2. 10+ years advertising & innovation
San Francisco, New York, Boston
HI. I’M ROSS
Dad-to-beSneakerheadTarheel
Source: NYC Photo Chris Ozer
Thursday, April 18, 2013
7. "The account planner is that member of the agency's team who is the expert,
through background, training, experience, and attitudes, at working with
information and getting it used - not just marketing research, but all the
information available to help solve a client's advertising problems."
- Stanley Pollitt
“Planners are in a unique position in their jobs because they have an
understanding of the audience through research expertise AND an
understanding of how it will be applied within their own business, thus they
provide a crucial bridge.”
- Merry Baskin
PLANNING IS
7
Thursday, April 18, 2013
8. PLANNING......
8
•Gets people into the conversation
•Helps the creative work and work harder
•Makes the agency smarter
•Is a tool for new business
•Gets people excited about thinking in a new way
•Is where you start
Thursday, April 18, 2013
12. ABOVE ALL ELSE, A PLANNER’S ROLE IS TO
ENSURE THE WORK ACTUALLY WORKS
12
I. Empirical not theoretical
•Intuition only gets you so far; strategists must rely on knowledge through observation & validation (otherwise
you might as well be guessing)
II. Embrace complexity
•The world won’t suddenly start simplifying itself; great planners radically simplify the big into small
•Tackle with modern strategy techniques - collaboration, iteration, ecosystems
III. Judge when to lock & unlock
•Planners must call time on an idea that is plainly not appropriate for the task or most likely to work
•Planners need to understand when decisions can ignite others and advance the ball
Thursday, April 18, 2013
15. WE WEAR MANY HATS
15
Makers
Sociologists
Researchers
Explorers
Storytellers
Culturists
Thursday, April 18, 2013
16. HOW THE HELL DO WE GET
PEOPLE TO EAT A CANDY
BAR UNCHANGED SINCE THE
1960s?
WHAT WE DO - EXPLORERS
16
HOW DO WE PUT
WONDER IN A CAN?
HOW DO WE REGAIN TRUST
WHEN WE ARE A MEME FOR
BAD?
Thursday, April 18, 2013
18. WHAT WE DO - CULTURISTS
18
Thursday, April 18, 2013
19. WHAT WE DO - RESEARCHERS
19
Thursday, April 18, 2013
20. WHAT WE DO - SOCIOLOGISTS / PSYCH
Thursday, April 18, 2013
21. WHAT WE DO - MAKE STUFF
2116
Thursday, April 18, 2013
22. WHERE WE FIT - CONTROLLED FRICTION
22
Account
Creative
Planning
Source: Gareth Kay
Thursday, April 18, 2013
23. WHERE WE FIT - CONTROLLED FRICTION
23
Make the advertising happen
Make the advertising good
Make the advertising work
Source: Gareth Kay
Thursday, April 18, 2013
24. THE PROCESS TO GET THERE
24
Defining the
problem
Building Insights
& Strategies
Inspiring
Creatives
Selling the
Work
Measuring
Impact
Thursday, April 18, 2013
26. I. DEFINING THE PROBLEM
26
Most of the time something is wrong --> enter the agency
•The target, the competitive set, the benefit, the proposition, not enough information, etc
The other half of the time, the problem isn’t clearly defined enough:
•Telling your agency your brand lacks awareness is like telling the doctor something hurts
Thursday, April 18, 2013
27. Insights are profound human truths
specific about people, categories, products,
businesses, and brands that are presented
in a fresh stimulating way
II. BUILDING INSIGHTS
27
Thursday, April 18, 2013
28. ISNT
Kids like to build stuff. Parents like when
their kids build things because it keeps kids
busy and teaches them how to problem
solve.
IS
Parents believe that children who are
creative problem solvers will do better and
achieve more in their personal and
professional lives.
ISN'T / IS
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30. (When talking about convertibles) “everyone thinks beach and sun, but at night its like you’re in a
space ship” - Lance Jensen
GOOD INSIGHTS CAN LEAD TO GREAT WORK
30
Thursday, April 18, 2013
31. (When talking about convertibles) “everyone thinks beach and sun, but at night its like you’re in a
space ship” - Lance Jensen
GOOD INSIGHTS CAN LEAD TO GREAT WORK
30
Thursday, April 18, 2013
32. DON’T JUST REFLECT REALITY
31
“It’s illuminating & romantic”
Thursday, April 18, 2013
33. Brand History / Equity / Values
•Mission Statement
•Brand Tracker
•Stakeholder Interviews
•Brand Clouds
•Brand Equities
•Content Engagement
GETTING TO GOOD INSIGHTS
32
Business Brand
ConsumerEngagement Cultural Context / Attitudes /
Motivations
•3rd party data
•Quantitative Surveys
•Qualitative Research
•Social Listening
Market Share & Competitive Data
•Competitrak
•Financial Analyst Reports
•Sales Trends
•Category Trends
•Annual Sales Data
Behaviors / Media / Purchase
•Experiential Research
•Customer Journeys
•Qual & Quant Research
•Syndicated Data
•Blogs
•Forrester & Iconoculture
Thursday, April 18, 2013
34. WHAT WAS THE INSIGHT?
33
Thursday, April 18, 2013
35. INSIGHTS ARE THE BASIS FOR ALL
MARKETING
34
Insights
Positioning
Creative
Media
Content
All Marketing Efforts
insights become foundation for all marketing
Source: Rowena Alston
Belief
Behavior
Thursday, April 18, 2013
36. II. SETTING THE STRATEGY
35source: mike aruz
Thursday, April 18, 2013
38. TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE
DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS
INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET
DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP
GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TAL
TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE
DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS
INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET
DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP
GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TAL
TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE
DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS
INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET
DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP
GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TAL
TALK DEBATE DISCUSS INTERNET DRINK SLEEP GO AWAY TALK TALK DEBATE37
III. INSPIRING CREATIVES
Thursday, April 18, 2013
39. Our Main Deliverable. Distillation of all research, thinking & discussions. Serves multiple functions.
BRIEFS
38
Write the brief
Get some account and media
suggestions
Simplify the problem
Get away from the
idea
Come back & crack
the idea
Feed bits of
inspiration
Give them something
helpful everyday
Build your strategic
fortress
Source: Heidi Hackemer
Rewrite the brief
Thursday, April 18, 2013
40. Come Correct
•Building Sessions
•Be Positive
•Start with the good parts
•Keep bitching to a minimum
CREATIVE GUIDANCE STRATEGIES
39
It’s not easy being a creative
•Intense pressure
•Weird hours
•Each works differently
Thursday, April 18, 2013
41. IV. SELLING THE WORK
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•Bring the idea to life in any way possible
•Sell early and often
•Don’t accept the client’s frame of the problem. Reframe in the terms that are
surprising but make your answer inevitable and inarguable
•Tell a story: the power of an idea, the problem, an even bigger problem,
catalyst for change, how we know we’re right
Source: Rowena Alston
Thursday, April 18, 2013
42. You made it, now get to work!
•Old world - wait for 3/6/12 months sales data
•New World - real-time measurement & reporting for 24/7
optimization
•Work can always be made as culture and consumer’s
behavior shifts
•Planners work with media & analytics to:
•Define program goals
•Develop learning & measurement plans
•Generate fodder for new insights
V. MEASURING IMPACT
41
Test
Measure
Learn
Optimize
•Analytics
•Brand Tracking
•Engagement
Measurement
•Buzz Metrics
•Brand Index
•Copy Testing
Source: Rowena Alston
Thursday, April 18, 2013
43. HOW TO WORK WITH PLANNERS
42
Thursday, April 18, 2013
45. Planning takes time, good planning takes more time
GIVE PLANNERS THINKING TIME
44
Thursday, April 18, 2013
46. Planners are never not working
They’d love to bounce ideas,
chat, or imagine the future
Talk to them
BRING YOUR IDEAS EVERYDAY
45
Thursday, April 18, 2013
47. “Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative”
- Oscar Wilde
DONT BE AFRAID OF FAILURE
46
Source: Gareth Kay / Mark Lewis
Thursday, April 18, 2013
48. New business scour on
blogs & social media, etc
POTENTIAL DAY IN THE LIFE - JR PLANNER
47
Competitive Dig for Market
Analysis
Write tactical brief for
Dunkin Donuts Summer
Promotion Biscuit Breakfast
Sharing stimulus in
creative briefing
Developing hypotheses &
initiatives for go-to-market
launch strategy on Cigna
Get Organized for
day and week ahead
Thursday, April 18, 2013
49. WANT TO BE A PLANNER?
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Thursday, April 18, 2013
50. IDEAL PLANNER DNA
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A good intellect & innate curiosity
Capable of daring leaps
Humanity and empathy
A dose of anxiety
Weird wiring
Geeking out
Ability to perform
Brave
Ego-less
Always on
Numerate
Team player
Thursday, April 18, 2013
53. Feed & Fuel Creativity
Be Objective & Optimistic
Be present & talk often
Be additive, not interruptive
Be Curious
DO THIS
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Thursday, April 18, 2013