Gift of the Gabberer: Paul Nagy
With over 20 years of experience leading international agencies and brands, Paul Nagy has fronted up to more pitches than he can count.
More recently as Chief Creative Officer of VMLY&R Australia & NZ, he was part of the team who pitched and won one of the most coveted accounts in Australia. The Australian Defence Force.
How has the pitch process evolved since you first started?
Back then it used to be a backs-to-the-wall, round-the-clock, anxiety-driving, quiet weeping, chair-throwing, hysterical laughing, takeaway food ordering, rousing speech-giving, desperately pleading experience. So not much has changed really – just more manifesto films.
Any pitch stories of your own that stick out in your mind?
I’ve seen someone throw a stapler (one of those big old heavy ones) at someone’s head with terrifying accuracy. I’ve had a Chairman frisbee one of my beautifully mounted boards across the room the night before a pitch (which we went on to win… just saying). I’ve had one of my team fall asleep in the shower, block the drain, and flood the creative floor. I’ve had an entire agency give blood, literally, for a pitch in New Zealand, and had a dead possum – as roadkill – on the floor for another. I had a laptop die just minutes before the client walked in. I could literally go all day with these… pitches can often feel like the Twilight Zone.
As a member of leadership, what considerations do you take into account before accepting to take on a pitch?
Do we need the money?
No, just jokes. It’s actually a critical part of the process, because the last thing you want is to discover you’re fighting tooth and nail for something you don’t want to win. We take many things into account, but the most important of these are: are they good people and do they want to do good work? If you can genuinely tick both those boxes, then we’re usually all in.
Why do you think pitches are such a stressful event for those working on them? What advice would you give to younger creatives in the throes of a pitch process?
They’re stressful because of the stakes. Every year the industry gets more competitive and there really is no easy pitch to win these days. But it’s also more than that.
It’s basically the one place where you go head-to-head with your peers on a relatively level playing field. In award shows it’s not level, because clients are unique, budgets are wildly different and luck all come into play.
But in a pitch it’s your imagination and capability against the other team, and no one wants to lose that.
Two bits of advice:
1. Embrace the pressure. You can’t escape it, so learn to love it. I always appreciate those members of the team who believe in themselves and want the ball in their hands… to use a sporting analogy. Pitches are the Grand Finals of advertising, and everyone wants to play in those, right?
2. Have fun. As the pressure and stress levels rise, there is NO substitute for those who can have a laugh. The best pitch teams I’ve ever worked with, have that wonderful ability to find fun in the most difficult of times.
There are a lot of factors involved in how clients choose who wins a pitch. Strategy. Culture fit. Money etc. To what degree do you believe creative is still a differentiating factor in who wins?
A truly great idea is still the clincher, or I hope it is. It remains the one thing that a client can fall hopelessly in love with in the room, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
There’s no way on earth I want to win a pitch because they ‘like us’ and have a great idea from someone else pass away. I can live with being beaten by a better idea.
What is your ‘go-to’ pitch prep steps? How many pitch run-throughs are too many?
Pitch prep usually involves stress-eating something deep fried, doubting myself on a deep, emotional level and trying to convince myself that I won’t forget every single thing I’m meant to say.
On the science of run-throughs, it’s tricky… You definitely want to get the ugly ones out of the way, but you also don’t want to do your best one before the client arrives… This is a source of great anxiety.
Presenting pitch work is a skill in itself. What advice would you give creatives about being in the room?
This will sound earnest, but the trick is to believe in what you’re presenting. I can’t present something that isn’t true, but if you work hard to get to something great and true, it’s usually pretty easy to present. No one wants to hear slick, sales speak, but they do buy passion.
Do you think the process of a pitch is effective? Does it lead to the best creative outcome?
The process is effective, but does it produce the best creative work? No. The best and most effective work usually comes from deep understanding of the brand and partnership that can’t be created in the speed-dating world of pitches.
Is there an alternative to the standard pitch process that you believe clients should consider in the future?
Yes, clients should give me a bell and I’ll explain.
When pitches come into an agency, not everybody is chosen to work on them. Is there a process in how you choose which creatives are right for a certain pitch?
Yep. Like every job in an agency, I try to tailor the team to fit the challenge. There are some individuals who you kinda always want on a pitch for the above reasons I’ve outlined, but apart from that, you should hand-pick the talent for the brief.
Sometimes creatives struggle to let go of their ideas. As someone whose role is to motivate for the best creative outcome, what advice would you give to a creative in this situation?
I ask all my creative people to be as generous as possible with their ideas. That means sharing them, letting people in and being open to criticism and suggestion.
There’s a confidence in creative generosity that is magnetic – the more generous you are, the more creative people will be attracted to you and, in my experience, make your ideas better.
I am always wary of creative people who hide their ideas away like squirrels with a nut. To me, it shows a lack of confidence… like they need to protect this idea because it might be the only good one they ever come up with.
Losing a pitch is disappointing news for any one who throws their heart and soul into one. How do you personally deal with pitch loss and what advice would you give creatives in this situation?
Me personally? Quiet weeping in the bathroom, like a real man.
Advice for others?
This is a ‘No’ business. Disappointment and not getting ‘picked’ is all part of the ride. So you need to get used to it. But it does NOT mean you have to like it.
I know I’m working with winners when I can really see a loss hurts – then I know they threw everything at it.
Recent surveys show that mental health is major issue within our industry. How do you identify burnout within yourself and how do you handle it?
I recently wrote an article for Flint Journal on this subject, and it did, honestly, cut quite deep. Having led creative people, and partnered with them, for most of my life, the impact of this harsh industry on creative souls cannot be underestimated.
I also don’t want to sound like I know what the fuck I’m talking about, because I am not even remotely an expert. What I would say to anyone reading this, is if you’re struggling – even a little bit – talk to someone. Your friends, your peers… shit, give me a call. It’s a tough job plying your imagination for a trade. Reach out if you get weary.
As a CCO, what initiatives would you like to see our industry employ as a whole to improve the wellbeing and mental health of staff?
Again, I am no expert on mental health, so I’m uncomfortable answering that. I’m sure there’s a swarm of HR people with great ideas. But awareness and understanding from all of us – particularly leaders – is the first, obvious step I would have thought. Not everyone handles pressure the same way, and not a single one of us really knows what our co-workers are struggling with outside of work. To avoid the launch of potentially deadly, ballistic staplers… keep a close eye on the people you work with and make an effort to ask if they’re okay. I would add this:
The most damaging element of the creative industry remains the inability to properly assign a value to creativity. Generally, value is only assigned in retrospect… after something becomes famous.
This cloud that creative people work under – where it’s only easy to value what they do after it works – is a cross we all bear. There isn’t an easy fix for this, I recognise that. But a little more understanding for it would go a long way.
