It occurred to me today that marketers often approach communication strategy the way puppy trainers deal with the family pooch. It’s a question of which commands to give, and how to reward good behavior. For example, marketers of new brands often tell customers, “Fetch!” Drop what you’re doing, go out and grab the latest,...
I sat next to a strategic sourcing (‘procurement’) executive at a recent industry luncheon, a lovely woman wearing a stylish pink suit. Once she found out what I do for a living, she was intrigued — she hadn’t encountered pitch consultants before — and we fell into a conversation about how clients ‘procure’ agencies....
One of the ironies of new business pitches has got to be this: The agency that presents best, not the agency that does the best work, is usually the one that wins. I’d guess more than 98% of the value agencies provide their clients has nothing to do with their presentation skills. The unique...
This blog will be about the art of pitching business. Its primary focus will be advertising and PR agencies, but I hope it will also be useful to people in other service industries who pitch creative communication ideas. For example, I imagine architecture firms, design firms, training companies, and medical education companies will find...
