Posts tagged planners
avin narasimhan
often rambling, but hopefully always interesting
#Planningness2011: What I Learned And Thoughts For The Next One
Back in the office after yet another incredibly inspiring Planningness, thanks to the tireless efforts of Mark and Claire, as well as the long list of fantastic and truly brilliant speakers. Though I think they learned their lesson by asking me to speak last time, and wisely chose not to this time around (kidding…I think). Anyway, lots of people with very different backgrounds and different views on the world shared their ideas with us, and the breakout sessions were again intense yet wonderfully productive at the same time. Many of these folks, in planningness tradition, were from far outside the ad world, and it made it all the more interesting and fun. And of course, there was plenty of drinks with old and new friends ( more and more and the list goes…) once the sessions let out, and I think even 3 days later I’m still feeling the effects. A few people have already written up recaps/implications worth checking out (including Ed Cottons excellent post which he seemingly posted hours after the final session while the rest of us were still knocking back a few). Given I’ve been lucky enough to go to all 3 planningness events so far, I thought I’d also try and share some things I’ve learned overall, not just this past session, and also some thoughts as we look toward the next time we all get together. The idealism from Planningness 1 has been replaced, to some degree, with practicality
You could probably read that and take it as a bad thing, that maybe we’ve become disheartened or less enthused, but I think that couldn’t be further from the truth. When I left the first Planningness, I felt like I was walking on air. It was the first conference of it’s kind I had ever been to (which I think is true for most of us), and I got back to the office determined to change the world in 7 days or less. Well, not surprisingly, that didn’t happen. And it frustrated the hell out of me. Ed and Kristina keenly pointed out this feeling of high vs low at the start of their session:
On that note, perhaps there’s some therapeutic value in the dreaded echo chamber
In a few of the sessions, we aired out in our groups some of the major problems planners face today, from our roles not being fully understood by clients, to our value in helping actually come up with creative ideas not being understood internally, to resource and time constraints on the brief/briefing process, and everything in between. And I guess to some that could be seen as a bit of an echo chamber, planners running in circles talking to each other. While I agree there are many detrimental aspects of the ‘echo chamber’ as it’s often referred to— particularly that it can perpetuate the stereotype of talkers vs doers— maybe the therapeutic side is one unspoken benefit. It helps for me to know there are others out there struggling through the same things, beyond these walls. Dealing with the same challenges, having the same fights, losing the same battles. It’s not in defense of an echo chamber, but just a point to say maybe there’s one helpful aspect to it after all. 
Frankly, there are too many brilliant people in this industry for agencies to fail
Just a few lines after I said idealism has been replaced with practicality, I realize maybe this is an idealistic thought. But working with all of the people in attendance this year, witnessing brilliance and energy in action, and seeing how determined (and perhaps even a little desperate) we all are to bring about meaningful change to this industry convinces me that for all the talk of the death of agencies, there’s simply too much talent for us all to fail. This isn’t limited to planners, of course, and I don’t think anyone else in attendance would believe that it is. We all know there are people across our own offices of a similar mind, determined to push things forward, whether you work at a large network agency or a small boutique. My hope is the more we’re able to learn from each other, gain fresh ideas and approaches, we can continue to make progress. It might be slower than most of us would like, but as someone once said, “change doesn’t happen over night”.
On that note, I might submit this humbly to our amazing organizers- what if we all looked around at our respective agencies to get some creatives out to the next Planningness? They may not be interested or may not care, but I bet there are a few that would. And I wonder if it would impact their views on what planning is perhaps seen as today vs what it can and should be, to see first hand how determined and excited we all are about the possibilities for the future, particularly when you put so many in one room and get outside the day-to-day challenges of work. Not that we want to fundamentally change the spirit and culture of Planningness, but just as Adrian sought to bring together the worlds of production and strategy in his session, maybe we can continue to blend other worlds into our little family.
All that said…
What did I miss, and what did you learn? What sticks in other people’s minds? I realize I didn’t get too far into details about specific sessions, would love to hear further thoughts. And I’ll try and post a bit more about things in the coming days. Either way, can’t wait for the next Planningness. Thanks again to Mark and Claire (and everyone else who spoke and attended). See you all soon I hope.
Results Are In: 2010 Planner Survey
Yet another great + revealing pack of planner stats from Heather LeFevre.
Particularly like the addition of a fairly robust section on freelance planners and their thoughts on the pros/cons. Gives you something to think about if you’ve tossed around the idea as I have.
Also a bit frustrating to see that the largest part of planner work, 73%, seems to be around print ads. Reading all of our collective tweets and bloggery you’d think that picture would be much different, but I suppose we’re getting there.
Definitely worth checking out the full report, as always. Thanks again for another great survey Heather.
Have You Backed The Bucket Brigade Yet?
Last week, I finally got around to backing Bud Caddell’s excellent idea for a new book, The Bucket Brigade. Seems like everyone has weighed in at some point or another with their thoughts on why they are backing it and why the idea makes all the sense in the world, so I won’t spend time repeating what others far smarter than I have said in far smarter ways.
But what I did want to take the time and mention is why I decided to up my pledge from sponsor to editorial board level. I think Tim said it best in his recent post, the reason this project seems to have sparked so much interest is that it is tapping into our collective desire to do something, rather than just talk about it. And let’s face it, there’s always a reason to put off doing something like this. Too busy with our day jobs, not enough time in the day, not sure where to get started, and on and on. There will always be one. But thanks to Bud, the chance to get together with a bunch of insanely brilliant people and really do something interesting in the world is a reality, not just a theory. And I for one am incredibly excited at the possibilities. Congrats to Bud on all of the support he’s received, and thanks to everyone who has also decided to get involved. Can’t wait to see and be a part of what happens. And if you haven’t joined the crew yet, you’ve still got a few days left to become a backer.#greatpresentationsof2010: Rethinking The Creative Brief
Great presentation from Jasmin Cheng over at Twist Image. Clearly lays out some of the major issues around creative briefs many of us are dealing with today and some ideas around how to fix them. Particularly agree with point 6— I’ve always found the end result is better when briefs are created collaboratively with input from multiple sources. Sometimes far easier said than done (ok almost all of the time), but doesn’t mean we should stop striving for the best environment possible.
Well worth a read, full of quotes and ideas from smart people across the industry.
