The business of marketing & advertising is about persuasion. Brands aim to persuade consumers to change perceptions, switch brands or change habits. The various teams which make it all happen, have to persuade colleagues, seniors and partners into buying their ideas and recommendations. Such persuasion can happen through the written word (an email or memo) or talking one’s way through at meetings, discussions or through a formal presentation. When I started off in advertising, formal…
Back when I was in an ad agency, face to face meetings were common. In the 90s, there were periodic meetings scheduled for reviewing job lists, financial status of accounts and brand plans. The job list meeting would usually be held every week and would go over status and next steps of key projects at hand. The finance meeting – a monthly affair in most agencies was dreaded by AEs as they would be grilled…
When I was in advertising, writing, editing, delivering or sitting through presentations was a common affair. A presentation is not limited to one which is delivered in front of a large audience. It can be a one-on-one discussion with a client or even an internal discussion to sell one’s ideas or point-of-view. Herewith some observations (none of these are original or startlingly new but just the basics) gleaned over the years about the former kind…
Presentation skills is perhaps one of the most neglected aspects of training in advertising agencies. Ironic, since it is a business of persuading people to agree with your point of view. Depending on the agency culture, the suits get to make presentations to client either at middle or senior management level. Either way, the presentations are going to be boring. The common approach to handling a meeting where an idea or a proposal is to…