Effective Date: June 2026

1. Preamble: Strategy is a Proprietary Product

Strategic thinking, market insights, audience mapping, and communication architectures constitute the core intellectual capital and proprietary products of Drawbridge CM. Unlike administrative credentials, past case studies, or high-level strategic approaches which are provided freely to demonstrate competence the development of a customized, actionable strategy requires significant time, talent, and data utilization. Therefore, Strategy is a Product, not a sales commodity.

2. The “Proposal vs. Product” Threshold

To protect agency assets and ensure mutual commitment, our firm divides the new business process into two distinct streams:

• The Pitch Credentials (Free Tier): Includes agency profile, high-level approach and methodology, proof of capability, team resumes, and generic case studies.
• The Strategic Proposal (Paid Product Tier): Any Request for Proposal (RFP) or client brief that requires the Agency to deliver specific campaign concepts, tailored messaging houses, brand vulnerability mapping, media rollout timelines, or crisis response protocols constitutes an explicit request for a Paid Strategic Product.

3. Strategic Product Pricing & Pitch Fee Structure

A client requesting the Strategic Proposal Tier agrees to pay a non-refundable Strategic Blueprint Fee (or Pitch Fee) of N1,000,000 (One million naira).

• This fee covers the cost of talent utilization, research tools, and strategic design.
• If the Agency is successfully retained for execution, this fee shall be fully credited against the final contract implementation costs.

4. Mandatory 21-Day Invoicing & Commercial Terms

• Invoicing Trigger: The invoice for the Strategic Blueprint Fee is automatically generated and issued upon the formal submission of the proposal/pitch deck.
• Due Date: Payment is strictly due three (3) weeks (21 calendar days) from the date of submission, entirely independent of the client’s internal selection timeline.
• Selection Independence: This fee is payable whether or not the Agency is selected for the execution phase. Payment secures the client’s right to view and evaluate the proprietary concepts presented. This provision is strictly backed by Rule 3.4 of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Code of Professional Conduct.

5. Hard Close-Out of Engagement Process (8-Week Cap)

To prevent protracted decision-making windows that stall agency resource planning:

• The review, procurement, and selection process for any submitted brief shall have a strict maximum lifecycle of eight (8) weeks (42 calendar days) from the submission date.
• On Day 43, the engagement process is officially closed. If no execution contract is signed, all proprietary rights to the strategy remain exclusively with Drawbridge CM, and any unauthorized deployment of the concepts by the client or their agents will constitute an actionable intellectual property infringement under Nigerian copyright laws.