Losing the Pitch Due to Lack of Data and Winning It Back with Strategy

Scenario

A creative advertising agency was invited to pitch for a major hotel chain with over 40 properties nationwide. The team put together a visually striking proposal with strong campaign concepts and well-produced assets. The agency had a solid reputation, but that alone wasn’t enough.

Problem

During the pitch presentation, a competing agency stood out by taking a different approach: they brought real market data, highlighted key pain points voiced by customers of the brand and its competitors, showed online perceptions of each property across TripAdvisor and social media, and proposed actions based on facts, not just creative ideas.

Their proposal demonstrated a deep understanding of the consumer, the market, and behavioral trends, exactly what the client was looking for.

Despite the visual quality of its work, the agency lost the pitch because it lacked the strategic data to back up its proposal.

This loss served as a wake-up call. Leadership realized that creativity alone was no longer enough. It was time to deliver communication strategies grounded in real consumer insights.

How Yellow Tokens Helped the Agency Reposition Itself

Following that experience, the agency implemented Yellow Tokens into its proposal and campaign development process.

They began registering potential clients and their competitors on the platform even before starting a pitch. In just a few clicks, they were able to access spontaneous consumer feedback, identify common complaints and praises, and uncover key expectations, along with NPS and CSAT scores by company.

These insights began guiding not only the agency’s commercial narratives but also its creative concepts. The messaging stopped being generic and became strategic and tailored to real audience perception.

Results After Implementing Yellow Tokens

In subsequent pitches, the agency began winning more often. Instead of just showcasing visuals, it delivered brand diagnostics, positioning maps against competitors, and strategic recommendations backed by data. This repositioned the agency as a communication consultancy with analytical depth, increasing its perceived value.

The impact was clear: higher pitch win rates, increased average contract value, and a stronger reputation among major brands seeking strategic partners, not just creative vendors.