How to Pitch Creative Concepts to Stakeholders

Pitching and Deck Creation. Half Art & Half Science. Most get the psychology game wrong. I’ve researched and tested a lot on this topic... Let’s say you nailed the creative on the pitch, it’s fucking perfect. You know it, the team knows it, it’s a win. But it’s not yet. Because now is the part that you haven’t spent 1000’s of hours honing your skill with immense passion. The presentation. Financial deal makers have, you haven’t. ↗ 1st mistake - assuming an in-person, zoom, and a leave behind are the same thing. They are different and should be thought about differently. You should probably be doing at least two alt versions, a Live and Leave Behind. - For an in-person you want almost no copy on your slides. Just headers and key points so people can follow along. Think about a Ted talk, are they reading the screen? Are they asking the audience to read along like school children? No, the focus is on the speaker so that they understand the concepts and are in conversation. That’s you. - For leave behind - should be thought of as a sales tool for who you just spoke with. Because guess what, unfortunately you probably didn’t talk to the ultimate decision maker. You just provided a tool for that person to passionately sell the work up the chain. Make sure you provide them with what they need. ↗ 2nd mistake - you rush through the presentation in order to get to the end. What you ideally want to do is engage in a dynamic conversation. Get them talking, asking questions, make it light, get live feedback, solve problems on the spot, and laugh y’all. - Second best - deliver in 20mins and engage in a Q&A. Why 20? That’s the max attention span of people for this type of thing. If 20 is impossible, make sure you tell the story in a way where you're aware you will probably lose them. Side convo’s are even easier during virtual. ↗ 3rd mistake - you aren't actually answering what they need to make a decision. Make sure you FULLY understand what they need. Working this process is often the difference maker, and shouldn't be left up to only the producers. For the advanced class read Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff. It’s made for billion dollar deal makers but the principles work for creatives as well. For the ultra advanced, the goal is to win the job before anyone pitches, but I'll save that for another post;) Hope this was helpful. Will try to give more learnings on this topic if so.

Want your next campaign concept to get approved? Don’t just pitch the creative. Pitch the speech. If you work in marketing - especially in higher ed - you know how tough it can be to get leadership buy-in on a new campaign. You show the spec creative: mockups, homepage drafts, billboards. You walk through the strategy. And still... it stalls. Why? Because there’s often a gap between concept and execution - and non-marketers tend to respond to what’s in front of them. Instead of engaging with the core idea, they get caught up in early creative details: font choices, image selection, color palettes. The idea gets lost in the execution. Here’s a trick I’ve used that dramatically increases the chance of getting a green light: 🗣️ Write a speech Specifically, a speech the president (or chancellor, or provost) could give that naturally incorporates the campaign’s core message. Why? Because great campaigns shouldn’t live only in the advertising. They should echo across the institution - from the homepage to the podium. From the subway to the State of the University. Writing a presidential speech helps leadership see the campaign's potential beyond colors and taglines. It shifts the conversation away from “Do I like this photo?” and toward “This sounds like us.” So next time you're selling a big idea? 👉 Don’t just pitch creative. Pitch the speech.

I've pitched in various roles for about a decade now. Here's my best tips to win more pitches. 1. Pitch only when you can win. 2. Evaluate each prospect on budget, strategic fit, creative potential, and culture. Pass if two of the four fail. 3. Open with the client's problem, not your show‑reel. About us goes in the appendix and gets no more than two slides, one of which should be your team. Give the first 90 percent of the deck to their challenges, market, and goals. 4. One person from your agency should introduce everyone. Do not go around the room. It should sound like, "This is Zachary Carpenter, he's responsible for X, and in just a moment, he'll tell you the interesting things he found about your consumer that informed our creative." Tie every introduction to the pitch. 5. Frame the pitch as one clear story. Ruthlessly cut anything that doesn't respond to it. This is not the time to pile on. Do that in a leave behind. Draft a two sentence narrative that states the tension and the future state. Use that line to police every slide, visual, and transition. 6. Prove you understand them before day one. Mystery shop their product, scrape reviews, speak with past agency partners, and walk their stores or site. 7. Open the meeting with a finding they have likely never heard before. 8. Win on chemistry. Be a friend before you are a salesperson. Friends are far more likely to listen. 9. Bring only the core team who will work on the business. 10. Rehearse until the talk track feels like muscle memory. Schedule three full run throughs on camera. Time each section, trim five percent, and fix every stumble the same day. 11. Design slides for three second comprehension. One idea per slide, no more than eight words in any text block, 60 point minimum font, full bleed images whenever possible. Slides should be visual aides, not drivers of the presentation. 12. Offer a bold point of view. Ask yourself if it's actually bold. State a provocative insight or strategic bet in the first five minutes, then back it with one killer stat and one case example. 13. Close with the next steps, not questions. End with a simple chart showing timeline, decision gates, fee structure, and kickoff date. 14. Leave a more comprehensive leave-behind that includes anything you cut from the pitch and loved. 15. Run a post mortem every time. Within 24 hours gather the team, list three wins and three misses, capture client feedback verbatim, and update the pitch playbook before the memory fades.