Having already been briefed by the client, Standard Chartered Bank, delegates retired to their rooms shortly before 3.00 to formulate their pitch presentations. With just 22 hours remaining to the start of the pitching process, the atmosphere was noticeably more charged than the previous day.
Nonetheless, the teams went back armed with a significant amount of guidance, imparted over half a day of thought-provoking presentations from some of the industry's brightest thinkers, as well as a Q&A session with client representatives Nicola Apostolis, senior manager of brand advertising, and Amanda Houlihan, head of transactional branding.
In addition to discussing the rules concerning the bank's sponsorship of Liverpool Football Club, delegates received information on the company's most profitable products, and on what is expected beyond numbers as a measure of success - namely, delivery of profits in a manner that reinforces the bank's ‘Here for good' ethos. Apostolis revealed that opportunities existed for the agency most able to take the lead as a partner in digital, which she said was an area the bank did not yet fully understand.
The session was followed by a series of pertinent presentations from mentors and speakers. First up was Shu Fen Goh, principal of pitch consultancy R3, on what a client looks for in a pitch. Goh said that beyond rudimentary negotiating ability, this in essence amounted to four points: communications planning capabilities; value for money; tools (an area where media agencies have a clear advantage over creative counterparts) and "media creativity". Goh added that it was important for media agencies to be prepared to split the risk of an initiative with the client.
"You need to put your money where your mouth is if you want the client to see you as a partner rather than a slave," Goh said. "You have to take part in the success or failure of the client. Embracing accountability is the only way forward if you really want a relationship."
Next up was Neil Stewart, regional chief executive of Maxus, who explained in concise terms the principles behind achieving insight. Central to everything, he said, was the ability to question and to observe real behaviour. "You have to interrogate the brand, the category and the audience," he urged. "Joining them up will help you find a new perspective."
The overriding message stressed by all the morning's speakers, which also included Harpreet Kaintel, regional chief strategy officer for Zenith Optimedia, Torie Henderson, chief executive of OMG Singapore, and Linda Robson, director of learning and development for GroupM, was the need to simplify. In particular, Henderson guarded against becoming attracted to "shiny objects" such as Facebook pages and iPhone applications as standalone concepts. She pointed out that a successful idea must be grounded in insight, be scalable and sustainable and translate across multiple platforms.
Equally valuable was Robson's advice on delivering the idea itself. A keen writer herself, Robson stress the importance of telling a story when pitching to a client, noting that the average adult is able to concentrate for just 20 minutes. "You have to condense all the interesting points. A story is there to hold the audience's attention all the way through," she explained, adding that too often, features were emphasised over benefits in a pitch presentation.
How the teams respond will be eagerly awaited by the judges this afternoon.
