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Rule number one of any speech or pitch is to make a littlejoke--a humorous little anecdote, if you will--to break the ice.Then launch into your, ahem, more serious subject matter.
Or if you're like Woody Thompson and Tad Low, skip theserious stuff altogether and just keep the laughs coming. Renownedfor creating cable channel VH1's infectious Pop-Up Videoconcept, Thompson and Low have parlayed their first success into averitable franchise with a spin-off game show, called Pop-UpQuiz, a calendar and the book Pop This: A Behind The ScenesLook at the Best of Pop-Up Videos (Pocket Books, $18,800-223-2348). Not content to stop there, the partners and ownersof Spin the Bottle Inc., their New York City entertainment and newmedia company, are developing new show ideas and a digital cablechannel.
Circa 1994, Thompson and Low lost their jobs when the late-nightshow they worked on--Thompson as producer, Low as anchor--wascanceled. Believing they could make better shows for a lot lessmoney, they started brainstorming. One year and 60 show ideaslater, they emerged to pitch their ideas to TV execs in LosAngeles. Two years later, VH1 bought Pop-Up Video.
Two years of trying to sell something is a long time. How do youface countless rejections without giving up? Take Thompson andLow's advice: Laugh it off. Make your audience laugh. Mockthose who reject your idea. And, in the end, have the lastlaugh.
- The Heat Is On. "We look at pitching [an idea] asan entertainment show in itself," says Low, 32. Take hispractical advice: "They always offer you a beverage when yougo in to pitch shows, and you should always take it. Not only doesit show you have a real decisive nature--which they like tosee--but it pumps you up on caffeine, and you're off on ahilarious ride." Low also recommends sock puppets andgymnastics.
- Another One Bites The Dust. Low and Thompson facedrejection over and over during their two-year pitch purgatorybecause no one wanted to take a chance on two young guys with noexecutive producing experience. How did they deal? Says Low,"Part of the fun was laughing about the freak networkdevelopment executives we'd just met with [and] doingimpersonations of them."
- Don't You Want Me, Baby? If you're pitching to amiddleman, bring plenty of ideas. "[Middlemen] rarely makedecisions. But you've got to play to them and make them feelsmart," says Thompson, 32. Instead of going in with just oneproposal, bring 10--and expect the person to hate half of them.Once the execs have rejected a few ideas, they'll be betterdisposed to like others.
- Livin' On A Prayer. Though the partners are just asgood at deflating executive egos as they are at inflating them,they're not afraid to put their own egos on hold when dutycalls. As a last resort to get their show on the air, the partnerswent to VH1--a channel they had painful memories of: A developmentexecutive there had fired Low from a previous position as an MTVnews anchor. Ouch.
- One Thing Leads To Another. VH1 executives liked thereality-based show ideas Thompson and Low pitched but saidthey'd have to place videos somewhere within the shows."We decided to put the joke on them by putting all of [ourshow ideas] into little text bubbles on top of their music videos,to tell you a bit of information about the [videos] and poke fun atthe same time," recalls Thompson. That "joke" becamethe winning idea for Pop-Up Video.
The pair's humor makes running their business just as muchfun as their pre-Pop-Up days. Their 30 employees aresubjected (willfully, we assume) to business suit dress-up days; abeer-stocked fridge helps get ideas flowing at brainstormingsessions. "Humor puts everyone at ease and changes the dynamicof any group," says Low. "It brings a big executive downto your level and the lowliest of interns up to yourlevel."
Agrees Thompson, "There's no reason you have to manageyour business according to any rules."
No rules? Sounds good to us.
Contact Source
Spin the Bottle Inc.,http://www.spinthebottle.com
