A critical step in most – if not all – pitch processes is the chemistry meeting. It’s the first opportunity for brand and agency side marketers to meet. It’s when clients start making their assessment about whether they want to spend their time and money with your agency. Equally, it’s when agencies get to meet the brand team and assess if the brand is the right fit for their client roster.
It’s always an interesting dance and it’s also a two-way street.
The client-side team wants to know if the agency has the skills to do the job and whether they will fit – will they feel like a true extension of our team? Do they have the right strength across the team to nail the strategy and energy in the rest of the business to deliver on the day to day.
Agency teams want to know if they can work with the client team. They need to show they know the client’s business and category, and have the deep expertise needed to help the client overcome their marketing challenges. Critically, they need to demonstrate they will be a great team to work with.
If you are an agency team facing into a chemistry meeting, here are some thoughts to help you get the right result.
1. Align on the agenda and manage the time
Every meeting needs an objective and an agenda. Ensure you understand both and set it out clearly at the start of the meeting.
Query the agenda if it’s not clear and make suggestions for how to improve it. Don’t be afraid to ask plenty of questions at every stage, whether working directly with the brand or through an intermediary. When in the chemistry meeting, stay on time. It’s okay to follow-up with any slides you didn’t deliver, but it’s better to get your points across on the day. This requires practice i.e. knowing your slides and delivery style. Build in lots of fat into the agenda in case you get into a deeper conversation on any one point.
Client teams are often very time poor and agencies need to show they respect the client’s time by managing the meeting well. Don’t assume it’s okay to run over. Additionally, don’t assume the slides you send as a follow-up will be reviewed with the same scrutiny as if you had delivered them. If you overrun, it’s a big, missed opportunity.
2. Get the right people on the bus
It’s critical as an agency to find out who will be attending from the client team. This will enable you to align your team with theirs. If the brand’s CEO is attending, your agency CEO needs to be there. But you must have a balance of seniority so the client meets the actual team who will work on their account. The old bait and switch tactic is a thing of the past. No more pitch teams, just client teams please. It will all get ironed out by a keen procurement person at contract stage anyway; chances are they will want to agree who the client team is in their agreement with your agency.
When you put the people in the room who will deliver the work, it’s a good way to demonstrate passion, energy, knowledge and on the ground understanding. Move over agency founder, let your people shine.
I have often attended meetings with agencies where a key team member is unavoidably absent. That’s okay. Life happens too. A simple demonstration of their interest and commitment to the client and brand could be a recorded video message that’s played in the meeting; this gives the client team a glimpse at that team member and shows a passion for winning the business.
If you bring the agency CEO, make sure they pay attention to everyone in the client team too. I once witnessed an agency CEO turn up to a chemistry meeting at the end of the session, only to say hello to the senior client stakeholder and ignore the rest. This was a major mistake. Do not let this happen. Ever.
3. Gimmicks can work, but better to focus on the brand challenges
Every marketer at every brand has seen it before. Work at Starbucks and you’ll be used to seeing agency staffers with your branded cups on their desks and in your meetings. Work for M&S, you’ll be used to everyone turning up to meetings in your couture.
It’s always nice for clients to know an agency is a fan of your brand, but it’s better to show you understand it and have ideas for how to overcome its challenges. Focus here on understanding, rather than easy theatrics.
Sure, don’t serve coffee from Costa in your meeting with Starbucks, but the client will already know what a mocha frappe late grande looks and tastes like, so you don’t need it in the meeting. Demonstrate you have absorbed the challenges presented in the meeting brief and through your own research.
You prepare thoroughly for chemistry meetings, right?
4. Get the table stakes right
And finally, think about trust. We’ve shared previously how agency and client teams can build trust with their partners – yes it works both ways, and have a look at the Trust Equation and for some good, simple steps to building trust.
Here are some other critical considerations:
Authenticity – if you really know and love the brand, you don’t need to say it every five minutes and with every team member. Show it through your knowledge of the product. What’s currently on the menu at Burger King? Who is the local franchise store owner? You can show you know and love the brand with these references.
Communication – you need your agency team to communicate well. Not everyone can deliver a good presentation or sell a creative idea. That’s okay. Just make sure they excel in their area of expertise. I’ve worked with many genius copywriters who excel at creative work but are terrible communicators. Should they be in the room?
Genuine positivity – most client-side marketers are truly passionate about the brand they work for and believe me when I say, you will never know as much about the brand as they. But that doesn’t mean you can’t demonstrate a genuine positivity towards the brand and the team.
So, there you have it, some ideas for how to nail your next chemistry meeting and get yourself onto the pitch shortlist. You can find out more about how we work with agencies here.
You can find out how we help brand side marketers to run engaging chemistry sessions here.