I’ve been thinking a lot about Trust recently. In an planning/agency context, there’s a lot of Trust needed, between Planners and their Account Directors (please involve me but don’t try and micro manage my relationship with your client) and between Planners and their key client contacts (I really do have the best interests of your … Continue reading Trust me, I’m a Planner
Category: Account Planning
There is no ideal
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about whether there is an ‘ideal’ way to structure a Planning department. Of course, I’ve come to the conclusion that just as there isn’t an ‘ideal’ agency model, there isn’t an ‘ideal’ Planning department structure to fit it. Looking around the net, Russell Davies has been posting about whether … Continue reading There is no ideal
Generalist or Specialist? Whose responsibility?
I was having a chat with someone with decades more agency experience behind them than me yesterday about integrated agencies and their evolving role. His take was that the problem was that an integrated model required Specialist account managers (DM, Advertising, PR etc.) but Generalist account directors who could advise their clients across multiple disciplines/specialisms/channels. The snag … Continue reading Generalist or Specialist? Whose responsibility?
toolbox – the gift that keeps on giving
One of the most valuable gifts I've ever been given at work was from the retiring planning guru, who bequeathed me a powerpoint document containing every chart he'd ever used. I don't think I realised at the time just how useful it would turn out to be, both for those 'how do I show this insight in … Continue reading toolbox – the gift that keeps on giving
Sheep and feigned incompetence
There is a great article by former APG chair Merry Baskin subtitled 'what do account planners do exactly'. My favourite excerpt reads: In general, planners are not very well organised. Tidy minds tend to move in a linear fashion, rather than laterally. And while some may feign incompetence so they don't get stuck delivering proofs to … Continue reading Sheep and feigned incompetence
We have charts and graphs to back us up
Heather has sent out the results of her annual Planner survey. It makes very interesting reading, but I especially liked the front page:
Why don’t Planners exist in films?
A link from the (other) plannersphere to this very funny ad from monster.com reminded me that Planning is the worst represented department whenever a film or TV program features an advertising/marketing/design agency. The worst offender has got to be What Women Want, where Mel Gibson as an Creative of some kind produces a campaign for Nike Women … Continue reading Why don’t Planners exist in films?
Information Overload
Is it too easy to get hold of information? With online news and creative databases, google, technorati and consumer reviews sites like dooyoo all only a mouse click away, its easy to find yourself buried under a mountain of information. But theres a difference between information and insight. The nugget that points us in the … Continue reading Information Overload
All for one and one for all
Working in an integrated agency has its pros and cons. On the upside, there is the opportunity to think media/discipline/channel neutral (and really mean it). To actually recommend what is in the client's best interests. To take learnings from one discipline's activities to another via a chat in the office kitchen rather than a … Continue reading All for one and one for all
This is getting ridiculous
I'm nearing the end of a Big Pitch (the fact that most of my recent posts have comprised details of cross-country odysseys might have been a clue). The thing is, I've visited the same town in the South East of England three times in the last couple of months, but have I visited their famous … Continue reading This is getting ridiculous