8 fun pitch tactics agencies used to stand out from competitors

Winning a pitch, as nearly any agency will attest, is no easy feat. Reviews can be fiercely competitive, exhausting and expensive. And as budgets shrink, the playing field is only getting more fierce. There are standards in pitches—a winning agency must rely on talent, strategy and capabilities, along with at least a few strong relationships. But a few theatrics can go a long way, too. “We’re always thinking beyond just answering the brief,” said Mekanism CEO Jason Harris. “What’s the one extra thing you can do to show your commitment to the brand?” Here are eight ways agencies have gone the extra mile for prospective clients throughout the years, including a recent winning approach—Terri & Sandy’s makeup maneuver in its pitch to Revlon. Agency Review Tracker Stay up to date with the latest account reviews Click here Sailing the seas During a creative review for cruise line Holland America in 2022, Curiosity sent two strategists on a seven-day California coast cruise, where they ended up writing the strategy that was shared during the pitch—which the Cincinnati-based agency won. Creating a shoe phone As Lafayette American was pitching sneaker marketplace StockX, the Detroit shop sought a way to showcase its commitment to the brand. Enter the shoe phone. Lafayette American worked with a local Detroit company, Prop Art Studio, to create it, and the agency’s design studio created the shoe box. “The phone, inserted in the sole of a sneaker, had a single number programmed on speed dial—ours,” said Lafayette American Executive Creative Director and Partner Doug Patterson. “The shoe box was delivered prior to the meeting, and we asked the client to open it as we ended our presentation,” he said. “As they did, we gave them a call on the shoe phone. And when they answered, this was our message: That Lafayette American was an extension of their team, ready 24/7 to help the brand.” StockX used the shoe phone a few weeks later to inform Lafayette American it had won the business. Roadtripping Creative agency Cactus is based in Denver. To help with an agency of record pitch for Wyoming Tourism back in 2012, the agency decided to get familiar with the Cowboy State. It packed a RV full of account, media, strategy, creative and video professionals and sent them on a road trip throughout the region. Cactus declined to say whether it won the business. Nonetheless, the agency made a charming home-video-style film about the employees’ adventures during the trip. Going glam When independent agency Terri & Sandy first met Revlon during a pitch to lead creative for four of the cosmetics maker’s brands, the entire team donned the namesake brand’s lipstick. It worked, as the agency announced earlier this month it had won the business. “I greatly appreciated that,” Revlon Chief Digital Marketing Officer Kelly Solomon told Ad Age. “It’s something to remember.” Positively spamming To first get on the radar of A&W Restaurants, indie agency Cornett refused to be ignored. Every person at the Lexington, Kentucky, agency requested to connect with the brand’s CEO and chief marketing officer on LinkedIn, with each note mentioning a favorite memory at A&W in an ode to one of the brand’s philosophies: good times shared over good food. The restaurant has been a Cornett client for more than a decade. Conquesting coconuts Coconut water brand Harmless Harvest gets its coconuts from Thailand. So, during a pitch to become the company’s agency of record, Mekanism flew a few staffers across the world, where they were tasked with finding the fabled “perfect coconut.” Mekanism’s employees created an Instagram account, @theperfectcoconutchronicles, where they shared updates about their quest. It lives on to this day, as does Mekanism’s partnership with Harmless Harvest, which the agency landed in summer 2023. Going parking BMW’s creative review in 2018 featured a stack of heavyweight agencies in the finals: Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Droga5, Wieden+Kennedy, Anomaly and Hill Holliday. When BMW traveled to meet Hill Holliday, the agency decided to take it up a notch. See all of the Global Automotive Marketing Awards winners here “We filled our garage with nothing but BMWs and made sure the clients were dropped off right in front of them, as though it was business as usual,” said Jamie Sundheim, senior VP, growth. GS&P ultimately won the business, but perhaps Hill Holliday made enough of an impression, as BMW Motorrad USA, the automaker’s motorcycle division, named the agency creative AOR in 2019. Pedaling across oceans During the final week of a pitch for Peloton, adam&eveDDB New York executives virtually cycled the distance from London to New York. As the U.S. and the U.K. were the key markets for the brief, the Omnicom agency wanted to showcase the connection between the two offices. And it worked: adam&eveDDB New York nabbed the account in 2021.

8 fun pitch tactics agencies used to stand out from competitors

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