Q: I was hired to do a quick job for a small agency, and I got the below e-mail from them. (Don’t you love the typo in the greeting?)
Dear perspective copy writers:
_________ is seeking bids for copy writing assistance when building business identities. In all situations (except #4, tag lines) _______ will work with the client to draft an outline. We will count on the expertise of a copywriter to refine and strengthen the copy.
_______’s potential clients range from pro sports teams to small startups and everything in between.
If you are interested in offering your services please submit a separate bid for the following:
1. Vision statement – A business’s guiding image of success. It is a statement that elicits a visual image of the company’s destination.
2. Positioning statement – An internal document used as a guideline for judging the appropriateness of all marketing programs.
3. Mission statement – A business’s guiding principles that state their goals, values and direction. It defines the overall plan.
4. Tag Lines – A single statement that creates a first impression. (We will require a list of up to 20 tag lines).
I asked for clarification on what they’d like to see in the bid (Estimate of charges? My process in coming up with the items requested?), and I got a vague e-mail back that said, “Always assume about 4 rounds of changes. Your job is to enhance supplied copy.” Nothing else.
I’m still not quite sure what to give them. I’m not against doing a little work to send them a bid, I guess, if it lands me the job, but I don’t really know what I’m supposed to send here! Am I an idiot, or should “bid requests” be somewhat clear?
A: This is one reason I don’t like working with ad agencies. I think it’s way too vague. My questions would be: How much source material or meetings or background reading will be needed to create one of these? There’s no such thing as a “typical” ANYthing. In the case of the positioning statement, again their description implies that everyone knows exactly how long a “typical” positioning statement should be.
It sounds like they’re looking for cheap creative labor. Given that they just want you to review what is already written or offer “up to 20 tag lines,” they’re hoping that they might get lucky with someone. I’m guessing they’d hire several writers on each project and see what comes up (I could be wrong), but I know a large corporation that used to do that—they had enough money to hire a bunch of agencies who, in turn, would hire a bunch of writers (cheap, of course) and maybe some of the mud thrown up against the wall would stick.
I’d ask for clarification, and don’t let them bully you. Tell them that different terms can mean different things and have different parameters to different clients. What are THEIR parameters? If they balk or act irritated, walk. It’s not worth it.
AND, at the risk of contradicting myself, there’s no rule saying you shouldn’t work for them because of this. Might be an interesting learning experience and if you ultimately don’t care too much about the outcome (a good place to be), you’ll have less stress and anxiety throughout the process. As long as it doesn’t take you away from better paying work.