By Claudia Scott-Hansen (on behalf of Playbook Collective)

Attending a sales market for the first time can feel overwhelming. You want to know it’s worth the time, the travel and the very real expense. And you’re hoping all of your preparation will actually pay off. 

I know what it’s like. I attended my first Kidscreen Summit in New York in February 2004—in the middle of an epic snowstorm. I had just started in a new role at the BBC Worldwide US office. I showed up in boots and about 10 layers, with zero meetings and no idea what to expect. At that time, the Summit was still small enough that spontaneous chats with partners and broadcasters actually happened. By the next year? A whole different story—schedules packed, meetings booked weeks ahead and the Summit was a must-attend industry event.

These days, I’m a member of Playbook Collective, a group of experienced media execs who help producers and creators walk into meetings prepared, confident and competitive. Between us, we’ve spent many, many years navigating Kidscreen Summit and other international markets around the world. Quite literally, we’ve built our careers in these spaces. 

Here are some of the hard-earned best practices we’ve learned along the way to help you make the most of every meeting. And if you need more support, you know where to find us.

1. Book meetings early. Without an appointment made well in advance, you won’t get a meeting. Most broadcasters and streamers, in particular, lock their schedules for Kidscreen Summit by the first week of February.  
2. Do your homework. Do the buyers you’re meeting with program for preschoolers? Kids six to 11? Tweens? What have they acquired/commissioned recently? (Kidscreen’s archives are a good place to start.) Research both the company and the executive you’ll be meeting with. Pitching an action show for older kids to a preschool buyer will waste everyone’s time.  
3. Start by listening. Open the meeting by asking what the buyer is actively looking for. If there’s overlap, it gives you a chance to tailor your pitch.    
4. Ensure your pitch deck covers the information they need. Include the “elevator pitch” summary, age demo, duration/episode count, genre, format, budget, concept status (concept, script, pilot, etc.) and the creator credits. If they have to ask, you’ll lose momentum. When it comes to the actual pitch deck, some people prefer a printed booklet, and some like to pitch from a laptop—but either way, don’t expect that buyers will want to take materials with them. (See point 9.)
5. Keep it short and compelling. Practice, practice, practice your pitch and tell your story. Deliver it with passion, but make sure it’s no longer than five to seven minutes long. Leave time for feedback and conversation. Your goal during this short window is to make buyers fall in love with the show, not to explain every character’s backstory across three seasons. (That’s what second meetings are for.)
6. No need to explain it to the experts. Senior execs already know how franchises work. Yes, your project may become a great toy. But you don’t need to walk Disney through how an IP can extend into games. They pretty much invented the playbook on that. 
7. Avoid clichés and forced comparisons. You’ve worked hard to create something original—own that. Don’t say you’ve created “the next Bluey” or that you’re working with “the next Fred Rogers”. Don’t claim that your project is the first one to focus on empathy or kindness or acceptance. Let buyers draw their own conclusions.
8. Don’t pitch more than two to three projects at a time. Running through a catalogue of 10 ideas in 20 minutes dilutes your impact and their attention. Based on your research, pick the top few that best suit the needs of your intended partner.  
9. Prepare your follow-up in advance. At the conclusion of a market, buyers head back to their offices and circulate shortlists internally—so make this easy for them. Before you leave for the event, create a shared folder with your deck, trailer and script. Send a follow-up email with a clean link to it within one to two weeks. Then all they’ll have to do is click “forward”.  
10. Enjoy the market and behave like a potential partner. Go to the mixers. Accept the cocktail invites. Meet people. This business is relationship-driven, after all. It’s a bit like dating—people want to work with people they like. That also means you should avoid ambushing execs in the bathroom, answering questions in operatic song, dressing up in costume, and pitching via a ventriloquist dummy in a cramped elevator going up to the 20th floor (all true stories, none successful).  

It doesn’t hurt to get there the day before, pick up your badge and scope out where your meetings will be held. And above all else, showing up prepared, present and genuine goes a lot further than trying to be perfect.

Claudia Scott-Hansen is a co-founder of media rights distribution and global franchise development agency Cookbook Media. Prior to that, she has worked in management roles at The Jim Henson Company, 9 Story Media Group, HIT Entertainment, Mattel and BBC Worldwide, leading distribution, co-production and commissioning partnerships. This article is on behalf of Playbook Collective, a group of five experienced media executives that consult on how to best prepare for sales markets: Amy Takahara (pitch deck and treatments), Claudia Scott-Hansen (targeted buyer and platform strategy), Athena Georgaklis (international co-productions), Rob Bencal (franchise, merchandising and gaming) and Terence Mbulaheni (YouTube and digital strategy).