Yes, when someone walks in through that door into the planning room I have a feeling of dread. I know it's either of the two things they are going to say - (1) "Can you, please, make a rocking power point presentation for me?" (2) "I need an idea, a really rocking idea."
Well, planning is not exactly about making power point presentations, and it's not exactly about ideas either. Planning is about elaborate structures that seeks to develop a brand with directions for the idea people (that means the creative department, dude), and finding insights to base that structure on. Yes, sometimes we do make rocking presentations, but that's a bonus. When you forgo the real planning part and go for the bonus, it really shows that you haven't evolved as much as advertising did. May be you need to seek a job at a clients office, where you can start expecting miracles and/or service delivery upon order from your advertising agency.
It gives me enormous pain to see how insights are largely, if not completely, ignored by our advertising agencies. We, so desperately, need to have a clear view of what's up in the clutter! No wonder, the shelf life for most advertisement in popular memory has dwindled down to a measly six months for the very best. Talkability is down to something around three months. We don't hit the target, unless the target hits us in the face. Sad, but true.
So, next time you walk in through that door, please, pretty please, have a sensible demand. Then again may be it's too much to ask for.
I wrote this in 2008.
