Year-over-year pitch activity from 2023 to 2024 is up 15%, according to a Listenmore report, which also notes that indies continue to punch above their weight.

The Canadian Agency Pitch Report, which details agency pitch activity during the previous year, delineates between creative AOR, media, digital, diversity and PR pitches, and identifies corporations by name and industry vertical, as well as winning agencies for the year. Its goal is to provide the marketing community and Canadian agencies with an overview of the buoyancy of the Canadian agency pitch market and active versus less active sectors.

The 2024 15% upswing in pitch activity is part of a continued trend, particularly following the record-breaking 195% increase in 2022, Stephan Argent, Listenmore founder and CEO, tells strategy. The report also found the most active pitch sectors in 2024 were government, retail, CPG, and tech/online. The bottom of the list include hospitality (zero for both 2024 and 2023), cosmetics, B2B and telecommunications.

Argent adds that with fewer options for telco in the Canadian market, it’s unrealistic to expect a large number.

Other key findings include: independent agencies continue to outperform the Big Six – Omnicom, WPP, Dentsu, Havas, IPG and Publicis – securing a 53.4% overall market share.

Media pitches also experienced a “significant boost” with a 38% increase in activity.

According to Esther Benzie, a longtime senior Procter & Gamble and CIBC marketer, and senior consultant at Listenmore, even with the most modest improvement in economic conditions, it expects this trend to persist into 2025, “particularly as AI-driven solutions continue to redefine agency and marketer responsibilities.”