Brand New

Is planning, planning?

By Louise Kennedy August 1 2008, 2:04 pm 6 Comments
Tagged: planning

Being a young brand planner, I often think about what other juniors are up to in the big wide planning world and I always get to that age-old question, is planning just planning? Or is planning in different types of agencies – advertising, digital, DM etc. – make it a different discipline in each area? If so, how much better / worse off am I brand planning? I think it is the same discipline, whatever the media. We are essentially working on marketing briefs which involve the same sort of elements. Some agencies may be into more data planning, some may be really data-light, but I reckon the essence of planning is the same. Although, I don’t know really, as I don’t know any digital / DM / ad planners! What does everyone else reckon? It would be nice to get some posts from some other types of planners to see if they think we’re all in the same boat!

http://www.tangiblecommunications.co.uk Niki Hutchison

Having moved six months ago from being an entirely brand/ predominantly ATL planner to a DM agency I can tell you there are definitely some major differences! These are mainly data-focused, as you can imagine, but I have also found that I need to be a lot more detailed in my recommendations, in terms of consumer touch-points, exactly when these are & how to exploit them fully. Having said that, a good idea and bit of insight is still good, just in a different arena. I’m lucky to work alongside a highly experienced data planner, as well as a business strategist and another brand planner so our department is very rounded in terms of experience. I think anyone going from ATL to BTL planning would struggle without this kind of support.
http://www.redspiderglobal.com charlie robertson

The planning /strategy questions are all the same.

The important areas are the same as things only go wrong in 3 places – strategy idea execution

The 3 most significant differences working with different agencies specialising in different media and in different cultures to my mind are:
- new ‘digital agencies focus is FIRE READY AIM – act first and work out how things work as you go.
- organisational culture – open-ness and collaboration are more important than ever’
- resources. Some agencies have all the time in the world while others require ‘splanning’ – speed planning
Marc Jones

Planning, as Charlie kindly highlights sits arm in arm with all ‘strategy’ in, out, around the brand…BUT also people. Unfortunately, those who drum up the talent to become us are often – as Campaign’s yearly letters page/ following week articles at grad time of year point out – dry in both perspective and process of modern knowledge.

The best way to work and stay one step ahead of a WPP 3.0 catch up in sudden ‘new’ brand realms – technology, consumer/ people behaviour -is to naturally

- Keep more than your eyes open on brand architecture. Trends in people brands and paths should be constantly monitored and brought into the proposition sphere

- Keep your perspective open and ahead of a ‘trend’. Just because it’s here now doesn’t mean it means a thing tmrw.

- Perceptive/process, think AND act outside the box. When buying or participating in qual, or reading through quant figures, try to make and effort in really voicing your opinion. How many times in your pre-grad job search, 1st 6 months, this forum, or even The Sun letters page have you read that this industry needs to change?

Resources or not, change is people, not planner led Do more than look outside the box – encourage those around you to in your management of knowledge.

Otherwise, you really will be clinging to every word the APG says in it’s 1960′s raincoat as Mobile marketing folk become planners in their own right.
http://www.oomphagency.com Stephen Priestnall

Whilst I’m a little way off being a junior, you raise an intersting question.
What is planning? It’s a bit like saying ‘What is engineering?’. You could answer the question with another question to find out if you’re a structural engineer, an information engineer, a mechanical engineer, a marine engineer, an envirnmental engineer…… you get the point.
But first you should have gone into planning, knowing what planning is.
This is what engineers do: apply the theories and principles of science and mathematics to the economical solution of practical technical problems.

Planners determine original and relevant insight that can be used to create ideas for effective communications to consumers about product and services. Doesn’t sound like much fun – until you turn this into a blindingly clear sprinboard proposition.

Different products, brands and channels of course require planning to be done in differert ways. The most marketable planners will know how to do most of this. As a junior you should follow your interest passionately and then challenge your abilities by moving outside your comfort zone. Throw a little bit of segmentation analysis into your audience profile, create some psychographic groupings, pick up some trend pieces and model them against the known customer database.
Then see how easy it is to write a blindingly clear springboard proposition.
Planning is hard work whatever bit you do. If it’s not, your’e not doing it right.
Louise Kennedy

The first response answers what I was asking about. Thankfully, I do know what planning is and what brand planning involves, I guess I was wondering what sort of processes other types of agencies go through to get to their strategic recommendations, which must differ from client to client, but what the ‘usual’ stuff is. I don’t do enough data planning it’s something I’d love to get stuck into! Like at other branding agencies, I am sure planners use onions and wheels and talk about brand essences and visions, I find it is interesting to see how others operate and why their agency thinks their way is the best
http://culturalfuel.com Alexander Wipf

I feel that, while there is a common thread in what Planners do, the Planning disciplines are very very different. A brand planner and experience planner may both have the job to come up with WHAT it is we have to do and the necessary strategy, but where they start, what they plan FOR and and with which tools is very different. Also they brief different people. Brand planners brief traditional CREATIVES, the experience planner briefs DESIGNERS. Huge difference (actually the difference between a traditional creative and digital designer is quite similar to that between planners). Also, the experience planner’s brief is way more complex and iterative than that of the brand planner’s.

Brand planners plan the message. Experience Planners the experience. When they do it together, you get integrated campains. If you just let the Brand planner do the planning for an integrated campaign, you get, at best, channel adaptations for a big ATL idea. If you just do experience planning (which is what digital agencies do, for example) you get a great website (or other channel) experience, but there is no message, no overarching idea.

So, planning is planning as far as your vocation goes. It isn’t in the day to day.

Check out our response to this http://culturalfuel.com/2008/09/03/response-to-is-planning-planning/