UMA Media Pitch Monitor 2025: Media Pitches cost Belgian Media Agencies over €5.11 Million

UMA) has published the results of its updated UMA Media Pitch Monitor 2025. Based on detailed time-tracking across individual pitches by UMA’s nine largest member groups (representing 14 media agencies), the quantitative findings demonstrate that pitching remains a massive financial and operational investment for media agencies in Belgium.In 2025, UMA agencies logged 40,770 hours across 58 reported media pitches. This equates to nearly 24 full-time equivalents (23.9 FTE), or 2.5% of the total workforce of the participating members.

Applying an average hourly cost of €125.40 (indexed from 2024), the total investment reached €5,112,000.

Total Pitches Reported: 58 (36 local Belgian market pitches)
Agency Participations: 137
Average Participants Per Pitch: 2.4 agencies
Average Cost Per Participation: €37,317
Pitches Involving an Auditor: 41%
Pitches Offering Pitch Compensation: 9%

Of the 137 participations, 64% were for local pitches (87 cases), while 36% involved international pitches (50 cases). Even in international pitches, local media teams frequently contributed significant resources—38 of the 50 international pitches were co-managed locally.

Local Pitches: 29,896 hours (73% of total hours), representing €3.75 million in agency costs (averaging €43,091 per entry).
International Pitches: 10,874 hours (27% of total hours), representing €1.36 million in agency costs.

Despite the heavy investment, only 9% of pitches provided pitch compensation (pitch fees). Total compensation collected across the market reached barely €50,000—covering less than 1% of the total costs incurred by agencies.

The Top 10 Pitches Consumed Three-Quarters of Total Hours

A major finding of the 2025 monitor is the extreme concentration of effort at the top:

The 10 largest media pitches alone consumed 30,453 hours (74.7% of all recorded hours), totaling €3,818,000.
The average cost per pitch entry jumped to €84,800, with an average of 4.5 competing agencies per review.
Among the heaviest reviews in 2025 were the tenders for the National Lottery (7,768 hours) and the Flemish Region (4,472 hours).
60% of these top 10 pitches involved an auditor, and 40% offered pitch compensation.

Best Practices: Pitching as a Measure of Last Resort

Beyond the financial metrics, the UMA Pitch Monitor evaluated the pitch process maturity of advertisers—particularly compliance with the Agency Pitch Charter co-signed by UBA, ACC, and UMA—as well as collaboration with pitch auditors.

“We recommend addressing and resolving potential issues directly with your existing agency and launching a pitch only when the relationship has truly deteriorated. A pitch is an inherently demanding exercise, followed by an onboarding phase that can last many months and absorbs immense energy on both sides, driving costs up even further.”

— François Chaudoir, UMA