Earlier this week, the Current Network used Twitter to announce that they are looking for a new ad agency. Since Jordan Kretchmer (@jkretch) posted this simple tweet on Thursday morning, he has been inundated by agencies all over the country:

This is a TwitteRFP for The Current Network. Searching for a full service ad agency partner. http://twerbose.com/t7702

I am one degree separated from Jordan on Twitter and received this RT very quickly. While sitting in another client meeting in San Jose, I was able to respond to this RFP in real time. How cool is that?

I am sure that some will call the TwitteRFP a gimmicky way to bring attention to the Current Network and its selection process. Here’s why I think it’s the coolest RFP process we’ve ever been a part of.

1. The TwitterRFP is open and transparent. There are no games being played ‘behind the scenes.’ Everyone sees the tactics and strategies of each agency. Not only is this a blast to watch a be a part of, but it also keeps every honest on their toes and enables you to adjust your tactics as you go. It’s like that real time feedback that ran during the last presidential debate.
2. The process is self-selecting. Current is looking for a nimble agency that can move at the speed of culture. Small agencies think and act quickly and new business tends to be handled by a small and contained group of people. A larger organization is forced go through layers of process before responding to any RFP. Only the nimblest of agencies can respond quickly enough to the TwitterRFP and that is exactly what Current needs.
3. Current’s RFP is fast and straightforward. A traditional RFP and ensuing pitch process are incredibly costly and inefficient for agencies. In an economy like this, it can be deadly. True, it can be exhilarating when you win, but more often than not, you feel like you’ve spun your wheels and spent a lot of money to get nowhere. The Current RFP is moving at the speed of the internet, which it should.
4. Current has made the process about using small ideas to activate crowds and ignite conversation. The media landscape is fragmented beyond recognition. Marketers need to find a way to weave creative ideas into our digital lives. Current doesn’t need a big, controlled, epic storylaid gingerly atop mass media. They need small, liquid ideas that ignite conversation and move quickly through social networks.

As of the time this was written, EVB is on Current’s short list of agencies. We have no idea if we will stay there come Monday night when they make the final decision. We are monitoring Jordan’s Twitter conversations constantly and have a few tricks up our sleeves to stay part of the conversation.

It will be interesting to watch what happens next. I have a feeling that Monday is going to be pretty nuts and Jordan is going to have his hands full as the concentric circles of retweets take the RFP out to outer circles of Twitter and beyond. There is no reason why hundreds of agencies, big and small, around the world, wouldn’t reply to this RFP.

The RFP process is in desperate need of an overhaul. I am not sure if Twitter is the right answer for everything, but it definitely beats the slow and costly “traditional” process. Jordan has a agency background and it sounds like he has been through a few “death march” pitches. It’ll take more folks like him on the client side before we start to see some momentum in the right direction.

Having worked on new business at EVB for 8 ½ years, I can honestly say this is the most interesting and exhilarating RFP that we’ve been part of. I just hope the pitch process will be as unconventional as the RFP process. What will Current do as their encore?

Daniel