The end of relationship-led pitches? Consulting firms tighten grip on media reviews

The process of selecting advertising agencies in India is undergoing a structural shift, with global consulting firms increasingly becoming key decision-makers in some of the country's biggest media reviews. What was once a relationship-driven exercise between marketers and agencies has evolved into a highly structured, procurement-led process where independent consultants evaluate everything from commercial proposals and pricing benchmarks to governance frameworks and technology capabilities.

The trend became more visible when more than ₹2,000 crore worth of media business were up for review. Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Dabur and Lenskart were among the major advertisers reassessing their media partnerships, while recent agency reviews at TVS Motor Company, Raymond, L'Oréal and Godrej Consumer Products have also involved consulting firms such as A.T. Kearney, Deloitte, PwC and Ebiquity.

Industry executives say consultant-led pitches, once the preserve of multinational corporations, are now finding favour with Indian conglomerates and even mid-sized advertisers. Several executives told e4m that smaller brands have also begun exploring external advisors to bring greater transparency and commercial discipline to agency appointments.

The shift reflects the growing complexity of media buying. As advertising budgets move across television, digital, retail media, connected TV, commerce platforms and influencer ecosystems, evaluating agency proposals has become far more complicated than comparing manpower costs or commission structures.

"The role of consultants is no longer limited to facilitating the pitch," said a senior executive at a leading media agency, requesting anonymity. "They are increasingly influencing the commercial architecture of agency relationships. Pricing models, technology capabilities, governance mechanisms and benchmarking now receive as much attention as strategic thinking."

Media pitches see consultants take centre stage

Unlike creative reviews, where ideas and campaigns remain the primary focus, media pitches today revolve around pricing transparency, commercial benchmarking and measurable efficiencies. That has made consultants far more relevant in media agency evaluations than in creative mandates.

Shashi Sinha, former Strategic Advisor at Omnicom Media India, believes advertisers primarily appoint consultants because they provide both independent benchmarking and credibility to the process.

"Companies typically appoint external consultants because specialist firms have stronger benchmarking capabilities and can compare pricing across markets more effectively," Sinha said. "Their involvement also lends neutrality to the process by ensuring agencies are evaluated at arm's length and on an equal footing."

Sinha, however, believes consultants' expertise is largely confined to commercial evaluation rather than strategic assessment.

"In my view, their focus remains overwhelmingly on rates, pricing and benchmarking. Although they may examine other aspects of the pitch, I am not convinced that strategy is their core strength. Their presence in creative agency evaluations remains relatively limited," he said.

Several marketers agree that the growing role of consultants is less about replacing marketing teams and more about helping procurement navigate an increasingly sophisticated media ecosystem.

A chief marketing officer at a leading consumer goods company, speaking on condition of anonymity, said today's media investments are too fragmented for internal teams to benchmark independently.

"The scale and complexity of media investments today make it difficult for internal teams to benchmark every commercial proposal. Consultants provide an external reference point and help validate whether agencies are offering competitive market rates. It also gives procurement greater confidence in the outcome," the executive said.

Another brand head at a leading automotive company said consultant-led evaluations also help eliminate perceptions of bias, particularly in reviews involving incumbent agencies.

"Consultants ensure that everyone is measured against the same scorecard. That transparency gives management confidence that the process has been conducted fairly and makes the final decision easier to defend internally," the executive said.

 Fairness comes at the cost of longer pitch cycles

 While brands welcome the added governance, agencies say the increasing involvement of consultants has significantly lengthened pitch timelines.

 Industry executives estimate that reviews which once concluded within three months now frequently stretch to six months or longer because of multiple rounds of benchmarking, commercial negotiations, capability assessments and governance reviews.

Sandeep Goyal, Chairman of Rediffusion, believes consultants have played an important role in ensuring neutrality during agency appointments.

"The most important reason for bringing in consultants is to ensure a level playing field. An incumbent agency may enjoy a comfortable relationship with the client, which can disadvantage new entrants. Equally, an incumbent may lose favour for reasons unrelated to performance. A consultant helps ensure fair play," he said.

However, Goyal questioned whether consulting firms possess sufficient advertising expertise to evaluate strategic capabilities.

"Most consultants don't actually understand advertising. The junior members they send have impressive degrees but often little domain knowledge. They become traffic controllers rather than value creators," he said.

 Procurement is redefining agency selection

Industry executives say consultant-led evaluations also reflect the growing influence of procurement teams in marketing decisions.

Earlier, agency fees were often benchmarked using manpower costs and traditional commercial models. Today, agencies are expected to demonstrate capabilities across artificial intelligence, data analytics, technology platforms, retail media, measurement systems and automation, making evaluations considerably more technical.

"The discussion is no longer just about who has the best strategy," said another senior brand executive, requesting anonymity. "Agencies are now evaluated on technology, governance, data capabilities and commercial efficiency. Procurement wants objective validation across all these parameters."

Naresh Gupta, Co-founder of Bang In The Middle, believes this reflects a broader commoditisation of agency pitches.

"Agency pitches are probably the most commoditised process in the industry. Agencies are expected to deliver everything with no guarantee of reward. At the same time, the marketing ecosystem has become so complex that many clients can no longer evaluate proposals on their own, creating space for consultants to step in," Gupta said.

He believes consultants are gradually evolving beyond advisors into marketing service providers themselves, fundamentally changing the dynamics of agency selection. 

Trend likely to continue, but adoption may remain selective 

Despite the growing reliance on consultants, industry executives do not expect every advertiser to adopt the model. 

Rahul Vengalil, Co-founder and CEO of tgthr, said consultant-led pitches undoubtedly make the evaluation process more transparent but also add significant time and cost. 

"The biggest advantage is that consultants create a level playing field by defining evaluation criteria upfront and ensuring every agency is assessed against the same parameters," Vengalil said. 

"The downside is that the process becomes far more structured and therefore considerably longer."

He added that the high fees charged by global consulting firms mean the model is likely to remain confined to large corporations and Fortune 500 companies. 

"Large consulting firms charge significant fees for managing these assignments. For most mid-sized or smaller advertisers, the cost may outweigh the benefits, making widespread adoption unlikely in the near term," he said. 

Even so, with media mandates worth more than thousands of crore going under review and procurement teams playing an increasingly influential role in marketing decisions, consultants are fast becoming indispensable to India's advertising ecosystem.  

As agency rosters become more integrated and competition narrows to a handful of global networks, industry observers expect consultant-led pitches to become the default model for marquee media accounts, even if that means longer and more process-intensive evaluations.