Rethinking Intermediaries: A Transparent Alternative for Agencies

The recent Campaign feature – Decent value exchange or dodgy inside job? – highlights a long-standing issue in the agency world: the reliance on pitch intermediaries whose methods often prove more costly than constructive. Their practices are characterised by hidden fees, genericised processes, and an opaque culture that reduces agency participation to little more than a lottery. For many senior leaders, this amounts not only to wasted time but also to an erosion of brand equity and strategic focus.

At Rainmaker, we advocate a different path. We believe agencies should be empowered to engage directly with the brands they most aspire to work with – in a transparent, meritocratic, and mutually beneficial manner.

Our approach begins by working with agencies to define and articulate the distinctive qualities that give their brand its “soul.” From there, we initiate one-to-one engagement with carefully selected brands, ensuring that the agency’s story is told authentically and in alignment with the prospective client’s unique challenges.

Unlike intermediary-led processes, our model is free of conflicts, closed rosters, or hidden agendas. Instead, it is based on a clear commercial logic: when the capabilities of an agency match the needs of a brand, both sides should have the opportunity to collaborate.

Every outreach we design is research-driven, highly personalised, and presented as the agency itself – never as a middleman. This results in fewer wasted pitches and far more meaningful conversations that translate into timely and sustainable partnerships.

For agencies seeking to replace chance with strategy, opacity with transparency, and inefficiency with meaningful engagement, Rainmaker offers a proven alternative. We would be delighted to demonstrate how this approach can transform your new business efforts.