You are an advertising executive for Cat’s Meow , an organic cat food company. Y

Question

You are an advertising executive for Cat’s Meow, an organic cat food company. Your supervisor has just informed you that there is an opportunity to gain a new client: a large grocery store chain where you have heard the company culture is very formal—much more formal than the casual-dress culture of Cat's Meow. Landing this client would mean big business for Cat’s Meow. You have been given the opportunity to present an advertising campaign to the client through a formal presentation. You will not be giving the presentation yourself, but have put together a team of less-experienced junior advertising team members who will be. Your role is to guide them through the process.

The junior advertising team members are:

Rodney is 25 years old and has been with Cat’s Meow for six months. This is his first corporate job after graduating from college with a degree in marketing. While he has had training in public speaking during the course of his studies, he has never given a professional presentation. He is nervous, yet excited about having the opportunity to present before the clients.

Selena is 32 years old and has been with Cat’s Meow for two months. Before joining the advertising firm, she worked for various companies in roles such as administrative assistant, receptionist, and sales representative. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and speaks two languages. Although she has never given a presentation before a high profile client, she feels confident giving the presentation since her employment history involved working with people from diverse backgrounds.

As you prepare the team for the presentation, you organize a meeting to discuss what it means to make a positive professional impression and portray a professional image.

Exercise

Be sure to include specific suggestions for both Rodney and Selena. Also include examples related to the following:

Verbal communication: tone of voice and word choice (i.e. avoid slang, biased language, and talking negatively about the company, employees, or past employer)

Nonverbal communication: eye contact, expressions, posture, body language, etc.

Professional appearance: clothing, hairstyles, use of cologne or perfume, grooming and personal hygiene.

Explanation / Answer

Let us break down the presentation suggestions against the categories suggested in the problem statement:

1. Professional appearance:
- Integral to dress sharp. While it isn't essential to adhere to dress according to their culture, we must dress and groom smartly in order to make a good first impression. The hair need to be slick and perfume needs to be just optimal to avoid bad odour
- Integral to carry a smart bag for the laptop with the presentation
-Ensure that you carry notepads for any discussions during the meeting
- Selena: In case you're wearing high heels, go with an option which is comfortable and yet, looks sharp
- Rodney: Since we want to impress them but not forget the essence of our brand, wear smart formals but avoid a suit as it won't go with our brand persona. Its important to look clean and slick.

2. Non-Verbal Communication
-Carry samples to create an impact during the presentation
- Ensure you maintain eye contact with everyone in the room
-Pause at the right places to create the right impact
-Make sure your body llanguage and hand movement is expressive but not over the top
-Carry a pointer to highlight key statsitics

3. Verbal Communication:
-Make sure you highlight words that go with our brand image
-Do not use any slang, acronyms or biased language about the category of pet food that we operate in
-Use voice modulation to highlight key points
-Encourage a two way communication by seeking questions and feedback post every critical highlight

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