So a while back, someone asked me what I thought made a ‘good planner’.
To be honest, all I really remember is that they caught me on a bad day and so I kind of went on an all-out rant.
By pure chance I recently came across my reply and while I definitely sound a bit of a mentalist – not to mention I miss out talking about a whole bunch of stuff I believe is super-important, like empathy – there was a lot in there that I felt had some value, if only to open a debate about what our discipline is supposed to do and what it can be.
So with that in mind, here I rant …
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Planning is one of the most overused terms in the industry these days.
Everyone is now a planner … except in truth, many are either ‘packagers’ – taking the clients info and packing it into easily digestible chunks – or media people who tell you where to put your work based entirely on numbers rather than any true audience understanding.
Now I am not saying those folks aren’t important, of course they are, but for me planning is about ignition to bigger opportunities and possibilities.
For me, a planner understands 3 fundamental things:
+ What the real business problem is.
+ Who the core audience is.
+ What the creative opportunity is.
Those 3 things form the foundation of making things … things that don’t just solve the problem, but help the client have a sustainable position in culture that ultimately makes their marketing work harder for them.
Great planners care about creativity rather than advertising.
Care more about authenticity of a brand rather than marketing of a brand.
Want to uncover why people do stuff rather than just what they do.
It’s not about convenient answers, but ones that really understand the madness of how we all think and do and what we value and believe.
Of course when you’re spending billions of someone else’s money, the temptation to choose convenient, mass-acceptance answers is high and while that can get you results, breakthrough only comes when you resonate with culture rather than just try to be relevant to it.
The un-said.
The hard to explain.
The not easy to hear but it’s true.
It’s for this reason I always tell clients they shouldn’t focus purely on the methodology being used to uncover this stuff … but the person leading it, the people they’re talking to and the questions they are asking.
There’s a reason why a brand like NIKE is still at the top of its game after so long.
Sure, they have ups and downs along the way, but to still have that energy and pull 54 years after they were founded is remarkable.
Of course the biggest part of this is they make great products, have a focus on innovation, have incredible distribution and enjoy the benefits of their market power. But arguably, other companies can lay claim to doing this which is why I believe their ‘secret sauce’ is their commitment to the culture they believe in and are a part of. The culture of the athlete.
Everything they do goes through this lens.
Everything.
And that’s why their marketing doesn’t follow the usual strategic approaches of looking for ‘white space’ or ‘getting to as broad an audience as possible’, but to have a deep connection to the lives and minds of the athlete so they can bring the lessons to life in the most inspirational, yet deeply authentic way possible.
This approach dictates everything, including how they choose and use their agency partners.
From a planning perspective, I know I placed far more value on someone who has a deep love of sport and creativity than anyone who could talk process or methodologies because for me – and NIKE and Wieden and every other agency on their roster – their job was to inspire great creatives to do something audacious for a client who fundamentally believes in the power of their brand voice and sport.
All this highlights 3 things.
1. Great planning comes from truly understanding the core audience.
2. Great work comes from knowing how to be useful to the creative team.
3. Great brands differentiate themselves by their authenticity and distinctiveness.
I’ve written a lot about differentiation.
While the goal should always be to ensure your clients stands out from their competitors, if the approach is to ‘own’ a position that hasn’t been taken, then ultimately you’re letting your competitors dictate your future rather than deciding it for yourself.
For me, great brands embrace their truth in fresh and exciting ways.
They attract culture rather than chase it because they are the culture, not observers of it.
It means they are always moving forward rather than remaining stagnant.
It means they’re always relevant rather than fighting for it.
Planners play an important part in this.
But only if they remember the work is the key, not the ego.