I see a few different types of planning departments at work. Some of them are part of huge assembly line that we call an advertising agency. Others work as a convergent point for the a discipline we call advertising. Yet others work as a supplementary service for the core advertising practices. And, of course, there's a final type, like my very own department, that keeps shifting its role.
The assembly line planners live as part of a smooth machine that flows from client to servicing, from servicing to planning, from planning to creatives, from creatives to servicing again, then to production, events and whatever.
The convergent planners serve as a think tank for servicing, creatives, research, events and even the production departments, and the machine is laid out in a spherical format, not a linear one.
And... *sigh*... those poor planners who work in a dark dinghy corner on the factory floor, to be summoned if and when they are required... I don't even know how I'd describe their job. These shops, no matter how well running, are probably cottage industries, not destined to become any proposition of magnitude (emphasis on probably).
Strangely enough, there are planners available, as it seems, for each of the situations. There are those who would prefer to work as part of an assembly line, free of worries of exploration and always with their work clearly cut-out by somebody else (managers, service people, clients... whoever, as long it is somebody else, it's fine). Born to bear the flag of mediocrity and never accomplishing anything bigger than a pay hike, these planners probably would always remain the mainstay of the industry.
The convergence planners are a rare breed, and not surprisingly most of these people end up writing best sellers or making headline news (positive news, dude, not a dope scandal). Naturally they may face a resistance, of different magnitude, from even their own agencies. But, when that obstacle doesn't exist or is removed they tend to move on to the Olympus (Mythili Chandrashekhar, Martin Lindstrom, Al Ries).
And, the cave-dwelling planners? Well, those lazy bums are there just because their agencies felt they need planners (it's kind of fashionable too) and they applied because they were just looking for a job, any job. Now that their only experience is of planning, they are kind of stuck with it.
The assembly line planners live as part of a smooth machine that flows from client to servicing, from servicing to planning, from planning to creatives, from creatives to servicing again, then to production, events and whatever.
The convergent planners serve as a think tank for servicing, creatives, research, events and even the production departments, and the machine is laid out in a spherical format, not a linear one.
And... *sigh*... those poor planners who work in a dark dinghy corner on the factory floor, to be summoned if and when they are required... I don't even know how I'd describe their job. These shops, no matter how well running, are probably cottage industries, not destined to become any proposition of magnitude (emphasis on probably).
Strangely enough, there are planners available, as it seems, for each of the situations. There are those who would prefer to work as part of an assembly line, free of worries of exploration and always with their work clearly cut-out by somebody else (managers, service people, clients... whoever, as long it is somebody else, it's fine). Born to bear the flag of mediocrity and never accomplishing anything bigger than a pay hike, these planners probably would always remain the mainstay of the industry.
The convergence planners are a rare breed, and not surprisingly most of these people end up writing best sellers or making headline news (positive news, dude, not a dope scandal). Naturally they may face a resistance, of different magnitude, from even their own agencies. But, when that obstacle doesn't exist or is removed they tend to move on to the Olympus (Mythili Chandrashekhar, Martin Lindstrom, Al Ries).
And, the cave-dwelling planners? Well, those lazy bums are there just because their agencies felt they need planners (it's kind of fashionable too) and they applied because they were just looking for a job, any job. Now that their only experience is of planning, they are kind of stuck with it.
