We Lost a Pitch, and It Was Beautiful.

It happens. You lose a pitch for a potential new project. It’s not that unusual in the creative field. Oftentimes, you find yourself on the winning side of an agency selection decision; sometimes you don’t. It’s a part of the process.

We lost a pitch last week—and what happened afterwards was beautiful.

As a purpose-driven agency, Briteweb is dedicated to partnering with diverse organizations working to advance social good locally and around the globe. We have a compassionate team who is energized by the tough challenges that our client partners face. Sometimes, an opportunity presents itself to work on a cause that you’re especially passionate about.

As a former DACA recipient who spent the entirety of his youth and early adulthood in the United States, immigration is one of a few topics that speaks loudest to me. It’s deeply personal. Even now, as a person living in Canada, outside of the country that raised me, I volunteer my time and resources to a support network for relocated immigrant youth.

As a creative director, I’m often asked to join conversations about new business opportunities for Briteweb. When this RFP for a project about immigration in the U.S. came to us, I raised my hand to support our proposal effort.

My team was proud and supportive as I connected the personal to the political and made a case for why Briteweb was uniquely positioned to be the trusted creative agency for this organization. After a process that took several months, it came down to two agencies. The prospective client partner was grateful for our time, and complimentary about our capabilities, our thinking and our approach. It was a tough decision. In the end, we lost that pitch.

When it came time to share this news with me, our team reached out and showered me with Slack messages of support. It was heart emojis of all shapes and colours. It was a truly empathetic response to what my team had identified could be especially upsetting for me. They rallied around me. They protected my energy. It was beautiful.

Although my team was concerned that this decision would affect me more than any other member of our team, the truth is that it didn’t. But, it taught me a few things about who I work with: one, they’re incredible humans who care deeply about putting people first and two, our team of strategists, designers, writers, and web developers are absolutely ready for this work. Briteweb is prepared to partner with a non-profit or NGO in the immigration sector.

If you or your team is looking for an agency to partner with, our submission forms are open. We’re ready to do the work.

With gratitude,

Rodrigo Calderon