How Should We Pitch New Business?

I read this article and it struck me how we have left creative
in the wings in favor of tactics and technology so I ask?

A Better Way to Pitch

Time to Trash the Old Way of Doing Capa­bil­i­ties Pre­sen­ta­tions
Phil John­son is CEO of PJA Adver­tis­ing & Mar­ket­ing

http://adage.com/article/small-agency-diary/advertising-a-pitch/144643/

 

“What ever happened to creative insights, creative point of difference,
for that matter creative seems to have taken a back seat to technology
and placement. We seem so star struck by all the options we have
forgotten the message. My challenge to you is this. Name one client,
product or service and clearly state the position they hold in
the market. You can’t. Nor can I. What is the Real thing today.
It is all over the place and without focus.”

When it comes to cre­ative and agen­cies we have for­got­ten our souls. We are more
con­cerned with where we place ads than what we say in ads. The dis­ci­pline of keep­ing to
the brand posi­tion, a sin­gle mind­ed and clear mes­sage has been lost. Replaced by
inse­cu­ri­ty and a sense of being left behind.

Tech­nol­o­gy is not cre­ative any­more than a tele­phone or a car. They are sim­ply meth­ods
by which we com­mu­ni­cate. The object is inert the mes­sage is alive.

As adver­tis­ing agen­cies we should be focused on the mes­sage and not the means or
tech­nol­o­gy to be used. We can “google” the exper­tise in tech­nol­o­gy and find many
suit­able sources. But the think­ing and insight is not some­thing one can “google”
it is arrived at through think­ing and study.

We should all walk into pre­sen­ta­tions today with the knowl­edge that all of these forms
of tech­nol­o­gy are avail­able to all of us. We should focus on our think­ing and our
insights and how they sete us apart from the rest of the agen­cies, bou­tiques etc.

As we approach New busi­ness we should again stand out with our think­ing and focus
on the Brand and devel­op insights that set us apart from the rest. Set­ting
the Brand apart from the rest of the mar­ket is our goal.

Before the pre­sen­ta­tion, we set our­selves apart through insight­ful strat­e­gy.
Have con­fi­dence in our team and step out with ear­ly com­mu­ni­ca­tion, direct­ly
if pos­si­ble. A cre­ative direct mail piece, an Ad, a video, a web site, etc.
some­thing to show you are dif­fer­ent from the pack.

Dur­ing the pre­sen­ta­tion, we present in a unique way not as the norm would have it.
Stand out through method, Act out the pre­sen­ta­tion as if it were on a Broad­way stage,
Dress like the Blue Man Group. Pick a point of dif­fer­ence and fol­low your cre­ative gut.
You must stand out as dif­fer­ent. Don’t present but ask ques­tions and lis­ten to the
client and their needs.  Your posi­tion is every­thing you have to offer make it count.

After the pre­sen­ta­tion, fol­low up with a mean­ing­ful doc­u­ment or com­mu­ni­ca­tion
some­thing again to set your group apart. A news release, A com­men­tary on the busi­ness,
A blog post, a YouTube video thank you, again set your­self apart from the crowd as you
intend to set the Brand apart from the rest of the Brands in the Mar­ket­place.

If you get the busi­ness, remem­ber how you got the busi­ness and do not fal­ter from
your posi­tion and direc­tion, always seek the unique posi­tion and the point of
dif­fer­ence for your Brand. Be con­sis­tent in your focus on the Brand posi­tion
and be sure to have a con­sis­tent mes­sage that is rec­og­niz­able and clear­ly defin­able
by the con­sumer.

We all know of bat­ting aver­ages, 3 out of 10 is great. We need to be pre­pared
to loose our shirts most of the time. So it is imper­a­tive to cre­ate as we would for a client
a clear point of dif­fer­ence for our Brand and what we stand for. These things add up
to fame and for­tune. Think of Bog­a­rt, Wayne, Bacall, etc. and why we remem­ber them.
We are no dif­fer­ent. We must stand for some­thing as should the Brands we rep­re­sent.

What is your cre­ative dif­fer­ence? What sets you apart from the crowd? Remem­ber
that as we set Brands apart in the mar­ket, we must set our­selves apart as well. Are we
will­ing to set our­selves apart? Do we have the courage to stand out and be loved
or hat­ed? We must if we want to stand out in the storm of com­pe­ti­tion which sur­rounds us.

Again we must stand out, before, dur­ing, after the pre­sen­ta­tion to insure con­sid­er­a­tion
and con­tin­ue with this posi­tion if we get the busi­ness as this posi­tion got us that
same busi­ness.

   “Let us all remember Tactics, Technology and placement are available
to all of us. It is strategy and thinking that set us apart from the crowd.
Where do you Stand?”