The Art Of The Pitch

By Debbie Mitchell

After the end credits rolled on last night's episode of AMC's Mad Men viewers were given a sneak peek of an upcoming reality competition show called The Pitch based in the world of advertising.  The program  took us behind the scenes to see the creative process of what ad agencies go through to come up with a successful ad idea and land a big account.  It kind of reminds me of Mad Men, but more specifically it takes me back to those morning production meetings where producers try to sell, sell, sell their ideas and carve out a bit of air time to get their segment idea on an upcoming show.

It does not matter where the idea or story is being pitched to, advertising or a television show, pitching is an art form. One that can make or break your chances of landing the big client or securing a booking.  Publicists and personalities are constantly trying to pitch segment ideas to producers in hopes of being booked on a show. And if you are lucky enough to get a producer on the phone you only have a few minutes to make your idea stand out.

If a producer likes your pitch enough to take it to the next level then they have to pitch the idea to their senior producers or executive producers in hopes of getting a time slot in the show. In both cases since it is television the goal is to present an idea in the most interesting, creative and visually appealing way.

When you are preparing to pitch an idea remember that you are competing with hundreds of other possible candidates to appear on a program and producers are busy.  So time is of the essence, keep it concise and clarity is key.

Here are  (3) Tips For Successfully Pitching Your Story Idea:

KNOW YOUR SHOW AND AUDIENCE - It's a good idea to know the shows programming history and format. One of my pet peeves was listening to a pitch that was clearly the wrong fit for the broadcast. I would actually as the representative "Do you watch our show?" A national morning show begins with a hard news hour and then transitions into a lighter news/entertainment hour. Most of the time shows will feature topics that are time sensitive and relevant to events of the moment. So staying on top of current events is helpful.  The "evergreen" topics are not time sensitive so their air date is flexible , can and will be "bumped" out of the line-up if a more timely story comes along.  You really do not want to be an "evergreen" segment because there is a good chance the segment will not get on air. Morning shows have a large female audience so try to think about why your story might be interesting to her and  pitch it with that in mind.

FOCUS YOUR IDEA AND BE PREPARED- Mail or email your idea pitch to the producer and then follow-up with a phone call. Your email subject line should an attention grabbing headline. This is a good time to use your witty Twitter skills, create a headline in 140 characters.

Start your pitch with an introduction which is an overview of the segment.  A segment has a beginning, middle and end. Your intent is to grab the attention  of the producer in the same way you want to grab a viewer's attention.  If there is a current study, survey or video or audio tape that is related to the story present it at the top.  I like to cover at least 3 main points in a pitch and always start with the strongest piece of information first. If your story has a guest make sure the guest is ready to do the show and is accessible to the producer. Before you talk the producer try and think of every angle or question he or she might ask about your story (who, what, where, when and has this story been featured on any other show is this an exclusive?)

PROVIDE VIEWERS WITH NEWS THEY CAN USE- Since information is available 24/7 on so many different platforms people are inundated with information. However if you can provide a nugget of information that hasn't been seen or heard anywhere else that will be a big plus in your pitch. Viewers rarely sit down to watch a show instead they listen to it as they are multi-tasking. So you want them to hear something in the interview that will make them say "Oh, I didn't know that." and maybe sit down and watch the story. And isn't that what you want in the end for people to watch your story. To read more about pitching to the morning shows click here.

TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is an Emmy nominated producer who is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA).  If you are a personality interested in television placement or connecting with brands follow Debbie Mitchell @TVProducerDeb or email Ready4Airtv@gmail.com .