Page 37 - Adnews Magazine Sep-Oct 2020

Pitching
The feel and skills needed for pitching have changed, with many reporting shorter sessions and less reliance on reading the room because of the difficulty judging reactions of individuals via video such as Zoom.
Michelle Holland at Ogilvy believes little has changed about pitching. “It’s just that different things are more important now,” she says.
“I think that for clients, the way we are now pitching has made things better for them. A lot of the unconscious biases are removed as the process is more transparent.
“Pitches can often be decided by anything BUT the work. Great early chemistry, impressive pitch theatre, a really slick and engaging presentation.
“Ironically, these are all the things that are hard to achieve on a Zoom call, which means, for the time being, the focus is back on the purity of thinking and the ideas. It is a far more precise (and cleaner) way to show- case your agency’s thinking.
“That said, we know how important chemistry is to both clients and agencies and with fewer/harder meetings with potential clients, it’s more difficult to build up that rapport. That’s going to be something we have – and will – struggle with.”
Paul Rees-Jones, executive planning director, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, says the crisis has changed the nature of business relationships.
“Deeper, more honest, even at times vulnerable discussions have emerged in the current climate with clients and the question remains, will this continue as the financial realities come more into being?” he says.
“One scenario is both clients and agencies more readily cutting to the chase on the hard to have issues while the inessential will be stripped away. There’ll be less time and patience for vague responses and slow ‘nos’.
“Equally, the danger is the temptation for short-termism as cost pres- sures mount and yet strategy not tactics and long-term planned ways forward will be more valuable than ever.
“When it comes to the likes of WFH, pitching, and form and shape of work, flexibility will to be the key.
“I never would have believed how productive and actually taxing it can be working remotely and working at home, because it's very hard to switch off.”
Matt McGrath CMO, Deloitte
“One of the silver linings to the COVID-19 period is rather than big groups of people, agency and cli- ent alike working on a problem, we’re seeing the natural tendency for smaller groups working on more problems. This is a good thing and leads to more productive thinking and outcomes regardless where you’re working.”
Media consumption
Investment bank Jefferies: “We still think traditional media, espe- cially FTA TV, is still the best way to capture mass audience for brand building. However, the cur- rent economic environment makes brand building challenging.”
To understand how significant change has been with how media is consumed just look at our relation- ship with technology over the past six months, says Paul Rees-Jones at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne.
“It’s our relationship with time that’s also played its role – having more of it and the boredom factor,” he says.
Clemenger BBDO’s AustraliaNOW study shows more than one in five aged 60+ are becoming more confident in using technology, out of necessity, and as online buying habits transform.
“The rapid acceleration of ecommerce across so many tradi- tional service and retail brands is testament to this,” he says.
“People’s appetite and need for more and better content is likely to endure, especially broadcast and streamed TV, and online vid- eos where we’re looking to get more into something and genu- inely engage or equally to escape.
“Our need for online press and credible news will also continue to be in demand. We will want to know what’s going on and have our own perspective.
Kim Portrate, CEO of ThinkTV, says she started to get a sense of a return to “normal” when people began suggesting meetings in per- son rather than via video.
She says Australians turned to TV during the height of the pandemic for vital information as well as escape. Audiences surged for TV in all its forms with increases of up to 30% for linear while broadcaster video-on-d Demand (BVOD) established a new baseline of viewership.
Fake Colgate ad by Adrian Elton
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