TrinityP3 has rebuilt its long-running Agency Register with new AI capability, designed to support the growing number of marketers running their own pitch processes.
The new platform, available by monthly or annual subscription, allows users to search for best-fit agencies across creative, media, PR, social, design and other disciplines, while keeping track of changes in the fast-moving agency marketplace.
TrinityP3 founder and global CEO Darren Woolley told Mediaweek the upgrade marks the latest evolution in a system that’s been central to the consultancy’s pitch work for almost two decades.
“Back in 2007, when I started in 2000, agencies were still sending documents on VHS and DVD. It was all very tactile – you’d get hundreds of beautifully bound and printed materials, and I’d store them away, but could never find what I needed,” he said.
“So, I decided to build a database that agencies could fill in themselves. I’d then review and verify the information they provided. Over time, that database became an incredibly dynamic and useful tool.”
Smarter, faster, more accessible
Woolley said the enhanced AI feature opens up that same intelligence to a wider pool of marketers and procurement teams.
“There are literally thousands of agencies,” he said. “We’ve cleaned out a lot that have closed down or merged, but there are still thousands across creative, media, brand, research, and experiential.
“When we conducted the State of the Pitch research, it became clear that while many people focus on pitch consultants, consultants actually manage fewer than 20% of all reported pitches.”
“In Australia, unlike the UK or US, 80% of pitches are run by marketers and procurement teams,” Woolley continued.
“It seemed crazy that 80% of activity didn’t have access to the data we’d been building for ourselves. That’s what sparked the idea of making the Agency Register available to marketers.”
According to Woolley, the AI update allows users to make natural-language searches without needing database training. “Now, a marketer can type something like ‘I’m looking for a creative agency in Adelaide with retail experience,’ and the AI will search the database, match and rank the best fits, and generate a report for each one.”
Protecting commercial sensitivity
With more agencies concerned about competitive data sharing, TrinityP3’s AI system has been built to protect confidentiality while delivering useful insights.
“A lot of agencies are cautious because it’s such a competitive market,” Woolley said.
“Most won’t publish a list of their clients on their websites – they worry competitors could target those clients. It’s the same with key personnel. We do ask for that information, but we keep it confidential.”
He said the system uses that data to inform AI recommendations without revealing sensitive details.
“For instance, very few agencies will tell you their exact staff numbers. We collect that information and use it to categorise them – boutique, medium, large, or very large. It means users can search for a ‘small to medium media agency’ instead of needing to specify headcounts.”
A people-first approach in an AI world
While AI plays a major role in the new platform, Woolley said the goal isn’t to replace human relationships – it’s to make them easier to build.
“The goal is to increase opportunities for agencies,” he said.
“I’ve been speaking to agencies in the UK and US where some pitches now have no human interaction – everything happens through a portal. That’s growing, but my view is that advertising is still a people business. Chemistry can outweigh capability.”
He added that the new tool helps accelerate the process, not automate it entirely.
“If a marketer starts with eight agencies, maybe only a few are a good fit. AI can help match needs to capabilities more accurately, so you might start with three or four that are genuinely the right match. That saves time and resources for both sides,” he explained.
Woolley said the goal is to help marketers approach pitches with more precision.
“Before you even start, you have to define what success looks like and be clear on it. Then go to market with the best, most efficient process possible to evaluate against those criteria. We’re no longer in a world where it makes sense to just ‘see what’s out there.’ That approach is incredibly wasteful for everyone involved.”
By combining AI search with nearly two decades of agency data, TrinityP3 aims to make the pitch process smarter, faster, and more transparent – while keeping the human element front and centre.