Winning A Business Pitch With Insight

Winning a
Business Pitch
with Insight
The complete guide for agencies
WINNING A BUSINESS PITCH WITH INSIGHT
Introduction
There’s so much attractive business up for grabs.
But for agencies, pitching for new business presents

a unique challenge.
With agility, energy and speed working in their favor,

the challenge comes when showcasing originality,
ingenuity and quality. It’s the latter elements
that make the difference between impressing the
prospect, and actually closing the deal.
This guide outlines what it takes to create the perfect

pitch; one that sidesteps the challenges and enables
agencies to put their best foot forward.
globalwebindex.com 2
01
Winning business
The challenges
3
Differentiation
Agencies are always looking to stand out from A convincing pitch evokes feelings of trust,
the crowd and the ways they can achieve this transparency and longevity, allowing brands to
are endless. envisage seeing tangible results by choosing you.
Demonstrating a unique approach will get Showcasing the fact that your agency’s unique
the desired result, especially if the agency is approach is founded on cutting-edge data ensures
relatively young. it projects energy and dynamism with inner depth.
Clients are looking to gain a solid return on their

investment above all things, so when pitching,
it pays to reveal the method behind your idea,
as well as your ability to accurately measure impact.
Time and resource

Agencies are fast-paced working environments, Every business is different,
making innovation a challenge. But without it, wants to be different, and
pitching won’t reflect the quality of service on offer. has different demands.
Moving fast poses an obstacle to process
innovation - and the negative effects of this For this reason, a one-size-fits-all mentality is
trickle down into pitching. unhelpful and can lead to missed opportunity.
Paradoxically, taking the time to unravel the client’s
Resource is often stretched and pitching for new problem and offer a meaningful solution can drain
business is time-consuming, even with an archive resources from other parts of the business.
of templates stored away.
As Shell’s Carolyn McKeever told Marketing Week,

“managing a pitch is like devoting yourself to sorting
out the front garden while you should be running
the household.”
Streamlining pitching is about achieving better

quality, faster, with minimal impact to day-to-day work.
Qualifying opportunities
If attracting new business leads isn’t a problem, When qualifying leads, ask yourself
then extracting the best opportunities is the these questions:
next challenge.
01 How well do they match our ideal
Identifying which businesses you’re best positioned customer profile?
to pitch for, as well as those logos that will propel
your brand forward, is the first step towards making 02 How big is the company?
the pitching process more efficient.
03 What industry are they in?
04 Where are our ideal customers located?
05 What's the ideal use case?
06 Which tools have they used in the past?
02
Why better insight

is paving the way
for success
8
Deep consumer insight is becoming more and Here’s what they’ve come to expect:
more central to business success, especially
when it comes to pitching.
Faster decisions
A number of factors are contributing to this,

Today’s clients are skipping the traditional RFI
but a big one is:
(Request for Information) step and going straight
to the teams to make faster decisions.
Along with consumers,
clients have changed. Casey Burnett, managing partner of the Burnett
Collective, tells AdAge his firm tries to get clients
and agencies together sooner in the process.
"Let's not find our agency based off of an RFI

response or a written RFP that frankly very few
people are going to read," he says. "Let's get
the teams together and see what happens from
that level."
Smarter targets BBDO uses GlobalWebIndex for consistent data to

drive both global and local campaigns and pitch with
What used to be extremely broad are now micro- confidence. Chris Daniele, VP and Director of Digital
targets. This is putting more pressure on agencies to Analytics and Measurement Lead at BBDO says: “This
clearly portray the value their ideas will deliver from data allows us to create and validate audiences on a
as early as pitch stage. It’s also increasing the need for global scale, which is something not a lot of agencies
audience and consumer insights that enable hyper- have at their disposal. This enables us to confidently
targeted marketing. go forward when we need to, with global audiences
and strategies.”
Data-driven creativity
Stronger relationships
Clients not only want big ideas. They want big ideas
backed by reliable data. This is what keeps the They’re not looking for a one-time hookup. Most
consumer in focus at all times. brands are now seeking a promise of long-term value,
which takes aligning your values with theirs, and
above all, proving your agency to be truly data-driven.
What does this mean for agencies?
Old agency realities New client expectations
Consumer-centric Creative-centric
Micro targets Broad targets
"Big data" Lack of data
Data-driven decisions Subjective decisions
All of this change points to one major shift:

to consumer-centric thinking.
With the consumer firmly in control of their purchase

journey, engaging them now takes far more than a
‘sexy’ creative.
Ticking these boxes means putting deep consumer

insight front and center. But the quality of your insight
depends on the quality of your data.
Why quality counts

It might seem like a no-brainer that the data Here’s why:
you’re using to back up your creative ideas and
recommendations should be rock solid. If your ideas aren’t backed by credible insight,
there’s no proof they’re worth the investment.
In reality, it’s an area where many agencies struggle,
considering the sheer amount of data at their If your research methodology and sample size isn’t
fingertips, from different sources, using different robust enough, your insight is useless.
methodologies.
If your data tells one story, and theirs tells another,
Ensuring your data source is as reliable as it can be you need to be sure yours is worthy of their
is one of the single most important steps any agency attention.
can take before pitching to a prospect.
Put plainly: If your data is unreliable, so are you.
What good data tells you
Who is it? What do they do? Why do they do it? How do they do it?
Demographics Online activities Motivations Social media usage

Attitudes Media consumption Preferences Device usage
Interests Online purchase Perceptions
Lifestyles journey Opinions
01 04 07
How do they How do they How do they
spend their typically discover perceive my
time online? new brands? brand?
02 05 08
Which social Where do the What motivates
platforms are they opportunities for them to make
most active on? interaction exist? a purchase?
Questions
your data 03 06 09
How do they What are What fosters
should answer interact with

my brand?
they most
interested in?
brand loyalty
among them?
How to gather good data

Invest in a single source of consumer insight with Analyze your audience’s actions.
a robust methodology.
Marry this with data on their interests, perceptions
Ensure you’re tracking real people, not devices and attitudes.
or IP addresses.
Match your findings with analytics.
Start by validating your client’s target audience.
Pull out the stats that tell a unique, impactful story.
Look to survey data first.
03
Pitch perfect
Creating better
pitches with
deeper insight
17
Treat data like a journey.
Look for the unexpected and
interrogate it until it’s interesting.
Devon Zdatny, Founder & CEO, First & First Consulting
18
A winning pitch
Tells the client a story

they haven't heard before
and substantiates it
A great pitch
with data.
Tells the client a
story they haven't
heard before.
A good pitch
Tells the client

a story.
How to get the edge

As part of the differentiation process, agencies often Being able to explain the direct impact your work
boast about their access to insider knowledge which can have on the client during a pitch is guaranteed
helps them achieve their goals. to grab their attention and place you ahead of
he competitors. Certain solutions can help you
get there.
Getting the edge isn’t just about
showing you’re hard-working, but
that you work smart.
Audience targeting validation

Audience mis-targeting is a problem for a number Being able to validate their target audience and
of brands - whether they’re aware of it or not. highlight areas for opportunity makes for an
inspiring pitch.
Become the expert on One of the more effective ways of doing this is
their audience. highlighting limitations with their current targeting,
such as:
Audience targeting validation technology is relatively Oversimplified audience profiles.

new and allows for creating hyper-detailed audience
segments. Even for those digitally-native clients, Broad channel choice.
they’re unlikely to have access to this level of detail.
Misguided media and creative choice.
Then, it’s about providing constructive advice for

how they can gain a better ROI with more intelligent
consumer profiling and targeting.
This positions your agency as the medium that

allows them to truly know their audience.
Make them think:
How did we ever do it before?
Brand data
How is the brand viewed amongst their target Within the subconscious response, capturing if and
audience? How can they take action to change certain how consumers respond emotionally to the brand is
perceptions? These are questions your pitch can also crucial.
provide the answers to.
Going beyond the obvious paints a picture of an
It’s straightforward to capture consumers’ rational agency that will deliver value in the long term.
perspectives and behaviors and build a strategy
around this insight, but understanding the
subconscious response to a brand is very often
a key influencer in decision-making.
What’s critical to consumers in driving key

behaviors and buying decisions?
What impact are brand interactions and

touchpoints having?
Which touchpoints are most important?
How can they strengthen the emotional
Here’s where connection consumers have withctheir brand?
you can guide

What perceptions are currently blocking repeat
purchasing?
them with data What should they prioritize to improve brand

performance?
Concept testing
Showing that you have your feet on the ground It involves making informed decisions about their
and an eye on the future is always attractive to concept development direction.
clients. Particularly if you can support their own
plans for development. By understanding trends, pain points, barriers and
white space relevant to the client, and taking into
One way of achieving this is by supporting their new account behavioral, attitudinal and market dependent
product, concept or campaign plans through concept levers, it provides an accurate forecast of realistic
testing, and having the capacity to analyze consumer consumer take-up.
response amongst their target audience throughout
the process.
Case Study
How Snickers used insight
for 'You’re Not You when
You’re Hungry'
globalwebindex.com
26
'You’re Not You when

You’re Hungry'
Mars, the company behind Snickers, are always The challenge
looking to shape and reshape their message to move
with the changing times (certainly reflected in their From 2007 to 2009, growth for Snickers lagged
2019 rebrand). behind other global chocolate brands, both in relative
and absolute terms.
But perhaps their campaign, led by advertising
agency AMV BBDO, You’re Not You when You’re As James Miller, Global Head of Strategy for Mars at
Hungry, is the brand’s centerpiece, built on the idea AMV BBDO, states, “Snickers was growing, but losing
that Snickers is the ultimate hunger-quencher. market share. Projections showed that if it remained
on the same trajectory, the brand would lose its
position as the world’s leading chocolate bar”.
The key challenge was identifying opportunities The action

to improve effectiveness across marketing and
communications. The campaign, You’re Not You when You’re Hungry,
was born from consumer insights gathered on the
James explains that over time, their work had become male psyche.
too targeted and niche in its appeal.
“When you’re hungry, you’re just not yourself. And,
when you’re not yourself, it has a real impact on your
ability to remain part of the pack.”
We needed to think about Snickers The brand released a series of 30 second
as an iconic US brand with wide advertisements in which a Snickers bar was the hero,
enabling men to avoid becoming cranky, weak or
appeal, such as Budweiser, Jeep
dopey because they’re hungry, and to stay calm so
or Levi’s.
they remain part of the pack.
The company had two options, go global and aim In its first full year, it helped increase global sales of
for scale, or go local and aim for engagement - they Snickers by 15.9% and grew market share in 56 of the
chose the latter. 58 markets in which it ran.
In total, it generated 400 million incremental and

The result
unpaid media impressions with a media value equal
to $28.6m – 11.4 times the initial investment.
The campaign won awards at every major creative
gathering, including Cannes Lions, The One
The impact of the campaign, its rapid global adoption
Show, D&AD and the Emmys. It has also scooped
and high local market engagement meant sales
every major effectiveness award, including two
of Snickers increased by $376m during a two-year
Effectiveness Lions, an IPA gold, and global and local
period between 2010-2012.
Effies and AME Awards.
Rules for a
perfect pitch
Do your research on the client.
deck Know their target audience better than they do.
Portray your team’s data-driven edge.
Include the insights they may not have access to.
Make your research methodology transparent.
Bring it to life with relevant case studies.
04
Getting personal
Using custom for

more tailored results
31
Personalized marketing and customer experiences is But industry-leading brands aren’t the only ones
nothing new, but it's getting more attention. seeing the results from getting personal. New
technology and the level of data available is paving
Our latest research shows 34% of consumers would the way for brands of every size to follow in Amazon’s
be motivated to promote their favorite brand online footsteps and create personalized experiences that
with content that’s relevant to their interests. drive revenue.
And it’s proven in success: leading the way in

personalization is Amazon, who using its reputable
recommendation algorithm reported a 29% sales
increase to $12.83 billion during its second fiscal
quarter, up from $9.9 billion during the same time the
previous year.
Making it work
Creating personalized marketing and experiences has Custom surveys offer a way
everything to do with good quality data and the way to bypass that barrier.
you use it.
Every customer is different, so the data you need By working with a team of experts, carefully selecting
will be different too. A key barrier to implementing your target audience and the questions you want to
a tailored approach lies in brands using broad ask, specific to your business objectives, you can
consumer insight that fails to translate the inherent uncover the data needed to make it work.
traits, interests and perceptions of the people
they’re targeting. Here’s how Sony Pictures did it.
Case Study
How Sony Pictures steered
its strategy with custom
research
globalwebindex.com
34
Sony Pictures
Sony owns the largest music entertainment business Amrita Roy, Research Analyst at Sony, says, “For this
in the world. Within its Hong Kong arm, the team specific project, there’s no traditional hard data on
needed to uncover more revealing insight that would who these people are, what they’re watching or how
point their strategy in the right direction and justify much they’re watching.”
their spend.
The situation was clear: the team needed truthful,
tailored answers straight from the consumers they
The challenge
were targeting.
Getting a regional view of international content.
Looking to create and roll out Korean TV drama The action

content in the U.S., the team needed deep insight into Using custom research to get to the right answers.
those who consume this type of content in order to
reach them effectively. Making use of a special custom study run by
GlobalWebIndex, which collects tailored survey
responses within 24 hours, the team found what

they were looking for.
Secondly, it backs up our hypothesis

With the answers they needed, the team could build
strong, granular consumer profiles that would make
that we should be producing more
a clear difference to the project’s outcome. Korean dramas to export outside
of Asia.
The result
Backing up hypotheses with reliable data. “We already distribute some Korean content, so this
data really helps us justify its value,” Michael says.
By moving away from secondary, static data and
harnessing information truly tailored to their project, The study supplied them with the insight they were
the team could confidently make recommendations missing, allowing them to guide their strategy in the
to their colleagues. right direction.
More informed decision-making with

tailored insight.
Streamlined data sources with research specific

to your project.
Improved advertising with the ability to test
The big
and develop concepts.
Winning pitches with fast data that answers
benefits of the questions the client can’t.
The good news for today’s agencies is there’s no
fast custom longer a need for expensive studies that take weeks
or even months to complete. With solutions now
research offering results as fast as overnight, there’s no excuse

not to further for those hidden answers.
05
The agencies
to learn from
38
WINNING A BUSINESS PITCH WITH INSIGHT E X PE R T FE AT U R E
We don’t just
Yes, data drives actionable insights. It helps us better
understand our target consumers. It allows us to
need data.
make better business decisions. But agencies often
lose sight of the fact that data, at its best, is also fun.
We want data. Why we need data
At the core, agencies largely need consumer data

to help support the recommendations they’re making
Devon Zdatny, to clients.
Founder & CEO,
First & First Consulting Why are we focusing on this audience? Why are we
using this messaging? Why do we think this is the
right channel to reach our target?
Agencies need data to be believable and to get If you know you’ll need it, lead with it. Stop saying
buy-in. This can often breed a sentiment of: “Here’s we should do x because our target does y” and
a number so you’ll let me do what I want to do.” start saying, “our target does x, so we should do y.”
As a result, data can become transactional, and
transactional exchanges can be hugely detrimental to Anticipate the need and make it core to your
the agency/client relationship. approach.
Why we want data
Agencies want to invigorate their clients but have

So, how do you avoid letting data historically underestimated data’s ability to help
become transactional? them do this. This is because data has long been
associated with math instead of with stories––and
let’s face it, math can be a bit scary.
The answer lies in being “data-first”. Data should drive
insights, which should drive creativity. Too often,
agencies let this model operate entirely backward.
But more and more agencies are embracing data The key to doing this is to use data to take
as a means of selling through ideas while fostering your clients on an emotional journey:
deeper, more meaningful client relationships.
01 Comfort them by demonstrating the scalability
and nuance of an insight.
02 Excite them by telling them something they didn’t

know about their target.
Celebrate the want by creating
drama and treating every data 03 Shock thwem by proving the opposite of what
they previously thought.
point like a character in the
brand’s story.
Agencies to watch
Media: MediaCom
What they’re doing right How they’re doing it
MediaCom is one of the largest media agencies, with Using a single-source, third-party data set, they’re
a focus on building connections through content. able to determine where their client’s consumers
are spending their time, what content they’re
As part of this, at the core of their strategic thinking consuming, as well as understand their wider
is consumer data. By understanding the consumers interests and opinions.
they’re targeting, they can ensure their budgets are
allocated to the best possible channels. The agency leverages this to gain a competitive
advantage and closely meet its clients’ needs in
a market where digital marketing is becoming
more prevalent.
PR: Shift
A large part of communications is industry knowledge Their three-pronged approach to PR, spanning
and connections. But measuring reach and awareness research, application and measurement across
achieved by PR efforts is difficult to measure accurately. traditional and digital media, offers an end-to-end
solution.
However, Shift are storming ahead of the competition
with data-driven insights.
With clients spanning a number of vehicles, including

tech, healthcare and lifestyle, Shift’s approach to PR
guides more measurable and effective influencer,
thought leadership and content marketing strategies.
Creative: Ark Agency
Ark Agency describe themselves as a data-driven Their approach to client work always starts with
creative agency, providing high-performing digital data which is then fed into creative planning and
assets and ads for brands based on consumer and implementation, ensuring that the messaging retains
industry insights. as ‘human’ an element as possible.
Each campaign is managed end-to-end, with data They also take a rigorous approach to impact
being recorded and analyzed throughout the measurement, ensuring they deliver on all aspects of
planning, optimization and measurement stages. the campaign brief.
Final thoughts
Pitching is a necessary part of every business,
so treat it like one.
on creating Developing a pitch shouldn’t feel like a rushed

inconvenience that drains time and resource from
a winning pitch other areas. After all, growth is dependent on signing

new clients regularly.
The first step to streamlining the process is having

the resources in place, providing you with the insights
needed to evoke the wow! factor from your potential
clients.
This not only makes a more impactful pitch because

you have the authority to show them something
ground-breaking, it speeds up the whole process,
providing the guiding light for its direction.
5 things to
remember
Save resource by working Make them think,
smarter, not harder. ‘how did we ever
do this before?’
Leave one-size-fits-all
behind and make detail Bring insights to life
your mantra. with tangible examples
and case studies.
Wow them with a new
truth about their audience
or brand.
Need help
with a pitch?
Make it stand out with the right insight
Book a demo

Winning A Business Pitch With Insight

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Winning a

But for agencies, pitching for new business presents

With agility, energy and speed working in their favor,

This guide outlines what it takes to create the perfect

Clients are looking to gain a solid return on their

Time and resource

As Shell’s Carolyn McKeever told Marketing Week,

Streamlining pitching is about achieving better

04 Where are our ideal customers located?

05 What's the ideal use case?

06 Which tools have they used in the past?

Why better insight

A number of factors are contributing to this,

"Let's not find our agency based off of an RFI

Smarter targets BBDO uses GlobalWebIndex for consistent data to

What does this mean for agencies?

Old agency realities New client expectations

Micro targets Broad targets

"Big data" Lack of data

Data-driven decisions Subjective decisions

All of this change points to one major shift:

With the consumer firmly in control of their purchase

Ticking these boxes means putting deep consumer

Why quality counts

What good data tells you

Demographics Online activities Motivations Social media usage

should answer interact with

How to gather good data

Devon Zdatny, Founder & CEO, First & First Consulting

Tells the client a story

Tells the client

How to get the edge

Audience targeting validation

Audience targeting validation technology is relatively Oversimplified audience profiles.

Then, it’s about providing constructive advice for

This positions your agency as the medium that

Make them think:

How did we ever do it before?

What’s critical to consumers in driving key

What impact are brand interactions and

Which touchpoints are most important?

How can they strengthen the emotional

Here’s where connection consumers have withctheir brand?

you can guide

them with data What should they prioritize to improve brand

'You’re Not You when

The key challenge was identifying opportunities The action

We needed to think about Snickers The brand released a series of 30 second

In total, it generated 400 million incremental and

deck Know their target audience better than they do.

Portray your team’s data-driven edge.

Include the insights they may not have access to.

Make your research methodology transparent.

Bring it to life with relevant case studies.

Using custom for

And it’s proven in success: leading the way in

Looking to create and roll out Korean TV drama The action

responses within 24 hours, the team found what

Secondly, it backs up our hypothesis

More informed decision-making with

Streamlined data sources with research specific

Improved advertising with the ability to test

Winning pitches with fast data that answers