Advice on the pitch process for immersive media projects.

1. September 4, 2012
StoryCode Immersion #6
Immersive Media Project Pitching

2. AGENDA
• Immersive Media Project Pitching Overview - 30 Minutes
• Pitch Workshop (5 minute pitch followed by comments)
Jennifer Warren / Andrew Leitch - Montauk Boys
Michael Broz
Josh Cook
Robbie Wilkins - One Day
• Assumes you have already lined up the pitch, getting the
meetings is a whole other conversation
• #storycode

3. OVERVIEW
• Primary goal - communicate the project’s vision
• Pitch audience - understand who you are pitching too
• The pitch itself - direct, clear, concise, with a concrete ask
• Pitch structure - what are the elements to a good pitch?
• Follow up - in a planned and organized manner
• Practice whenever you can - experiment with different
pitches
• Be over prepared but not robotic, think on your feet

4. PRIMARY GOAL - PROJECT VISION
• If successful the pitch audience will understand your:
• Story - what is the story?
• Audience - who is the target audience?
• Message - is there a meta-message the story conveys?
• Style - how will you tell it?
• $$ - how will it make money?
• Don’t lead with the tech or the number of platforms.
Lead with the story. The tech and platforms are part of
the style in which it will be told.
• Show excitement, pride, competency and commitment

5. PITCH AUDIENCE
• Know your audience (duh) - easier said than done
• Research the participants who will hear your pitch
• Understand what they are looking for - put yourself in
their shoes
• Tailor elements of your pitch to their interests and
concerns
• Your goal is to make them successful by supporting your
project - it’s simple human nature
• Know how much time you will have, plan to come in
under this time (leave time for conversation/questions)

6. THE PITCH ITSELF
• Limited time - make it short and sweet
• Focus on the most important, core and compelling
aspects
• Know your “elevator pitch” by heart
• Example:
It’s the story of a suburban mom who becomes a detective. It targets
women ages 25 to 45. Storylines will explore life in the suburbs and the
realities of consumerism. It will be told episodically via customized
tablet/social video app. The business model rewards story evangelists
and monetizes users who want to go deeper into the story.

7. PITCH STRUCTURE
• Personal introduction of the story - show you are
passionate about it and why
• Video trailer (keep it short) - introduce the story,
characters, and style in which it will be told
• Highlight callouts - opportunity to show innovative
thinking here, especially in monetization and story style
• Have a prototype? Consider showing it here
• The ASK - you must communicate what you are looking
for with the pitch: funding, introductions, collaborators,
etc.

8. PITCH ADVICE
• Don’t go deeper until you stop and listen for clarifying
questions
• If there is an empty pause, probe for questions
• “What’s your first impression”, “Does this make sense?”,
“Are you working in platforms or stories like this?”
• This lets the pitch audience signal what they are most
interested in - you can then customize your pitch further
on the fly to find points of mutual interest
• Record every question you’re asked - these are a
valuable window into what people are most interested
in, and can highlight unclear elements of your pitch

9. PITCH ADVICE
• If you have a pitch deck move beyond PPT - consider a
tablet presentation if one-on-one or Keynote, Jux, Prezi
• Presentation must be “designed” - should feel of the
style of the story
• 10-20-30 Rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 point font
• Keep each slide dead simple
• Include a single prominent image or a few key words per
slide.
• Keep a pitch journal - each pitch is an opportunity to
learn and improve

10. FOLLOW UP
• Always send thank you notes/emails immediately
• Don’t bombard your target - one follow up after 3/4 days
is good, if they don’t respond wait another week
• Follow up email - keep it under 5 sentences (short and
sweet)
• Refer to something specific you discussed to remind the
target of your story, its name, and its value
• Include a relevant URL and single phone number and
email address (avoid information overload)
• Close with a specific question (“Would you be interested
in coming on board as an investor?”)

11. RESOURCES
• Projeqt, Jux, Hype, Prezi, SlideRocket, Google
Presentations - free tools to help create an immersive
presentation
• Delicious.com stack of new storytelling tools

12. CONTACT
mike@storycode.org
aina@storycode.org
www.storycode.org
@storycodeorg