Branding on leaf bags and shirtless male dancers were all part of an afternoon’s work for the Marketing Pitch Competition at the first annual Playback Summit.

Moderating the panel was Lauren Richards, with Rebecca Shropshire, VP, director of digital communications, UM Canada; Ted Boyd, CEO and partner, 58ninety; and Stephen Jurisic, creative director, John St.

They played the Dragons’ Den-style judges to the three project pitchers who came to have their marketing plans judged.

Details on the participants’ pitches will be kept loose to protect the ideas, which as of yesterday afternoon had not yet found homes.

First up was David Heath who garnered mixed results from the judges due to a lack of focus in the marketing plan for his proposed drama.

Shropshire suggested Heath funnel his multi-tentpole marketing plan, which included a proposed TV festival around the show as well as leaf bags bearing the star’s image, down to a more singular focus to create a bigger splash.

Elize Morgan was up next with a multi-platform pitch for a proposed show which aims to tap into the alternative reality game market of 20- to 40-year-olds, “nerdcore” enthusiasts aged 18 to 49, and history buffs, which she said tend to be women aged 15 to 30.

Boyd said he liked the show itself, but that Morgan should pare down the integrations to keep the emphasis on a few touch points.

Last, and certainly not least was Mark Montefiore who livened up the afternoon crowd with a cast of male dancers (pictured) to pitch an R-rated comedy based on the occupation, targeting Collegehumour.com-loving 18- to 34-year-old males.

The panel picked Montefiore as the winner, with Jurisic saying he would like John St. to be the agency behind the project.

editor’s note: The male dancers in the final pitch only removed their shirts.

From Media in Canada