My official title at Ypartnership is an Idea Planner. After I tell people what I do for a living, the typical response is… “What the heck is an Idea Planner?”
After I say my usual quirky answers like, “the planner of awesomeness… the Dalai Lama of the ad agency… the most kick ass job in the world…” I respond with a more comprehensive look into what it is I actually do and why I love it so much. I recently wrote the piece below, not just for other people, but as a means for myself to provide an overview of what Idea Planning means to me and to my agency. Hope you enjoy!
What is Idea Planning?
It’s my personal take on Account Planning. I got into advertising because of ideas, they are the currency of our industry. They enable brands to connect with the right people in an honest, relevant and timely way.
Since ideas can come from anywhere and anyone at any time, it didn’t seem right to label our new department strategic planning, account planning, creative planning, etc. At the end of the day, it’s about the idea.
So how do these so-called “ideas” get developed?
As an Idea Planner, I get to lay the foundation and provide a theoretical road map for the development of ideas. Creating ideas is a fun, collaborative, messy process and no two ideas are ever created equally – which makes planning them such an exciting endeavor!
Specifically, the position entails:
1.) Having a comprehensive knowledge of a brand and all that it stands for, believes in and aspires to be.
2.) Deeply understanding people, REAL people, not consumers. Asking questions about who they are, what they like, what motivates them, what makes the sad, what are they afraid of, where they came from and where they are going.
3.) Connect the dots between who/what the brand is and who/what the person is. People with something in common are more likely to form a meaningful, lasting relationship than those who have to “work at it”
4.) Sit both down together at the table, let the magic happen.
Now, of course, during each stage are the little details, such as:
- Conducting primary and secondary research
- Getting out and talking to people
- Experiencing the product
- Creating insights
- Identifying the business strategy and the problem
- Telling the story
- Guiding the idea process
….and loads and loads of idea-storming sessions in between. All things combined help an idea come to life and create something bigger than a simple advertisement. They can create a movement, establish a point of view, shape an entire society and so much more.
Now, take a look at the ideas you’ve had or helped create. What have they done? What have you helped develop that has made someone life, changed someone’s life, helped complete a task or simply caused people to question what they always thought to be true? That’s my goal as an idea planner and while I’m not quite there, I’m off to a good start.
So think about it today… what’s your idea and how can it be put to use?
