Maria Miller, authenticity and the PR pitch

The resignation of Maria Miller, the former Culture Secretary who ‘stepped down’ over an expenses row a few days ago, just goes to show that saying sorry isn’t always enough.

While there are bigger issues in play regarding the structures and processes of policing MPs’ behaviour, there was much made of the ‘inadequate’ nature of Maria Miller’s apology to the House of Commons.

For many, her ‘32 second apology’ (as it’s pointedly dubbed in multiple news references) appeared hollow and insincere. The brevity of the apology – which was along the lines of ‘I’ve been asked to say this, so here I am’ – on the back of allegations that her attitude to the investigation had been unhelpful, left a poor impression. Did we believe that Ms Miller was sorry? Did her actions match her words?

Authenticity – as individuals, as business leaders, as brands and as organisations – is essential if we expect to be trusted by others.

What makes a voice authentic? I think it’s where our words and our behaviour are evidently in tune. It’s how we live our values in action, as individuals and as companies.

Authenticity matters for many reasons, not least because we all make emotional judgements about others; call it ‘gut feel’ or intuition, but it’s almost impossible to remove it from the way we make decisions.

Which brings me to PR pitches. I attended Adrian Wheeler’s thought provoking PRCA workshop the other day on ‘Pitching to Win Business’, and we discussed the subject of ‘chemistry’. Research among clients has shown that chemistry is in the top three most important factors when selecting an agency, alongside track record and creativity.

Adrian points out that this is hardly surprising, when you consider that personal relationships are essential to successful business relationships, although most procurement and pitch processes endeavour to be based on rational criteria and evidence.

He suggests that an explanation for this apparent conflict between the cold, hard, analytical process of choosing one agency over another, versus the ‘touchy feely’ sentiment of ‘I just like them’, may be found in Daniel Kahneman’s ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’. Kahneman describes two distinct ‘systems’ of how we think. System One is what we consider instinct, it’s subconscious, whereas System Two relates to our conscious thought process.

Kahneman’s research shows that nearly all our decisions are made quickly using System One, and we then use System Two to rationalise a decision we’ve already made, without being aware that this is what’s happening.

So, if it’s an emotional response that guides our thinking, then it follows that personal rapport, chemistry and authenticity are crucial; whether facing the Commons or a client pitch. Personally, I’ll stick to pitching.

Sarah Bryars

Chief Executive

Pitch Perfect

With sunshine and blue skies above me, it was wonderful weather for my first PR pitch with Target. Having only been with the agency for six months, fresh out of uni, today was a big milestone; contributing my two pence piece to the most important stage of gaining a new client...no pressure then.

I would always describe myself as an outgoing and confident individual but this is the first presentation where it felt like the outcome really, really mattered. And when you have a desired outcome that you’ve heavily invested your time and effort in, it’s only natural to be a little nervous (right?!), especially considering this was my first pitch in front of decision makers, not just the client but my CEO and Director also!

Although I’ve a fair experience of presenting, for the first time in a long while the experience felt a little daunting. It was as if I caught sight of the importance of this moment, not only from a business perspective but a personal perspective. This is my first permanent PR role, I want to impress and feel my peers can trust in my competence – so how was I going to do this...  

“PREPARATION!  PREPARATION!  PREPARATION!"

Obviously, like any other sensible and sentient being, I ensured that I was prepped, prepared and well rehearsed, following my own little ritual. So here are my beginner’s tips:

Plan – Regardless of how big or small your input is, being involved from the very start of the pitch process allows you to get a real in-depth understanding of the brief and what it is the company is looking for. From here you can really target your research and refine your ideas accordingly.

Preparation – Know every bit of the presentation, know and believe in the ideas you are projecting. Let’s be frank, if you’ve done the planning process thoroughly then you’re not going to be pitching something that has no relevance, therefore what you have to say is important and of interest, take confidence in this.  Rehearsing helps too – whether that’s to yourself, your boyfriend, your dog (all three are good I find) and of course your co-presenters, saying out loud what’s in your head or on paper is definitely a necessary part of the process.

Delivery – Honestly? Try and forget that you’re in a pitch situation and just concentrate on telling them what you really want them to know. Allow yourself to feel excited about the prospect of how you can work together to achieve this prospective client’s goals. Then it feels natural and starts to flow.

Then comes the hard bit of waiting to hear the outcome… my strategy for this is simple. Keep your fingers crossed.

Alex Underwood
Account Executive