Ad Agency Pitch Role-Play | Marketing Careers Activity

Q: What jobs are on an advertising agency team?

A typical campaign team includes an account manager (the client's main contact, who knows their goals), a copywriter (the words), an art director (the look), and a media buyer (where ads run and what they cost). Bigger agencies add strategists, producers, and analysts, but these four roles cover what students need for the pitch.

Ad Agency Pitch - Marketing and Advertising Example

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Lesson Plan Overview

Template and Class Instructions

Lesson Plan Overview

Ad campaigns are made by teams, and each person has a job. In an advertising agency, the account manager knows the client's goals, the copywriter writes the words, the art director designs the look, and the media buyer decides where the ads run and what they cost. In this role-play, a team of students storyboards their agency pitching a campaign to a client, including the tough question the client asks and how the team answers it. It brings together everything from the unit and works as practice for DECA role-play events.

Before You Begin

Teams: groups of four, one role each. In groups of three, the account manager also does the media buyer's job.
The client: another team's product, or TagBack. In the example, Jordan, TagBack's founder, has $100 from the first sales to spend on ads.
Time needed: one class to storyboard, plus five minutes per team to perform the pitch.
Assessment: each role contributes something only that role would know, the campaign fits the client's budget and persona, and the team answers the client's question with evidence.

The Pitch

CELL	WHO SPEAKS	EXAMPLE: PITCHING TAGBACK
1	Account manager: the client's goal and audience.	"You want 60 packs sold by winter break, to parents and coaches. Here's our plan."
2	Copywriter: the big idea and the words.	"Our idea is Lost and Found Week. The headline: '142 hoodies. Zero names.'"
3	Art director: the look.	"Bright orange labels on the pile of gray hoodies. You can't miss them."
4	Media buyer: where the ads run and the budget.	"$60 to print the pick-up line banner, $40 to promote the Friday post, and the free announcements video."
5	The client's tough question.	Jordan: "Why not spend the whole $100 on social media?"
6	The team's answer and next step.	"Your buyers are parents and coaches; the banner reaches them in the car line every day. Approve today and we launch Monday."

Careers to Explore

Account manager, copywriter, art director, media buyer, marketing coordinator, social media manager, brand manager, market research analyst, and storyboard artist. Ask students which role they enjoyed most and what skills it used.

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Template and Class Instructions

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)

Student Instructions

With your team, create a storyboard of your ad agency pitching a campaign to a client.

Click "Use This Template" from the assignment.
Choose your roles: account manager, copywriter, art director, and media buyer.
In cell 1, the account manager states the client's goal and audience.
In cells 2–4, the copywriter, art director, and media buyer each present their part of the campaign.
In cell 5, show a tough question from the client.
In cell 6, show your team's answer and the next step.
Save and submit your storyboard, then practice presenting the pitch.

Ad Agency Pitch - Marketing and Advertising Template

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Copy This Storyboard

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 9-12

Difficulty Level 4 (Difficult / Complex)

Type of Assignment Partner, or Group

Type of Activity: Discussion Storyboards

Copy Activity

Lesson Plan Overview

Before You Begin

Teams: groups of four, one role each. In groups of three, the account manager also does the media buyer's job.
The client: another team's product, or TagBack. In the example, Jordan, TagBack's founder, has $100 from the first sales to spend on ads.
Time needed: one class to storyboard, plus five minutes per team to perform the pitch.
Assessment: each role contributes something only that role would know, the campaign fits the client's budget and persona, and the team answers the client's question with evidence.

The Pitch

CELL	WHO SPEAKS	EXAMPLE: PITCHING TAGBACK
1	Account manager: the client's goal and audience.	"You want 60 packs sold by winter break, to parents and coaches. Here's our plan."
2	Copywriter: the big idea and the words.	"Our idea is Lost and Found Week. The headline: '142 hoodies. Zero names.'"
3	Art director: the look.	"Bright orange labels on the pile of gray hoodies. You can't miss them."
4	Media buyer: where the ads run and the budget.	"$60 to print the pick-up line banner, $40 to promote the Friday post, and the free announcements video."
5	The client's tough question.	Jordan: "Why not spend the whole $100 on social media?"
6	The team's answer and next step.	"Your buyers are parents and coaches; the banner reaches them in the car line every day. Approve today and we launch Monday."

Careers to Explore

Copy Activity

Template and Class Instructions

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)

Student Instructions

With your team, create a storyboard of your ad agency pitching a campaign to a client.

Click "Use This Template" from the assignment.
Choose your roles: account manager, copywriter, art director, and media buyer.
In cell 1, the account manager states the client's goal and audience.
In cells 2–4, the copywriter, art director, and media buyer each present their part of the campaign.
In cell 5, show a tough question from the client.
In cell 6, show your team's answer and the next step.
Save and submit your storyboard, then practice presenting the pitch.

More options

Copy This Storyboard

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 9-12

Difficulty Level 4 (Difficult / Complex)

Type of Assignment Partner, or Group

Type of Activity: Discussion Storyboards

Copy Activity

How to Run an Ad Agency Pitch Role-Play

Assign agency roles

Each student takes one role: account manager, copywriter, art director, or media buyer.

Brief the team on the client

Give each team a client product, its persona, a goal, and a budget.

Storyboard the pitch

Each role gets a cell, followed by the client's tough question and the team's answer.

Rehearse the objection

Teams practice answering the client's question with evidence, not just enthusiasm.

Perform and reflect

Teams pitch to the client team in five minutes, then reflect on which role they enjoyed most and why.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Ad Agency Pitch Role-Play

What jobs are on an advertising agency team?

A typical campaign team includes an account manager (the client's main contact, who knows their goals), a copywriter (the words), an art director (the look), and a media buyer (where ads run and what they cost). Bigger agencies add strategists, producers, and analysts, but these four roles cover what students need for the pitch.

How does this activity help students prepare for DECA?

DECA role-play events ask students to solve a business problem and present it to a judge acting as a client or manager, often with little preparation time. Storyboarding the pitch gives teams a structure: goal, idea, look, budget, then a tough question. Practicing the client's objection is especially useful, because judges often ask one.

What should I do with groups of three or five?

In groups of three, the account manager also covers the media buyer's budget. In groups of five, add a market research analyst who opens with one finding about the persona, or have one student play the client and ask the tough question live. Every student should speak at least once during the performed pitch.

Who should be the client?

Using another team's product works best: each team becomes a client for one pitch and an agency for another, so students hear their own product pitched back to them. TagBack, with Jordan as the founder, works as a shared client if teams don't have their own products yet, and it lets you compare pitches directly.

How should I grade the agency pitch?

Grade the storyboard and the performance separately. For the storyboard, check that each role adds something only that role would know and that the plan fits the budget and persona. For the performance, look for a confident answer to the client's question that uses evidence, and a clear next step at the end.