Steve Harrison shares tips on pitching big advertising ideas to hesitant clients at Dubai Lynx April 1, 2008
Posted by Farrukh Naeem at copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising, Advertising Agencies, Advertising Awards, Advertising Clients, Advertising Events, Advertising Pitch, Advertising in Dubai, Advertising in the UAE, BTL Advertising, Campaign Magazine, Client servicing, Creative Director, Direct Marketing, Dubai International Advertising Festival, Dubai Lynx Awards, Farrukh Naeem, Harrison Troughton Wunderman, Lack of creativity in advertising, Marketing, Steve Harrison , 5 commentsOn Day 1 of Dubai Lynx Awards and the Dubai International Advertising Festival, I was most interested in listening to the surprise session by Steve Harrison (not on the first released festival schedule but in the recent Dubai Lynx email notifications and updated schedule).
Steve has been described by Campaign magazine as “the greatest direct marketing creative of this generation” and his agency Harrison Troughton Wunderman has won more Cannes Direct Lions than any other agency in the world. Having worked at Wunderman and being passionate about direct marketing, how could I resist listening to someone who’s been the Worldwide Creative Director of Wunderman!
Steve’s presentation was about why clients buy bad work, and what can be done to stop them. Being a senior creative person who has to often present agency work to tough clients, I found Steve’s tips valuable and his interaction, engaging.
According to Steve Harrison, advertising agencies have to understand their clients before they can persuade them to buy great work. “You’ve got to start seeing the world through their eyes.” And one of the first key points to sell great work to clients - don’t sell bad work, don’t even take it to the client if you aren’t happy with it!
Also, before asking client to jump, agencies need to assure them they’ll take the client and his brand to the other side, that they know what they are doing.
“The client will never remember that you were three days late, but will always remember you for a bad campaign that bombed.”
Steve Harrison
Ex-Creative Director Worldwide - Wunderman
He cautioned agencies against producing dishonest work - ads that look like they’ve just been recycled from cliched, old concepts.
Steve’s answers were quick and witty. On being asked how clients that are family businesses should be dealt with, he suggested organising the pitch in their home with a smile. Businessmen may not be savvy about marketing but they know how to make money he said, and therefore, ads that will make them more money are sure to get their attention.
I asked Steve what he would do if the client loves a campaign but wants to change its big idea. Steve suggested doing a split test (like a true DM guy would). As well as presenting a completely new ad. A participant added that showing competitive ads could help. Of course, during his presentation he had already talked about getting the client involved from the briefing stage onwards in which case such a situation is less likely to arise.
The session was interactive with participants adding experiences of their market (a little too elaborately at times), talking about a ‘wine-women-wasta’ strategy, and the women in the audience objecting to the constant references to client’s wives.
As I was leaving, Steve thanked me for attending and said he liked my question and the insights I had shared with him on one of my campaigns. He’s delivering another seminar tomorrow but I might be battling agency deadlines. And making client logos bigger.
UPDATE - 10 April 2008: Samer Marzouq of Jazarah.net, another ad blogger buddy who had come all the way from Jordan, has a Video interview with Steve Harrison at Dubai Lynx in which Steve emphasises that clients must be trained by senior agency management on how to get their money’s worth out of an agency. I highly recommend the video.
