Live Strategy Pitch #1: The Digital Firefighter

"Live" Strategy Pitch #1: The Digital Firefighter

• Points: 100 total (50 for Deck Strategy, 50 for Pitch Performance)
• Format: 3-Slide Presentation Deck (Submitted as PPT or Google Slides) + A 2–3 Minute Video Recording
• Prerequisite: Must directly extend your chosen Brand Liaison and the brand voice established in your previous reports.

The Scenario

The alarm has sounded. Yesterday afternoon, a highly sophisticated exploit targeting Meta AI on Instagra

Links to an external site. compromised your Brand Liaison’s official account.

The attacker published an automated, highly convincing post claiming your brand was running an unannounced anniversary flash sale offering up to 90% off all products. The link in the bio led to a fake version of your e-commerce site that immediately stole user credentials and installed malware on consumers' devices.

By the time your team regained control of the account 4 hours later, the post had already racked up thousands of interactions, and your customer service lines were flooded with angry, compromised users.

You are leading an agency's social media team contracted to work with the Brand Liaison (aka, your Brand Liaison is your client). Understandably, your client is upset at the situation.

Part 1: The Crisis Deck (50 Points)

For this assignment, you will build a concise, 3-slide presentation to pitch your crisis plan to the Brand Liaison's executive board. Structure your deck using the exact slide criteria below.

Note: Submitting templated text, using placeholders like [Insert Name Here], changing your assigned Brand Liaison, or omitting the AI Disclosure statement results in a failing grade on the deck portion of this assignment.

Slide 1: The Ignition & The Curve

• Brand Identity: State your Brand Liaison clearly.
• The Ignition Point: Describe exactly how this Instagram hack materialized on your specific brand’s page. What did the fake post look like to match your typical aesthetic, and what specific high-value product did the hacker offer at 90% off to trick your unique followers?
• The Scale: Detail the platform-plausible damage numbers tailored to your brand’s actual size.
  • For a massive brand (e.g., Nike): "The post reached 250k impressions and was shared by 4 verified industry partners before we pulled it down."
  • For a niche brand (e.g., a local coffee roaster): "1,200 comments in the first 45 minutes, completely hijacking our main community hashtag."
• Curve Phase: Explicitly identify where this sits on the course's Crisis Curve: Ignition, Escalation, or Visibility Peak.
• Reputational Damage: In exactly 2 sentences, explain why a malware injection masquerading as a discount completely destroys the specific core trust your unique target audience places in your brand.

Slide 2: The 3 R’s Execution

• Recognize: List 2 manual "human" indicators your agency team must monitor right now to track the spread (e.g., monitoring community subreddits, tracking a specific threat-related hashtag, or checking specific customer service query spikes).
• Respond: Write a strict 2-sentence "Holding Statement" (an explanation of what happened and what your brand is doing about it) designed for your brand's social channels. It must:
  1. Acknowledge the breach and the malware threat directly.
  2. Match your brand's actual tone/voice.
  3. Provide an explicit, time-stamped "Next Step" link where users can find updates on the situation.
• Rebuild: Suggest one concrete, long-term operational or marketing action to restore audience trust over the next 6 months.

Slide 3: Human Application & AI Limitations

• AI Failure: In 2 sentences, explain precisely why running a generic, ChatGPT-generated corporate apology through your social channels would fail or actively backfire during this malware crisis.
• Human Edge: Detail the specific Brand Liaison knowledge (historical company posts, brand values, strict brand voice constraints) you deployed to make your Holding Statement feel authentic and uniquely human.

Slide 4: AI Disclosure Appendix

• If GenAI was used for brainstorming, drafting, or refining: Include the AI tool name, a 3–5 sentence process summary, and the single biggest "hallucination/vibe error" you had to manually correct.
• If no AI was used, paste this verbatim at the bottom of Slide 3: "This report was created entirely through manual research. No generative AI was used."

Part 2: The "Live" Pitch & The Friction Element (50 Points)

You are pitching this deck on camera as an agency partner presenting to the client. You have 2-3 minutes to deliver your strategy via video submission.

The "Live-Like" Friction Element: The Mid-Pitch Curveball

To simulate a fast-moving, real-world boardroom environment, you must integrate a Breaking News Pivot into your recorded video.

The Rule: You cannot edit your slides to adapt to this new information. You must address it and adjust your strategy seamlessly on camera.

Halfway through your presentation (around the 1:15 mark), you must pause, look directly at the camera, and simulate receiving a live text update from your social listening team.

The Marketing Curveball

"Our community management team just confirmed that a major industry influencer with 500k Instagram followers just fell for the scam, clicked the malware link, and is currently blasting the brand on their stories for ruining their phone."

How to Execute This on Camera (Step-by-Step)

Do not stop, edit, or restart your video recording. I'm grading your composure and ability to think on your feet. Follow these three steps when you hit the halfway point:

1. The Pause: Pause your slide presentation, address the camera directly, and say something to the effect of: "I am actually receiving a live update from our monitoring team right now. We have a major escalation..."
2. The Pivot (30 Seconds): State the curveball scenario above, and explain how this shifts the urgency of your plan. Because a massive influencer is now amplifying the crisis, your original Respond or Rebuild strategy needs a quick tweak. (e.g., Do you change where you post your holding statement? Do you need to reach out to that influencer directly to offer technical support before they tank your brand sentiment?)
3. The Close: Seamlessly transition back into your presentation framework and deliver your final conclusions.

Grading Rubric

Strategy Deck Evaluation (50 Points Total)

Strategy Deck Grading Rubric

Criteria	Grade A Tier (Full Credit)	Grade C Tier (Partial Credit)	Grade F Tier (0 Points)
Continuity & Scope	Brand matches previous reports perfectly. The Instagram hack scenario is localized brilliantly to the specific brand identity and target audience.	Brand matches, but the scenario text is generic. It fails to customize the look, feel, or specific product offered in the hack to the brand's niche.	Brand switched from previous reports without permission, OR the student ignored the Meta AI/malware catalyst entirely.
Slide 1: Curve & Damage (15 Points)	Scale metrics are realistic and highly plausible for the brand's size. Curve phase is correctly identified. Reputational damage logic is exactly 2 sentences and sharply connects the malware to a breakdown in unique brand trust.	Metrics are vague or disproportionate to brand scale. Curve phase is misidentified. Damage statement is present but uses generic corporate phrases instead of brand-specific stakes.	Missing scale metrics entirely; fails to define the damage to audience trust; violates the strict 2-sentence constraint.
Slide 2: 3 R's Execution (15 Points)	Formulates 2 highly practical human indicators. Holding statement is exactly 2 sentences, perfectly matches the brand's voice, and includes a clear, time-stamped "Next Step" link. Rebuild plan is a logical, long-term fix.	Indicators are passive or rely on automated tools rather than human tracking. Holding statement is present but lapses into robotic "corporate-speak" and contains an ambiguous next step.	Holding statement is missing, exceeds length rules, or lacks an actionable "Next Step" link. Rebuild plan is missing or irrelevant.
Slide 3: Human Application (15 Points)	Sharp, highly specific contrast showing exactly why a generic ChatGPT apology would fail. Flawlessly identifies unique brand attributes (slogans, history, precise tone rules) used to anchor the strategy.	The critique of AI is generic ("it sounds robotic"). The identified "Human Edge" elements are surface-level and could apply to almost any company in that industry.	Fails to explain why AI would fail, OR cannot identify any unique internal brand assets/slogans used in the response.
AI Disclosure Appendix (5 Points)	Full compliance. Includes a highly detailed process summary and explicit manual correction notes, OR includes the exact "No AI Used" verification phrase.	Appendix is present but lacks depth or fails to detail a specific manual correction.	The Appendix is missing entirely, left completely blank, or omits the mandatory manual verification statement.

Pitch Presentation Evaluation (50 Points Total)

Pitch Presentation Grading Rubric

Criteria	Grade A Tier (Full Credit)	Grade C Tier (Partial Credit)	Grade F Tier (0 Points)
Timing & Pacing (10 Points)	The entire presentation is tightly structured, professional, and clocks in strictly between 2:00 and 3:00 minutes.	Presentation is rushed or sluggish, wrapping up under 2 minutes or extending slightly past the 3-minute mark.	Pitch is completely cut short (under 1:30) or rambles completely out of control past 4 minutes.
Professional Delivery (15 Points)	Strong eye contact with the camera, clear vocal projection, and a polished agency presence. Pitch expands naturally on the slides rather than reading them word-for-word.	Relies heavily on notes or reads directly off the screen/slides for large portions of the pitch. Minimal vocal variety or stiff body language.	Student reads a pre-written script word-for-word with zero eye contact, or uses an unprofessional, highly casual tone.
The Curveball Pivot (25 Points)	Flawlessly executes The Pause, smoothly integrates the influencer crisis, maintains professional composure, and delivers a brilliant 30-second strategic adjustment on the fly.	Acknowledges the curveball but breaks character or shows visible panic. The strategic adjustment is weak or doesn't actually address how to handle the influencer's impact on brand sentiment.	The student entirely ignores the mid-video curveball, panics and cuts the tape, or stops and restarts the recording to script a response.