Because presentations are so important to an agency, not to mention expensive, I have put together a list of presentation do's and don'ts. A run through this list will help you stay focused on your responsibility in a presentation, regardless of your position in the agency. It will also help you avoid any first time mistakes or misconceptions if you do become part of a presentation team.
- Presentations should be taken very seriously by every member of the account team. Every effort should be made to give a presentation the same preparation, thought, and creativity that a paying client would receive.
- Presentations should be well prepared and rehearsed many times by the entire presentation account team to be certain that there are no awkward pauses. The presentation team will need to determine ahead of time what questions might be asked and exactly how they will be answered.
- Presentations should always be slanted toward the point of view of the client.
- Always make sure there is no part of the presentation that cannot be substantiated by research information or is not based on sound knowledge and experience.
- Presentations are often called "dog and pony shows" because that is exactly what they area performance. As such, they should be timed, fast moving, informative, and entertaining without being silly or trivial.
- As a member of a presentation team, your participation and preparation is critical. Never let your team members down. There is nothing more awkward than a member of a presentation team who is not well prepared for the presentation.
The written presentation proposal will contain everything you will say during the actual presentation. So what is the reason for having a written proposal? The answer is simple: it is something that you can leave behind for the client and the committee members to look through after other competitive agencies make their presentations. By comparing your agency's proposal and those left by other agencies, the committee can see clearly where there are similarities and differences, and what they like and do not like. Memories of an agency's presentation will fade quickly when a committee has to sit through several presentations. All the agencies begin to look and sound alike. A written proposal will continue speaking for your agency long after the presentation is over.
- The written proposal part of the presentation should be distributed to the client and presentation committee members. The proposal copies should be inserted or bound in presentation folder most agencieshas their own. It is a nice touch to individualize copies of the proposal by having each committee member's name on that person's personal copy. This can be done with a computer or with individualized labels on the dover of the presentation folders.
- Agency presenters should never read from their presentation packet. It looks unprofessional. Notes are acceptable as an occasional reference only.
- All artwork should be enlarged and mounted on boards, with cover paper attached to the boards. Keep the work covered until you or a member of your presentation team is ready to talk about the work. This way the client cannot look at it out of context.
- Charts, graphs, and any other relevant materials such as storyboards, slides, videos, or audio tapes should only be shown or played at the precise point in which they are being referred to in the presentation.
- If the presentation is at the agency, then light refreshments add a nice touch. Never serve alcohol.
- The appropriate dress for presentations is determined by the client and the nature of the presentation. If it is a formal presentation in a conference room with a number of people from the client's company, then you should wear a suit. If you are meeting informally with just the client and maybe a few other people in the client's office, then a sports jacket and tie or even an open shirt may be acceptable, especially if the client is more on the informal side. You do not want to overdress if the client tends to wear chinos or jeans. On the other hand, you do not want to dress down too much, either.
- Statement of purpose: An opening statement explaining the reason for the presentation
- Definition of the target audience: Identifying specifically who the audience buyers and users of the client's product or service will be
- Demographics: A breakdown of the various characteristics that make up the target audience, i.e., age, gender, economic brackets, race, color, creed, and taste preferences based on current market data
- Goals: Exactly what the agency intends to accomplish for the client's company
- Market research report: An outline of the market research the agency has compiled
- Campaign strategy: How the agency will achieve its intended goals, based on the positioning concept, the creative concept, and the planned media mix
- Proposed budget: An itemized breakdown of all projected expenditures the client will be responsible for in the campaign, including media costs, agency fees not defrayed by media commissions, production costs (typesetting, printing, photography, stats, special expenses such as slides, computer generated materials, illustrations, etc.), clerical, mailing, fax, and other miscellaneous expenses
- Media schedule (if applicable): A listing of all media to be used, and the date, time, and frequency of each ad's appearance
- Copies of all related artwork, copy, scripts, and storyboards: When the written proposal is distributed to the committee members before the presentation begins, it is a good idea to ask them to refrain from reading it during the presentation. If the committee members are allowed to flip through the proposal while your team is delivering their verbal presentation, chances are that many of them will not be listening. Furthermore, they will be reading ahead, knowing exactly what you or someone else on your team is going to say next. That will take the impact out of your delivery.
