GWI-在新常态中获胜-机构指南（英）-

Winning

pitchesinthe

newnormal

Theagencyguide

Contents

Thebigchallenges07

Pitch,please;whattodoandwhy13

Tellingbetterstorieswithdata27

Gettingpersonalwithcustomresearch39

Theagenciestolearnfrom49

04

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

Introduction

Solet’saddresstheelephantintheroom:lifehastakenonanewshapeinthepastcoupleofyears.Andagencylifehasfollowedsuit.Thingsaredifferent.We’reupagainstanewnormal:pitchoverload.

Andinthisnewnormal–especial-lyforagencieshell-bentongrowthandhuntingnewbusiness–thechallengeshavemultiplied:

OBudgetsaretighter

OProjectsarefewer

OTimeandresourcesaregoldOROIisapromiseyouhavetokeep

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

True,ROIhasalwaysbeenaprom-

iseyou’vehadtokeep.Nowthough,

it’smoreacaseofall-eyes-on-ROI

thanit’severbeen.Andwhocan

blamethem–withlessresourceto

playwith,brandsneedtomakesure

everyeffortpaysoff.

Yes,it’sascarytimetobeanagen-cy,butit’salsoascarytimetobeahuman.Wecan’tforgetthere’sstillamegaamountofbusinesstowin–evenfromthosewhodon’tyetknowtheyneedtoinvest–solet’sfocusonwhatittakestowin,andclosemoredeals.

Ifthat’swhatyou’reafter,you’reintherightplace.That’swhatthisguideisfor.

Sohowexactlydoyoukeepthat

tantalizingpromiseofROI?Ifthe

pandemichastaughtusanything

it’sthis:wecandoalot,butwecan’t

predictthefuture.Wecanneversay

with100%certaintythatacam-

paignwillhithomewiththerightau-

dience,orthatcontentwillresonate.

Whatwecandoismakethemostac-

curateandstrategicdecisionspossi-

ble–bylettingthedatatellthestory.

06

01

Thebig

challenges

08

Beingvirtuallyawesome

Showinghowyou’redifferent

We’renowwell-accustomedtothevirtualworld.Evenintimeswhenmeetingscanbein-person,we’resuchseasonedvideocallersthatwemakegooduseofit.Mightitbethenewnorm?Perhaps.Andforglobalagenciesthathaveclientsscatteredaroundtheworld,sometimesvirtualistheonlywayforward.

Agenciesareadjustingtothe“newpitch”andalltheobstaclesthatcomewithit–technicalglitches,soundquality,etc.etc.

Mostofall–thehumanelementisoftenmissing.Sellingyourbestideatoaperson5millionmilesawayfromyouthroughascreensimplyisn’tthesameassellingittotheper-sonsittingnexttoyousippingcoffee.It’shard.

Whenitcomestopitching,everyagencyknowshowimportantitistostandout.Foreveryprojectthatcomestoyourdoor,youcouldhaveseveralcompetitorschompingatthebit.Sotostandout,youneedtoproveyou’redifferent.Andthat’snotalwayseasy.

Aconvincingpitchmakesaprospectfeelliketheycantrustyou–theyclearlyseethereturninyouridea.

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal10

Gettingbrandsto

Findingthetimeandresource

It’sfast-paced,buttellingagoodstorytakestimeandplentyofTLC.

Sohowdoyoumakesureyoucandedicateenoughtimetoeverypitch,whilestillproducingthebestpossi-blestandardofwork,andchasingsomenewtail?

Ok,sowecanallbeguiltyofthink-ingtooshort-term.Butagenciesaren’toneofus.It’safamiliarlovestory:brandswantaquickproject,nothingmore.Agencieswantmore–theywantcommitment,longevity,“futurethinking”.Butwhenbrands

areapproachedtothinkmorelong-term,they’reall“backoffandstopbeingsoneedy.”

Butweallknowthevalueinthink-ingmorelongterm,sohowdowechangethewaytheyseeit?

Ofcourse,it’snotjustsomebusi-nessesstrugglingwithresourcerightnow–it’sallofus.Forasmallagencyteamtaskedwithallthisgoodstuffof“standingout”and“thinkingbig”,there’salsoamillionotherthingstobedone.

12

seethebiggerpicture

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

02

Pitch,please;

whattodo

andwhy

It’saboutstorytelling,right?AtGWI,weliketotellstoriesjustasmuchasthenextperson.Buttellingastorythatpersuadesandconvincestakessomethingelse.

Goodagenciesknowthis–theyknowtheirpitchisastoryandthestoryisnogoodifitdoesn’tgetthemtoei-thershedatear,jumpoutoftheirseatsoratleastraiseaneyebrow.

Thesedreamyreactionsonlycomeaboutwhentheyseesomethingtheyhaven’tseenbefore.Andrightnow,likeallofus–they’recravingit.They’recravingsomethingnew,

exciting,fresh,hopeful,powerful…yeah,yougetthepicture.

Butanyonecan

saysomething

surprising.

It’sabouttellingthemsomethingfactual;somethingtrueabouttheiraudience,theirstrategy,theirbrandortheirfocusthatcouldfundamen-tallychangehowtheyseethings.

Surveydata–notjustanykind,butthekindthattellsyouthesehiddentruths–shouldbeyourbase.

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Winningpitchesinthenewnormal16

Overcomingthese

challenges,putplainly

Beingvirtuallyawesome–tellstoriesthatwillwow,regardlessofwhatformatyouuse

Showinghowyou’redifferent–focusonfindingthereallyoriginalinsightsnooneelsewillhave

Gettingbrandstoseethebiggerpicture–givethemsolidfacts,notanecdotalrecommendations

Findingthetimeandresource–spendlesstimeoneachpitchbyinvestinginasubscriptiontoaplat-formlikeGWIthatgetsyoutothestuffyouneedfaster

Forus,theROIlies

inwinningpitches.

GWIbackedusto

win,andwedid.

We’renowlong-

termusers.

Wonderhoodstudios

Whatyouandyour

prospectswant

Fasterdecisions

It’sacliché,butthere’snotimelikethepresent–especiallywhenitcomestoinsights.Andrightnow,there’snotellingwhatnextweek,nextmonthorevennextyearisgo-ingtolooklike.

Clientsandprospectsaretryingtostayafloatjustlikeyou,sothey’llbelookingforpartnerswhocanofferthemreal-timeinformationtokeepthemstable.

Havingyourfingeronthepulseisn’tjustaUSP,it’saliferaft.

Detailedtargets

Brand-agencyrelationshipshaveawholeloadofmovingparts,sobreakingyourtargetsdownintobite-sizedchunksshowsjusthowdetail-orientedyoucanbe.

Takemarketingasanexample–you’llwanttoshowhoweachelementofacampaignwillworkandhow,guidedbytherightkindofinsights,youcandeliver.Every.Single.Time.

Afrugalattitude

Creativityisn’tdead,it’sjustbeingreinedinalittle,that’sall.Atonetime,clientswithbigbudgetsprizedbigideasat(almost)anycost.Butwiththesqueezingofbudgetscomesadownwardpressureoncreativity;ithastomakesensefinancially.

Butthecatch22iscreativeideasshouldbekindof,erm,unique.Buthowcanyoudosomethingforthefirsttimeandbesureit’llwork?

Withaneyefirmlyfixedontheiraudience,youcanworkcreative-lyabovethesafetynetthatiscon-sumerinsightsandofferassurancetheywillseethereturns.

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Along-termfocus

Someprefermorethanaone-timehookup.Andpartoflookingtowardthefutureisbuildingstablepart-nerships.Partoftheroleofagoodagencyisconvincingthemtheyneedalifepartner,notjustafling.

Thatmeansbeingthekindofagen-cythatcansupportthemthroughthickandthin,offerthestickingpowerthatallsuccessfulbusinesspartnershipsaremadeof,andpres-entoriginalideastonewproblems.

Allthispointstoputtingtheobjec-tivesofthebrandfront-and-center,butmostimportantly,theinterestsofitsaudience.

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

Whenitcomestodata,

it’sallaboutquality–

andquantity

Thedatayouusetobackupyour

ideasshouldberocksolid.And

yes,sometimesthere’salotofitto

siftthrough.

Andwhilebottomlesspitsofdata

mightnotseemlikeaproblem,itis

–especiallyconsideringthenumber

ofsourcesitcomesfromandthe

differentmethodologiestheyalluse.

Here’swhy

Ifyourideasaren’tbackedbycred-ibleinsight,there’snoproofyou’reworththeinvestment.

Ifyourresearchmethodologyandsamplesizeisn’trobust,yourinsightisuseless.

Ifyourdatatellsonestory,andtheirstellsanother,youneedtobesureyoursisworthyoftheirattention.

Putsimply:ifyour

dataisunreliable,

soareyou.

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Thebuildingblocksofyourstory

(yourbigidea)

Surprisingtruths

22

(yourextravalidation)

Behavioralandattitudinalsurveydataonyouraudience

(yourbase)

(yourgoldennuggets)

Socialandwebanalytics

Originalstory

Thisdataandthesupportwegetgivesustheedgeoverourcompetitorsatpitchtimeandthroughoutlonger-termcampaigns.

1000heads

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Howtogatherthis

so-called“gooddata”

OMakesurethemethodologyisrobust

OLooktosurveydatafirst

OTrackrealpeople,notdevicesorIPaddresses

OValidateyourclient’stargetaudience

OAnalyzeyouraudience’sactions

OGettoknowwhotheyarewithattitudinaldata

OBringinyouranalytics,it’lladdevenmorecontext

toyourfindings

OStatswon’ttellastorybythemselves,soconstruct

anarrativetheclientcangetbehind

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

Trendtowatch

Goingbeyondgreen

Inthenewnormal,fashionretailersareaimingforsomeveryambitiousgoals–astheyshouldbe.67%offash-ionandjewelrybuyerssaytheywouldpaymoreforaneco-friendlyprod-uct.AndintheUS,42%ofapparelbuyerswantbrandstobetranspar-entabouthowproductsaremade.Brandsneedtomakesuretheyaretopofthepackinmakingsustaina-blechoiceseasyfortheirconsumers.

Towinover

eco-consciousconsumers,sustainabilitymustbeabenchmarkwhichbrandscanbuildupon.

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

Sustainablepurchasereasons

Natural/organicmaterials

Eco-friendlyshipping

Noharmfulchemicalsused

Reusability

Durability

Useofrecycledmaterials

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65

64

57

56

55

Sustainablepackaging

Design/attractiveness

Cost

Locallysourced

Fairlaborpractices

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40

38

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03

Tellingbetter

storieswithdata

Agoodpitch

Tellstheclientastory

Agreatpitch

Tellstheclientastory

theyhaven’theardbefore

Awinningpitch

Tellstheclientastory

theyhaven’theardbefore

andsubstantiatesitwithdata

Treatdatalikeajourney.Lookfortheunexpectedandinterrogateituntilit’sinteresting.

DevonZdatny,Founder&CEO,First&FirstConsulting

30

Recipeforawinningpitch

Timings

Anywherefrom5minutesto3hoursdependingonhowcomplexyourbriefisandhowlongyou’vegottospendgettingtoknowyouraudience.

Instructions

Startwithahugemoundofcon-sumerdata–enoughtotellyouwhothetargetis;whattheirmakeupis,whattheydo,whatdefinesthem,howtheylive.Addadollopofana-lytics–thekindyoucanmatchwithyourbehavioralconsumerdatatomakesuretheirstoryaddsupandletsyouaddanotherlayerofdetail(orsponge,ifyouwill).

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

O

O

O

O

O

Sprinklesomesocialanalytics

forextravalidation

Blendtogether

Filterouttheunnecessarystuff

Pluckoutthekeyinsights

Turnitintoastorytheyhaven’t

heardbefore

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal32

Whatitlookslikeinpractice

Thescenario

You’reaplannerinacreativeagency.Ahouseholdnamecosmeticsbrandislookingtoonboardanagen-cytosupportthelaunchofneweco-friendlyfacecream.

Thebrief

Theyhaveanideaofwhotheyshouldbetargeting,thinkTVadvertisingistheirbestbet,andthey’renottoobotheredaboutthesustainablesideofthingsastheydon’tthinkit’stooimportanttotheiraudience.

Theresearch

Timetogettoknowwhothey’retar-

geting–youusealltheinformation

youhavetohandinGWItobuild

outtheiraudienceindetail;we’re

talkingages,genders,geographics,

andpurchasemotivatorsasthetip

oftheiceberg.Youlookdeepinto

theirlifestylesandintereststogrind

outexactlywhatmakesthemtick.

Thevalidation

Youtakealookattheanalyticsat

yourdisposal–couldbewebana-

lyticsorsociallistening–toseeifthe

storyaddsuponthebehaviorsfront.

Theminingforgold

Thisisthefunpart.Youhavealoadofinsightsandneedtobeselective.Youchoosetheonesthat’llsnatchtheirattentionandmakethemthestaroftheshow.

Acoupleofexamplesyouuncover:

OPeopleinterestedinbeauty

are66%morelikelythan

theaverageconsumertobe

interestedincelebritynews

OThey’re82%morelikelyto

beinterestedinfashion

OTheywanttheirbrandstobeeco-friendly(51%)aboveallelse

Thestory

Factsontheirownareinteresting–butputthemincontextandyouseethemagichappen.Youconnectthedots,createacompellingnar-rativeandshowthemhowyoucansteertheirstrategyinabetterdirec-tion–onethatwillactuallypayoff.Endscene.

Thingsaddto

youmightwanttogiveyouanedge

Audiencetargeting

validation

Whethertheyknowitornot,anumberofbrandsfallvictimtomistargeting.

Audiencetargetingvalidationallowsforcreatinghyper-detailedaudiencesegments.Evendigitallysavvycli-entswon’thaveaccesstothislevelofdetail.

Ratherthanpokinginthedarkandrelyingonguesswork,validatetheirtargetaudiencetohighlightare-asforopportunitywhichtheywon’thaveseen.

Don’tbeafraidtoexposetheirlim-itationswiththeircurrenttargeting,suchas:

OOversimplifiedaudienceprofilesOBroadchannelchoice

OMisguidedmediaand

creativechoice

Then,youhitthemwiththesolution.

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

They’relookingforapartner–some-onewhocangivethemadviceonhowtheycangainabetterROIwithmoreintelligentconsumerprofilingandtargeting.

Thispositionsyouragencyasthemediumthatallowsthemtoseethelight.

Makethemthink:“Whatthe&@%*werewedoingbefore?”

Whenlookingatbranddata,here’swhatyouneedtobeasking:

OWhat’simportanttoconsumersindrivingkeybehaviorsandbuyingdecisions?

OWhatimpactarebrandinteractionsand

touchpointshaving?

OWhichtouchpointsaremostimportant?

OHowcantheystrengthentheemotional

connectionconsumershavewiththeirbrand?

OWhatperceptionsarecurrentlyblocking

repeatpurchasing?

OWhatshouldtheyprioritizetoimprove

brandperformance?

Branddata

Howisthebrandviewedintheeyesofitstargetaudience?Howcantheytakeactiontochangecertainperceptions?

Thesearequestionsyourpitchcananswer.

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

It’seasytocaptureconsumers’ra-tionalperspectivesandbehaviorsandbuildastrategyaroundthisin-sight,butunderstandingthesub-consciousresponsetoabrandisveryoftenakeyinfluencerindeci-sion-making.

Withinthesubconsciousresponse,capturingifandhowconsumersrespondemotionallytakesyourin-sightbeyondtheobvious.

RulesforaperfectpitchdeckODoyourresearchontheclient

OKnowtheirtargetaudiencebetterthan

theydo

OPortrayyourteam’sdata-drivenedge

OIncludetheinsightstheymaynothave

accessto

OMakeyourresearch

methodologytransparent

OBringittolifewithrelevantcasestudies

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Concepttesting

Showingthatyouhaveyourfeeton

thegroundandaneyeonthefuture

isalwaysattractivetoclients.Par-

ticularlyifyoucansupporttheirown

plansfordevelopment.If,forexample,

they’relaunchinganewproduct,con-

ceptorcampaign,beingabletotest

andtweakcreative,messaging,and

targetingbeforelaunchandin-flight

savesthoseall-importantdollars.

Gettingahandleontrendsmove-

ments,painpoints,barriersandwhite

spacerelevanttotheclient,andtak-

ingintoaccountbehavioral,attitudi-

nalandmarketdependentlevers,it

providesanaccurateforecastofre-

alisticconsumertake-up.

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

Soweknowallaboutpersonalizedmarketingandhowgreatitisandhowwellitworksandblahblahblah…but“WHOCANAFFORDIT?”

Bearwithme.

04

Gettingpersonal

withcustom

research

Ourlatestresearchshows29%ofconsumerswouldbemotivatedtopromotetheirfavoritebrandon-linewithcontentthat’srelevanttotheirinterests.

Andyeah,itworks.Heck,justlookatAmazon–itsrecommendationalgorithmreporteda29%salesin-creaseinitssecondfiscalquarter,upfrom$9.9billionduringthesametimethepreviousyear.

Butyoudon’thavetobeabigoldleadingbrandtogodowntheper-sonalizedroute.

Newsoftwareandthelevelofdataavailablemeansyoucandosome-thingsimilar,withhalfthebudget.

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Winningpitchesinthenewnormal42

Makingitwork

Creatingpersonalizedexperienceshaseverythingtodowiththequalityofyourdataandhowyouuseit.

Everycustomerisdifferent,sothedatayouneedwillbedifferenttoo.Akeybarriertoimplementingatai-loredapproachliesinbrandsusingbroadconsumerinsightthatfailstotranslatetheinherenttraits,inter-estsandperceptionsofthepeoplethey’retargeting.

Customsurveys

offerawayto

bypassthatbarrier.

Byworkingwithateamofexperts,

carefullyselectingyourtargetau-

dienceandthequestionsyouwant

toask,specifictoyourbusinessob-

jectives,youcanuncoverthedata

neededtomakeitwork.

Casestudy:

BCM’smasterclass

indata-ledstrategy

BCMGroup

isafullserviceagencybasedinAustralia.QueenslandUni-versityofTechnologyneededhelpstructuringanddeliveringanewex-perientialleadershipprogramaimed

ataspiringC-suitesinAustralia.Theobjectivewassimple:todeliveradata-ledstrategythatreachedtherightaudiencewithaproductthatclearlyalignedwithitsneeds.

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

Thechallenge

DevelopingacoursethatmeetsthedemandsofaspiringC-suites.

QUTknewexactlywhatwentintoastellarcourse:

OLeadingacademicand

industryexperts

OCutting-edgecontent

OWorld-classfacilities

OProvenexperience

OPassion

Oneofthemostimportantelements,andonethattiesalltheaboveto-gether,isaudience-centricity.

WiththesupportofBCM,QUTeXwantedtodevelopamarket-leadingcoursebasedonwhattheiraudi-enceisafter.

Theaction

Identifyingtheaudience,itsmotivations,andpreferences.

“WecommissionedacustomsurveywithGWItobetterunderstandthesizeofthemarket,itsneeds,desiresandmotivations,”saysKarinaGurowski,MarketingManageratQUTeX.

44

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal46

Withinsightsattheheartofevery-thingtheydoatBCM,theteamusedthisasthebasisfortheirresearch.

Here’swhattheydidwithit:

01.Audiencesegmentationandanalysis.Heretheyuncoveredthreestreamsofprofessionals,formingthevastmajorityofthesurveysam-ple:primaryaspirers,futureaspirers,andprofessionaleducationseekers.Eachgrouphaditsownsetofout-looks,interests,andpreferences.

02.Positioningandplanning.Us-ingfourcompetitorsintheprofes-sionaleducationsphere,andusingthesegmentsabove,theybench-markedQUT’sperformanceagainst:

OAwarenessto

attendanceconversion

OAdvertisingrecall

Toenhancethedeliveryofthecourse,

BCMproposedacontent-driven

digitalstrategy,withakeyfocuson

earnedandownedchannels.

Themainpaidopportunitieswere

foundtobeonlineads,search,

eventsandTVads.Newsarticles,

onlinevideosandword-of-mouth

showedtobethemosteffective

earnedchannels.

Theresult

Shapinganewsolution

arounditsconsumers.

“Withtherightaudiencesegments

identifiedfromthebeginning,the

productandmarketingstrategyfell

intoplacemuchmoreeasily,”says

ChrisPlatt,DirectorofMediaand

EngagementatBCM.

Bypinpointingtheaudienceand

askingthemquestionstheywanted

answerstodirectly,BCMwasable

tohelpQUTcreateawell-positioned

productthatcouldaddrealvalueto

theiraudience.

Thebigbenefits

offastcustomresearch

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

OMoreinformeddecision-

makingwithtailoredinsight

OStreamlineddatasourceswith

researchspecifictoyourproject

OImprovedadvertisingwith

theabilitytotestanddevelopconcepts

OWinningpitcheswithfastdatathatanswersthequestionstheclientcan’t

Thegoodnewsfortoday’sagenciesisthere’snolongeraneedforexpen-sivestudiesthattakeweeksorevenmonthstocomplete.Withsolutionsnowofferingresultsasfastasover-night,there’snoexcusenottogofurtherforthosehiddenanswers.

48

05

Theagencies

tolearnfrom

50

DevonZdatny,

Founder&CEO,

First&FirstConsulting

Expertfeature:

Overcomingbarriers

topitchinginCOVID-19

Pitchingnewbusinessandcrea-tiveideasisn’tjustmoredifficultrightnowwithsmallerbudg-ets.Therearemanyfactorsthatcreatenewhurdlesforagencieseveryday.Researchandempa-thyarebothcenterstageaswe

allneedwhateversemblanceofconfidencewecanmusterinhowwemoveforward.

Herearesomekeychallengesthatagenciesarefacingandop-portunitiestoovercomethem.

Winningpitchesinthenewnormal

Challenges

Higherbarriertoinsightfulness

Thereissignificantlymoremarketresearchcontentbeingpublishedrightnowandatrecordspeeds.Keepingacompetitiveedgebysay-ingsomethingnew,interesting,andrelevantisharderthanever.

Higherbarriertoaccuracy

Withunprecedentedlevelsofuncer-tainty,it’shardtofeelsureabouttheaccuracyofdata.Asthingschangeeveryday,clientsareincreasing-lycriticalofhowwecanknowthatyesterday’sdatawillbeaccuratefortomorrow,letalonenextmonth

Higherbarriertoempathy

Makingahumanconnectionwitha

clientisaninfluentialfactorinland-

ingstronginsights.Withoutface-to-

facecommunication,itisharderto

conveythehumanemotionbehind

yourdata.Readingthereactionto

yourinsightsandnavigatingthe

presentationaccordinglyhasbe-

comeachallenge.

Higherbarriertoaction

Asourenvironmentcontinuallyshifts,

therearelargeramountsofunrest

andeconomicuncertainty.Thisin-

fluencesclientstobemorereserved

andhesitantthanevertomovefor-

wardquicklyandwithconfidence.

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Winningpitchesinthenewnormal54

Opportunities

Connectthedotsto

cutthroughclutter

Tocutthroughthenoise,youneedtolistentothenoise.Itiscrucialtospendtimeconsumingthoughtleadershipandresearchcontenttoknowwhatinsightsarealreadyoutthere.Dedicate30minuteseverydaytoconsumingresearchandthoughtleadershiptoensureyou’reabletoleveragewhat’souttheretodevelopasharperperspective.

Connectquantitative

datawithanecdotes

Manyplatformsareworkingtireless-

lytomakesurethatthey’reproviding

accurateandup-to-datedata.Plat-

formslikeGWIhavebeenreleasing

relevantdataatheightenedspeed.

Supplementingthesenumberswith

anecdotesandconsumerquotes

helpsbuildconfidenceinitsaccu-

racy.Consumerstoriesandquotes

helpbringdataandinsightstolifein

awaythatreinforceandmakethem

morebelievable,combattingpoten-

tialskepticism.

Connectdataback

tosharedexperiences

Thefiveminutesofsmalltalkatthebeginningofameetinghasneverbeensoimportant.Usethistimetounderstandyourclient’ssituationandstateofmindsoyou’reabletoadaptyourstorytellingtofeelrealandrelatable.Thisheightenstheirconfidenceinyou,yourwork,andultimately,yourdata.

Connectconsumer

needstoclientconcerns

Withsomuchunrest,