How to compare marketing proposals

Quick answer

Marketing proposals often look comparable because they share headings. Underneath, one may include strategy, production, media, tracking, and senior review while another assumes those tasks belong to you. Convert every response into the same comparison structure before judging price or presentation.

Reconfirm the decision

Write the result the business is buying and the evidence that will help you judge it. If proposals solve different versions of the problem, return to the brief before scoring. Ask bidders to state assumptions rather than quietly filling gaps.

Decide which criteria are pass or fail. Account ownership, data access, a required launch window, bilingual capability, or sector licensing may matter more than a weighted creative score.

Build the comparison sheet

• Problem diagnosis and the questions the agency wants to answer.
• Proposed approach and why each channel or deliverable is present.
• Named team, seniority, allocation, and specialist partners.
• Deliverables, quantities, formats, frequency, and revision rules.
• Responsibilities, dependencies, approval times, and exclusions.
• Tracking, reporting, learning cadence, and commercial outcomes.
• Fees, media, production, software, third parties, VAT, and optional costs.
• Contract term, notice, asset ownership, access, and handover.

Score evidence, not confidence

Ask for one relevant example and examine what the team actually controlled. Strong evidence explains the context, constraints, decisions, and limits of the result. A confident presenter, large audience figure, or recognised client name is not the same as a reliable working method.

Record questions and answers in the sheet so the final decision does not depend on memory. When an answer changes the scope, ask for a written revision.

Model the total working cost

Add the work expected from your team, missing production, tracking repair, platform or technology fees, and optional items likely to become necessary. Consider the cost of delay when approvals, recruitment, or fragmented suppliers create dependencies.

Decision checklist

• Are all bidders solving the same written problem?
• Have inclusions, exclusions, and assumptions been normalised?
• Is the working team clear after the pitch ends?
• Do you retain access to accounts, data, and source files?
• Does measurement connect to a business action?
• Can you explain the choice without referring to the document’s polish?

Hold a decision review

Ask the internal decision group to identify the strongest reason for and against each finalist before discussing preference. This surfaces hidden risks and makes the final trade-off explicit.