Pitch perfect
Posted on 24. Oct, 2011 by neilcrump in Communications, Industry
Oh the dreaded ‘P’ word, ‘Perfect’ such a hard thing to attain and then you add in ‘Pitch’ and you have a recipe for heartache in which four (or more) plucky teams respond to a brief, work for hours on end to see if they can be the ideal suitor. So well done to the Healthcare Communications Association (for which Aurora is a member and our team works across the vast majority of the sub-committees) on playing cupid by getting some standards in place in the form of the ‘Pitching Code of Conduct’ to try and make things a bit better.
As someone that runs an agency the pitch is a funny old thing; it is very flattering to be asked to pitch (especially when you get asked to work on a game-changer), winning them is the best thing in the world, losing them is like not being asked on a second date with someone you really liked, it hurts but you get over it quickly (although there was the loss of a certain anti-coagulant four years ago that I still cannot get over – you know who you are;+).
Thankfully, the majority of Aurora’s business has come through recommendation having delivered great client work. This means that we don’t pitch too much and we never go on a blind date. We never do the latter, because we work collaboratively to make our clients happy by delivering smart thinking, and that requires good chemistry from the outset. We launched the ‘I Love PR’ campaign a while back which explains the importance of strong working relationships to make work productive and enjoyable.
I was pleased to have been able to contribute my thoughts to the Pitching Code of Conduct in the consultation phase and while I would have wanted a bit more commitment to a few of the standards, I think it is an important collective consensus on what good practice, if not perfect practice, might be.
NW1er
24. Oct, 2011
Thanks for the post Neil – good stuff and wonderful analogies! It’s interesting on the client side of the ‘charter’ that the following is stated: “I shall…Share other key aspects of the marketing mix if appropriate, so that an integrated communications plan can be proposed”. This is so important but often overlooked. I really hope a silo-busted approach to pitching becomes the norm so that smart campaigns that leverage all channels, and maximise opportunities across them, can be viewed as appropriate for ‘comms’ to drive.
Claire
24. Oct, 2011
Thanks Neil, I’m pleased you like the Pitching Code of Conduct. As a member of the HCA Procurement Team I obviously think it is a good step in the right direction
We really need to spread the word that there is a collective agreement when it comes to engaging in a fair and valid pitch. let’s hope the majority of agencies and client companies sign up to it.