The Next Engine: Beyond Campaign Thinking

…maybe you should go ahead and say it.

“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing” — Thomas Jefferson

So I’m a planner; and traditionally, we perform a few key functions at ad agencies, below in no specific order:

1. act smarter than everyone else in any room at any given time
2. wear interesting eyeglasses
3. dress “like a creative”
4. have a British accent and incorporate the Queen’s English into at least every 3rd sentence
5. reference at least 9 charts per day
6. inspire great creative

OK, so I’m in a snarky mood. But the reality is, not many folks in the industry are getting the most out of planning — including planners. If our industry is really in this dramatic spiral of change, it should be the planners’ main focus on navigating the ship. Where’s the whitespace? Where’s the cultural need? What’s the why?

What about the notion of “inspire great creative”? What if we took off the handcuffs of “creative” and just thought about our jobs as planners to inspire? What we would do? Who would we inspire? What changes could we make?

The Next Engine and our blog project is about change. To this point in our history, one of the greatest barriers to change has been the constant need to be right (or for some, the fear of being fired). I think it’s time we accept that as a truth. Maybe that means more talking out of turn, maybe that means for incoherent rambling, maybe it just means more honesty.

Tags: account planning, innovation, strategic planning