The discipline and its tools and techniques help to build unique directions, propositions and communications concepts across advertising and marketing channels.
The thoughts and observations are construed into a value proposition and make up a document, often called a Creative Brief, that is used to create and inspire advertising campaigns and other marketing communications.
Whereas previously, account planners focused on the use of traditional primary research tools, digital/social networks have given them the ability to listen to and interact with consumers in new ways and to work more closely with channel or media planners throughout the process closely also, to not only help plan effective advertising but also engage with consumers in the most effective ways.
Beginning in 1965, Stanley Pollitt felt that account managers were using information incompetently or inexpediently because the researcher was not involved in the campaign process.
Stephen King, believing that clients deserved a better way of doing things, proposed a process of advertising development that had a little less gut feeling and a little more scientific foundation.
In 1968, J. Walter Thompson (JWT) established a new department called “account planning,” coined by Tony Stead.
[1] The two independent UK pioneers of the vital new planning role, each 1967 and 1968, certainly achieved a dramatic innovation in the advertising industry.
But what they and the global advertising industry appeared not to know was that an almost identical role had been conceived and successfully launched in Sydney, Australia in January 1966.
In the UK initially there appeared to be considerable experimenting, changes, frustration and delay trying to determine the ideal formulation and qualifications for the person best suited for the new specialist agency role.
In Australia it was much tougher with trail-blazing the radical new role in a defensive and suspicious industry with some determined to deny any acceptance of the planning pioneer.
Much later he mounted a website – www.originplan.com – with case studies and client endorsements to demonstrate the outstanding success of the innovative new role inspired by Unilever Australia.
The backgrounds of the two UK pioneers were relatively straightforward – graduates from Oxbridge who entered the advertising industry, enjoying the culture, literary elegance and stylish ambience in their large and successful London ad agencies.
Early childhood in tropical Malaya and tragic family losses during the war against Japan; completed education in the UK; entered military service and served as a platoon commander in the defense of NATO; special training with the London Metropolitan Police; returned to his original home country, Malaya, in 1952 as a senior para-military police officer at the height of the Emergency, the counter-insurgency war against the brutal and ruthless communists and their aim to take over Malaya and Singapore; commanded several large police districts, commanded counter-insurgency jungle operations, served in the paramount secret service; contributed to an outstanding victory against militant communism; worked in market research and in ad agency account management and creative writing in Singapore and Sydney, Australia before joining Unilever Australia in 1962.
The reader will recognize a background of the Australian pioneer with far greater diversity and exposure to major problem solving than by the two UK pioneers together with intense experiences involving skilled intelligence and investigative roles, a highly valued style of experience also in the later conceived radical new ad agency specialist role.
The history of ad agency planning in Australia including many case studies and advertiser managers’ endorsements at afore mentioned www.originplan.com.
Given the success the JWT partnership of Stephen King and Judy Lannon had in servicing and growing business from the likes of Nestle, Unilever, a global Account Planning Council was established in the late 70’s, and included people like George Clements (Canada), Rena Bartos (USA), Rob Langtry and Maxine Krige (Australia).
Trade media in Australia (B&T, Ad News) followed developments closely and help build market presence for the discipline.
Many creative shops added planning departments, helping propel them from boutique to agency, and picking up national accounts along the way."
Planners want to find out what makes people tick and use that market information and research data to guide the campaign process.
They have the job of organizing information about the consumer and the marketplace from every possible source, including the client and agency data and secondary research.
They may also interact with the creative department through the sharing of initial consumer responses to ad ideas or advertising approaches.
Through their follow-up research, account planners track reactions to the ads in the actual marketplace and provide Creatives with additional information.
Ideally, an account planner candidate will have some experience in market research, brands, advertising and communications, and people management.
Once chosen or approved by the client the planner can take steps to pre-test the ads to ensure that the research, branding, message recall and ideas of the consumer are appropriately applied and at satisfactory levels.
Stanley Pollitt believed that the following three attributes are essential in producing effective account planning:[6] 1) It means total agency management commitment to getting the advertising content right at all costs.
Pollitt believed that you could only make "professional judgments about advertising content with some early indication of consumer response."
He did not mean that this rule would "represent a choice between effectiveness and profits, stable client relationships, or outstanding creative work."
Account planning exists for the sole purpose of creating advertising that truly connects with consumers, according to Jon Steel.
Account planners stimulate discussions about things that were overlooked before, such as, purchasing decisions, brand-consumer relationship and specific circumstance evaluation.
The main change inflicted on advertising by account planning is, to approach every marketing challenge, starting with the consumer.