‘Rollin’ with the Pitches: Michael Miley

New business. Adland’s greatest juxtaposition. Clandestinely whispered, yet boomed from the hilltops. Lifeblood of the agency, but vampiric drain. Terrifying and tantalising in equal measures.

The Alliance of Independent Agencies brings you ‘Rollin’ With The Pitches’ – a series profiling its members and those bearing the weight of winning new clients. Our interviews give a candid view from one of the most pressurised gigs in the industry, with insight and anecdotes from inside the war rooms and across the pitch tables.

In the community spirit, we invite readers to submit their own questions for future interviews. Plus after bearing their heart, each interviewee will kindly make themselves available for private musings.

Glamourised and demonised, it’s business. Just newer.

Michael Miley – Co-Founder, CEO & Head of Strategy, The Creative Lab

Q> What’s your role, and how long have you worked in new business?

Michael> I’m CEO of The Creative Lab – an independent creative communications and brand revitalisation agency – and I’ve been involved in pitching for new business for 30 years.

Q> Do you work exclusively in new business, or have other responsibilities within your agency?

Michael> I’m also head of strategy… which is, of course, key to unlocking new business.

Q> Are you focused on building the pipeline of opportunities, converting the leads, or embedding new clients? Or a new biz rep for all seasons?!

Michael> My primary role is conversion. Although new business development is an entire ecosystem, so you have to have a degree of involvement in the whole process. Embedding new clients is also key, as having managed to convert them the last thing we want is to lose ‘em in the first few months! Happily this has never happened.

Q> What’s the most novel way you’ve engaged a potential client?

Michael> Allow me to flip this one… I spent some time on the client side as Global head of brands, based in Amsterdam for JDE, the Coffee & Tea giants. I was running the pitch process and engaged with Weiden & Kennedy. A week before the official pitch date they invited me over to see them as they wanted to “run something past me”. On arrival with my CEO in tow, we were swiftly ushered into a boardroom at the top of the building overlooking the canals. We sat down, they pressed play and delivered a beautifully constructed film focused purely on “the love of coffee”. The voiceover in the film – Morgan Freeman no less!! – then asked us to stand up and insisted that we look out of the boardroom window. As the film played on with a holding music track, we looked outside. And there, on the opposite rooftop, the entire agency had assembled cheering and clapping, and proceeded to let off a firework display of rockets and roman candles into the Amsterdam skyline. Morgan then asked us to sit back down and concluded that this was what the love of coffee can inspire people to do. I was pretty impressed and my CEO was fighting back a tear (I kid you not). The following week they landed a brilliant strategic and creative pitch, but we were already “moved” and totally pre-disposed to handing them the business.

Q> Can you let us into a pitch secret or special tactic?

Michael> Always really get under the skin of a client’s business and find a way to demonstrate this knowledge in the pitch, beyond simply what is being asked for in the pitch brief… “Move them”.

Q> Biggest win?

Michael> Carlsberg – partnering Fold7 to put Danishness into the brand. Epic.

Q> Most painful loss?

Michael> We had won, hands down, the launch of revolutionary new sports hydration system. But then the client decided that the launch would take place in the USA. ”D0 you have a New York office?” we were asked. “Erm, no.” Game over. Gutting. (Check out Vitapod, by the way – it’s a great product and coming to the UK soon.)

Q> How have you learnt to deal with the failure? What would you recommend to those struggling with the pressure?

Michael> New business requires you to be very philosophical and even a bit zen. Sit cross legged and breathe!

Q> What the best piece of new business advice you’ve ever been given?

Michael> The answer above. From myself.

Q> What’s been your biggest disaster?

Michael> I can’t think of anything I would call a ‘disaster’. The closest I’ve come was in the final round of a major pitch process when the client asked us who would be responsible at a senior level for ensuring service level agreements are upheld. Me (the MD), my then CEO and our Client Services Director all in perfect unison said “ME!”. Ahem!

Q> Most comical pitch moment?

Michael> Probably the situation above! The Global Brand Head burst out laughing. As did we. He added that he could only admire the enthusiasm, if not our internal alignment. We landed the business.

Q> What does your agency’s independence mean in the world of new business?

Michael> Often it’s about being seen as the challenger option and providing a healthy, agile counterpoint to the big network agency solution. Our independence allows us to always give the best possible advice, rather than simply the most obvious or expedient. We’re proud of that.

Q> What roles do analytics play in your new business planning?

Michael> An ever increasing amount. There’s so much data out there now that the big challenge is selecting what’s useful and avoiding what’s a distraction. We use a suite of data sources bespoke to each sector to ensure we’re pushing in the right areas and help dig out the most important nuggets of information to give us an edge. Then, once we’ve engaged with a potential client, we have our own proprietary Gap Analysis tool which helps us – and them – identify which areas of their brand truly need help. Something that’s not always obvious or straightforward to begin with.

Q> What scares you most when it comes to new business?

Michael: I don’t think there’s anything to be particlarly afraid of… new business is a somewhat flawed but necessary process that can result in some of the most joyful moments of your career. It’s there to be embraced. I do, however, have one major bugbear: Is the pitch ‘really’ a pitch or has the winner been pre-selected and the process is just about going through the motions? That’s the horror show.

Q> Book / podcast / film / person – what’s your top recommendation?

Book: Chris Hirst – ‘No Bullsh*t leadership’ (good bloke, great wisdom)

Podcast: Louis Grenier – ‘Everyone Hates Marketers’ (grounded and entertaining with a charming French accent)

Person: Dan Weiden RIP (for his simple benchmark for great creative work – “Just move me, dude”)

Film: Top Gun Maverick (sorry, couldn’t resist!)