THE FUTURE OF ADVERTISING AGENCY PLANNERS

This paper, first presented at The Market Research Society Conference 1992, looks at the history of account planning in advertising agencies, and defines its function. It examines the account planner's resources. In addition to data from the client, the planner uses research provided by the agency itself, either from its own internal resources or commissioned from research agencies. The author takes issue with the perceived wisdom of planning that "too much objectivity in advertising research is not conducive in the early stage of creative development". He stresses that a good planner/researcher is proactive and involved; a bad researcher/planner is reactive and uninvolved. The name is interchangeable as it is the contribution of the individual that counts. The paper concludes with a discussion of the future role of the account planner and puts forward some suggested standards.