A Pitch To Remember MMHK May

Alexandra Frye
Partner, Business Planning, Mindshare Greater China

Who was the client?

Fujian-Daimler.

What was the brief?

To launch the first domestically produced Mercedes-Benz Viano and Vito MPVs in China.

What made the pitch so interesting?

It was a full service pitch. Instead of working with a creative agency and solely contributing to a media recommendation, we led the entire full service pitch ourselves, including briefing and directing a local creative agency we partnered with.  Mindshare had just restructured as an organization - to one that moves us further away from standard media planning and further into broad marketing and communications planning - and this was a great opportunity to put this new structure into practice.

How did you pull off the event/process?

We spent a long time digging up some really deep insights into our target audience - the somewhat elusive communications audience of CEOs of the top companies in China (Fortune 500 etc.). We established a communications platform that struck right to the heart of our target audience, one based on the increasingly prevalent trend of using Chinese philosophy and cultural heritage to apply to business practice. Once this was in place everything else just flowed naturally from it - the creative concepts, media, content, digital and PR ideas were all synergized and anchored by the platform.

Who was there?

Fujian Daimler and marketing representatives from Daimler, Germany.

What made the pitch succeed?

A strong brand and communications platform and good collaboration between all business units involved. All teams understood the broad goal and direction we were working towards as well as their individual part in developing it and delivering on it.

What were the results?

The business was split between the two final pitch contenders.  Mindshare was awarded the lead agency, with strategy, PR, and media. Ogilvy was awarded creative.

Why was this a pitch to remember?

For Mindshare to win the lead on strategy was a great coup. We aren't a creative agency so it was fair enough we didn't win the creative work, but taking the lead on strategic direction (which includes briefing creative) in the broad communications process is definitely where we want to be in the future.