inside the hyundai pitch

Neil points out this article from BusinessWeek that gives a good glimpse into the Hyundai pitch that took place last fall. Goodby ended up winning the pitch, beating out Arnold (side note: very interesting splash page), KB+P, Siltanen & Partners, and StrawberryFrog. What I found most interesting out of it all (and I found most of the article to be quite interesting), was this bit:

...Interestingly, Goodby's actual slogan, or tagline, bombed with Wilhite and most of the rest of the group. "Have A Nice Car," Wilhite thought, was too trivial a phrase like, "Have A Nice Day."...

Goodby may not have presented the overall best creative work and strategy of all the agencies, but they did get it right in the minds of the Hyundai selection committee. The work, not all of which is explained here, is clever and creates a different voice and story for Hyundai. Goodby's experience offered Hyundai a huge comfort cushion. It is an agency with a stellar track record internationally, and it is one of the most admired agencies in the business.

The demands of a big national car account are many. And the fact that Goodby had the Saturn team in place and waiting for a new assignment clearly made Hyundai executives feel comfortable about the agency's ability to hit the ground running. But however Jeff Goodby—who led the pitch—managed it, his agency is the one Hyundai wants to partner with to transform the way car buyers view the Hyundai brand—from tin-pot Korean import to rival of Toyota and Honda.

So often, agencies pitching a piece of business think that it's all about having the best ideas and strategies. Clearly it's not, as this exemplifies. (As did some of the case studies in Perfect Pitch.) The Hyundai team liked the ideas of KB+P more. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure Goodby is going to do some very interesting work for Hyundai. But I thought this was a great thing to remember and think about next time you're pitching a piece of new business.

It's not just about the ideas and strategies. It's about the people you will have working on their business. It's about how well prepared you are for the pitch and how seamless your presentation is. It's about your agency's reputation. It's about how they see the relationship between you and them working. It's about them believing you can handle their account and not make a big mess of things in getting up to speed.

What's the moral in all this? When you're pitching new biz next, remember to not only be smart and creative, but be likable. You can have the smartest ideas and strategies of everyone involved in the pitch, but if the prospective client doesn't like something about you, your agency or your presentation, it doesn't matter. Even if it's just slightly less than they like another team/agency. They have to believe you can handle their business and that they'd like working with you. If they don't believe those two things first, the rest doesn't really matter.

Resources & Related Information
Download the Article
Accompanying Article Slide Show
Related Hyundai Article
Hyundai's Dilemma

[ image via julienconstans ]