Account Planning and Account Planners. Bane or Boon?

“Don’t want to hear the word ‘Planning’.”
“The ‘P’ word is a nuisance.”
-President of a global advertising agency on what the creatives, in that agency, have to say about Planning & Planners. (As said to me, in 1999.)

In March 2000, these two statements were responsible for my writing this document on the subject of Account Planning and Account Planners.

In 2005, the COO of a global marketing company told me, “ We have a planning department. But, we provide planning services only to clients who are willing to pay for the services. We do not know how we can convince all our clients that Account Planning is the starting point of all strategy development.”

Today, much of what follows still holds true – obviously, the content has been updated.


The Origin of Account Planning.

The need to involve the consumer in the development of more effective, creative advertising was recognized by two different UK advertising agencies in the mid-sixties. In 1964, Stephen King of J. Walter Thompson (JWT) developed a new system of working which concentrated on combining consumer research and insights to develop more effective and creative advertising.

In 1968, Sidney Pollitt of Boase Massimi Pollitt (BMP) decided that the voice of the consumer was of paramount importance and that account management was using data incompetently in the writing of the creative brief. He wanted a research person working with the account man.

The name Account Planning was coined by Tony Snead of JWT merging the titles of media planners and account people, in 1968.

The first agency in the US to adopt the discipline was Chiat/Day (1982), and Jane Newman was the first senior vice-president corporate director of account planning.
It was Jay Chiat, along with Jane Newman, who led the agency on the Macintosh Account to create the much acclaimed “1984” commercial that launched Apple Computers.

Looking at the success of Chiat/Day, larger agencies including Ogilvy & Mather and DDB Needham adopted the discipline of Account Planning. In the 1990s, other agencies followed suit.

In adopting the discipline the U.S. agencies called the account planner a “Brand Planner” or “Strategic Planner”. Soon, the original “Account Planner” replaced these positions.


What is Account Planning? Who is an Account Planner?

Account Planning is a disciplined system for devising communications/advertising/commercial strategy and enhancing its ability to produce outstanding creative solutions that will be effective in the marketplace.

Account Planning also recognizes the need to demonstrate how and why the communication has performed.

An Account Planner is essentially the account team’s primary contact with the outside world; the person who through personal background, knowledge of all pertinent information and overall experience, is able to bring a strong consumer focus to all advertising decisions.


What are the Various Roles of Planning?

The planning department of an advertising agency is responsible for various functions. These include:
– Market Research
– Data Analysis
– Qualitative Research (focus group studies)
– Information and Knowledge Center
– Voice of the Consumer (target audience)
– Brainstorming Facilitation
– Prognostication
– Media/Communications (touch-point) Planning
– Strategic Thinking/Strategy Development
– Insight Mining (finding that one “nugget”)
– Authoring the Creative Brief
– Knowledge Application


Reactions to Planning & Planners Within an Agency.

“Planning” has finally become a part of the way things are done at most agencies. Within an agency, some people like the concept of planning and the planners, while others don’t.

Those who do not like it fall into three categories:
– Like the concept, but feel that the planners in the agency are inept.
– Feel threatened due to their own shortcomings/inadequacies and are very protective of their own territory.
– Have no clue as to what the discipline entails and how they can benefit by being true partners.

What some people in a major agency had to say about Account Planning and Planners (this agency, at that time had a hybrid research/planning department, with a traditional researcher as the department head).
– “Upper management needs to recognize the role of Planning.”
– "The process of Account Planning has never been defined.”
– “ I have no problems with Account Planning, but do the planners we have know what they are talking about”
– “Are our Account Planners trained and experienced or are they just research people?”
– “Account planning has fostered cross-departmental integration.”
– “We are not brief-driven. We should be!”
– “We are very good with quantitative research; I cannot say the same thing about our abilities with qualitative research.”
– “Account Planning does not exist here; we think it does.”
– "We need to look at doing things right, and experienced Account Planners can champion the cause.
– “Our so called planners do not know a thing about advertising.”
– “Too much dependency on focus groups; nothing wrong with that if we had qualified moderators and analysts.”
– “Account Planning is a serious issue.”
– “Creatives don’t like us (planners) telling them things. I was given a list of what I could say and what I could not.”
– "Some of the creatives accept research and our (planners) writing the brief; but not our reviewing the creative.”


The Account Planner.

Very often, agencies hire the wrong people to become a part of the planning group. They may be anthropologists, sociologists or psychologists; but if they are not students of the art of advertising, they will not be the right people.

Account Planners have to be advertising practitioners. If not, they cannot bridge the consumer and creative.

Account Planners need to have the capacity and capability to constantly re-challenge conventional advertising and marketing wisdom. Only those who are advertising savvy can do this effectively.

Most individuals have a distinct preference for either left-brain or right-brain styles of thinking. Good Account Planners, however, are more whole-brained and equally adept at both modes.

Account Planners have to be able to get passionate about consumer insights.

The following are the key characteristics that a good Account Planner should possess (some of these were originally stated by Chiat/Day):
– Curiosity about what makes people act and think the way they do.
– Understanding that what people say is not necessarily what they believe or do. Being capable of discerning the difference and possessing the ability to determine real insights into motivation.
– Ability to examine a problem from different perspectives without losing sight of the big picture.
– Logical and analytical, yet capable of lateral thought.
– Views research as a means to an end.
– Applies a pragmatic approach to problem solving.
– Possess an ability to conceptualize and think strategically.
– Be capable of taking a commercial and making a reasonable judgment/guess on its intended effect on the target consumer and the desired responses.
– Has an inherent ability to visualize the meaning of numbers and generate hypotheses, or draw conclusions.
– Accepts nothing at face value, challenging assumptions until the whole picture makes sense.
– Enjoys talking about advertising.

Consumer insights are what help the Account Planner mine a few nuggets. In order to mine a quality nugget, an Account Planner starts a discussion with the consumers of the product/brand. Typically, this is what happens.
– Listening
– Probing
– More listening
– Taking notes
– Replaying the interactions internally, while blocking out all other thoughts
– Transcribing the notes
– Studying the notes. Not once, not twice, but many times.
– That one insight that will be that one special nugget is extracted.


The Brief.

The Planner is charged with formulating the creative brief and being the person who lays it all out and provides direction for the creatives. The ideal brief is developed when Planning and Account Service work together, also involving the media department if feasible.

They have to work together to combine the needs of the client, the demands of the market, and the expectations of the consumer.

Together they will have to stimulate creative development.

Great ideas that result in great advertising are a result of a “chemical reaction” between two basic elements:
– The Consumer: “What is it about the product that the consumer likes”.
– The Product: “What is the product’s (or brand’s) answer to the consumer’s core values”.

The right catalyst (that nugget) will create that magical reaction resulting in a compelling brief.

When a brief is compelling, it will breathe and have a life.

A compelling brief will also have a soul.

Therefore, in order to generate “great ideas” every time the following equation should be realized:

The Soul of the Agency Brief
=
The Soul of the Product/Brand
+
The Soul of the Consumer

This will make the “brief” the Crown Jewel.


How it All Works Together.

Advertising is a team effort. As stated by many, it can be best illustrated as follows:
Client says: “My Product”
Account Director says: “My Client”
Creative Director says: “My Ad”
Account Planner says: “My Consumer”


Planning? Who needs it?

No agency “needs” Planning.

Agencies that give clients only what they ask for do not need Planning, as they will find it a waste of resources.

Agencies committed to doing fresh, bold, innovative and effective advertising more consistently will find Planning a valuable investment paying rich dividends at many levels.

Account Planning, a concept over thirty years old is still in many ways in its infancy as some clients and agencies have been laggards in embracing the process. They are the losers.

Agencies practicing the discipline and their clients are the winners.
Certainly a boon for them!


Sources include www.apg.org.uk and www.ciadvertising.org/sa/spring_03/382j/hillary/accountplanningads.htm