I vividly remember the very first time I had to pitch a creative concept to leadership.
I was a wreck—absolutely petrified they’d suddenly realize I was a talentless imposter and toss me out with the evening trash. Melodramatic for sure, but true.
For an individual whose life has been all about words, I lost mine that day and failed to articulate the key tenets of my idea.
After that disastrous meeting, the Creative Director—a gentleman who had never spent much time with me in the past—asked me out to coffee. He sat me down later that day and said, “Rhi, I need to give you some feedback. You ready?”
It’s been almost 10-years since that fateful afternoon, but the wisdom he imparted to me has never strayed far from my thoughts. I owe much of my success to his sage advice.
Here’s what he told me that afternoon over a café latte:
Don’t Bring a Half-Baked Idea to the Table
Creative Director Quote:
“When it’s your concept, you’re really close to it. You can’t see the forest for the trees, but we aren’t in that forest with you. We can’t see anything; we’re lost.”
When you develop an idea, you implicitly understand it. You know the ends and outs so well you don’t need the whole thing fleshed out yet. You know exactly where it’s going.
But when pitching a creative concept—i.e., the next iteration of your brand story, a new type of print collateral, a short video to share on social media, and so on—it’s important for you to have fully developed that idea before putting it in front of anyone for judgment.
Ultimately, that means you’ve got to flesh out your brainstorm from a bunch of bullet points and clip art into a real, tangible thing you can put in front of someone who hasn’t been part of the process. Don’t expect them to visualize it or immediately follow your train of thought—they aren’t in your head.
The point the Creative Director was trying to get across to me was simple: If you bring a half-baked idea to the table, they’re more likely to get stuck on what’s missing or what doesn’t work—rather than seeing your vision.
Take Away: Pitch a fully-fledged version of your idea to mitigate potential pushback. You can’t start a discussion on if your concept will work in application if you haven’t developed it all the way.
If You Don’t Believe it Will Work, It Won’t
Creative Director Quote
“Don’t tell me the potential problems with your concept. I can see them as well as you. Your pitch isn’t the time to go down that road, let’s worry about that later. Focus on telling me WHY your concept is the right one—and sell me on that.”
I don’t think I need to break this one down too much, as the point is eloquent and clear. But what the Creative Director wanted me to realize was that I was shining the light on the problems with the concept—not illuminating why my idea worked.
When you’re pitching a creative concept, it’s imperative to know where the potential areas of weakness are (and be prepared to speak to them if someone comments) but don’t bring undue attention to the issue right then if you can avoid it.
Take Away: Worry about what you need to refine after you receive leadership approval to move forward. Otherwise, you’re giving people reasons to say no.
It’s ALL in the Pitch
Creative Director Quote
“How you sell it to me is as important—if not more important—than what you’re selling me.”
Ah, there’s an art to a pitch. That’s what he wanted me to understand. I was so green at that point in my career it never occurred to me I had better be prepared to sell my idea—not just pitch it.
Eventually, through trial and error, I learned the importance of coming to the table with a well thought out plan of attack.
If you consider the personalities you need to sign off on this idea—and strategize before you walk in the door on the best way to resonate with them—you’re able to quickly pivot and speak to potential concerns before they voice them.
In many ways, a pitch is a type of performance. For it to work, you’ve got to believe in what you’re selling, be passionate about why the concept is the right one, and know what concerns leadership could potentially have with it.
Take Away: You’ve got to convey confidence in your idea so they can start getting excited about it, too.
Fake it Till You Make It
Creative Director Quote
“I wing it all the time; most of us do. Don’t think you need to be sure of yourself at every moment. You just need to make me believe you’re sure of yourself.”
Over the ensuing decade, I think this piece of astute advice has replayed in my mind more than any other. And his point is as spot on today as it was then: Even if you’re half-convinced of your impending failure, you can’t let it show.
Just as a drop of blood in an ocean of water can spark a feeding frenzy, the smallest hint of fear can invite your audience to focus on the holes or weakness in your pitch.
The trick is to exude such confidence in what you’ve created they can’t help but feel confident in it, too.
Nowadays, I understand what he wanted from me—and I coach my team to do the same thing.
Take Away: Don’t let fear rule you. When panic starts to set in, take a deep breath, remember why you know this concept is the right one, and believe in it and yourself—or at the very least, pretend you do.
Special note:
To the wonderful Creative Director (you know who you are) who took the time to teach me these points—thank you. You’re a true creative leader, and I will never forget the value of the mentorship you provided me.
I promised I’d pay it forward and I plan to keep that promise.
*Creative Director quotes are not verbatim, but they are as close to it as I can recall.
Rhiannon Pickus 