A Pitch to Remember - September

Jennifer Shay

Corporate & financial communications director, Ruder Finn Hong Kong

Who was the client?
A fashion conglomerate based in the US that designs and markets a diverse portfolio of branded women and men's apparel, accessories and fragrance products all over the world.

What was the brief?
To help facilitate local employees' buy-in into a series of corporate model changes led by the New York headquarters in order to remain competitive and to deal with global marketplace trends.

What made the pitch so interesting?
The brief required a comprehensive internal communications campaign, which answered to the pan-industry challenge critical to the competitiveness of the corporation. It was like witnessing history in the making and the entire process was most thought provoking.

How did you pull off the process?
We thought it was a sure win as the client was an existing retainer client in the US. Thus, we went into the project itself directly and did much research on the client's change initiatives and how to communicate it successfully.

Who was there?
The client's Hong Kong GM, HR head and the project leader from the US. On our side, we had our North Asia EVP&MD, our Asia Pacific internal communications expert who is based in Sydney and me.

How did you create the buzz?
Based on extensive research with many client internal surveys and interviews, the proposal was full of valuable input and learning from the employees that may serve as a solid foundation for successful transition for the corporate.

What made the pitch fail or succeed?
Despite the fact that we sent our proposal in advance and the client claimed she liked what we proposed, the proposal was eventually turned down. It was only later that we found out that the main reason was internal political issues that caused us to lose the pitch. The decision maker has since left the company.

What were the client's metrics on success?
On the RFP, in selecting a PR agency to develop and build an advocacy program and culture among senior management, refine and improve messaging architecture and brand for a company-wide roll out and build tactical plan and two-way mechanisms workable for the local environment.

Is there anything you could have done better?
Pre-pitching background research as much as possible, understanding the client history and managerial style to understand why they would go through the process of agency pitching, multiple meetings and discussions on the project and yet still end up deciding to conduct the communications project internally.

Why was this a pitch to remember?
It was a challenging topic involving intriguing industrial and cultural changes within the corporation.