Pitching Ain’t Easy
It’s the last week of #HavasLofts and coincidentally the end of the new business pitch I’ve been on since I started here in the London office a mere 4 weeks ago. As I was having lunch today with some of my new friends and colleagues, we all reflected on how quickly the past month had flown by. We’d been so focused, putting our heads downs, pulling all nighters, cranking out revision after revision, that we were having our first lunch outside of work on pretty much our last day.
Pitches are an anomaly in the advertising realm because it’s the closest thing we have to a time machine or a worm hole. Time just gets all distorted. Regardless, the experience was a very productive one. We pitched a giant, global brand that would be an incredible client to work on and an amazing growth opportunity for the London office.
For starters, one of the best things about a pitch is the quick exposure to different people. Especially being a guest, it was a great way to work closely with all disciplines and heads of the office, from creative to planning. It was also good to see the Havas Village model in action as all of the agencies under the Havas Club roof were involved: Havas London, Work Club and One Green Bean.
No pitch is ever the same and this one was certainly different in terms of process from what I had experienced before. I mentioned in my first post about how brainstorming was had in a writer’s room style, everyone in a room just talking about ideas for hours. But beyond that, there were many lessons to be had in just how the presentation was assembled. The Creative Directors had a rationale and motive for how every idea, every statement, every slide would fit into every part of their delivery in the room with the clients. Sure, it sounds like common sense, but these things are usually done the opposite way.
And sure, as with every pitch, there were some of the usual frustration points such as lots of restarts, the realigning and re-briefing of the brief, etc. However, it’s somewhat comforting to know that some parts of the process are the same no matter where you are in the world.
One thing that is quite unique to London is the partnership between Art Directors and Designers. As ECD Mark Fairbanks mentioned to me, there is a overlooked yet incredibly important aspect of the creative process that only happens with this collaboration. Art Directors should be focused on the conceptual aspect and integrity of the idea, having a vision for the look & feel of the campaign but not necessarily having to execute it. Designers, who by nature are more visual and up-to-date on the nuances of design, are there to help push that initial kernel of an idea, and suggest the best way to bring it to life.
And that’s brings me to one of the things I’ve enjoyed the most of my time here, the heavy focus on creativity. As an Art Director, I found myself in a situation where I was mostly doing a lot of writing. To a Copywriter, that probably sounds like the most heinous crime ever, but it’s been quite rewarding. I’ve pumped out manifesto after manifesto, script after script, and to my surprise, received some praise for the writing. Who would of thought. But the main point there is a sort of reminder that just because my natural dexterity is in the visual realm, it all still comes down to ideas and putting those ideas into words. Although it has to be said, they do lots of marker comps here. It felt like being back in Ad School and a nice litmus test to see if an idea is really good or the execution is what’s appealing.
By the end of next week, we had three different creative routes and I’m happy to report that alongside another CD/AD, Andre Moreira, we had full ownership of one of the routes. Always satisfying to know your concept and all the work that comes with it made it in there. And working with the design team, we were able to make some beautiful stuff.
As the pitch is now over, we’ll just have to wait and see how the dust settles. The work was strong, the deck looked amazing, and the experience working with the hands that put it all together was one that’ll be hard to forget.
