Anatomy Of An Advertising Agency Pitch: Part Two
This is the second part of my interview with Tony Mikes, Founder of the Second Wind Network. It is his first-person perspective on how advertising agencies performed in an pitch for the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It is enlightening and instructive… to say the least.
The interview first appeared in my book, “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.”
The interview is over three thousand words so I broke it into two parts. I urge you to read both – part one is here. At the end of the interview, I will give you my impressions on the lessons that every agency can learn from Tony’s experience and insights.
The Anatomy Of An Advertising Pitch Interview
PL: So to be clear, of the six agencies, how many wanted to know who from the client would be in the room?
Tony: Nobody else.
PL: That’s… crazy.
Tony: Yeah, I mean, I think that that’s a sin, maybe not mortal, but that’s certainly a sin. But nobody asked.
PL: Well that’s incredibly surprising considering the importance of making interpersonal connections. What else did the smart agency do that stood out?
Tony: There was a pitch leader, and he occupied the podium. The other three presenters sat on director’s chairs. The leader moderated the whole session. So anything that needed to be stopped or moved or changed or accelerated or decelerated – the leader had control. The leader read the room and controlled the flow.
PL: Did you have a sense that they were well rehearsed?
Tony: Yes. They certainly had rehearsed a lot. They started with a bang – without introductions. Dark room. Killer video. Which ended in a… here we are.
The video lasted about a couple minutes. It was really great.
PL: Was the video about them or about the client? [Read more…] about Anatomy Of An Advertising Agency Pitch: Part Two
