2. Prepare your pitch
Be prepared with a well-honed elevator pitch. In an environment where brand marketers have many time and attention demands, emerging media companies -- and their would-be advocates -- often only get one brief shot at telling their stories and making people care. In an emerging media context, you have the dual challenges of explaining what a technology is and what needs it meets in the first 20-30 seconds people give you to make your case.
There's a formula to this that works for emerging platforms. Essentially, an emerging media pitch needs to include three things:
- Context: A message that tells brands how to categorize a new platform in their heads, before they hear what's unique. Is the technology a social media platform? A mobile application? A widget? It's important not to get too cute here. An emerging technology company needs to explain itself in the context of the buyer's current world view. Use their language, not newspeak. For example, it's not a "cross-site ad-vending and distribution platform," it's an ad network. It's not a distributed communication platform, it's a widget. Many emerging media companies try so hard to be different that they make themselves unintelligible.
- Tell them what's different from an attribute standpoint. Is it a social media site especially for beekeepers? A mobile ad network focused specifically on iPhone applications? An embeddable game platform focused on women 35-54? Make that clear. In plain English.
- Tell them what it means for them. There is a reason why an emerging platform exists, right? Is it to create high-quality branded experiences? A way to improve conversion rates by letting people buy in a widget? A better way to provide a completely brand safe UGC video experience for mothers and children? Tell them why they should care.
By sticking to the formula of context, differentiation and meaning, you will tell a concise and coherent story that prospects will understand and value.
