How to Pitch an Advertisement in 7 Steps

A pitch is how an advertising agency proposes marketing ideas for a brand, product, or service to a prospective client. An ad agency pitch should present the agency’s marketing strategy in a creative way and express how their marketing efforts will accomplish the client’s goals and deliver the brand’s message.

Once you’ve conceived your idea for an ad campaign and assembled your creative content, you’re ready to pitch it to the client. The ad-pitching process has seven steps:

1. 1. Set the pitch meeting. Often, a client initiates an agency pitch meeting by sending out a request for proposal (RFP). The RFP provides a concise overview of the information your agency needs to decide whether or not to pitch. If you accept the pitch request, the client sets a meeting time. It’s important to alert the client of which team members (for example the creative director, copywriter, account executive, or art director) will attend the meeting. Lastly, confirm that all the decision-makers on the client’s side will be able to attend the meeting; the last thing you want is for a junior member of the client’s staff to have to relay a summary of your pitch to the company’s top brass.
2. 2. Prepare and rehearse. Memorize every detail of the client’s creative brief. The more informed you are, the better your chances of getting hired. Understand the client’s goals and potential customers, then practice your pitch. If you work hard during prep time, you’ll deliver a better pitch.
3. 3. Make the introduction. Start a pitch meeting by thanking the client for meeting with you, then introduce your team members, especially if you’re a new agency and you haven’t worked with them previously. After the introduction, provide a concise overview of your marketing campaign’s objectives.
4. 4. Present your market research and case studies. Walk your potential client through the research that your agency has conducted on the target audience, and clarify which ad platforms you plan to use. For example, you might explain how your research showed that social media marketing and partnerships with influencers would be more effective than print ads. If you’re using a pitch deck to present your case study, avoid writing out blocks of boring text. Instead, use eye-catching infographics and statistics to tell a compelling narrative story.
5. 5. Present your creative content. It’s time to show off all your creative ideas. Make sure to create mockups of your campaign proposals in the same medium that they would actually appear. For example, if your ad will be distributed through digital content marketing, don’t just show how the ad looks on its own; instead, display it on an actual website or on its intended social media platform.
6. 6. Go over the budget. Detail your expected budget for your campaign, including both the cost of your creative agency and the anticipated cost of the media agency who will take care of getting the ads out into the world.
7. 7. End on a memorable note. This is your last chance to stand out. Clearly encapsulate the essence of your campaign in a captivating way. Ask the client if they have any questions and thank them for inviting you to pitch. Making a good impression sets you up for future success. Even if the client chooses another agency this time, they might ask you to pitch again on one of their next campaigns if they’re impressed by the caliber of your work.

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