My first encounter with a planner

re: My first encounter with a planner

Charles Frith — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:19:44 GMT

Mark Piper never had a degree. He was ferociously clever and nobody at HHCL fucked with him or ever took his seat despite having hot desking.

www.charlesfrith.com/.../mark-piper-rip.html

Best to the brave was his motto and he had balls of steel.

re: My first encounter with a planner

Kevin Gordon — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:26:47 GMT

Johnathan, Tod,

What does a planner's mind make of shows like Big Brother?

Adults behaving like children with a 1984 parent?

re: My first encounter with a planner

kevin ferry — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:22:54 GMT

Yes indeed confirms my theory on planners; they're are ones who are amazing and have an uncanny knack of uncovering insights that creatives would take an age to arrive at, if at all, and they're others who are bloody crap, degrees in everything apart from as the kid from EC1would say; 'the bleeding obvious, init'

re: My first encounter with a planner

Neil Fox, TDA — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:57:07 GMT

Interesting comments and topic. Thanks Dave et al. I wonder whether it's noughts and crosses or the old three chord rule. Funny how creativity with the barest of essentials (was it only 7 original ideas? I can never remember?) makes the same sequence sound so different. Now who was it? Lennon or McCartney?

re: My first encounter with a planner

Kevin Gordon — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:32:34 GMT

Hi Tod,

Is that because you have to draw the grid before you play the game?

re: My first encounter with a planner

Dave Trott — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:41:17 GMT

Hi Tod,

When did you hear about noughts and crosses?

I don't think I've done that fo ages.

re: My first encounter with a planner

Tod Norman — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:14:58 GMT

I believe it is now attriubuted to that famous author 'anon', meaning anyone can claim it and, if its appreciated, hundreds will.

Still not as effective as your 'noughts and crosses' description of how advertising works, Dave.

re: My first encounter with a planner

Dave Trott — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:22:03 GMT

Was it Mike, Damien, or Tim Mellors?

re: My first encounter with a planner

Damian O'Malley — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:10:58 GMT

Wasn't this Mike Greenlees' story?

re: My first encounter with a planner

Tod Norman — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:47:39 GMT

Kevin

I think there are still a large number of stand up comedians who use observational humour extremely well, and serve as an inspriation for, I suspect, both planners and creatives. I have suggested to young planners that their apporach : look at something from the normal prespective, and then rotate it, reverse it, turn it inside out - is the best 'first step' in develoiping an insight. And fotunately, there seem to be more and more stand up shows on satellite TV, so personally, I an more inspired now than ever before.

But they only have to show the absurdity of our attitudes or behaviours. We have to convert those observations into something that inspires a change in attitude or behaviour that benefits our clients.

That's the crossover bit between planning and creative that can be incredibly fun, or incredibly fraught, depending on egos.

As a disgruntled creative said years ago, ' Both planners and creatives drink from the well of inspiration: but planners piss in it first."

re: My first encounter with a planner

Jonathan Sully — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:05:00 GMT

As an ex agency planner and kids marketeer I can relate to the reaction.

Fundamentally, researching kids is an art-form rather than science. Put simply, you are often creating toys / media / product for kids that aren't born yet and two strategies can be successfully employed:

1. Recycle - great ideas remain great for the next generation and if you can hit the right point on the product life-cycle you are in the gravy. Yo-yo's are my favourite.

2. Create something - but run the risk of getting it wrong e.g. the toys and animation that none of us remember.

But my point from experience is that children are the most challenging strategic or planning subject for the simple reason that they don't see "grey" - an idea is either good or bad / black or white in their minds and at best they will tell you, at worst ignore you!

re: My first encounter with a planner

Kevin Gordon — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:41:31 GMT

Interesting.

The combination of entertaining believable human characters and valuable consumer insights has probably been responsible for taking us where we are now. Since those days, we've seen product placement become TV reality shows, become a sponsored, or even a theme sponsored series.

However, the great comedy characters seem to have been lost.

How do you think it will all end up?

Are we on the verge of a new golden age of TV comedy scripts?

A brand new library of BBC Gold repeats?

As much as I (and I'm sure many of us) adore Morecambe and Wise, Spike Milligan, Monty Python etc, even these great classics become socially irrelevant through time, yet when I look at some of the new TV comedy shows that have come out in the last few years, few break much new ground, many are not clever or even funny. As an old jamaican lady friend of mine used to say:

'All skin teeth is no laugh".

I wonder what planners think of it all too?

Comedy must have a great influence on their thinking now as in hard times, much of the comedy material tends to reflect or appease the mood of the nation. I mentioned to a friend the other day the 'Overdose of food programmes" transmitted. From an outsider (a foreigner) it looks almost as if the nation is 'bingeing out' on food. From an insider ( indigenous citizen) he told me: "Of course! Food is the only commodity left to the majority of us that is affordable...and even that's getting expensive now'. (and that comment was from someone who is actively working).

re: My first encounter with a planner

Nes Sahinkaya — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:39:25 GMT

I think this shows good planners know to ask the right questions, every time. Therefore their research is never something boring or conventional or something that just anyone could do. They can tackle an issue head on, backwards, sideways, on their toes and heads. And in my experience of interning next to some amazing planners, I found this out first hand. Amazing indeed, and more importantly insightful and interesting :)

re: My first encounter with a planner

Dave Trott — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:16:29 GMT

Webster really liked planners.

He would use them to help him get inside the mind of the consumer.

re: My first encounter with a planner

Kevin Gordon — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:40:06 GMT

Hi Dave,

Hmm. The first one I met got so carried away I thought he was auditioning for

The Producers. My writer was gobsmacked. After the meeting he asked me if the planner had seen a copy of the brief. I just laughed. It was so entertaining. The writer had had difficulty getting any line approved for 6 months. His mind had crept up all the corridors, and he knew he was nearly there, then this meeting just blew all his thinking away like suddenly realising you're in a tunnel and the light hurtling towards you is an express train twenty feet away.

What did John Webster make of planners?