I recently watched a "branding agency" take a mutual client through the simple “elevator pitch” development process below…and was horrified to learn that they had charged our client $20,000 for the “half-day workshop.”
Don’t get me wrong: I love this Marketing 101 exercise. And yea, it can take a half-day (or more) to get all the decision makers on the clients’ side of the table to reach agreement on all of the fill-in-the-blank stuff. In fact, I used to be shocked by the disconnects that could arise through this simple process. I've seen execs storm out of the room because of disagreements that cropped up via this seemingly straightforward messaging exercise.
But, TWENTY THOUSAND BUCKS? Sheesh! That's a lot of green. As hard as it can be, we engage in this exercise as part of the standard retainer. It's our job to help craft the most compelling narrative, eh?
If you are a client that has never gone through this process, it is a valuable exercise.
If you're a PR agent that decides to use this template and charge the client $20,000 for it, please send me a check.
P.S. - to the wise-acres who will ask why SHIFT did not lead this particular client's "Elevator Pitch" exercise - it was because the client CEO was hell-bent on spending money on a "branding" initiative...with his former colleague's agency.