Here are some tips for agencies that do not yet have a planning function, but would like to have one – maybe a small or mid-sized Swedish creative agency with some ambition.
Obviously, there’s no need to convince other planners of the miracles of planning, so this is mainly for the rest of you.
I am fully aware that both account and creative people are capable of performing satisfactory planning. Nevertheless, I am a strong believer of specialisation drives excellence. In short, a full-time planner has more possibilities of evolving compared to a half-time planner half-time account person. This perspective therefore implies that there’s a full-time planner person in the picture.
At JvM I arrived as the first planner. Nine months later, the way of working at the agency looks rather different with full account planning function. So, based on my experience, here are three steps for creating a third discipline:
1. Define purpose
Account Planning is not therapy work. At least it shouldn’t be. The agency management has to be clear why it needs planning:
Management vision. A future planning resource needs to be inline with the agency’s vision. What will planning hope to achieve in terms of creativity, operational efficiency, inspiration, innovation, strategic thinking, campaign effectiveness?
Commitment and support. The planning function cannot be a short-term project, because organisational changes take time to implement, and because benefits take time to crystallise. Management has to be committed to try new organisational formations, be patient with added value, and support the planning function with resources such as time, people, money and training to make it work.
2. Get status
As some famous planner said: the planner is the most dispensable person at the advertising agency. I agree fully agree with this, and any planner that does too will require the following from his or her team.
Credibility. The planner must by definition earn the trust and respect from both account people and the creative team. Without this, the planner will probably be side-stepped. Being smart and knowledgeable is a hygiene requirement. Talking the same language as both creatives and account people (but not being one) helps. Making their life easier is a good way.
A clear role. Planning is not only theory or application of it, but a role that should be uniquely defined in a team consisting of the account director/strategist, creative director and the creative team. Without a clear role, the planner will get confused. A good starting point is to narrow down the planner role which usually can be defined as more strategic or more creative.
3. Create space
The planner needs a permanent stage in order to grow and develop the agency. The only way to fix a stage is to change the way the agency works in terms of:
Processes. Planning must be integrated into routine work processes. Depending on the who is on the “receving end”, the agency workflow will be a two- or three-step process, usually defined by the phases research/analysis > strategy/concept > creation/idea development or equivalent. The point is not to attach labels or make things complicated, but to make sure that the planner gets enough time and that the rest of the team do things with minimal overlap (the role thing).
Routine. When planning is used sporadically, the quality of it becomes less. So the mindset in the agency should always be to use planning, and opt out when it’s not needed, instead of vice versa.
Lastly, planning is like any other job, it's about personality, competence, etc.
Hope this makes sense.
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