Sidewalk Life

Not So Good At Planning Dept.

What's great about this cartoon is it takes all the starchy seriousness out of the business world.  Always a good reminder.

Know The Customer

It's more important than strategy and creative according to your clients. 

That's what Rainmaker Consulting found in a study that examines why clients choose one agency over another. 

The rankings:

1. Quality customer insights
2. Chemistry
3. Creative work
4. Service level / response to needs ongoing
5. Cost control
6. Innovative / strategic thinking
7. Case for ROI
8. Client list
9. Strict adherence to brief
10. Seniority of account team
11. Location
12. Size

Marketingcharts.com has the story.

Judging Jay Chiat Planning Awards

This week I was part of a group of planners who judged the first round of papers for the 2007 Jay Chiat Planning awards.  It's a contest of great strategic thinking.  The kinds of things that win are the kinds of things that you say I wish I'd done that.  Less than 20% of the papers were put through.  The other 80% just didn't qualify as great for various reasons.

Without giving away anything prior to Augusts' unveiling, here's some helpful hints for next year if anyone submits an entry.

1. Storytelling matters.
These papers are as much about telling a good story as they are about smart thinking. I don't mean developing characters or a plot or exaggerating a point.  I mean just good logic flow; the who, what, how and why.  Who all was involved?  What did they do?  Where did the insight really come from?  Was it research or a line from some indie movie you just saw?  How close was this idea to failure?   What else was thrown out or eliminated?  How was the final decision made?

2. Salesmanship matters. 
Sometimes the best thinking is figuring out a way to sell a dangerous idea to the client.  Tell that story.

3. Great planning matters.
Good planning (the stuff we should be doing) isn't enough for an award.  Reading the tracking studies, going to focus groups, talking to cool influencers you talked to to inform your research, etc.   None of that is going to wow the judges.  It's all standard operating procedure.   Going outside the category for a real hidden barrier to trial is good lateral thinking.  Inventing a new media for your message is good thinking.  And recognizing the power of an obvious truth staring you in the face is brave thinking. 

4. Honesty matters. 
Some entries still cling to the idea of planning as the lone genius operating in the back room and riding in to save the day at the eleventh hour.  If that happened, well good for you.  But the consensus was that it doesn't really happen that way most of the time and the people who were honest about planning's contribution vs. the whole team's contribution were more credible in the end.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Want to work at McGarryBowen in New York? 

We seem to be reeling in blue chip brands and need to build a team of good planners.   We are looking for people who are:

Interesting
Generous
Nice
Creative
Confident
Have conviction
Want to be part of a team, not a solo act.

We have three openings. 

Senior Planner
To work on the most ambitious strategic challenge of our time - energy.
5+ years of experience.
Interested in geopolitics and shaping public opinion.
Need a sophisticated thinker/problem-solver.
Someone who reads the paper everyday, news/politics magazines.
History of working on great brands and advertising.

Mid-level Planner
To work on financial services account.
3-5 years planning experience
Someone with a strong head for business.  Can process very complex info, and distill it down for others in an easy to digest way.
Prior financial services experience preferred
Good deck writer
History of working on great brands and advertising

Mid-level Planner
To work on sports and beer.
3-5 years planning experience
Global thinker.
Passionate about sport. (athlete and/or sports fan)
Youth and creative culture expert (can talk intelligently about sport, youth, technology, media, entertainment, and fashion)
History of working on great brands and advertising

Send resume to David at dnottoli@mcgarrybowen.com.