Proposal
In a Nutshell
A proposal is a document describing the scope, timeline, and price of a job. In theory: the start of a collaboration. In practice: often a mini strategy presentation prepared for free.
What It Really Means
A proposal is the first serious contact between an agency and a brand. A good one does not just give a price; it shows that you understand the problem and how you will solve it.
But the proposal process is often unbalanced. Brands request detailed proposals from several agencies, free ideas arrive within them, and then most are never followed up.
The lowest-priced proposal is not always the cheapest. Missing scope gets recovered later through 'this wasn't included' line items.
A good proposal does not promise everything to win the job; it clearly states what it will and won't do. Clarity protects both the agency and the brand.