CAITLIN TROUGHTON

HOW TO PITCH
A WINNING IDEA
Top strategies and principles to help you
engage your audience and deliver a great pitch.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.............................................................................................................. 3
Developing Content to Sell Your Idea...................................................................... 4
Think it Through........................................................................................................... 5
Research Your Story Concept ...................................................................................... 6
Select Your Pitch Arsenal.............................................................................................. 8
Visual Content For The Pitch........................................................................................ 8
The Building Blocks Of A Successful Pitch................................................................ 9
Perfect The Short Pitch................................................................................................. 9
Engage Through Visuals ............................................................................................ 10
The Benefit of Using Digital Storyboarding Software............................................ 11
About The Author.................................................................................................. 12

HOW TO PITCH A WINNING IDEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

INTRODUCTION
You have a story idea or concept that you want to bring to life for a television production, film, game, digital explainer
video, ad campaign, commercial or music video. To bring it to the screen, you first have to pitch your concept to the
client and persuade them to invest.
If you arent confident in your pitching abilities, dont worry! A great pitch isnt
something that just comes naturally, it has to be learned. With planning, research
and a variety of ways to communicate the message, youcan deliver a great pitch
under any c ircumstancesone that will win o
 ver your audience and hopefully,
bring your idea to the screen.

First, think.
Second, believe.
Third, dream.
And finally, dare.
Walt Disney

How will you create a pitch that

captures the interest from the very
start and clearly convey the return
on investing in your vision? In this
e-book are strategies and principles
to help you deliver a winning pitch.

When pitching to influencers

and decision makers, you have
to be ready to take advantage
of every opportunityin
casual conversations, by email,
or in scheduled meetings. You
need to be able to speak on
their terms, answer questions
and pivot quickly. They are
extremely busythey decide
quickly and move on.

HOW TO PITCH A WINNING IDEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

DEVELOPING CONTENT
TO SELL YOUR IDEA
THINK, RESEARCH, SELECT
People who are successful at pitching their ideas, do the preparation first. They research,
refine their messages, create content and practice. Those who seem the most natural at
presenting are often working from a script they have rehearsed to perfection. Those with
beautiful presentations have storyboarded, designed and simplified the content to focus on
the main points and emotionally connect with their audience. They work hard to deliver their
message in the most engaging way.
Next are a few strategies to get you started.

What goes into

pitching an idea for
a tv show?
A pitch idea can take an
entire day. A pitch bible
can take up to a week.
A pitch bible helps you
convey your concept.
It is a compilation of
the premise, story,
characters, episode
summaries and images
in a form that can be
used during a pitch and
as a leave-behind to
trigger the memory of
the decision makers.

HOW TO PITCH A WINNING IDEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

THINK IT THROUGH
;;Before you start developing your pitch, explore the strengths and weaknesses of
your idea. Refine it. You only get to make a first impression once, so be tough.

;;Make sure that the creative choices you make work for your target market.

Knowing who your audience is and what the main goal is will help you understand
what style of content you want to produce. For example, animation works well for
young audiences or when you want to gently communicate a serious topic.

;;Understand the competitive landscape. Arming yourself with knowledge about

your market will help you create a stronger pitchand, because youre on top of
things, your audience will gain confidence in your abilities.

Dont be afraid to give up the

good to go for the great.
John D. Rockefeller

Be Prepared
The importance of being
prepared cannot be
overstated. The planning
stage is where you work
out all the kinks.

1. Make a plan.
2. Question the plan.
3. Rework the plan.

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RESEARCH YOUR STORY CONCEPT

Research will arm you with the knowledge to answer questions about your project
and develop your reputation as an expert. Whether its during casual conversation, a
short pitch or a scheduled interactive pitch session, you should be ready to answer
these questions.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS IDEA?

;;Map out the origin storywhere did the idea come from and what influenced
you?

;;Position yourself as the expert by highlighting your knowledge, skills and

experience as it relates to your concept.

;;Make an emotional connection between you, your concept and the desires of
your audience.

Originality doesnt always

win the client over
Its great to have an
original idea. However, to
executives and investors,
words like revolutionary,
unique and unprecedented
are red flagsthey can
mean that your type of
project has failed in the
past. Instead of focusing
on the originality of your
concept, keep it familiar
and make it accessible.

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RESEARCH YOUR STORY CONCEPT

WHAT IS YOUR STORY ABOUT?
;;Identify possible genres or styles, themes and structural elements that give shape
to your story.

;;Focus on the key elements of your storydetermine what drives the action
forward.

;;Draft a one sentence pitch: Include the type of story, the title, the hero and their

objective, the obstacle to their success, and the key action. For example, My story
is <genre> called <title> about <hero> who wants <goal> despite <obstacle>.
This will be the basis for all future pitch development.

IS YOUR STORY CONCEPT SIMILAR TO AN EXISTING PROJECT?

;;Compare your idea to existing shows, music videos or commercials. Look for

the patterns. Find out what has worked and what hasnt. Is there room for your
concept to succeed?

;;Gather key metrics about the target audience, market size, and interest.
;;Develop a new version of your ideathis can help you validate it or may move
you in a new direction.

;;Dont be afraid to redraft based on your research. Test it out!

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SELECT YOUR PITCH ARSENAL

You need to be able to describe your concept simply and convincingly. However, words are not the only means you should
have at your disposal.
You need:

;;A well-designed presentation for scheduled and interactive pitch sessions.

;;Storyboards and animatics to convey your concept visually.
;;A pitch that can be structured to work in different situations. A rule of thumb is to

have a short pitch, a 5-10 minute pitch that may include an animatic, and a longer
interactive pitch with a presentation or pitch bible, storyboard and animatic.

VISUAL CONTENT FOR THE PITCH

When its time to to sell your idea to a group of decision makers, its all about your
presentation. A well-designed presentation will help you stay focused, communicate
your vision, build your reputation and establish a relationship with your audience. Visual
content can be your best friend.

;;For a 5-10 minute demo-type pitch, use a video animatic to generate discussion.
;;For an agency or interactive pitch, use a slide deck with script, storyboard, video

ADD is realwith a
longer pitch, keep it
moving. The average
attention span is under
10 seconds. Deliver
the information in short
sections.
When words are
overused, they fail you,
and fail to convey the
power of your idea.

content.

HOW TO PITCH A WINNING IDEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF A

SUCCESSFUL PITCH
PERFECT THE SHORT PITCH
The short pitch, also known as the elevator pitch, is often your first opportunity to
engage your audience and get your foot in the door, before they get distracted.
What should go into your elevator pitch? Here are a few suggestions:

;;Keep it simple. Pitch your concept in one to three sentences, based on your
one-sentence pitch.

;;Tell them who it targets and why this is a great concept.

5 Tips to Pitch it Right

1. Lead with your strongest
point.

2. If youre an amazing story

teller, pitch the concept.

If you arent, a storyboard
and animatic will really help
you convey your idea.

3. Make your pitch

presentation beautiful.

;;Address what they care about. How will they make money by investing in your

4. Be explicittell your

;;Use your research to give them one to two highlights; for example, the market

5. Show up with a strong

project? How does it raise their profile? How does it increase their brand value?

size, the great talent on your team or other investors who are interested.

audience about the value/

ROI.
concept, storytelling
strategies, designs,
storyboards and an
animatic.

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ENGAGE THROUGH VISUALS

Its important to have engaging visual content for your pitcha well designed video
or storyboard can increase interest by 30%. Storyboards and animatics are often
used for film and tv projects, and can also be useful in commercials and content
marketing pitches too.
For example, a video is one of the most successful tools for pitching ideas for a
movie or tv show. For some projects, a pilot episode or short movie is produced.
However, you dont always want to invest the time and money required to produce a
finished live action or animated video at the pitching stagecreate a storyboard and
animatic instead.

WHY USE STORYBOARDS AND ANIMATICS?

;;Less expensive than full production.
;;Faster to produce.
;;Flexibleits much easier to change a storyboard and animatic than a fully

produced pieceespecially if you use digital visual story development tools as

opposed to pen and paper.

;;More openbecause they are in draft form, they leave room for interpretation,

allowing you to discuss more options with your audience. They also dont get in
the way of the big pictureyour idea.

What is a storyboard?
In film and tv, a
storyboard is a series
of thumbnails, boards
or panels that show
the story breakdown
and illustrate key
scenes, camera moves,
points of interests
and action. With a
storyboard, you can
mock up your movie
scenes, tv productions,
music videos, digital
explainers and
commercials, and
make sure your story
flows the way you want
it to.

;;Animatics allow you to get the story flow across in an engaging way. In advertising
its used to test ad effectiveness and predict emotional responses and intention to
purchase.

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THE BENEFIT OF USING

DIGITAL STORYBOARDING
SOFTWARE
You can create your storyboard with pen and paper or digitally. However, digital
storyboarding software allows you to make changes more easily while you iron out
issues with continuity, story development, timing, camera framing and action. You can
also reuse content across the storyboard without having to redraw and you can create
a video animatic based on your storyboards.This saves both time and money later on,
when it can be harder to change course.
If youre working on developing a concept for TV, movie, games, commercials or
other types of content, Toon Boom offers a great storyboarding solution that can
bring your idea to life.

DISCOVER STORYBOARD PRO

Where the story begins

Toon Boom Storyboard

Pro software to produce
both storyboards and
animatics speeds things up
by enabling you to easily
output an animatic from
the storyboard. Animatics
integrate all the story
elements including artwork,
simple edits, effects, scratch
track, audio, and timing.

HOW TO PITCH A WINNING IDEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caitlin Troughton
Caitlin Troughton is a passionate marketer with 15 years experience in the media and
entertainment industry and a degree in English Literature. Shes produced events and helped
speakers prepare for live presentations by organizing content and defining how to successfully
engage different audiences through storytelling. She lives happily in Montreal Canada.

About Toon Boom Animation

Toon Boom Animations award-winning software is the global standard for 2D animation and storyboarding. Toon Boom solutions provide everyone from enthusiasts to
professionals with the artistic freedom to create in any style and efficiently publish anywhere. Customers include Bento Box Entertainment, Disney Television Animation,
DreamWorks Animation, Fox Television Animation, Mercury Filmworks, Nelvana and The Spa Studios. For more information, visit: toonboom.com.
Copyright 2016 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved. Toon Boom is a registered trademark and the Toon Boom logo is
a trademark of Toon Boom Animation Inc.

HOW TO PITCH A WINNING IDEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12