During a capabilities pitch a few years ago we were sharing our agency mission – To create inspiring ideas for courageous clients – when the potential client suddenly stopped us in our tracks saying, “I’m not sure we’re that.” This transparent confession threw us for a moment and ultimately ended our prospects with that particular client, but we are forever in her debt. She knew her company culture and ultimately spared us the demoralizing impact of a time and expense-sucking pitch for a client for whom we were ill suited.
When we crafted our agency’s mission we took Bernbach’s advice – “If you stand for nothing, you’ll find nobody against you – and nobody for you.” We were determined to not only describe what it is we do, but to be one of the few agencies to describe the kind of client for whom we wanted to do it – the “courageous” ones.