “bed down” new clients and recruit new staff. It didn’t want to over-stretch itself. It didn’t want to over-promise and under-deliver.

The Bacardi call came during one of these periods and, even though they were sorely tempted, HHCL stuck to its principles and continued to say no. It turned its back on the chance to pitch for a highly prestigious and valuable account. It was unusual behaviour for an agency.

David Webey,the Bacardi client, was surprised but impressed. “If that’s the level of service your current clients get, I want to be one.”

Six months later, when HHCL had reopened its doors for new business, it was given another of the company’s brands, Martini, without a pitch, and David Webey became a client.

And the moral is that a principle isn’t a principle until it costs you money (but in the long run, remember that it will probably make you money). What are the principles to which your brand will stay true, even when tempted to do otherwise?