The Triple Bid Process & RFP Bidding Made Easy
The legacy of the triple bid is well established, not only in the world of advertising, but in any industry where making the sale might depend on bidding with the leading price. It’s completely sensible for buyers in any case to seek the best bang for their buck, and media buyers who want to minimize waste on their ad spend will, of course, follow suit.
However, finding the best price isn’t the only reason that triple bidding exists. What is a triple bid, and why is it called triple bidding anyways? Is it a result of our society’s ongoing adherence to Aristotle’s rule of three that suggests trios are more effective (at least in storytelling)? Does the “triple” part even really matter?
In this article, we’ll tackle the triple bid process and explore how free RFP tools can make this process easier and more enticing than ever.
Triple bid meaning and purpose
Triple bidding is the process of soliciting bids from three or more independent sellers for one buyer. In many different industries, a buyer will seek some sort of service, often on a recurring basis, and will use an agent of some kind as a facilitator between themselves and multiple sellers.
Triple bidding ensures that the agent is giving the buyer the best price point derived from several choice offers, while also giving sellers a fair shot at making the sale. At its core, the triple bid exists as a mechanism to protect both buyers and sellers from wasting money and offer a fair method of procurement.
It’s also important to note that a triple bid does not have to be confined to three bids. Colloquially, seeking out several bids for a buyer’s proposal is typically referred to as triple bidding because this process refers more to the purpose of ensuring fairness and effectiveness in securing an offer — historically, three bids has been the standard to meet that purpose.
What is triple bid advertising?
Advertising is a prime use case for the triple bid system, as media buying is often performed through agencies working on behalf of advertisers who want to purchase inventory from publishers.
An ad agency is able to create an equitable environment for their clients by triple bidding media vendors during the RFP bidding process. This means that they will seek out RFP responses from three or more vendors that match the offerings being sought.
There is always concern that an agency — or any middleman in the buying process — will only work with familiar vendors. Similarly, sticking with one vendor can make media buys go stale and will not always equate to the best use of ad spend for the advertiser.
A triple bid buys the advertiser negotiating power, as they can leverage multiple offers for similar inventory, which helps them feel confident in their relationship with their agency partner, because they know they are playing a wider field and seeking the comparatively best scenario.
How to triple bid
In advertising, triple bidding occurs during the RFP bidding process. To best examine how it works, let’s review an RFP bidding process example that illustrates the purpose and benefits of a triple bid:
An ad agency might have a long relationship with one production company when it comes to creating video ads for their clients. One client wants to create an OTT video advertisement. The agency will simultaneously send the RFP to three or more production companies — which could include the company they prefer to work with or not, depending on how the client feels — to help bring fresh perspectives for the RFP, find the best spend level, and assure their client that the agency is prioritizing effectiveness. Once all of the production companies respond with their offers, the agency and advertiser can weigh the responses and select the bid that’s best for their needs.
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