Sector Wide Imposter Syndrome

At the latest Blutui Founders’ Circle session, one theme dominated the discussion: agencies are undervaluing their own expertise.

Agencies are more than suppliers of campaigns, websites, or digital assets. At their best, they are trusted advisors on creativity, culture, and artistic appropriateness. They shape stories that resonate, interpret cultural signals, and deliver work that has both commercial impact and lasting meaning. That is where their true value lies.

The pitch environment trap

Session participants agreed that in competitive pitches, agencies often second guess themselves. Instead of standing firm on their worth, they undercut fees, promise extras at no charge, or give away ideas in the hope of winning the business. This behaviour is almost automatic in highly competitive environments, even where the would-be client hasn’t yet asked for discounts, they’ve already been offered.

Free pitching exacerbates the problem

The practice of free pitching came up as a major concern. Many agencies deliver work before a contract is signed, normalising the expectation that ideas and strategies are free. The combined effect of discounting and free pitching is a downward value spiral: agencies erode their own margins, devalue their expertise, and weaken the industry standard.

The cost of undervaluing

The consequences are clear:

• Creative work suffers under tight margins.

• Teams are stretched thin and morale drops.

• Clients may benefit short term, but the long-term strategic partnership is compromised.

Founders in the Circle agreed that this is not a sustainable model. When agencies undervalue their judgment and craft, they undermine the very reason clients hire them in the first place.

Protecting agency value

The session highlighted the need to:

• Stand firm on fees and value propositions in pitches.

• Push back on requests for free work or excessive “extras.”

• Document, value and agree scopes of work and negotiate accordingly.

• Emphasise the agency’s expertise in creativity, cultural insight, and artistic appropriateness.

• Treat experience and critical thinking as core differentiators that cannot be commoditised.

The takeaway from the Founders’ Circle was unanimous: agencies must recognise and defend their value. Creativity, craft, and judgment are what make an agency indispensable. Undervaluing these qualities may win a short-term project, but it damages the business and the industry in the long run.