What does... "Chemistry Meeting" actually mean?

How annoyed we were back then when pitches suddenly filled our everyday lives at the beginning of the 90s. When contracts were no longer awarded on the basis of sympathy or gut instinct, but through agency evaluation or tendering. "We're pitching" was suddenly the motto and no longer "I've got a good feeling" - this not only sounded more contemporary, but also signaled the end of coziness. It was a time when increased interaction with English-speaking markets meant that bankers became bankers and many Swiss technical terms and customs were replaced by Anglo-Saxon ones. The marketing and advertising industry is known to be particularly susceptible to Anglicisms. Chemistry Meeting" is no exception. Agencies offer it, including an integrated tool for booking an appointment for it. Well-intentioned - but in the end, it is the clients who have to request such a meeting, ideally instead of a pitch, worst case following a pitch. These already involve enough work for little or no money. For some time now, the aim of pitches seems to be to get as many ideas presented as possible, only to then not know what you actually want. Most likely a mix of everything good, but that doesn't work, so in the end the same people always win. Either those with the best relationships with the decision-makers or those with the lowest prices. It really used to be easier and less of a business waste. Back then, when customers still had a "good feeling".

When the chemistry is right

Perhaps a chemistry meeting will actually help us to get there again. The aim of such a meeting is to give the parties and people involved the opportunity to get to know each other and to check the interpersonal chemistry and determine whether there is a good personal and cultural match ("guez Gfühl" or "cultural fit"), which is the basis of any successful collaboration. The more insecure and incompetent the client, the greater the number of agencies that are invited to pitch. The more self-confident and courageous the client, the smaller the selection and the greater the chance that they will choose the chemistry meeting route.

But chemistry? Wasn't that the subject we all failed to pay attention to at school? The word comes from the ancient Greek "χημεία" (chēmeía) and actually refers to the science that deals with the properties, composition and transformations of substances.

What the hell does that have to do with an agency evaluation? Awarding a budget of millions (if they even still exist) on the basis of a one-hour meeting? One that could possibly only take place online? No. But it would be very simple. By getting people from the client and the agency together, who should then effectively do the work together and solve a task together at such a meeting. That way, each side can feel what makes the other tick. How briefings are formulated and understood, how problems are recognized and solved. A task that is not known in advance, but is set during the meeting. Once from the client to the agency. And vice versa.

After all, chemistry is also the study of substances and the chemical reactions that transform them into new substances. At a meeting like this, it quickly becomes clear whether these new substances are any good or just produce smoke. So instead of just exchanging pleasantries and bragging at the Chemistry Meeting, let's try some real work. It's worth it. And saves work. And money. But it takes courage. And that is urgently needed, if you look at the soft-pedaled results of the agencies evaluated through pitches.

* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.

This article originally appeared on markt-kom.com - https://www.markt-kom.com/de/markom/was-bedeutet-eigentlich-chemistry-meeting/