Kaitlin Simpson

As the Director of Marketing Operations for the Applied Integrated Marketing Communications program, I took the lead in planning a Client Pitch Event where our 6 content creator teams were able to present their content product ideas. We hoped this event would not only give some of our content creators an opportunity to learn how to create and present a pitch to a client but allow them to get early feedback on their ideas and increase transparency between different teams so that they can work together more easily throughout the quarter.

Planning

In the planning stages for this event, it was important that we get information out as soon as possible to all key stakeholders: the client (the Marketing Program), the panelists, the location host, any other service providers for the event, and the IMC product managers and content creators.

The most important details to have ready when initially alerting people of an event are:

·         The premise of the event and its value

·         The intended location

·         The intended date

·         The intended time and duration

·         Whether or not the event is in-person/remote/hybrid

After key stakeholders have confirmed they are available and will attend the event, breaking down what will be needed to make attendees feel comfortable, well-informed, and like they have everything need to be successful.

For the product managers and content creators, that meant providing them with guidance on how to create their product and communicate it to the client. So, I made an infographic to help content creators understand the order in which they should go about creating their product.

And then I created a template for them to follow, so that they had all the elements they would need for a 5-minute pitch. I didn’t want to hamper their creativity in communicating their idea, so I decided not to create a full deck for them to copy-paste their ideas into.

As for the client and panelists, I developed editable feedback forms that could be used both by in-person and remote attendees with instructions on how to use the feedback form.

I also had to make sure that the event could logistically be hosted within an hour and a half, meaning that each team had slightly less than 15 minutes for them to get their slide decks ready, present their pitch, and answer questions about their pitch. This required getting the equipment beforehand and troubleshooting any issues that might arise before the event as well as creating a tightly run schedule that we needed to get everyone to adhere to.

What I Would Do Better Next Time

• Delegation: Because I was the lead of this event and most of the tasks revolving around it involved logistics, I felt the need to assign myself most of the tasks even though I had a team to rely upon. I should have delegated more tasks and oversaw the execution rather than take the entire burden on myself. Some tasks were left undone until the weekend before the event because I was struggling to get everything done. If I had delegated out more tasks, I’m sure the event planning would’ve been executed in a timelier manner.
• Think About Accessibility: I should have done a more thorough job, in the initial stages of planning, of validating my plan for hybrid attendance. I had planned to meet with remote attendees over Teams and didn’t question that plan until much closer to the event. I realized that Zoom was a much more accessible video conferencing platform, but now I had little time and a lot of troubleshooting to do before the event to make sure it would work.
• Communication: There were two communication breakdowns before the event. The first was realized when the client asked 15 minutes before the event when they needed to arrive. I should have made it clear to the client and panelists that arriving early to the event would be needed to keep the event on schedule. The other was that in-person clients and panelists did not seem to adhere to the feedback forms provided and instead wrote their own notes and preferred to verbally give their feedback. The email in which they received their event information was long and the feedback forms were at the bottom. I also didn’t remind them before the event of where they should be recording their feedback. Gathering that data in post will likely be either impossible or not as valuable as the pitches are not as salient in their mind.
• Review Process: There was a simple error in the feedback form provided to the client and panelists could’ve easily been caught if someone were looking for the error. Any document given to the client or created on the client’s behalf should undergo a rigorous review process before being released.
• Standardization: Because there was a need to quickly open and close presentations, I should have standardized the file types allowed to be submitted for the Client Pitch Event. There were some delays in retrieving and opening PDF and Canva presentations. Having a unified process would have cut down on delays and provided a more seamless event flow.

Overall, the event was a success! There were great ideas with potential for further exploration and ideas that would flourish given more inquiry. The content creators and product managers alike had some of their first experiences giving a pitch. I believe this event could be the start of something great going forward in the Marketing Program.