5 things you learn during the pitch life
The pitch life is all about excitement, pressure and lots and lots of craziness. Thinking of 25 ideas by midnight, facing multiple rejections from a senior at 3 AM, spending nights on the office sofa — the pitch life can be the bitch life sometimes. But there is no other experience in the advertising/marketing industry that can make you feel more alive. No seriously, there are some things you learn only and only when you put yourself out there to win new business.
1. You learn to colour outside the box
No client restrictions, no budget restrictions, no brand managers breathing down your neck. Suddenly you’re out there with creativity as your only armour. The first time you do it, you may feel really, really overwhelmed. You may even start questioning your own worth — Am I any good? Why aren’t my ideas making the cut? Am I a fraud? Everyone around you will be churning out ideas like a printing press at untimely hours of the morning, and you might be just sitting there blank. And when you get an idea, you might toss it around in your brain before speaking out (squeaking out, most probably) at some other, unconnected point of the discussion.
But that’s just the first few times. Slowly and steadily, with more and more pitches, you become better. The unrestricted field helps you let loose, and that makes you better at your regular work too.
2. You step into the hard life
The pitch may be on Wednesday and your team would be sitting on Tuesday afternoon with nothing. This happens a lot, all over the industry. And the only way out of this situation is through it. So, the CDs roll up their sleeves, the junior employees plonk on the floor, a white board is pulled out and every inch of it is marked. Work goes on through the night and until the pitch hour.
It is during this night that you realise you can fall asleep anywhere. Who says you need a springy mattress and a soft pillow? You can fall asleep on the office chair, on the public sofa, or even under the conference table. The more pitches you do, the more standards you lose. Seriously, I have slept on a bean bag and woken up an hour later with a messed up lower back.
3. You learn to be a team-player
Pitches bring the team closer, more often than not. These are the memories you would make in the job — exploring the office at night, bringing your pyjama personalities to the workplace. You might spend long hours chatting with your art or copy partner, under the pretext of “brainstorming”. And even while executing ideas, you learn to work with the team, listening to everyone, adding a bit to someone’s idea, taking someone else’s help on yours. You all are in the same boat in the middle of the sea. The only way to reach the shore is to row together.
4. Your confidence blooms overnight
Pitches are when you put yourself out there. As a junior, you’re gathering the courage to present stupid ideas to your bosses. As a mid-level executive, you’re gathering the courage to present to the biggest people in the agency — the most creative and strategic ones — the ones that have intimidated you for years. As a senior person, you’re gathering the courage to face a set of strangers and present your ideas passionately. I haven’t reached the third level yet, but the first two have been enough to leave me shaking. But every shaky step helps me inch forward. Now I am confident enough to throw random ideas and hope they would stick — a lot of them do stick now, because I have gotten better. I am still learning to present an idea before the big guns without sweating through my clothes. Pro tip: Wear dark clothes on pitch nights — no one will see how nervous you are.
5. You learn to deal with pressure
The deadline is tomorrow! And what do you have today? Nothing. You need to — need to — think of at least 2 ways to sell this product or brand or idea. You won’t face this kind of pressure anywhere else. And the more your push yourself, the stronger you get — this is true for mental strength just as it is for physical strength. Pitches give you a fail-safe ground with lots of pressure and minimum restrictions. In other words — the perfect pot for creativity to bloom.
Pitching for new businesses gives you a chance to put your best foot forward, whichever position you work at. Dive in and let the pitch life take you, you will emerge stronger, sharper and more confident than ever.
