RFP
Branding & StrategyAlso: Request for Proposal · Request For Proposal
Quick definition
RFP stands for Request for Proposal. It's a formal document a business issues when shopping for a marketing agency or supplier, asking several vendors to respond in writing with their approach, cost and timeline. Businesses use RFPs to compare vendors against the same brief, though the format doesn't always surface the best agency for the job.
How it varies across Australia
Formal RFP processes are more common in government, enterprise and larger corporate accounts across Australia than in small business marketing procurement. Smaller businesses tend to run a shorter informal pitch or a single conversation instead. Agencies vary widely in how willingly they'll respond to a full RFP given the unpaid effort involved.
See how Australian businesses structure agency relationships →What it actually means
An RFP is the procurement version of asking several tradespeople to quote on the same job. You write down what you want, send it to a shortlist, and wait for written proposals covering approach, cost and timeline. On paper it's fair. Everyone answers the same brief.
In practice, RFPs favour agencies that are good at answering RFPs, which isn't the same skill as being good at marketing. A strong strategic agency with a thin proposal-writing team can lose to a weaker agency with a polished response deck. The brief itself often carries the real risk. A vague RFP produces vague proposals that are hard to compare on anything but price.
RFPs also take real time on both sides. The business has to write a clear brief and evaluate several long documents. The agency has to build a proposal on spec, unpaid, often competing against three or four others. Many strong agencies simply decline RFPs above a certain size and prefer a conversation, a pitch, or a short paid discovery phase instead. That's worth knowing before you send one out.
An RFP written to compare agencies fairly often ends up rewarding whoever writes the best proposal, not whoever does the best work.
How it shows up
You'll usually see an RFP land as a lengthy document with sections for background, scope, deliverables, timeline, budget range and evaluation criteria, sent to a shortlist of agencies with a submission deadline. It shows up most often in government tenders, enterprise marketing procurement and any business with a formal purchasing policy. It rarely shows up in small business hiring, where a brief and a conversation usually does the job faster.
Where people get this wrong
Related terms
Common questions
What's the difference between an RFP and a brief?
A brief describes the problem and the outcome you want. An RFP is the formal process wrapped around a brief, usually including evaluation criteria, submission deadlines and a shortlist of vendors responding to the same brief in writing.
Do good agencies actually respond to RFPs?
Many strong agencies respond selectively. If the RFP is vague, unpaid, or competing against a large field, agencies with steady pipeline often decline and ask for a conversation or a short paid discovery phase instead.
How long should an RFP process take?
It varies by scale but formal RFPs commonly run several weeks from issue to decision once you include writing time, agency response time and internal evaluation. Smaller engagements rarely need a full RFP at all.
Should I pay agencies for RFP responses?
For substantial proposals that require real strategic thinking, a paid discovery or scoping fee gets you sharper, more honest responses and access to agencies that would otherwise decline unpaid speculative work.
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About New Rebellion
New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.
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