Reflections: How Malaysian agency folks prep before a massive pitch

Pitches are never easy, and many agencies often try to avoid it by growing their business organically or through word of mouth. But to keep it completely unavoidable is, well, unavoidable. 

So how to do agency heads keep their cool before a big day of presentation? How do they inspire their staff to do better and put their finest game faces on?

We hear from industry heads who have played the game in the Malaysian ad scene, and have come out on top.

Shaun Tay, co-owner and CEO, The Shout Group and FCB SHOUT:

Pitch rituals? Well, I have less rituals and more like annoying habits which my team can attest to. I get up early on most days anyway but on pitch days its at the crack of dawn! Armed with a pad of post-it notes, it’s the heady times of uninterrupted obsessing over pitch materials and the presentation decks.  Of course, the team LOVES waking up to a flurry of ‘tweaks’ and ‘fixits’…no better way of getting the adrenaline going! Personal post pitch decompression involves a quiet period of reflection and numerous adult beverages of varying potency.

Tanner Nagib, founder, Beatnk:

I always start by psyching myself - there's no point in pitching if I'm not going to try to win it. Firstly, I ask myself "Do we want this business? Can we manage it if we win it? Will we be able to truly make a difference?"

Assuming these are all a go-ahead, you will need to ensure you showcase traits that justify you and your team as the right partners for the brand. You can do this by showcasing that you have embraced the brand, then the ability to deliver on its objectives, and lastly, how you will make a difference that the others can not.

I am big on embracing the brand - there was once I was pitching for a sanitary pad brand - that I had worn one every day for a week to try and understand what it felt like to have to.


Prashant Kumar, founder, Entropia:

Well blue jeans and white shirt is our uniform. And we love to laugh a bit before going for it. We also tell ourselves that the clients in room already love us and we just need to not let them down. We have very diverse pitches - some about platforms to CTO, some about data to CIO, some about campaigns to CMO, some about marketing transformation to CEOs or CFOs and the likes. Tough to have just one way with too many rituals. But a critical mindset we walk in with is, that us and clients are really on the same side. The audience and judge is actually the customer. And the enemy more and more is the future.

VJ Anand, APAC head of creative and managing partner, VaynerMedia

I love pitches. I used to perform with a band and that high you get being stage, only pitches gives me that kinda jitters and excitement. Pre pitch, we usually do our homework, research every single thing thoroughly. My one thing I try to do every time is finish the pitch deck and rehearsals two days before the pitch and use the last day prior to pitch as a chill day.

Go out and drink, party, celebrate the pitch work that’s done. Win or loose, the team did a good job. So let’s just have fun and party, bring that energy to the pitch Presso the next day. No stress. It’s just a pitch. And we have fun doing it.

What are some of your pitch rituals? Share with me at yoganeethas@marketing-interactive.com.