The traditional role of a planner doesn’t work anymore. Nick Gill, Planning Director at DCH, explains why planners need an evolved toolkit for an evolved world.

1. of View
Point 2010 r
eptembe
Date: S
Author:
Director
Planning
Nick Gill
The curator
of good stuff
The traditional role of a planner doesn’t work anymore . Nick Gill, Planning Director
at DCH, explains why planners need an evolved toolkit for an evolved world.
Digital has irrevocably changed the marketing landscape. Yawn. Of course it has.
Unfortunately however, most agencies and clients are still set up in a formation that would
make the England football team’s 4-4-2 look forward thinking.
Planning used to be the ivory tower. Everyone would wait for the insight to be lobbed over
the edge after weeks of cogitating and research. And then the creative fun could begin.
Often, while these creative solutions were being crafted the insight would be chucked
aside as its silo-developed relevance began to wane.
From insight to invention
The role of the planner used to be rooted in
traditional advertising. But that just doesn’t
work now. Today’s world is faster, more
complex, more demanding. A singular
insight that rules them all is rare. A silo
Today’s world is faster, more Working in a planning department with no
interaction with others until the brief is ready
complex, more demanding. A is plain ridiculous.
singular insight that rules them We need to shift from a linear process that is
all is rare. focussed on “insight and brief” to an iterative,
agile, collaborative process that is focussed
on meaningful engagement and participation
through the invention of new ideas.
The world has moved away from one great
campaign idea expressed through an image
and a line. It’s moved from campaigns to
dch.co.uk

2. multiple micro interactions. From impact and And because we curate, we don’t just stop
disruption to usage and experience. From at launch. After all, an idea doesn’t stop at
exposure to a moment in time. From one idea launch or after a six-week burst of media
to lots of smaller ones. spend. It evolves through the participation
of engaged communities. The launch idea is
The new mantra just as valuable as the content update coming
next Wednesday.
A planner has moved from being the miner
and polisher of an insight to the publisher or As planners in an evolved world, we must
programme producer. A planner is now the use active analytics to understand what’s
curator of good stuff. happening; adjust or stop what isn’t working,
and accelerate what is. We must constantly
So, what’s in the toolkit of our curator of learn, change and adapt while feeding in new
ideas and thinking. Why? Because culture and
consumer understanding as well as social the media landscape is doing exactly that.
trends living comfortably, seamlessly, with the
technical possibilities of the digital, social and
the real world, often using crowd-sourcing or
active listening in the social space to identify
new and interesting ways that consumers are
playing with brands.
When you augment these with user
experience and draw on media understanding
with deep roots in analytical rigour, you can
start to understand why traditional planning
skills need to evolve into being those of a
NICK GILL
curator. Every planner now needs an evolved
PLANNING DIRECTOR
toolkit for an evolved world.
DCH