account planning
Top tips for being a great planner
Strategy TalkTop tips for being a great planner :
1) LISTEN: Listen to your clients, listen to your account team, listen to your creative team. No one listens enough and yet all the answers and opportunities are there if you listen. Advertising people are notoriously bad at listening to clients and really hearing what they have to say. Creative people are not always just being defensive when telling you why they don’t accept the client’s view.
2) BE BRAVE: Tell people what you really think — what your heart tells you is true. Don’t be swayed by the intellectual arguments because they sound good, when you know deep down they are flawed.
3) ALWAYS BE GREAT: Never hear yourself say ‘that will do.’ Average work always starts somewhere. Make everything you do be the best it can be.
4) RELAX: Be comfortable with uncertainty and imprecision. Half formed ideas are the bread and butter of creativity. Don’t try to understand or grasp the whole too early. When working with creative people make sure there is space around ideas.
5) BE DIFFERENT: Always try things you haven’t done before. New ideas and insight are more likely to come when you are experimenting. Look for insights in unexpected places.
6) BE A TEAM PLAYER: Recognize that developing creative ideas is a team process. It is not just down to the planner and the creative team. Involve people. Seek lots of opinions as this will help feed your imagination and increase the chances of success.
7) HONESTY: Tell your creative team the truth. Tell it to them straight and make sure they hear it from you and not anyone else. Tell them as soon as you walk back to the agency. If they are not there leave a note and go back later.
8) FAMILIAR FACE: Get to know your creative team. Don’t only turn up for meetings. Pop in and see how they are doing. Tell them something you have thoughts about that could be useful.
9) BE VISUAL: We live in a world that is over loaded with information. Make your mantra to be a picture can say 1000 words. Use images, videos and pictures to express feelings and emotions. After all, as planners, you work in the creative industry.
10) MAKE IT FUN: We all learn through experience and being involved. Find ways to involve your account team, your client and your creative team. Work should be fun. The best work comes more easily when it is fun.
Source: Account Planning Group -Vanella Jackson
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