Do Not Conduct "Agency Pitching" Like The Lord of the Waters Bid For A Bride.

In the heat of “biz-hunting” season, one can’t help but recall the legend of Thuy Tinh’s failed proposal. The thought stirs a wave of sympathy - to “expose” King Hung, “shade” Son Tinh, and “clear the name” of Thuy Tinh - the one who lost in an unfair contest. Because, in today’s world of pitching, many Agencies are still going to battle with Thuy Tinh’s spirit: pouring all their might into raising the tides, without realizing what they’re really fighting for.

The Courage to Choose the Right Battleground

Pitching is a contest of strategy - a Brand’s call for Agencies to compete on communication plans or creative ideas under the same brief, with equal time and information. Those who pass the first round (Agency Credential) are invited into battle, where each must ask: Do we truly want to walk with this brand? Do we have the strength and fit to solve this brief? Or are we just joining for the sake of showing up?

Sadly, few Agencies “wake up” early enough to step back. Most charge forward, determined to win, sometimes merely to prove they’re in the game.

But pitching is no place for those burned out by workload, nor for leaders without fire. A pitch leader needs courage, not recklessness - the courage to choose the right battleground, to discern which wars are worth fighting, and which only drain the spirit.

An Agency that fights everywhere fights blindly; one that fights on others’ command fights for hire. Entering pitches without one’s own sense of purpose - that’s losing from the start.

The Courage to Choose the Right Challenge

A pitch is as tempting as a freshly baked cake - everyone wants a piece of the best slice. That’s why the contest exists: for the brand to find who truly deserves it through genuine competition.

Just like King Hung’s legendary challenge for Mị Nương’s hand - without the “elephant with nine tusks, rooster with nine spurs, and horse with nine red manes,” would the story have been worth retelling? A pitch without challenge is as dull as a meaningless ceremony.

Yet many agencies still rush into every invitation: pitching brochures, leaflets, layouts - anything, regardless of scale or strategy. Win or lose, the gain is often meager; the loss, exhausting.

True leadership lies in selecting the right brief to fight for. Among countless opportunities, choose those that illuminate your agency’s integrity and value, not the ones that merely burn creative energy into thin air.

The Courage to Pave the Way to Victory

They say: “Pitching is about the journey, not the destination.”

But let’s be honest - winning feels better than losing.

A great agency knows how to win: by capability, strategy, and instinct. Even winning through “lobbying” can be a skill - when it’s grounded in understanding and connection.

Son Tinh didn’t win by luck. He won because he chose his game, cleared the path, and hit the right points. Thuy Tinh, though strong, was merely trying to fill the gap with brute force — a fight without direction.

So don’t pitch like Thuy Tinh proposed - hunting with emotion, flooding the field without a plan.

Pitch like Son Tinh - with strategy, structure, and foresight.

Winning by The Other Way ARound

Over time, pitching has become part of the agency Work Routine - a ritual seen as proof of capability and dedication. Everyone wants to win, to claim the peak and so the “rising waters” keep coming, wave after wave, draining everyone along the way.

But what if we reverse the flow?

What if you could win without raising the tide?

Thuy Tinh’s mistake wasn’t weakness, it was reinforcing his position instead of reinventing it.

The water was already high; he should have pulled it back - to reveal which lands were truly worth keeping, which battles truly worth fighting.

In this marcom field, courage isn’t measured by how many pitches you’ve joined, but by how many you’ve chosen not to. Some pitches deserve your full climb beside Son Tinh; others deserve just your quiet smile before you turn away, not out of fear, but out of wisdom.

True victory doesn’t come from the highest tide, but from the moment you know when to let it fall.

Don’t pitch like Thuy Tinh proposed - pouring everything into a game that was never yours to win.