It’s been great being a planner.  I love being a planner. What’s that, you say?  What the hell is a planner?

I got a request from a random college student to explain:

“Right now I’m having a class project that requires me to interview at least two account managers/planners. Most of the account planners and account managers I know are not working in the U.S. market. Another reason why I wrote to you and asked you for help is that as the leader of advertising business, I think you would somehow feel responsible to enlighten and influence the college learners like me. Please help me out by answer the questions listed bellow. I really appreciate your help.”

1. How would you describe your job? Please be specific.

 

• I’m an account/ brand planner.  I represent the consumer and stay informed of popular trends/ consumer statistics in order to benefit my client’s business goals and help creatives make great, relevant work.

2. Do you think account planner/manager fits into the whole marketing communication process? If so, how?

 

• Absolutely!  If you don’t know who you’re talking to, you have a boring, useless piece of communication.
• Qualitative research is one of the most important pieces of your job.  Know how to develop plans, schedules, budgets, proposals, screeners, discussion guides, etc.
• Build a network of partners:  recruiters and research companies.

3. What do you think of the flux of the advertising industry?

 

• Personally, I love change and progress.  Advertising is at the forefront of innovation (or at least it should be).
• The practices we develop, funded by brands, can tomorrow be used for nonprofits to benefit society on a more positive note, compared to simple capitalist gain.   Above you see me and a fellow advertiser horsing around at an event we brainstormed for UNICEF’s Tap Project, a collaboration between ad agencies and UNICEF to raise clean drinking water funds for disadvantaged children around the globe.

 

4. How do you cope with the change of the industry as an account planner/manager?

• The magic of the internet.  RSS feeds, content aggregators, and blogs.

 

5. Can you please tell me what are the tools that you use in marketing communication?

• Simmons/MRI, Mintel, Nexis, Marketing Charts, Nielsen, Pew… and many more
• Human tools that will always be needed:  curiosity, flexibility, and common sense.

 

6. What do you think of the media planner and account planner?

• A good media planner & account planner are the catapult to the giant rock of creative.  When you have those team members functioning at their highest capability, you have the base for a great campaign.  It takes a lot of people to create a good ad.

 

7. What do you think are the important skills, training and education for an account planner/manager?

• Experience watching an agency at work.  Take an internship.
• Listen.  Learn.  Research.  Compile notes.  Watch people.  Read sociology books.
• The cool thing about planning is that you can go to school and learn how to do it, or you can work really hard and intern and learn and suck it up and convince someone to hire you.  I did both via WK12, a one-year ad school that I highly recommend.

8. What do you think are the unique qualities that an account planner/manager possess?

• Be flexible. Here’s me doing research in New York City. Our cab driver was new, freaked out, didn’t know the way to Brooklyn, and paranoid about driving around a stalled car.  So I jumped in the driver’s seat and did it for him.  This kind of thing can’t throw you… planners have to be prepared for the unexpected.

9. What are your suggestions for the college students major in advertising?

• Don’t worry about drinking too much.   It’s just practice for the future.
• Did you like free time?  Say goodbye.
• Don’t create stupid little ads for fake companies to build your portfolio.  Go find internships and solve real problems, or take on a non profit challenge, like the UNICEF Tap Project or Right Brain Project.  Create change!  Be bold!
• Get used to people tearing your ideas apart!  They’re just ideas– you can make more.
• Know that while you may have some very low days working in advertising, the highs are absolutely amazing… like presenting ideas to your heroes. In my case, I got the opportunity to present ideas to Devo, a band I consider the ultimate postmodern art project.

You can’t conquer experiences like that… and that’s why I love being a planner.  Your brain and a computer is all you really need.