The Anatomy of Account

Planning
- The creativity behind the creativity-
Henrik Habberstad
1. Introduction
I cant think of a more exciting time to be in the advertising business
- John Hegarty -
Today, all large (and quite a few small) European and American advertising agencies
have a separate function called account planning !n short, the planner plays an
important role in creating a sensitive and deeper understanding of human "ehaviour #
what we call insight !n other words, the planner ma$es sure that a deeper, holistic
understanding of consumer attitudes and reactions are "rought to "ear at every stage
of advertising development ("oth strategy and creative) Account planners serve as
agency catalysts, continually pursuing ideas that grow from an uncommon
understanding of and intuition for the connection "etween the product or "rand and
people%s daily lives As the agency catalyst, the planner is a fully integrated mem"er of
the "rand&account team, wor$ing closely together with the account manager, the
copywriter and the art director As planners do not write ads themselves, the role of the
planning function is to help the people who do, "y "ringing a consumer perspective to
"oth the development of the overall mar$eting communications strategy and the
creative wor$ !n many ways, account planning can therefore "e descri"ed as the
creativity "ehind the creativity (or the creative wor$ "ehind the creative wor$), simply
"ecause, through supporting the creative team, the planner provides it with $nowledge
of "oth the product (the "rand) and its target audience The planner ena"les the
creatives to reach an advertising solution with which to promote the product and
monitor the effectiveness of the campaign, and provides information for further
creative strategies !t is mayhem out there, and the planner needs to ma$e sure that
the advertising strategies (and overall thin$ing) are 'ust as innovative as the creative
wor$
(lanners should constantly "e pushing for new ways to create insight and understand
consumers and their relations to products, "rands and advertising They use a variety
of research methods, "oth qualitative research (focus groups, o"servations, one-to-one
interviews) and more quantitative data (such as demographic profiles of current "rand
users)
2
!n summary, the planner is the agency%s )voice of the consumer%* responsi"le for
ensuring that advertising is relevant to the target group, has the desired persuasive
impact and is presented in the right media
To "e a good planner, those wor$ing in the discipline need a genuine interest in people
and a passion (and respect) for their views and inner feelings (lanners must "e s$illed
at using research data, "ut they definitely also need a strategic and visionary mind,
which can translate research findings and insight into great advertising !t should,
however, "e said that account planning is not an end in itself +reat ads were and still
are created without it Hopefully, planning adds conte,t, perspective, insight, guidance
and opinion to advertising development -onsequently, the chances of getting the
advertising right the first time are increased Account planning is also a"out ta$ing the
ris$ out of advertising .eing creative is a strange process, and what planning does is
give a "etter chance of producing more creative, more effective advertising more often
3
2. The birth and historical
development of account planning
I do not accept that there has to be a choice between advertising that is
strategically relevant or creatively original
- /artin .oase -
- Introduction
Account planning is an important advertising agency function that has "een carried out
in .ritish agencies since the late 0123s The function focuses on the initial formation of
advertising strategy and thereafter the campaign development, through a closer
understanding of the clients% final customers or other target(s) 4rom its "eginnings,
account planning has developed into a 'o" function that e,ists at the ma'ority of large
5ondon advertising agencies The discipline has also "een adopted "y some agencies
outside 5ondon and, more recently, has "een transplanted from the 67 to advertising
agencies in other countries Advertising (in our case represented "y account planning)
and archaeology may sound li$e strange "edfellows 8ne concerns tapping into the
most up-to-date mar$et trends and consumer needs, the other the study of ancient
and long-forgotten cultures "y e,cavating relics and remains !n order to create an
understanding of what account planning actually is, ! found it highly relevant to loo$ at
its historical development and research its historical "ac$ground in the advertising
industry in 5ondon in the 0123s 9emem"er the saying: )9espect your past, en'oy your
present and have passion for the future%
- Account planning: how it all began
;ou cannot develop relevant advertising, persuade the paying client of its potential and
then hope to evaluate it without some sort of planning Advertising has always "een
planned and campaigns have always "een post-rationali<ed (eople li$e James =e""
;oung, -laude Hop$ins, 9osser 9eeves, >avid 8gilvy and .ill .ern"ach were all super"
planners =hat was new was the e,istence in an agency of a separate department
whose primary responsi"ility was planning advertising strategy and evaluating
campaigns in accordance with this
4
?taveley wrote in 0111, )The origin of account planning occurred at a"out the same
time in the mid to late 0123s, in two of the leading .ritish advertising agencies, and
was in each case the product of a dominant single thin$er The agencies were the J
=alter Thompson (J=T) 5ondon 8ffice, and the new, very small agency .oase /assimi
(ollitt (./(), now ./. >>., also in 5ondon !t is also worth mentioning that the two
dominant personalities involved were J=T%s ?tephen 7ing and the late ?tanley (ollitt of
./( Apart from a shared emphasis on the consumer, the approach of these two
agencies was very different, representing two distinct ideologies However, "oth were
remar$a"ly successful and have had a profound influence on su"sequent advertising
practice !nevita"ly there has "een some dispute a"out which came first, and which
was the "etter% (?taveley, 0111)
As ?taveley notes, 7ing and (ollitt developed their ideas independently, although they
had much in common The ideas then formulated remain vivid and relevant today, and
it is interesting to loo$ at the two approaches to see the many ways in which account
planning can "e applied effectively
- The !T approach
The Thompson T-(lan (today widely $nown as the (lanning -ycle) was developed in the
early&mid 0123s !n 012@, the agency discovered that it had "een practising this way of
thin$ing for quite a long time with a fair amount of success A restructuring of the
agency was proposed and this is how the idea of creating a new department was "orn
(later given the name )account planning department%) !n an internal J=T document,
?tephen 7ing wrote in 012@:
)The reasons for setting up an account planning department were primarily to (0)
integrate campaign and media o"'ectives, (A) develop specialist s$ills in advertising
research and planning and (B) lin$ technical planning and its information sources The
main responsi"ilities of the account planners were to (0) set o"'ectives for creative
wor$, media scheduling and "uying, merchandising and to help develop the o"'ectives
into action, (A) plan, commission and evaluate advertising research, (B) plan
advertising e,periments, (C) evaluate advertising and e,periments and (D) present
wor$ to account groups and clients% (7ing, 012@)
And:
"
)4or all these reasons, the J=T version of account planning had a very strong media
and single-source research flavour, powerfully underpinned "y qualitative studies
Essentially, the agency created an intimate, new, three-person managing team for each
of its accounts% (?taveley, 0111)
The three people mentioned "y ?taveley were:
The account director, providing the perspective of the client and the client%s
mar$eting strategy, also responsi"le for e,ecuting decisions
The creative group head, responsi"le for the development and implementation
of creative ideas
The account planner, principally representing the consumer or the group the
client wishes to reach, with added responsi"ilities for advertising research,
strategy development and the direction of media planning
9eplacing the agency%s mar$eting department, the account planners were recruited
from various sources: from research, from the media, and from the former mar$eting
department itself This seemed a very interesting com"ination, with a threefold focus
on creativity, media $nowledge and mar$eting o"'ectives The involvement of the
creative team was an important issue for ?tephen 7ing, and he was supported
throughout "y Jeremy .ullmore, head of the agency%s creative department
The T-(lan was created in 012C and account planning "egan in 012@ J =alter
Thompson%s account planning department was set up with 7ing as its first group head
and .ullmore as creative director !n many ways, the e,isting mar$eting department
could not continue as it was: with a huge information department and numerous
mar$eting strategists, the lines "etween information provision and strategy creation
had "ecome "lurred This reorgani<ation made the company appealing to clients
intellectual enough to thin$ there should "e some sort of research underpinning their
advertising
- The #$% approach
4rom 012D, ?tanley (ollitt, then at !nterpu"lic +roup agency (ritchard =ood E (artners
in 5ondon, had "een drawing similar conclusions to his contemporaries and friends at
J=T (?taveley, 0111) His legacy to the advertising industry would "e a new agency
structure revolving around a set of principles which also attracted the title )account
planning%
&
(ollitt%s ideas "lossomed when, in 012@, he helped set up .oase /assimi (ollitt and
esta"lished what he called a )consumer alliance%, openly adopting the phrase from J=T
The new account planning department at ./( was quite different from that at the
5ondon office of J=T ./( was a tiny agency with no international connections at that
stage, "ut it was soon to develop a reputation for good creative wor$, than$s to the
efforts of the young and very talented John =e"ster (still with ./( >>.) The aim of
./( was to show that its advertising was "oth accounta"le and effective /artin .oase
was once quoted as saying that he did not accept there had to "e a choice "etween
strategically relevant and creatively original advertising This remains something of a
mantra within ./( >>. -onsequently, ./( planners "ecame involved in advertising
research, and often in fieldwor$ (ollitt was concerned a"out the "urgeoning use of
quantitative pre-testing methods coming in from the 6?A )He saw these as destructive
of truly effective advertising They prescri"ed one or other single mechanistic view of
how advertising wor$s and imposed rigid norms (interest levels, preference shifts)
without any proper dialogue with the consumer% (?taveley, 0111)
J=T was also aware of these pro"lems, "ut with its immense authority and intellectual
stature it had less need to worry a"out them However, )for (ollitt%s small Flite, they
were an appalling and immediate threat to the e,cellence he aimed for 4ortunately, an
important ./( confectionery client # John .artle of -ad"ury # shared and supported
(ollitt%s views, and ena"led him to reali<e his particular vision of account planning%
(?taveley, 0111) John .artle was some years later the founding partner of .artle .ogle
Hegarty
- The difference in thin'ing between !alter Thompson and #oase $assimi
%ollitt
4or (ollitt, the voice of the consumer was of paramount importance, and using
consumer research to clarify the issues and enrich the advertising development process
was an essential component =hen .oase /assimi (ollitt was formed, an account
director and an account planner managed each of its three accounts .oth ?tanley
(ollitt and ?tephen 7ing shared a desire to reorgani<e the media, research and
mar$eting departments* 7ing initially "y a process, and (ollitt via a person
.oth were led towards the creation of a new department and a new discipline
(
)+etting it right% is, and was, the issue* and in esta"lishing and e,panding their
planning departments, "oth .oase /assimi (ollitt and J =alter Thompson charged their
planners with adding the dimension of consumer response to the opinions and
e,perience of clients and the intuition of creative people in an effort to ma$e their
advertising more effective (lanners were therefore not only involved in strategic
development Here there was a slight difference "etween the .oase /assimi (ollitt and
J =alter Thompson schools of planning: .oase /assimi (ollitt came to place much more
emphasis on the role played "y planners in wor$ing with creative teams and
researching rough creative ideas (a role once rather un$indly du""ed )the ads or
creative twea$ers%) compared with J =alter Thompson%s )grand strategist% (?teel,
011@)
(ersonally, ! "elieve that any good planner has to "e very strong "oth strategically and
creatively, and ! will "e discussing these matters later in this monograph
- !hat actuall) happened in the #ritish advertising industr) in the 1*&+s,
As we have seen, J =alter Thompson and .oase /assimi (ollitt were the founders of
account planning as we $now it today and, although their "asic principles were similar,
their methods of wor$ing differed Gowadays, most planners will have "een trained in
one or other schools of planning* however, the differences in wor$ing have "ecome
increasingly "lurred as esta"lished, traditionally structured agencies have found ways
of ta$ing planners on "oard !n any case, it is interesting to trac$ some changes in
mar$eting and advertising environments that have "oosted the considera"le growth of
planning in agencies (A(+, 0111)
1.- .lients/ e0pectations of their agenc) changed:
)!n the 01D3s, advertising agencies were the main pioneers of mar$et research
programmes The 0123s "rought dramatic change /ore and more clients were
restructured along mar$eting lines and part of this was the creation of their own
mar$et research departments They loo$ed to agencies for specialist research advice on
advertising matters Agencies therefore had to concentrate more specifically on the
professional development of ads ?o the effect of increased client sophistication was:
!ncreased demand for distinctive agency discipline
>ecreased need for agencies as mar$et consultants
1
!n a sense, planning therefore "ecame to advertising in agencies what mar$eting
"ecame to sales in the client companies The planner was charged with ensuring that
all the data relevant to $ey advertising decisions were properly analysed,
complemented with new research, and "rought to "ear on 'udgements of the creative
strategy and appraisal of the ads% (A(+, 0111)
2.- .hanges in consumer attitudes were more readil) recogni2ed:
) Technology, wor$ ethics, the role of women in society, leisure, lifestyle, social values,
catering patterns, racial issues, attitudes to fitness and health and general mood of the
times were all constantly changing -reative people needed to $eep in touch
/onitoring cultural and social trends "ecame a specialist tas$, and the findings needed
to "e fed in at an early stage of developing new "rands as well as new advertisements%
(A(+, 0111)
3.- #rand images became more important:
)?ocial anthropologists say that "rands are li$e people: there is a practical side and an
emotional side "ringing out personality, images and feelings All consumer "ehaviour is
an e,pressive gesture of some sort, and "rand sym"olism is a special form of
language =hether advertising creates or reflects the images doesnHt matter* what is
important is that the meaning, sometimes the myth and mystique, "ehind the "rand is
understood To do this, planners have resorted to inventive ways of eliciting consumer
attitudes in order to understand the richness of a "rand, and how consumers relate to
it Also, as mar$ets "ecame more competitive, "rands had to "ecome more
sophisticated Threats li$e new technology, product parity and own-la"el "rands put
more pressure on premium "rands to differentiate themselves% (A(+, 0111)
- 3ater developments of account planning
)The success of account planning at "oth J=T and ./( "ecame widely recogni<ed "y
"oth clients and competitive agencies in .ritain The latter soon adopted and adapted
the idea on a wide scale* "y 01@3, all ma'or agencies in 5ondon had account planning
systems in place The 01I3s and 01@3s were years of e,pansion for the .ritish
advertising "usinessJas agencies grew, account planning "ecame an integral part of
their core "eing, account planning was soon seen as an advertising discipline in its own
right, and agencies "egan to recruit planners fresh from universities and to train them
in house
*
8n B0 8cto"er 01I@ account planners formed an influential association, the Account
(lanning +roup 67, which was esta"lished to improve and otherwise develop
professional practice in the field% (?taveley, 0111) The A(+ currently has more than
233 mem"ers in the 67 and is also well esta"lished in the 6?A and in +ermany
As we will now see, account planning has also travelled a"road and "een an essential
part of agencies outside .ritain
- Account planning travels to the 45A
8%/alley (0111) discussed the way planning moved from the 67 to the 6? He
descri"es how the pioneer agency in the 6?A was -hiat&>ay (now T.=A& -hiat&>ay)
Jay -hiat was a great admirer of .ritish advertising and felt that the reason it was more
successful than 6? advertising was "ecause of the use of account planning He decided
to implement account planning in his agency, and hired Jane Gewman, who had started
her career at ./( in 5ondon Gewman in turn "rought over many talented planners
from the 67, including /T 9ainey, 9o" =hite, Gigel -arr and 9osemary 9yan >uring
the 01@3s, -hiat&>ay "ecame very successful, "eing named )Agency of the >ecade% "y
Advertising Age, and won +old 5ions at -annes and more +rand Effies (advertising
effectiveness awards) than any other agency at that time /any 6? agencies copied
their approach to account planning, often "y hiring -hiat&>ay planners or "y importing
their own from the 67 (8%/alley, 0111)
- Issues facing account planning in the 45A
!n discussing the success of account planning in the 6?A one has to "e careful to
distinguish "etween the successes of the discipline itself and the success of the rhetoric
a"out the discipline )The discipline has "een hugely successful in small- and medium-
si<ed agencies, "ut with a few e,ceptions it has yet to penetrate into large 6?
agencies The 6? advertising mar$et is roughly ten times the si<e of the .ritish
advertising mar$et This difference in scale creates a num"er of important "arriers to
account planning, which are particularly acute in large agencies% (8%/alley, 0111)
These are:
A more quantitative "usiness culture
5arge, entrenched, hierarchical, "ureaucratic agency and client structures
?hortage of s$illed account planners
1+
!n addition, as 8%/alley points out, while some people argue that differences "etween
American and European agencies stem from the more quantitative culture in the 6?, a
more o"vious distinction is the one of scale )/any 6? clients are understanda"ly
reluctant to authori<e or recommend to their superiors the e,penditure of sometimes
tens of millions of dollars "ased on, as they would see it, a few focus groups They
require reassurance that is altogether more rigorous and KscientificL Gum"ers always
give at least the illusion of precision% (8%/alley, 0111)
As we have seen, account planning stems from a radically different tradition: one that
pri<es understanding consumers rather the counting them As 8%/alley so rightly says,
)the challenge in the 6?A is to ensure that "ad or ine,perienced planners do not colour
overall perceptions of the discipline 6ndou"tedly, the de"ate a"out the relevance of
account planning in the 6?A will continue for some time However, in truth, the
discipline is already successful and well esta"lished "ecause it is a "etter way to
produce advertising This is not to say that account planning is perfect* it is not, and it
will change as it accommodates to a different advertising culture and adapts to the
demands of greater scale The real significance of account planning, however, may "e
that it can serve as a model for the development of the other non-creative disciplines
within the American advertising agency (erhaps soon we will have "usiness planners
and media planners alongside the consumer account planner of today% (8%/alley, 0111)
- !hat did account planning achieve in its earl) )ears,
!n assessing what account planning has achieved in the .ritish and American agencies,
the following 'udgements can "e made, neatly summarised "y the A(+ (0111) The
presence of a planner on an account has led to more integration within the agency and
a greater a"ility to com"ine the needs of the client, mar$et and consumer
)The planner has "rought an added dimension of understanding to the process of
developing ads "y stimulating discussion a"out purchasing decisions, the "rand#
consumer relationship and how advertising wor$s in specific circumstances, helping to
win new "usiness "y instilling confidence in the prospective client as a result of a
comprehensive and disciplined approach% (A(+, 0111)
The planner has "een a"le to improve strategy, stimulate creativity, champion the
needs of consumers and further our understanding of them !t has "een shown here
that the growth of account planning has "een followed "y an improvement in the
creativity, quality and effectiveness of advertising
11
3. A broader and deeper definition of
account planning
At the heart of an effective creative philosophy is the belief that nothing is so powerful
as an insight into human nature, what compulsions drive a man, what instincts
dominate his actions, even though his language so often camouflages what really
motivates him. or if you know these things about a man you can touch him at the
core of his being
- .ill .ern"ach -
- Introduction
The late ?tanley (ollitt of .oase /assimi (ollitt and ?tephen 7ing of J =alter Thompson
are, as we have seen, the two forefathers of account planning !n two separate 5ondon
agencies, "ut at pretty much the same time, they started a small revolution in the
advertising world that has spread from traditional advertising agencies to other
mar$eting communication disciplines, such as direct mar$eting, (9, design and client
research As John ?teel said, )K+etting it rightL is, and was, the issue* and in
esta"lishing and e,panding account planning, "oth ./( and J=T charged their
planners with adding the dimension of consumer response to the opinions and
e,perience of clients and the intuition of creative people in an effort to ma$e their
advertising more effective% (?teel, 011@)
5et us now ta$e a closer loo$ at the account planning function
- !hat e0actl) is account planning,
A large num"ers of planners, either wor$ing in 5ondon, >u"lin, Gew ;or$, ?toc$holm or
8slo, have "een as$ed what planning is really all a"out The simplest answer at this
stage seems to "e that planning is all a"out having a consumer focus and through this
it adds something to a process # the process of creating outstanding advertising =e
have to loo$ at the planner and how he or she integrates within the team that produces
the wor$, and it is therefore sometimes hard to loo$ at account planning in isolation
9oughly spea$ing, account planning is all a"out three questions:
=hy are we doing any advertising or communication at allM
=ho are we communicating withM
=hat should we say and whyM
12
To try to come up with a definition of planning seems to "e a nightmare tas$ for any
planner and some even go through a whole career without "eing a"le to come up with
a proper definition of what it is they actually do However, as Gic$ 7endall, +roup
(lanning >irector of .artle .ogle Hegarty says, planning in the narrowest sense is
a"out input of research to the process of creating advertising, "ut if you stop here,
you%re in trou"le 8ne of the cornerstones of the planning process is to "ring in fresh
perspectives throughout the entire process 4urthermore, the function is to thin$ a"out
the "rand in a creative way* ta$e all the "asic data and information, the client "rief and
all the different input you receive and loo$ at this information in a way that "rings fresh
perspectives to the process The reason why this is so important is that there are many
"rands out there and a lot of advertising There are also a lot of words out there and
what you need if you are going to create good, effective creative wor$ is thin$ing that
redefines the pro"lem in a way that "rings fresh perspectives, which in turn "rings
fresh life to a "rand !t is therefore a matter of redefining the pro"lem and helping to
ma$e advertising more creative and effective
- Account planning and agenc) philosoph)
There are a variety of views a"out this topic, "ut these three quotes seem to sum up
the essence of planning philosophy:
)-onceptually, account planning emphasi<es the importance of the target consumers:
understanding them, finding advertising strategies that will "est fulfil the client%s
mar$eting o"'ectives in terms of attitudinal or "ehavioural response, and then
evaluating the advertising developed on this "asis, "y pre- and post-testing, long-term
trac$ing, etc -learly, this consumer focus has to "e shared "y everyone in the agency,
not 'ust the planners who lead it ?uch a philosophy also mar$s out a somewhat
changed relationship with the client !nstead of simply mirroring the client%s mar$eting
strategy and goals (usually e,pressed in terms of mar$ets, volumes, "rand shares and
revenue), the agency provides a complementary e,pertise # that directed at an
intimate $nowledge of the target group This involves conducting a dialogue with the
consumers, and "etter understanding of who they are, how advertising directed at
them will wor$ "est, how they use it, and in which media* and afterwards, how well it
is doing once a campaign is up and running% (?taveley, 0111)
13
=endy +ordon, in her "oo$ +oodthin$ing, says that, )(lanning in the 67 has grown and
evolved, emerging in different ways according to agency philosophy ?ome agency
planners conduct their own qualitative research, "elieving that, through their greater
understanding of the advertising process and their closer relationships with the creative
department, their s$ills and e,perience ma$e the qualitative study more directly
actiona"le 8ther agency planners prefer to outsource all qualitative research,
remaining closely involved and using researchers $nown to "e sympathetic to the
needs of advertising agencies and their clients ?ome agencies have planners as
founding partners and have therefore instilled planning into the core philosophy of the
agency, while others do not "elieve in planning speciali<ation within agencies,
preferring to outsource planning s$ills through planning independents% (+ordon, 0111)
Today there are a"out B33#C33 people wor$ing with planning in 5ondon alone, and the
Account (lanning +roup 67 has over 233 67 mem"ers Nuite a num"er of these people
have certainly wor$ed for several agencies during their career and have therefore also
"rought with them e,perience and methods from one agency to another All these
different agencies seem to have their own definition of planning, "ut the main purpose
is in most cases the same* to help creative staff produce "etter, more targeted and
effective advertising 8r, as Jon ?teel from the ?an 4rancisco-"ased agency +ood"y
?ilverstein and (artners puts it:)! have always thought that the planner%s tas$ is to
create an environment in which great ideas can "e conceived, developed and em"raced
"y clients !t is the environment that is important% (?teel, 0111)
- Account planning and agenc) structure
The adoption of account planning means that the agency must change (lanning
necessitates new relationships within the agency Those particularly affected are
account handlers, the creative team and media people (whether in the agency or the
outsourced function) This can lead to potential pro"lems if those within the agency are
not prepared for the introduction of planners to their team )The most common reasons
for the failure of account planning to ta$e root in a particular agency are (0) if it is
ar"itrarily added as a sort of )"olt on% to the e,isting structure, without allowing for an
ad'ustment of the e,isting role* and (A) the recruitment (or internal reshuffle) of
people without the s$ill or sensitivity to ma$e good planners% (?taveley, 0111)
4rom A""ott /ead Oic$ers..>8%s point of view the account handler is the one )running
the show%, the creative team comes up with the ideas and the planner is the voice of
the consumer
14
Another way to illustrate this same view is given "y 9ichard Huntington of HH-5 E
(artners: the account handler is responsi"le for ma$ing the advertising happen, the
creative team is responsi"le for ma$ing the advertising good and the planner is
responsi"le for ma$ing the advertising creative and wor$ in a more effective way in the
mar$etplace !n ?tanley (ollitt%s article )How ! ?tarted Account (lanning in Agencies%,
first pu"lished in -ampaign in 01I1, he descri"es the departmental relationship as
follows: )The creative man, the new type of planner and the account man, in essentially
as a "usinessman with a flair for advertising, are all li$ely to have greater equality of
status And all of them are li$ely to "e directly involved with the client .ecause of their
different mental processes and ways of tac$ling pro"lems they are li$ely to wor$
together more in a status of controlled friction than artificial harmony% ((ollitt, 01I1)
- Account planning and its sta'eholders
The thesis of this report is that account planning is more a"out organi<ational structure
and relationship than process and technique, and that the planner%s relationship with
the pro'ect team as a whole is fundamental to his&her effectiveness !t could "e argued
that the planner (and account planning) has several sta$eholders to answer to These
include the account team, the creative team, the client and of course the consumer

=hen people try to come up with appropriate models to descri"e how things wor$,
there seems to "e a tendency to place them at the centre This is also the case with
this model, and ! should say that the only reason for doing so is simply my aim to
create a holistic understanding of the whole process of account planning
1"
%lanning
.lient6#rand Account
.onsumer
.reative
5et us have a loo$ at the role of account planning in relation to all these different
sta$eholders
1.- Account planning and account management:
4or account people, the relationship is highly rewarding As Jane Gewman says, )4irst, it
is a peer relationship with a comrade and someone who will share ideas without
'udgement, not dissimilar to the art director&copywriter relationship ?econdly, it raises
the whole level of dialogue on the account several notches and frees account
management to ta$e stronger leadership and a more entrepreneurial role Thirdly,
every account person $nows that in their past there have "een many occasions where
advertising has wor$ed and the effect has "een accomplished without a planner "eing
involved
The wor$ was highly relevant, highly effective and everyone $new e,actly why this was
so They also $new that this is not always the case The account planning discipline
ensures that this happens more consistently and thoroughly% (Gewman, 011@)
(lanning is not a"out mechanical processes that can "e slotted into an agency !t is
a"out team dynamics and human interaction )=ithout a "ond of mutual respect and an
openness of communication "etween a planner and the whole pro'ect team, planning
cannot wor$ A planner is the account team%s lin$ to the consumer and outside world
He or she is a"le to "ring a strong consumer focus to discussions To ma$e an effective
contri"ution, the planner is e,pected to "e involved with the account on a day-to-day
"asis !n addition, planning is a line function independent of account management and
creative departments !t is therefore in the front line, sharing responsi"ility for the
quality of the team%s wor$ on challenging the account These two factors give the
account a change in team dynamics decision-ma$ing% (=hite, 011@)
The account team, 'ust li$e the creative team, is made up of two individuals
approaching the same questions from different perspectives # the account
manager&e,ecutive and the account planner Their relationship therefore "rings much
greater "enefits than 'ust )two heads are "etter then one%, since their clashing
approaches eventually "ring synergy to the process The value lies in that "oth the
strategies and creative "riefs reflect a deeper, holistic understanding of "oth the client
(goals, corporate culture and vision, sales force, investor issues etc) and the target
consumer (who they are, how they perceive this category, how they adapt advertising,
purchase and usage patterns, and so on)
1&
2.- Account planning and the creative team:
)Account planning impacts on the whole creative development process e,cept for
production !t has a crucial role during strategy development, driving it forward from
the consumer%s point of view >uring creative development, account planners act as
sounding "oards for the creative team They are responsi"le for researching the
advertising "efore production to ma$e sure it is as relevant as it can "e* finally, once
the wor$ runs, they monitor its effect in depth with a view to improving it the ne,t time
around% (Gewman, 011@)
Got surprisingly, planners need to $now a lot a"out creativity and the creative process,
and they definitely need to "e comforta"le with the fact that creativity is strange,
intangi"le, and often hard to understand The planning process can add to the creative
process "y leading the thin$ing in an inspirational way )The creative team wants a
single-minded directional "rief, not a long list of )academic tal$% /ost good creative
teams want to $now the consumer "eyond a mere demographic definition* they want to
$now what the consumer wants, rather than what the client wants A good planner
"rings this sharply into focus li$e an e,pressive photograph% (A(+, 0111)
As the following quote from the A(+ shows, planners "ring to their team a unique way
of loo$ing at a pro'ect )The planner can provide a "etter service in this conte,t than
the account director, who is less s$illed at originating and interpreting research, or the
independent research supplier who lac$s an intimate $nowledge of the account and the
$ind of advertising the agency stands for His or her sympathy with the creative process
can stimulate and discipline creative thin$ing* his or her research s$ill can "e used to
interpret consumer response with sensitivity and foresight% (A(+, 0111)
The creative team should also have some influence on the nature of the strategic
solution !t is important to "ear in mind that good creatives are also good strategic
thin$ers 8ften, the pro"lem of planning from a copywriter or art director%s point of
view is that planners do the research, write the "rief and then )hi'ac$% the creative
team This is clearly wrong
!n my opinion, when the planners hand over the "rief, the creative team should already
have "een involved for quite some time The relationship with the creative team should
"e li$e a game of ta"le tennis, although since planning is an ongoing process, it is
natural that the creatives will not "e involved the whole way through However, as soon
as wor$ starts on a new campaign, the planner should have meetings with the whole
pro'ect team every two days
1(
- %lanning as a creative springboard
)4or the creative teams, the $ey "enefit of planning is usa"le research Got num"ers,
not ar"itrary pre#post switching scores, not a qualitative research report put on their
des$s, "ut a person who e,plains and communicates, who see$s them out to "ring
them useful insights* a person who can argue conceptually a"out an idea and how it
will wor$ in the mar$etplace* a person they respect and trust "ecause they $now he or
she is as passionate a"out great advertising as they are* and 'ust as importantly,
someone who can articulate an idea to others in a way that will help them understand
how powerful it could "e to consumers% (Gewman, 011@)
As Hilde 8ord from J =alter Thompson in 5ondon so rightly said in a conversation ! had
with her, planning can also "e defined as the creative spring"oard, though this is
difficult to descri"e properly "ecause you never actually and precisely $now when and
where the creative team )pic$s up the magic word% which they put into the advert !n
the ideal world, planning is all a"out creating an insight that leads to this creative
spring"oard which gives the team a lead to follow !n the practical world, the planners%
product to the creative team is the creative "rief and this is their output This "rief
needs to inspire in a way that might lead to the trigger word, so therefore the "rief
needs to "e simple, clear and informal !t is actually quite hard to institute how the
function wor$s in relation to the creative team and it is very important to $now how to
manage creative people ?ome creative teams want to tal$ every morning over a cup of
coffee, while others wants to "e left alone
- The creative brief: the bridge between strateg) and e0ecution
The creative "rief is the piece of paper at the heart of the process of "riefing the
creative team to write the ads !t tells them, succinctly, why they are advertising,
whom they are meant to "e tal$ing to and what they are meant to "e saying A
creative "rief is very important "ecause it directs and inspires the creative team%s
performance As Oanella Jac$son (A""ot /ead Oic$ers ..>8) so eloquently said,
giving a creative team a poor "rief is li$e pushing them onto a stage unprepared in
front of an unfamiliar audience, and saying )5oo$, 'ust entertain them, 87M%
!n its simplest terms, the creative "rief is the "ridge "etween smart strategic thin$ing
and great advertising (advertising that involves consumers on "oth a rational and
emotional level, and which is capa"le of affecting a change in "oth their thoughts and
"ehaviour) and it is the $ey tool with which planners and their account management
partners can unloc$ the talents and imagination of their agency%s creative people
11
The main tas$ of a creative "rief is not to say )87, it%s finally time for you creative fol$s
to start wor$% "ut to inform the creative team and, most importantly, to inspire them
(?teel, 011@)
=hen writing a creative "rief, there are some general rules to "e considered A""ott
/ead Oic$ers..>8 have the following points to ma$e a"out writing a "rief: (0) "e
logical !t should all hang together and all of the sections should lead you towards the
same conclusions (A) A "rief is a practical tool, not a legal document, so it needs to "e
fle,i"le and adapta"le (B) !t should "e sensi"le, which means "roadly stic$ing to the
"asic rules that everyone understands* it should "e clear and no longer than a page As
A/O..>8 says: )>o not use tiny typefaces that people cannot read # use 0A point and
save everyone%s eyesight 7eep headings "asically in the order they are in: it is a "it
off-putting when the support comes "efore the thing it is meant to "e supporting%
4inally, "e proud of your wor$ and ma$e sure you sign it
- The proposition
The proposition is one of the most important elements in the creative "rief !t is
designed to "ring a"out a change in the consumer%s mind, a view or "ehaviour
regarding the product or "rand !n many ways, the proposition can "e descri"ed as the
single most important thing that can "e said a"out a "rand "eing advertised !t can
also "e defined as the )creative starter%
Here, as ! see it, are three very good e,amples of good propositions:
Tango Apple: )The ?eduction of 9eal Apples%
5evi%s&?tay-(rest&4lat Eric: )?taying ?harp%
+uinness: )The 6ltimate E,periences are =orth =aiting 4or%
1*
3.) Account planning and the client relationship:
The client is quite clearly vital to the advertising agency, and the two must "uild a long-
term relationship founded on mutual understanding and respect Agencies must not
only "e committed to e,cellence in all their wor$, despite the constraints of "udget,
time and client turmoil, "ut they should also have a deep-seated "elief within their
organisation that they are in a service "usiness and must remain fle,i"le and
responsive to clients% needs ?ince the initial concept of account planning was
introduced, clients have viewed it as having enormous added value =hen tal$ing to
some clients (one of them +uinness !reland +roup) a"out the planning function, the
overall impression gained is that good planners have helped them move from A to P in
the creation of advertising with a total understanding of every step, and, most
important of all, they provide the insight and clarity needed to advance the discussion
from )! thin$% to )! $now%
(lanning is, according to Jane Gewman (011@) )more productive and more focused than
traditional research% !t is far more than simply advertising )A planner should "e so in
tune with the consumer that he or she can help with pac$aging, promotion, product
development, and even acquisitions, anything the client needs !n a fast-changing
category, the planner%s very up-to-date $nowledge of the consumer can help the client
to $eep in touch and stay ahead 4inally, "ecause it is a line function it is proactive and
Kcan doL% (Gewman, 011@)
As -ooper (011I) puts it, )Having a valued input into your client%s "usiness will help
you create a "etter relationship with your client, which is in the interest of the agency
in the long term% -ooper goes further to say that the client&agency relationship that
develops will lead to more efficient distri"ution of the "udget across the
communications means availa"le and "etter, more effective creative wor$ Got only
that, "ut "y developing such a relationship, the client will have more confidence in the
a"ilities of the creative team and agency as a whole )The planner plays a vital role in
cementing the agency&client relationship and, therefore, in securing "usiness in the
long term% (-ooper, 011I)
Adam ?tagliano, president and director of account planning at the Gew ;or$-"ased
agency =eiss, =hitten, ?tagliano, says that account planning "rings the agency closer
to the client )!t has proven its value to advertising Account planning is not simply the
voice of the consumer in the creative product, although it is certainly that* it also
"rings the consumer perspective to the "usiness planning level and this is what clients
are loo$ing for% (=olfe, 011C)
2+
4.- Account planning and the consumer:
According to ?eth +odin (A333), consumers in the new economy have "uilt up
anti"odies that resist traditional mar$eting, creating a need to stop mar$eting at the
consumer and start creating an environment where people can mar$et to one another
This is one of many challenges planners have to "ear in mind when they are wor$ing
out the advertising strategies of the future =here are the consumers spending their
time, and how can we create the most effective communicationM
(lanning and planner related research is all a"out tal$ing to real people and what
motivates those people in their daily lives According to .artle .ogle Hegarty (A330) in
5ondon mar$ets and society as such are constantly fragmenting and to succeed a "rand
needs fame ..H claims that without fame a "rand will neither "e trusted nor
purchased !t will die 8n the other hand the right $ind of fame to the right $ind of
consumer is what results in sales As planners we therefore constantly need to "e
wor$ing on innovative new ways to get in touch with what people really thin$ and feel
a"out "rands, and a"out the world in general
According to the A(+ (A330) advertising is a means of contri"uting meaning and values
that are necessary and useful to people in structuring their lives, their social
relationships and their rituals A(+ continues to argue that there is no dou"t that
consumers are now more $nowledgea"le a"out advertising and more interested in
advertising than ever "efore !n relation to advertising, consumers are not learning
machines and it needs an e,pert to understand the consumer relationship to
advertising !n the A(+ "oo$let K(lanning in practiseL (A(+, 0111) they argues that
)general attitudinal models and mechanistic research measures have no role to play in
modern advertising culture "ecause theyHre too "lunt an instrument A famous 67
researcher li$ened the housewife in the supermar$et to the driver of a motorcar,
ma$ing hundreds of decisions (mostly su"-conscious) in response to various triggers
Nualitative research has ta$en on greater significance in understanding the way
advertising wor$s on consumers %
The planner ensures that all interpretations are sound and relevant and presented to
the right $ind of consumers in the right $ind of media
21
4. The account planners: who are
those gu)s,
!ur "ob is to bring the dead facts to life
- .ill .ern"ach -
- Two definitions of an account planner
!n the 011A American Association of Advertising Agencies "oo$let =hat Every Account
E,ecutive ?hould 7now A"out Account (lanning, the account planner is defined as
follows: )A planner is essentially the account team%s primary contact with the outside
world* the person who, through personal "ac$ground, $nowledge of all the pertinent
information, and overall e,perience, is a"le to "ring a strong consumer focus to all
advertising decisions% (4rom =olfe, 011C)
According to a seminar on account planning, held in ?toc$holm in 011I, "y Alan -ooper
and >ere$ 9o"son from the Account (lanning +roup 67, a proper definition of an
account planner is as follows: )(lanners hold convictions a"out how the world wor$s,
how it has changed and what ma$es people what they are The discipline%s hoo$ is that
it restores to agencies the conceptual high ground which has eroded "eneath them,
along with advertising%s percentage of mar$eting "udgets% (-ooper E 9o"son, 011I)
4rom Alan -ooper%s and >ere$ 9o"son%s point of view, these two definitions contain at
least five $ey elements:
-onsumer focus
(art of the team
7nowledge
All advertising decisions
(lanner, not 'ust planning
However, it leaves out how planners do what they do As 8%/alley puts it, the "est
planners )are great generalists a"le to ta$e a comple, mass of disparate information
and ma$e it coherent, in other words a"le to see the wood, not 'ust the trees /uch of
the information comes from mar$et research, "ut an account planner is not simply a
type of researcher% (8%/alley, 0111) 9esearchers are principally concerned with
measurement and analysis* planners are more concerned with insight and synthesis
22
9esearch is a"out what has "een and what is* account planning and planners are a"out
what will, could "e and what if
- Account planner caricatures
According to ?tephen 7ing (01@@), there were two rather different approaches to
account planning from the outset, and the range has widened since He suggests that
account planners can "e positioned on the following spectrum:
7ing argues that at the one end of the scale are the )grand strategists% # intellectuals,
perhaps verging on economists, see$ing to rise a"ove the fray and see the "roader
scheme of things At the other e,treme, meanwhile, we find the )ad twea$ers% # more
li$e qualitative researchers, analysing advertisements, handling group discussions and
'ustifying the wor$ of the creative team to clients As we have seen, the two founding
agencies of account planning were .oase /assimi (ollitt and J =alter Thompson
Historically, ./(%s planning had roots in its research department and therefore erred
towards the right end of the scale, while at J=T, the discipline%s origins in the mar$eting
department tended to push the agency left of centre
The manifold changes in mar$eting in the three decades since the initial concept of
account planning was introduced have pushed account planners towards one or other
end of the scale !t could "e argued that the e,ternal forces (and the evolving
mar$eting and media environment) of clients% needs have moved planners towards the
strategic end of 7ing%s scale, while the internal changes in the advertising "usiness
have moved planners to the twea$ing end
According to /T 9ainey from 9ainey 7elly -amp"ell 9oalfe&;E9 (9ainey, 011@), three
caricatures of planners emerged in the 01@3s:
Ad twea$ers: planners whose s$ills lie in helping their agencies develop and sell
increasingly entertaining, une,pected and colloquial advertising that appeals to
the sophistication of the consumer
?torytellers: planners who focus on the front end of the process, giving the
fullest possi"le picture of the product and the consumer in the "elief that the
secret lies in some quir$y detail that will inspire the creative team to create
even "etter advertising
23
(lanners: who are $nowledgea"le a"out the "rand, its competitors and its
mar$et structure, who have a close relationship with the client (who considers
them to "e the fount of all wisdom), "ut who are comparative strangers to the
creative department
At ?t 5u$e%s in 5ondon each of the individuals wor$ing there is highly intelligent and
they are all in the "usiness of solving pro"lems for their clients The three landmar$s of
?t 5u$e%s can "e descri"ed as:
>efinition of the pro"lem
=hat are the initial feelings a"out solving this particular pro"lemM
=hat is the "est solutionM
According to /ar$ Earls, (lanning >irector at ?t 5u$e%s (now at 8gilvy E /ather in
5ondon), the planners% function is therefore three-fold:
7nowledge: ma$e sure that all that is $nown a"out the product, the consumer
or anything that is related to the defined pro"lem is shared with the whole
pro'ect team # especially the creatives
4acilitation: use your intelligence and facilitation to find out and descri"e what
validity there is in the findings
5ogic and clarity: help to e,plain and clarify the logic of where we are going and
why
-hannon%s opinion a"out the process of producing advertising, first pu"lished in Admap
in 01II, remains true today: )J the various people in the team represent the different
s$ills that are necessary for it to carry out its tas$ The account planner%s s$ill is not
one s$ill "ut a com"ination* this reflects the special com"ination of functions that he or
she has in the process of producing advertising The first function, from which the 'o"
title is derived, is therefore the planning of the o"'ectives of the advertising The s$ill
here is one of analysis and synthesis, logic and insight The second function is that of
selecting and evaluating the research feed"ac$ on the "asis of which the team ma$es
its 'udgements and decisions The s$ill here is a technical one of research e,pertise as
adapted to advertising, this e,pertise "eing provided with continuity within the account
team rather than ad hoc from an e,ternal source The third function is less o"vious and
that is the planner%s responsi"ility to ma$e the advertising o"'ectives and the feed"ac$
relevant and stimulating to the rest of the team, particularly to its creative mem"ers%
(-hannon, 01II)
24
- 77.3 8 %artners/ wa) of thin'ing about planning
Howell Henry -halderchott 5ury (HH-5) E (artners was voted agency of the decade "y
-ampaign maga<ine, and this is not without reason HH-5 is the agency "ehind such
strong campaigns as Tango and +uinness !reland and !celand Everyone at HH-5 views
themselves as professional radicals, and this also reflects their view on how planning
wor$s and should wor$ !n an industry where 'ust a"out every agency has planners,
they claim they need something different to maintain their competitive edge They claim
to need planners who have )radical genes% which gives them the desire to challenge
conventions, create strategies that are innovative, anticipatory and competitive, and
wor$ closely with clients, creative and account directors to inspire them and change the
way they thin$ The overall responsi"ility is to help create highly effective wor$ that
meets the agreed client and HH-5 "rief HH-5 E (artners do not thin$ they as$ much of
their planners
Apart from challenging everything that they ta$e for granted and demonstrating an
intelligence and insight that fran$ly frightens us, planners at HH-5 E (artners need to
(HH-5 E (artners, A330):
!nterrogate the client and their mar$et, understand what ma$es them and their
"rand special, different and competitive
4rustrate the competition "y identifying all the conventions under which they
operate and transform these into wea$nesses of archaic thin$ing
!nspire the creatives "y ta$ing them somewhere they have never "een "efore,
opening their eyes to a different way of thin$ing
-hallenge the consumers "y ma$ing them question everything they ever
thought they $new, wrenching them out of their <one of comfort and familiarity
- The problem of account planning 9 and the answer to it :,-
)The 'o" of a planner is performed "y a com"ination of, say, an account handler and a
research e,pert or an account handler and a mar$eting e,pert, with contri"utions from
the creative director and the media planner /any will argue, of course, that what a
planner does is not unique, and they are right =hat account planning does is to do it
"etterJ"ecause it com"ines functions that have "ecome distorted "y separation There
is nothing o"scure or novel a"out the functions a planner performs in the three stages
of the advertising process Essentially, the planner provides the "asis on which
advertising for a "rand can "e developed, implemented and evaluated
2"
This "asis is the development, maintenance and modification of the advertising
strategy The strategy is the response o"'ectives of the advertising, determined "y
consumers% needs and perceptions in the conte,t of the competitive situation in the
mar$etplace, and constituting a coherent model of the way in which advertising might
help to sell a "rand% (-hannon, 01I@)
To fulfil this role, the planner has to do three things:
!nterpret data, which may "e research data "ut could "e and sometimes are
data "ased on conversation and introspection
/a$e advertising 'udgements, "ecause an advertising strategy involves
'udgement a"out how advertising in particular might wor$ as well as a"out how
mar$eting in general might wor$
-ommunicate these interpretations and 'udgements to the rest of the team, "ut
in a way that is "oth o"'ective and stimulating
The planner performs these functions "ecause he or she should "e "oth integrated in
the team and integrated in themselves and "ecause their performance involves
creativity, o"'ectivity and total involvement This is, and should "e, the Holy +rail of
account planning
- The ;ualitative researcher versus the account planner
As mentioned earlier in this paper, the "attle "etween creative and researcher seems to
"e a never-ending struggle in most advertising circles, and when we try to define what
an account planner does, it usually results in responses such as )! thought researchers
did this% or )! thought account managers did that%
As Jane Gewman put in her essay on account planning, )!t is much easier to define the
role of planning in an agency and to say that the planner ensures that it ta$es place
9ightly understood, ?tanley (ollitt defined the planner as Ka trained researcherL*
however, first it is important to understand that the qualitative or quantitative
researcher (normally from a research institution) is hired 'ust to do the research,
he&she delivers a report and then leaves The account planner $nows that collecting
accurate, timely $nowledge of consumers is only half the 'o"* the other half is
e,plaining it in a way that everyone # client, account management, media and, most
importantly, creative people # will act on Telling the creative team what is relevant to
consumers is one thing (ersuading them to incorporate it in the fundamental premise
of their implementation plan is another% (Gewman, 011@)
2&
4rom a planner%s point of view, researchers are passionate a"out research and account
planners are passionate a"out advertising The planner is a part of the whole process
and an integral part of the team, and therefore also has to create an understanding
a"out what is said and why !n other words, as /erry .as$in put it, the planner
develops a "roader and deeper understanding of the consumer and a"out his&her
relationship with advertising The planner%s primary role is to champion the consumer%s
point of view The core craft of planning is therefore the translation of research
evidence into research 'udgement ?tudies relevant to advertising hardly ever spea$ for
themselves and almost always require interpretation "ased on $nowledge of
researching s$ills and advertising techniques This is where the planner comes into the
picture
- <escribing the stereot)pe account planner
All planners need to share one thing: a great passion for advertising, "rands and the
a"ility of communication A planner must have an interest in people and what actually
motivates and stimulates them, "oth to "e a"le to tal$ to people and to communicate
your findings effectively to the creative team
The planner%s equation (see p AI) involves insight and ideas, and a planner%s 'o" is to
provide the $ey decision-ma$ers at "oth the agency and the client with all the
information they require to ma$e an intelligent decision !t is not up to the planner to
ma$e that decision for them The aim, as far as the planner is concerned, is the
production of the "est possi"le advertising to fulfil the client%s "usiness o"'ectives #
advertising that will stand out from the crowd, say the right things to the right people,
and cause them to ta$e some action as a result of seeing or hearing the message
According to Jon ?teel (011@), )The first s$ill of the planner%s 'o" is to ma$e ideas
happen, not necessarily to have those ideas themselves The second s$ill is to spend
more time listening than tal$ing, whether in conversation with consumers, clients or
other agency team mem"ers A good listener will recogni<e those good ideas and use
them, thus allowing others to do the wor$ for him&her The third attri"ute is a
chameleon-li$e quality that allows the planner to develop relationships with an
e,traordinarily diverse group of people !n the space of AC hours, a planner may "e
presenting a strategy to the chairman of a 4ortune D33 company, moderating a focus
group with single, low-income mothers and "riefing a creative team on a new pro'ect
!t is important that he or she is a"le to relate to all of them, in order to "oth gain their
trust and understand their points of view%
2(
The planning equation can "e illustrated in this way (-ooper E 9o"son, 011I):
Insight = Ideas > ?ffectiveness
- <ifferent s'ills and approaches
Jon ?teel argues the importance of people wor$ing in planning having very different
views on the world and different approaches to pro"lem solving !n "uilding a planning
department in an agency, it is essential to recruit for such diversity =ithout it,
planners are li$ely to thin$ and "ehave in the same way and this in turn will lead to
identical solutions and stagnation Gic$ 7endall of .artle .ogle Hegarty, in 5ondon, also
shares this view The thing a"out planning is that it is completely imaginative and
completely logical, totally su"'ective and totally o"'ective, perfectly num"er-"ased and
perfectly emotion-"ased all at the same time The planner is happy to tal$ to "usiness
people and creative people and he or she is driven "y the desire to find out what is
wrong, "ut also what is right
At A""ott /ead Oic$ers..>8 they use the )three !s% to descri"e the quality of a
planner, and these three values should reflect everyone wor$ing in the planning
department:
!nquisitive
!nspiring
!maginative&inventive
After tal$ing to a lot of central planning figure in the 67, it seems to me that the ideal
planner is "oth a very analytical person and imaginative, and this can "e divided into
two characteristics 4irst, he&she has to "e inquisitive and $eep digging into the mind of
the consumer ?econd, he&she needs to "e a lateral thin$er, "ecause the "est solutions
are those that are created from a lateral leap and not 'ust the o"vious solution
The planner is the mem"er of the agency%s team who is an e,pert, through "ac$ground
training, e,perience and attitudes, in wor$ing with information, not 'ust with mar$et
research "ut with all the information availa"le, and getting it used in order to help
solve a client%s advertising pro"lem )The planner%s 'o" is to continuously analyse and
interpret the availa"le information: its assessment, its uses and, may"e more crucially,
its limitations KJust a re-titled researcherL is not enough His&her interests,
"ac$ground, the role e,pected, the personality needed and how he&she is regarded "y
the rest of the agency are all li$ely to limit how well he&she fits the part% (.artle, 01@3)
21
- .ore account planner s'ills at #artle #ogle 7egart)
According to -ooper and 9o"son (011I), planners at .artle .ogle Hegarty require
seven core s$ills:
9esearch: appreciating the pros and cons of research as a tool
>rive: continually leading the de"ate
?trategic vision: appreciating the central attri"utes, definitions and "ehaviour of
client "rands, helping the account team understand them and aiding the
formation of "rand strategy
7nowledge: understanding the layout of the mar$et, a "rand%s (and its
competitors%) position within it and the state of distri"ution and trade relations
The account team must "e made aware of any information which could improve
performance
9elationship management: generating confidence in colleagues and $eeping the
account team motivated
-reative vision: improving the li$elihood of producing high-quality advertising "y
focusing the account team%s thin$ing so that it is relevant and useful to the
creatives (lanners must "e creative catalysts
-ommunication: conveying ideas clearly, constructing reasoned and well-
supported arguments and listening to others
- !hen has the planner done a reall) good @ob,
!t was once said that a successful planning process is li$e falling in love: although it is
hard to e,plain and difficult to descri"e, you will $now when it happens ?uccessful
planning is a"out creating relevant insight and stimulating great ideas As a planner,
you need to "e a"le to understand what really motivates people and how they connect
with "rands and advertising
;ou also need to sustain the search for une,pected answers (lanning is a com"ination
of finding innovative ways of as$ing new, "rave questions and translating the findings
into advertising developments !t is a"out loo$ing "eyond the )"leeding o"vious%
Therefore, a planner needs to "e inquisitive in his&her approach, to as$ questions a"out
how things wor$ and, as stated, possess the a"ility to loo$ "eyond the easy and
o"vious assumption
The following quotes illustrate this well:
2*
)(lanning has done an e,tremely good 'o" when the insight is written into the advert,
ie the insight created is actually "rought into the ad and the consumers agree with it%
(>oug Edmonds, =-9? 5ondon)
)As a highly s$illed planner, you will $now if you have done a good 'o" or not =hen the
creative staff say something li$e KThis "rief is really e,citingL and as$ when they can
leave to start wor$ on it, you will feel that you have really contri"uted to the process%
(Oanella Jac$son, A""ot /ead Oic$ers ..>8 5ondon)
According to (aul 4eldwic$ of one of the founding planning agencies, ./( >>., their
perspective of planning is that it has done an e,tremely good 'o" when:
!t provides a new way of loo$ing at the client%s situation and pro"lem
!t creates an insight
!t creates a picture that ma$es sense to "oth the client and the creative team
The success, or otherwise, of planning will also vary from client to client, "ecause there
are always issues that need to "e researched and questions that have to "e answered
4or e,ample, a new campaign to reduce the use of mo"ile phones when driving is a
new su"'ect for people, so how will they react to such a message, and since it is a
message from the +overnment, will the consumer resist thisM !t is the planner%s 'o" to
answer questions li$e these and it is of course hard to gauge whether or not a
campaign will "e an immediate success
- #ringing creativit) and effectiveness together
As /artin .oase so eloquently remar$ed earlier in this paper: )! do not accept that
there has to "e a choice "etween advertising that is strategically relevant or creatively
original%
This is one of the main tenets of account planning
Everyone in the advertising industry should have his or her heart rooted in "oth
creativity and effectiveness Happily, the two usually go together, though having said
that, no procedure e,ists that can guarantee good creative ideas E,cellent advertising
results from a total understanding of "oth the client%s "usiness and its target
consumers 8ne important function of a planner, therefore, is to fuse detective wor$
and inspiration, employing research to help "uild strategy and to develop and evaluate
creative wor$
3+
Advertising is not a lu,ury !t is essential in developing perceptions of a "rand and
directly affects the client%s "usiness The following statistics suggest that, overall,
advertising creativity and effectiveness are mutually supportive:
-reativity: "y the mid-01@3s, 00 out of 0B >EA> gold and silver agencies used
planning
Effectiveness: 2B out of 22 Advertising Effectiveness Award winners were
planners
!n 011B, the Account (lanning +roup 67 (A(+) esta"lished its own award scheme for
"riefing "rilliance, attracting nearly as many entries as that of the !(A These awards
sprung from the A(+%s desire for people within the industry to recognise and appreciate
the wor$ of planners, and their o"'ective is to reward the contri"ution of insightful
planning The questions that the papers should see$ to answer are as follows (Account
(lanning +roup 67, A330):
=hat was the process and evidence of strategic thin$ing that led to the creative
"riefM
How did this e,tend into creative developmentM
=as the creative wor$ original and relevantM
>id it help to inform and inspire mediaM
The award recognises the high standard of account planning%s contri"ution to the
development of powerful communications and demonstrates how account planning
wor$s in practice at top planning agencies According to (eter >ann, A(+ vice chair, in
the lifetime of these awards the world of account planning and communications in
general has changed enormously (Account (lanning +roup 67, A330)
=hile agencies and client companies ali$e have em"raced the discipline of planning, the
role of the account planner has e,panded to cover planning in an array of different
media and across an ever-widening range of types of "rands !n spite of all this, the
lin$ "etween creative planning and great creative wor$ is as critical as ever The A(+
vice chair says that the winners will "e the ones to show evidence not only of thin$ing,
"ut also how that thin$ing led to "etter creative wor$ After all, this is what planning is
for
31
". The future of account planning:
where are we going,
#he problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to
get the old ones out. $very mind is a room packed with archaic furniture. %ou must get
rid of the old furniture of what you know, think, and believe before anything new can
get in
- >ee Hoc$, 4ounder of O!?A !nternational -
- Introduction
Account planning is, as we have seen in the first sections of this paper, "ased on a
simple premise A client hires an advertising agency to interpret its "rand to its target
audience ?o if anyone needs to understand the target audience in depth, it is the
advertising agency ?imply put, this is the raison d%Qtre of the account planner 8ne
person, who is charged single-handedly with understanding the target audience and
then representing it throughout the entire advertising development process, there"y
ensures that the advertising is relevant to the defined target audience in terms of "oth
strategy and implementation
Things have changed considera"ly since the initial concept was introduced in the late
0123s and mar$eting has evolved over the past two decades, as the systems of
production and consumption have changed owing to the rapid development of
technology According to post-modern thought, mar$ets are "eginning to fragment* yet
at the same time they are creating greater challenges for advertisers !ndividuals are
"oth isolated and at the same time connected to virtually the whole world via
computers Advertising has "een "ased on a one-to-many communications model for a
long time, yet new technology now offers the possi"ility of a computer-mediated
environment # in effect, a virtual world
5orge states that, )Even high-ran$ing e,ecutives in the 6?A have mi,ed feelings a"out
the importance of advertising and its effects on their future success 9esearch firm
Edos and /organ surveyed 0,@33 e,ecutives for the American Advertising 4ederation to
gauge their attitude to advertising during a time of significant change in the way
companies mar$et themselves
9esponses are generally positive a"out the role of advertising: 13R of the e,ecutives
agree that advertising drives sales, including C3R who strongly agree* and I3R say
32
they are generally satisfied with their advertising% (5orge, 0111) ! am not the 8racle
of >elphi, "ut to e,amine and understand the future of account planning, it is not
enough to 'ust loo$ at the function in isolation !t is important to loo$ at the future role
of advertising as a whole, in popular culture, the future of "rands, the rise of )new
mar$eting% and other driving forces that influence the way we thin$ in a comple,
mar$etplace
- Is there a crisis in ad land,
As mentioned earlier, the advertising "usiness has gone through many changes (some
quite fundamental) since the creative revolution led "y .ill .ern"ach in the late 01D3s
and since account planning was first introduced in 012@ ?ir /artin ?orrell (011@), chief
e,ecutive of =(( +roup, one of the largest advertising and mar$eting services groups
in the world, has noted a crisis of confidence in advertising, with three prominent
characteristics
- A greater fear of management consultants:
)/anagement consultants have the unflattering image of "eing the sort of people who
would "orrow your watch in order to tell you the time and then wal$ off with it
Gowhere is this more apparent than in the world of advertising The intrusion of
management consultants into areas that advertising agencies have felt were their
preserve reflects the passing of the era when companies would welcome their
advertising agencies% thoughts on 'ust a"out all aspects of their "usiness:
diversification, "rand strategy, investment, internal training, presentation, as well as
advertising and promotion% (?orrell, 011@)
He continues to say that clients e,pect only creativity from their agencies and that
increasingly agencies are providing simply this function ?orrell points out that
consultants have always had more influence than ad agencies in company "oardrooms,
which gives them certain leverage over "oard level decisions
- 7ow to @ustif) )our e0istence:
As mentioned earlier in this paper, for as long as advertising has e,isted, so has the
de"ate a"out how to assess its efficacy This is especially true nowadays, since as
mar$eters are forced "y their company "oards to offer greater accounta"ility and cost
savings, they find their advertising agencies have a myriad of sometimes-conflicting
measures for assessing advertising effectiveness
?orrell again: )-ompanies have analysed their internal operations, restructured and re-
engineered their products and processes to iron out defects They e,pect their
advertising agencies to go through the same rigorous self-e,amination and come up
33
with some answers Another aspect is that the mar$eting communication process is
"ecoming more comple, and harder to evaluate% (?orrell, 011@)
- Anticipating and planning for the future:
?orrell suggests that the new wave of smaller and less esta"lishment agencies that
have emerged have challenged the status quo =hile the traditional agencies offer a
myriad of departments, ranging from research, planning, account management,
creative, and media planning and "uying, these smaller, more anarchic agencies have
gained ground with their entrepreneurial and inventive approach )They wor$ largely on
the premise that clients want to get straight to the creative ideas and do not have the
time or patience to deal with the surrounding paraphernalia ?mall, flashy and often a
touch anarchic in their positioning, these new-wave agenciesJwill ta$e a client%s "rief
and come "ac$ within days with a host of different solutions% (?orrell, 011@)
Go"ody is suggesting that this means the end of the full service agency, which offers
clients a range of services including research, planning, creative development and
production, media "uying and so on However, as long as talented advertising people
are prepared to ta$e a ris$ and offer something different, clients will want to team up
with them This new way of thin$ing includes agencies li$e Ga$ed -ommunications, ?t
5u$e%s, /other, -ircus, -a$e and the recently launched 7armarama (consisting of
former creatives from ?t 5u$e%s)
- !hat crisis,
?orrell%s conclusions "ear positive implications for the mar$eting communications
sector !n light of the way the "usiness world is changing, ?orrell foresees an
environment a"le to offer the industry many more e,citing opportunities The ever-
changing media industry, it should "e noted, is one such interesting opportunity,
offering the chance to ma$e more innovative use of "oth strategic thin$ing and creative
vision According to John 7ao, a teacher on a course in creativity at Harvard .usiness
?chool, the world has witnessed three separate eras of economic activity 4irst there
was agriculture, followed "y industry, and then information 7ao claims we are on the
threshold of the creative age, where growth will come )through mastering the s$ills of
creativity and ma$ing creativity actiona"le% (quoted in ?orrell, 011@)
This view has "een "ac$ed up "y ?eth +odin (A333), the author of the two "est-selling
mar$eting "oo$s (ermission /ar$eting and 6nleashing the !dea Oirus )This much we
$now: ideas are driving the economy, ideas are ma$ing people rich, and most
important, ideas are changing the world%
34
Another creative giant, John Hegarty, when as$ed a"out the new media revolution, was
quoted in Ad =ee$ as saying: )=hatever form, in whatever medium the advertising of
the future ta$es place, one thing is certain, ! can%t thin$ of a more e,citing time to "e
in the advertising "usiness%
- The changing role of mar'eting
The two recent ma'or changes that too$ place in mar$eting and communication during
the 0113s were:
As advertisers, we "egan to use a wide range of media to "uild "rand
relationships The world of communication "ecame so much "igger than 'ust the
world of advertising and great changes happened on a glo"al scale, including
more active use of we"sites, digital TO and whole sections of the press that
simply did not e,ist ten years "efore =e now need to treat media as any
contact point "etween "rand and consumer, which allows for a B23 degree view
of communication, "eyond 'ust ads
The world is no longer linear, and advertisers "egan adopting new, unique and
innovative ways of communicating with their target audiences # a $ind of
holistic approach where the "rand is at the centre of the creative process This
also entails a more active use of media as the new $ind of creativity, including
elements of guerrilla mar$eting, am"ient media and viral mar$eting
- #rand identit) in the twent)-first centur): redefining the world,
The critical issue of the ne,t 033 years of advertising and "rands is what role "rands
will play in developing the world and helping individuals lead more enriching lives
)The potential is there for "rands, "rand management and the advertising industry to
play a central role in "uilding a "etter world !t will not 'ust happen though, and
mar$eters will have to "roaden their ideas a"out what they do, how they present their
messages to consumers and what the role of a "rand is in consumers% lives !n an
increasingly uncertain, information-laden world, "rands will "ecome more important as
trust mar$s sources of identity for people, stories people choose to "elieve in and which
help ma$e sense of a chaotic world
-onsumers in the twenty-first century, more than ever, will have to create their own
identities -onsumer attitudes and "ehaviour used to "e strictly dictated "y social
institutions and cultural norms Those certainties are dissolving The old certainties
such as religion, nationalism, gender roles and life stages have "lurred -onsumers
today download cues for their sense of self from a multitude of glo"al and local sources
3"
# peers, family, teachers, occupation, the media, art and "rands /ore than ever
"efore, people select, cut and paste to create their identities .rands must "e more
than 'ust a set of attri"utes with a visual identity ?uccessful future "rands will regard
themselves as stories people "elieve in The heroes of these stories will "e )anything
products%, services, personalities and attitudes% (9o"erts, A333)
(lanning will play an important role in the conte,t of creating and improving
understanding
- ?ight reasons wh) account planning has become so important
=hen the Account (lanning +roup 67 held a seminar on account planning in ?toc$holm
in 011I, Alan -ooper and >ere$ 9o"son drew up eight reasons why account planning
had "ecome so very important (-ooper E 9o"son, 011I) This seminar was written in
011I and four years might seem li$e a long time, "ut ! would say that these eight
reasons are 'ust as valid today:
/ore competitive mar$etplace for goods and service
-hanging consumer attitudes (passive to active)
+ives agency outward focus (consumer perspective adopted throughout)
Emphasis on development, not selection, of advertising (client on "oard at start)
8"'ectivity
.etter creative "riefs (insight and directions)
9igour of evaluation and accounta"ility
-lient relations
- The critical challenge of account planning
?ince planning is in many ways a rationali<ed procedure that calls for clear logic where
this can "e applied and see$ing deeper evidence where it is availa"le, there is of course
a danger that the creative result could "e rationali<ed # in other words, a $ind of
advertising that has impecca"le relevance "ut no negligi"le impact
As planners do not write ads themselves, the point of the planning function is to help
the people who do, "y "ringing a consumer perspective to "oth the development of the
overall mar$eting communications strategy and the creative wor$
This is important to "ear in mind
3&
!t is )communication mayhem% out there, and the planner needs to ma$e sure that the
advertising strategies (and overall thin$ing) are 'ust as innovative as the creative wor$
8ne of the most critical issues of account planning, therefore, is to ma$e o"'ectives and
feed"ac$ relevant and stimulating for the rest of the team The insight created "y the
planner should "e a positive factor within the agency, not a $ind of )devil%s advocate% To
"e successful, the planner needs to wor$ as far as possi"le with the team rather then
separate from it After all, the positive use of research in esta"lishing a dialogue
"etween the creative team and the consumer is one of the most valua"le contri"utions
a planner can ma$e to the production of advertising This is surely more li$ely to
happen if the planner ensures the learning process is positive rather then negative
- The role of account planning in the twent)-first centur)
4rom my point of view, the role of planning is more important than ever "efore for
many reasons* first and "asically that there is mayhem out there As /orris said in
Admap in January of A333, )The world is changing as new technology completely
transforms the way people are connected K-ommunicationsL is no longer a part of the
economy* it is the economy !ts impact will change the way we live and act at a
fundamental level and it will certainly change the way the mar$eting service industry
"ehaves There are more media, consumed in more ways, "y more people than ever
"efore There are more "rands, doing more things, in more places than ever "efore
There is the same amount of money, in the same poc$ets, to "e spent in the same time
as "efore 4or e,ample, the new e-economy is set to change every rule in the media
hand"oo$ !t will herald a fundamental change in the power of the consumer%
These changes require the old dog to learn some new tric$s
As /orris says again, )The old advertising mantra of creating relevant, distinctive and
involving messages still holds However, in the past this was only ever applied to the
content of the advertising !n the new media world it will have as much to do with the
conte,t of the message and how the connection is made with the target% This is the
new area of )connection planning% and it will require more focus and new s$ills This is
not that new =e have "een tal$ing a"out these paradigm shifts for the past few years
However, against this "ac$drop, what real changes has the industry made to ena"le it
to help a client in this new worldM All these factors are ma$ing the role of the account
planner more important then ever "efore
5et me e,pound the changes, which will, in my opinion, have a tremendous impact on
the advertising "usiness and the role of the planner in the years to come
3(
1.- $ore sta'eholders:
As mentioned earlier, one of the core functions of the planner is to provide all the
involved $ey decision-ma$ers (within "oth the agency and the client) with all the
information they need to ma$e an intelligent decision (lanning is also, of course, a"out
inspiring the people involved in the process
The discipline has evolved since the initial concept was introduced, and now includes
much more than 'ust advertising Gowadays, the planner is surrounded "y a handful of
sta$eholders: the account team, the creative team, the client and, most important, the
consumer !n the future, though, the sta$eholder group will involve more and more
people, including representatives from other communication disciplines, such as direct
mar$eting, (9, design, and so on Therefore, one of the ma'or challenges facing the
planner will "e that he or she needs to inspire more people at the same time !n
addition, the discipline will "ecome more important in areas other than 'ust mar$eting,
for e,ample in issues such as internal affairs and human resources
2.- <otcom mania:
The "usiness and media worlds have gone dotcom cra<y and more than one million
"usinesses can now "e found on the worldwide we" /orris ta$es the view that, )=hile
the fundamentals of great "rand "uilding remain unchanged, digital communications
technology has allowed companies to e,tend strategic mar$eting areas such as
integrated and relationship mar$eting !ssues such as speed, relia"ility and fle,i"ility
are also increasingly important for dotcom "rands !t is easy to see that the e-
revolution will elevate the role of mar$eting to new levels within companies Gew
technology will put the consumer right in your face !t will force a new type of
transparency to company offerings* the chain "etween advertiser and the consumer
will "e so short that any lies will "e "ounced "ac$ immediately and "eamed to
everyone else in the target group /ar$eting will have to lead companies in this new
world !t will "e mandatory to understand how this e-world affects all parts of your
"usiness and the mar$eters will need to "e as e,pert a"out how connections are made
with their target mar$et as they are in the content that goes into advertising now This
will demand a ma'or shift in attitude "y the mar$eting profession% (/orris, A333)
However, it is also important to see the flip side of the coin !f you want to tal$ a"out
potential, of course, mention the internet However, now thin$ "ac$ a step as well As
9o"erts (A333) so accurately points out, )/ore than half the world%s population has not
even made a phone call yetJthe 6nited Gations% definition of developmentJstates that
development is the process of increasing people%s choices >evelopment, 'ust as much
as "rands and advertising, is all a"out choices The development of the world is in the
interests of every mar$eterJ4or every person on the internet there are five in the
31
developing world who cannot read # yet Among elementary school-age children, 0B3
million are growing up without access to "asic education This is a critical issue for
high-tech "rands !f you cannot read, you cannot operate a (-%
3.- The importance of media planning:
6n"undling was a move to separate the media from the creative process Early media
"uyers were du""ed )gorillas with calculators%, "ecause the focus was first of all on
"uying volume media as cheaply as possi"le The creative wor$ was not "orne in mind
?adly, as /orris (A333) points out, media is )still not at the centre of strategy ma$ing
9ather, it is seen as the last leg of the relay, with no other responsi"ility than to stic$
its arm out "ehind it to ta$e the "aton over the last hundred yardsJit is still content-
driven, with no care for the conte,t in which the message is delivered !s it any wonder
that integration remains the Holy +rail for most advertisersM%
?o what should we "e doingM =hat solutions have ! got to offer to avoid "eing la"elled
as yet another mem"er of the "a""ling classesM According to >ere$ /orris from 6nity
in 5ondon we need to shift our thin$ing and see media as salesmen for the company
and not 'ust as a mere postman
)>emand a move away from head counting to understanding how the connection is
made /ove media thin$ing up the agenda Train your team to "e as s$illed in
managing media as they are in creative content .uild time into the process to get this
part right and to allow it to "e fed into the development of the creative (lace this
thin$ing at the centre of the mar$eting process >emand that the contri"ution is
vi"rant, intelligent and "road >emand that it "e delivered in a non-partisan solution-
neutral way, in a form that inspires other mem"ers of the team, even if they come from
competing methods of communication !f you can create such a service, then
integration of messages and the methods of customer connection will quic$ly follow
Achieve all this and you will "e one of the first companies to prosper in this new
mar$eting world and you will gain a lead the competition will find hard to close%
(/orris, A333)
=e now face the situation of the proliferation of new media adding still more
comple,ity to the media landscape As 4ran< says in Admap (A333) )Historical evidence
shows that new media do not usually replace old media 9ather, they complement each
other =hat actually changes is the way in which they are used, the functions they fulfil
for the media user and, of course, the individual "udget spent on them A growing
num"er of media will result in more selective media "ehaviour, "ecause the attention of
the media user is limited "y time and money The media choice of the consumer will "e
more specific than ever "efore The options of com"ining single media in a highly
3*
selective and tailor-made individual user pac$age are almost unlimited A growing
num"er of media also means that the time devoted to a single medium will constantly
shrin$ /oreover, a comple, media landscape will undermine the sta"ility of media
ha"its%
!n this situation the strategic planning of the media mi, is "ecoming even more crucial
for effective communication with the target consumer A wrong decision on the media
mi, can lead to a serious waste of the advertising "udget and of course reduced
effectiveness Got surprisingly, the planner therefore also needs to $now more a"out
media than ever "efore This will also force planners to use media as a new $ind of
creativity
4.- Alobalisation of the advertising business:
According to (avit (A333) the stereotype of the modern consumer lifestyle is set
against a "ac$drop of glo"al culture )Terms such as Kglo"alismL and Kglo"ali<ationL
a"ound in any discussion of "rands and "randed consumer goods, and the mythological
power of these terms needs addressing 8ne assumption is that Ku"er "randsL, such as
-oca--ola and /c>onalds, have achieved such a glo"al penetration of the mar$et that
one can almost e,pect to encounter them on a Himalayan mountain pass or a military
"ase in the Antarctic A second assumption is that glo"ali<ation is an entirely new
phenomenon, "orne out of late-twentieth-century cultural and economic shifts, rather
than a longer historical process ?ince /arshall /c5uhan%s influential concept of the
glo"al village first appeared in the 0123s, the idea of a homogeni<ed glo"al culture has
"een seen as one of the chief characteristics of the late twentieth century% ((avit,
A333)
According to ?imon Anholt, several entirely new $inds of international "usiness are now
commonplace in a wide range of industries Their descriptions, ten years ago, might
have sounded parado,ical, or even ludicrous:
+lo"al start-ups
?mall glo"al "usinesses
+lo"al "usinesses with one office
4+
+lo"al "usinesses "ased in Third =orld nations
As he says, these are new concepts "ecause, )in the past, corporations only "ecame
glo"al through a slow evolution from simple e,port mar$eting, via third-party licences
or distri"utor mar$eting, to glo"al "rand "uilding directly from the country of origin
This could ta$e many decades: many of today%s multinationals "egan their international
growth at the "eginning of the last century The advertising industry has followed the
same pattern: most international agencies have grown alongside their multinational
clients, opening offices in country after country as their clients% "usinesses e,panded
!n this way, 5intas "uilt its networ$ on the "ac$ of 6nilever* /c-ann Eric$son on Esso,
8gilvy E /ather on ?hell, ;E9 on 7raft, and so forth% (Anholt, A333)
This will also affect the way planning wor$s 4or e,ample, when wor$ing for an
international client such as Johnnie =al$er, .artle .ogle Hegarty cannot simply include
one country in their research, "ut must ta$e into account as many as eight or nine As
-ooper (011I) pointed out, )=hile this does not mean there is a will or "udget for a
classically trained planning department in each European or American office, it does
mean that head hunters are as "usy trying to fill planning slots for accounts with an
international dimension and across European offices as they are for local "usiness%
- Brom traditional Caccount planning/ to Ccommunication planning/
5et%s return to the "eginning of account planning =hen descri"ing the two main
caricatures of planners, ?tephen 7ing (01@@) positioned them as either )grand
strategists% or )ad twea$ers% Today, most advertising agencies need more than these
narrow s$ills +ood planners should "e a"le to do "oth, which means they wor$ from
the client%s needs through to the implementation of the advertising However, according
to Tim .road"ent (011D), even this is not enough any more
5oo$ing "eyond 7ing%s )classical% account planning, the future "elongs to what
.road"ent calls )post-recession% planning: )-lients e,pect and deserve more planning
for their money than J =alter Thompson or .oase /assimi (ollitt dreamed a"out BB
years ago when account planning was "orn (lanners must "e masters of total "rand
communication, and all good planners nowadays thin$ communications, not 'ust
advertising%
41
9ichard .loc$, today +lo"al (lanning >irector of J=T Europe, shared this view in an
article in -ampaign (.loc$, 011C), where he argued that since the information highway
connects the world, with all the associated media fragmentation and diversity of
message, the future of planning lies in communication planning ! would say we have
reached this stage already The craft s$ills of old-fashioned planning are 'ust as suita"le
for disciplines such as sales promotion, design, direct mar$eting, pu"lic relations,
product placement, sponsorship and new media as they are for traditional advertising
All these disciplines are "ased on an application of consumer understanding
.loc$ (011C) argued that communication planners will num"er among the linchpins of
the modern mar$eting communications industry, "ecause they will design )the template
for the "rand vision "lueprint%, the all-em"racing discipline that see$s to advance the
consumer%s relationship with a "rand in all media, new and old !n the future, the "rand
vision "lueprint will "ecome increasingly dominant ! strongly agree in this view As
.loc$ so eloquently pointed out, the "lueprint will set out a co-ordinated "rand vision,
to "e implemented strategically using all the elements of the mar$eting mi, in as wide
a mar$et conte,t as possi"le and delivered tactically in local mar$ets through a
complementary mi, =hen planners learn all a"out the other s$ills # media, sales
promotion or (9 # and apply the planning s$ills developed for advertising to these
other activities to formulate the "rand vision "lueprint, they will "ecome indispensa"le
!n the future, everyone will "e riding down the information highway together with a
strange sense of harmony in a world of competition -ommunication planning will affect
nearly every "rand message
This is, as ! see it, the future of account planning, and ! would argue this means the
future development of account planning is positive !t should, however, "e said that
planners across the world need to $eep up-to-date when it comes up to the evolution of
the "usiness we wor$ in
! hope ! have contri"uted with this "oo$ .est of luc$ everyoneS
5aid about Dthe anatom) of account
planningD
K! feel happy recommend this "oo$ to anyone interested in coming into planning, or loo$ing to
set up a planning department !t is a very good synthesis of availa"le information on the
42
planning discipline !t is a very good guide to planning, where we have "een and how far we
have comeL
- Janet Grimes Planning Director Whe land APG Chairman -
TThis formida"le wor$ will not, of itself, resolve all the internal arguments a"out account
planning Gothing can - and that delights me =hat HThe AnatomyH will do, however, is ensure
that the de"ate is far "etter informed than it has ever "een
=e owe Henri$ Ha""erstad a considera"le de"tT
- Jeremy Bullmore Non Executive Director WPP Group PC-
KA very clear and comprehensive window on the world of planning
=henever anyone as$s me to define planning in the future
!Hll 'ust give them a copy of thisL
- Nic! "endall Group Planning Director Bartle Bogle #geraty $
K! read this "oo$ with much interest At last ! have the definitive answer for people when they
as$ e,actly what do account planners doM !t is an e,cellent read, which e,plains in clear and
simple terms what planning is and what enthuses
and drives advertising plannersL
- %anella Jac!son Director o& planning A''ot (ead %ic!ers BBD) $
KHenri$ Ha""erstad has clearly done an enormous amount of research a"out account planning
and tal$ed to a lot of people ! can%t "elieve that there%s much remaining a"out the topic that
haven%t "een covered* so this will "e the most detailed and
comprehensive paper availa"le on planningL
- *tephen "ing -
L!tHs very thorough and ! thin$ will "e a useful document for anyone who wants to understand
the origins of account planningL
- Paul +eld,ic! Executive Planning Director B(P DDB -
L!t%s e,tremely interesting readingL
- -oderic! White Editor Admap (aga.ine -
43
#ibliograph)
Account (lanning +roup 67 (0111) Editor%s Gote: =hat !s Account (lanningM 1 June
Account (lanning +roup 67, 5ondon
Account (lanning +roup 67 (A330) A(+ A330 -reative (lanning Awards: How to =in
;our Award Account (lanning +roup 67, 5ondon
Anholt, ? (A333) 6pdating the international advertising model Admap June
.artle, J (01@3) Account planning: what does it mean and how does it affect the way
an agency wor$sM Admap April, 0DB#0DI
.loc$, 9 (011C) The future of planning -ampaign AD /arch
.road"ent, T (011D) 9ecession may "e the "est thing to happen to planners
-ampaign June, AI
-hannon, - (01II) Account planning: threat or promiseM Admap July
-hannon, - (01I@) The account planning group and the )pro"lem% of planning Admap
>ecem"er, 2AC#2A2
-ooper, A (011I) How to (lan Advertising, And edn Account (lanning +roup 67,
5ondon
-ooper, A and 9o"son, > (011I) The Account (lanning +roup ?eminar, ?toc$holm
4ran<, + (A333) .etter media planning for integrated communication Admap January,
CA#CC
+odin, ? (A333) 6nleash your ideavirus 4ast -ompany August, 00D#0BD
+ordon, = (0111) +oodthin$ing A +uide to Nualitative 9esearch Admap (u"lications,
Henley-on-Thames
44
HH-5 E (artners (A330) =e"site wwwhhclcom January HH-5 E (artners
7ing, ? (012@) Account (lanning >epartment, etc !nternal document, 0D 8cto"er J
=alter Thompson, 5ondon
7ing, ? (011@) ?trategic development of "rands A(+ one-day event
5orge, ? (0111) =hat%s the future of advertisingM ?ales and /ar$eting /anagement
0D0, @C
/orris, > (A333) =here are the media thin$ersM Admap January
Gewman, J (011@) =hat !s the -lient 9elationship to Account (lanningM Essays on
Account (lanning AC ?eptem"er Account (lanning +roup 6?, wwwapgusorg
8%/alley, > (0111) Account planning: an American perspective !n The Advertising
.usiness (John (hilip Jones, ed) ?age (u"lications, 5ondon
(avit, J (A333) .rand Gew Oictoria and Al"ert /useum, 5ondon, pp CI#C@
(ollitt, ? (01I1) How ! started account planning in agencies -ampaign A3 April, A1#
B3
9ainey, /T (011@) 8n account planning !n (oc$et Advertising (-aroline /arshall)
Economist .oo$s series (rofile .oo$s, 5ondon
9o"erts, 7 (A333) .rand identity A333: redefining the world Advertising Age I3(C1),
D3
?orrell, / (011@) Essays: crisis in adlandM The essentials of the "usiness of
advertising !n (oc$et Advertising (-aroline /arshall) Economist .oo$s series (rofile
.oo$s, 5ondon
?taveley, G (0111) Account planning: a .ritish perspective !n The Advertising
.usiness (John (hilip Jones, ed) ?age (u"lications, 5ondon
?teel, J (011@) Truth, 5ies and Advertising The Art of Account (lanning John =iley
and ?ons, Gew ;or$
4"
?teel, J (0111) A simple plan Adwee$ C3, C1#2C
=hite, 9 (011@) (lanning and its 9elationship with Account /anagement Essays on
Account (lanning AC ?eptem"er Account (lanning +roup 6?, wwwapgusorg
=olfe, J (011C) Account planning moves up its forces Agency /aga<ine Autumn
4&

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