Timestamping for agencies: date every pitch, concept and campaign file

How timestamping for agencies works before a pitch

Pitch work is shown to people outside the agency before anyone has agreed to pay for it. If a route you presented turns up later in someone else’s campaign, the first questions are what you showed, and when. A TimeBind gives the exact files a date recorded outside your own servers and inboxes.

1. Finalise the deck. Export the version you will send or present, usually a PDF.
2. Gather the supporting files. Concept boards, scripts, storyboards, mood films and the brief response. One TimeBind holds up to 10 files, so zip a larger set and keep that exact zip.
3. Create the TimeBind. Each file is hashed in your browser. Only the fingerprints are recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain.
4. Keep the certificate with the pitch file, alongside the brief, the pitch agreement and the email you sent.
5. Present or send the work. Your record already exists.

Don’t re-save the files afterwards. Opening and saving a PDF or design file can change its fingerprint, so keep the exact copies you timestamped in a read-only folder.

What to TimeBind: pitch decks, concepts, scripts, storyboards, rejected routes

• Pitch and credentials decks, as the final PDF you present.
• Concept boards and key visuals, including routes the client didn’t pick.
• Scripts and storyboards for film, radio and social.
• Taglines, naming lists and copy decks, as a document rather than a slide.
• Strategy and insight documents that shaped the work.
• Rejected and parked routes, on the day they’re parked, so the record isn’t lost when the folder is archived.
• Delivered campaign files at hand-over, so you can show what was supplied under the licence.

Rejected routes are often the work agencies wish they’d dated. They’re easy to forget once a pitch is lost, and they’re the files most likely to resurface somewhere else. For single designers and illustrators, see design file timestamping. For a real-world licensing example, read how an agency kept its licensing rights in an image ownership fight.

Team accounts and Tokens

A Pooled TimeBind uses 1 Token and an ASAP TimeBind uses 3. Each holds up to 10 files.

A small studio pitching a few times a month can start on Expert, USD $50 a month for 15 Tokens. An agency timestamping about 10 sets a week uses around 43 Pooled Tokens a month, which suits Business: USD $149 a month for 60 Tokens. Business gives you one company account for your TimeBinds and certificates, a monthly invoice and email help getting set up. Business Plus is USD $299 a month for 150 Tokens, and Enterprise has custom Token limits. If you want your own systems to create TimeBinds, API access is included in the Business, Business Plus and Enterprise plans. A paid plan replaces the Free plan’s Token.

Certificates can be checked publicly by QR code, or restricted to email addresses you choose, which helps when a pitch is still confidential. See TimeBinder business plans and pricing for the details, and ASAP vs Pooled verification to choose a TimeBind type.

When another option suits better

• You want to control how unused pitch work is used. That comes from your pitch agreement or terms of business, agreed before you present. A timestamp doesn’t set terms.
• You need to keep a pitch confidential. A confidentiality agreement does that. A TimeBind keeps your files private, but it doesn’t bind the client.
• You want to own a campaign name or logo. A registered trade mark protects a brand. A timestamp doesn’t register anything.
• You only pitch a few times a year. The Free plan includes 1 Token every month, and you can add Tokens when needed.