Pit or ching?

Pitching. Deconstruct the word and it embodies the positives and negatives of the process that is at the heart of how most PR companies generate income

The word ‘pit’ evokes all sorts of images. A hole in the ground used to trap animals.  Or the acronym for Pressure Indicator Transmitter. Ask anyone who has stood in front of a hostile and non-receptive prospect and both hold resonance.

Then there’s the ‘ching’. Or ‘ker-ching’, as one of my former colleagues often enjoyed saying whenever he thought of the income that winning a half-decent pitch brings.

Reconstruct the word and you’ve got images of a ship pitching in heavy seas, struggling to stay afloat and teetering on the brink of disaster. Sometimes it’ll capsize with all on board lost. Sometimes the ship rights itself and sails safely into port. You get the picture?

The point I’m attempting to make is that pitching is a process that brings highs and lows to consultancy life. There’s nothing more rewarding than an inspired pitch that puts smiles on the faces of the prospect and the consultancy alike. Then there’s the pitch that has all the awkwardness of a bad first date; best forgotten and put down to experience.

The quality of a pitch is usually directly proportionate to the quality of the brief. If you are looking to engage a PR partner, it’s essential that you  invest your time to identify what you want to achieve with PR. I’ve presented too many times to recall, some good, some bad, some just plain dreadful and some so outstanding that my delight had to be shared with strangers in the darkness and warmth of a good Nottingham hostelry. But the quality of brief can’t always be to blame. For my sins I have a pretty impressive track record of success with boys toys. William Britains. Britains. Corgi. Bassett-Lowke. Vanguards. Meccano. I recall presenting for a well-known girls’ brand. Call me old fashioned but the prospect of contacting journalists and describing the delights that emanate from the dolls derriere sent a shudder through my very soul. We didn’t get that one!

Clive Purcell, Joint MD