Here we are, gametime. Let's see what our team had to say about the first pitch....

Bo: Account Manager

I think the pitch went great. I was impressed with how well everyone handled themselves, the preparation that was taken and the professionalism that was displayed. I think we effectively communicated the things we wanted to and honestly were able to present some really cool ideas. Everyone did their part and they did it well. It was also great to know that we had listened to the client and they wanted to use a lot of our ideas. When they asked for our deck at the end of the presentation I knew we had done our job and done it well!

The team had to put in a lot of work to succeed on our pitch. The week leading up to the pitch was a lot of long hours, a lot of people putting in their content, challenging ideas, really pushing everyone to think beyond just the initial concept of the pitch. The team did phenomenal when people were asked to stay later to work on something they did. No one sat there only working on their job description, everyone worked to make sure the pitch was 100% ready, and what we wanted it to be.

I personally spent a lot of time understanding what everyone's role in the presentation was going to be, understanding the ideas that were brought forth, and seeing how they all fit into the story we were trying to tell with this pitch. I also spent a lot of time making sure the deck and what we were saying was what we wanted to communicate to the client. The night before I ran through the pitch probably more times than I could count, and wrote speaker notes so I wasn't trying to remember everything in my head and getting jumbled up in the presentation because I was afraid I forgot to hit on a key point.
I would say these few things can be universally applied no matter what pitch you are presenting:

Know your stuff and be confident that you know it
Tell the story of your project. Show how it lives and breathes as an entity. Show off the heart and meaning of your project.
Listen to the client and make sure you are delivering to them what they want.
Practice, practice, practice
Make sure your team and you are all on the same page.
Have fun. These are your ideas that you think can really make a difference and help your client out. If you don't think they are fun and cool, the client won't think so either

Elodie: Media Strategist

I believe that the first pitch went really well! We received extremely positive feedback as well as some great tips for the future. In order to become pitch-ready, our team practiced A LOT. We were all making sure we mastered our parts, as well as making sure that we could deliver it in a smooth way all together. We worked hard to get rid of any mistakes, and focused on how our ideas were being translated to our audience. Personally, I had to practice on my own and master my part as well as the rest of the parts of the presentation. I think the key to giving a great pitch or presentation is feeling confident in what you are delivering to your audience. If you know your stuff, then the presentation will go smoothly.

I think that a thing to remember in order to deliver a successful pitch would be to be confident. While I was really nervous to give the presentation to anyone in the agency that wanted to come, I was confident in my research, and I was confident in our ideas as a whole, so I was mostly excited to finally get to present on them.

Haley: Account Strategist

I think the pitch for our first project went really well. We practiced a lot and put substantial thought into our tactics, so when we were presented with questions at the end we had answers prepared for most everything that was asked. I feel like the whole process of developing the campaign helped us to be pitch ready. Every conversation we had discussing tactics to their completion and brainstorming images to represent the ideas all served the purpose of preparing us for the final pitch. Additionally, I think when we sat down and discussed the slide deck and then practiced the completed pitch before the presentation in front of the whole agency, it helped us a lot to know what everyone was responsible for speaking about and what the flow of the pitch looked like. Personally, to feel pitch-ready I sat down and wrote out what I wanted to say on each slide I was speaking on. Then, I practiced presenting this information by speaking through these ideas with their corresponding slide by myself until I could look at the content of the slide and automatically recall the key points I wanted to communicate.

To give a successful pitch, make sure to think through all of the ideas to the point where you have a strong understanding and can answer questions on the subject comfortably. Additionally, discuss who is responsible for presenting what content ahead of time to make sure there's no awkward pauses or confusion during the presentation. Lastly, practice until you're comfortable with the flow of the presentation with your teammates and ask them to listen for any crutch words you use or distracting mannerisms

Nick: Copywriter

I'm really happy with our work and how well we presented it. I couldn't be more proud of what we achieved on the merry mission campaign. We did a good deal of practicing in the days leading up to the pitch, but the most important preparation came throughout the entire process. We worked really hard every day to understand the essence of our campaign why we were executing it the way we did.

To personally prepare for the pitch I woke up early, ate a good breakfast and came in like it was any other day. I really try not to psych myself out in these situations so I can feel as natural as possible while presenting. When delivering a successful pitch stay calm and believe in what you are pitching.

Josh Richter: Content Manager

I’m extremely happy with how our pitch turned out! My teammates delivered their parts extremely well and I feel like everyone fully explained their point to the client. Our transitions were smooth and we all were able to fill in any information that may have been skipped over. I think we attacked each objective precisely and ended up having a great first pitch.

Our team did a good job preparing ahead of time for the pitch as everyone knew the ins and outs of what they were presenting. We spent days running through the presentation before presenting in front of the client. Personally, to get ready for the pitch, I made sure I knew my material and any information that surrounded the topics I would be discussing. I woke up early, made myself a big breakfast, and rehearsed thoroughly before I walked out of the door. When I got to HLK I took a deep breath and remembered to relax. I knew the information, I knew my teammates would help me if I started to fall; I knew that everything was going to be fine. Keeping things relaxed and simply having a conversation with the client was the perfect mindset to have in order to succeed.

An important point to remember when delivering a pitch is that everyone in the entire room wants you to win. No one is rooting against you so relax, get in there, and do what you came to do!

Julia: Art Director

The pitch went well in my eyes because of a few key things. We have chemistry and work well together, we are all on the same team. Everyone was so encouraging leading up to the pitch, it really helped ease the nerves. We had great concepts & content, so I really think we rocked it. The practice pitch helped redirect us a ton to better our final pitch. In order to get pitch ready, we practiced the day before multiple times. That was incredibly helpful. I THOUGHT I was going to make a good breakfast and get to work early the morning of, but things don’t always go as planned. But I did meet with my mentor leading up to the pitch, his insight was very pivotal. Tips to remember to give a successful pitch: You are all on the same team! No one is rooting against you. What you have created is your work, so be proud! Own whatever is on that screen and speak confidently about it.