1. COMMUNICATION PLANNING
The Other Half of the Advertising Puzzle
Charles Pinkerton, Partner
The Media Kitchen
be brave | be inventive | defy expectations
3. WHY ARE WE SO INTERESTED IN COMMUNICATION
PLANNING?
4. QUITE POSSIBLY BECAUSE WE CAN’T SEEM TO EVEN
DEFINE IT?
The art and science of making a message visible in the marketplace
Placing the message at the right time and right place
The ability to decide how much media to move into digital versus traditional channels
Calibration of media and mediums for the best business results
In-depth understanding of the use, effect and interplay of media on micro-targets and how they might
react to those to achieve your marketing goals
The study and practice of the interplay of words and images in traditional and modern media and in
information design
5. HOW CAN YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE DOING
SOMETHING WELL IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS?
6. SO I WILL BE SPEAKING ABOUT WHAT I THINK IT IS?
13. NOR ABOUT HOW WE ARE
BETTER FIDDLING WITH
KNOBS THAN OUR
COMPETITORS
14. NOR THAT WE HAVE A ADMIXTURE OF
MEDIA TO CURE YOUR ILLS
15. NOR ABOUT THE CRUCIAL12 STEPS TO
EFFECTIVE MEDIA PLANS
NOR WILL I BE ISSUING A PROCESS
CHART...
THAT SHOWS ALL THE “SILVER BULLET”
STEPS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNCATIONS
16. BELIEVE ME, EVERY MEDIA COMPANY HAS THESE:
THE TOOLS
THE KNOB TURNERS
THE PROCESS CHARTS
THE PAGES ON THEIR WEBSITE TALKING ABOUT THEIR UNIQUE APPROACH
TO COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING...
...BUT STILL WE HAVE THE LARGEST GROUP OF PEOPLE
EVER TO LISTEN TO A 4A’S WEBCAST
18. MY OPINION IS THAT WE ARE HERE BECAUSE WE
REALIZED THAT THE WORLD HAS CHANGED
19. AND THAT OUR EVER-BETTER TOOLS ARE NOT
WHOLLY SOLVING OUR COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS
20. AND WE FIGURED OUT HOW TO CHANGE OUR
APPROACH TO CREATIVE, BUT NOT TO MEDIA
21. WE KNOW WE HAVE EXHAUSTED CONSUMERS
THE AVERAGE CONSUMER SEES OR HEARS OVER
200 PIECES OF ADVERTISING OR BRAND EXPOSURES EVERY HOUR
THERE ARE OVER 200 CHANNELS, THOUSANDS OF APPS, MILLIONS OF
WEBSITES; ALL OF WHICH CAN BE TURNED OFF, SKIPPED OR IGNORED...
THE AVERAGE-SIZED SUPERMARKET NOW
CARRIES 46,000 PRODUCTS
IN 1979 THERE WERE THREE VODKA BRANDS WITH NO VARIANTS AND
THERE ARE NOW....WELL WHO REALLY CARES AFTER ROSE AND
BACON & TOMATO? I STOPPED COUNTING
ALMOST EVERY BRAND IS NOW LAUNCHED
IN A COMMODITIZED MARKET
22. CREATIVELY WE HAVE ADJUSTED
Unique Selling Proposition
Reasons to Believe
Product Superiority
Brand Meaning
Lifestyle Badge
PRODUCT
MIND
SPACE
THE PAST
THE PRESENT
23. AN EXAMPLE
Colgate 1954
PRODUCT
•2 Mins
•Built on a jingle
•Only Colgate has “irium” and
“RTF”
•For whiter teeth, fresher breath
and a brighter smile
Nike 1994
MIND
SPACE
•30 sec
•Black and white
•No product claims or shots
•No people
•High School locker room
•Just Do It
24. WE HAVE EVEN CREATED A NEW ROLE WHOSE SOLE PURPOSE IS TO HELP
CREATIVE TEAMS NAVIGATE THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE ... VIA
PSYCHOLOGY, SEMIOTICS, TREND MAPPING, CULTURAL MAPPING, ETC.
MIND
SPACE
25. WE EVEN HAVE A BROADLY ACCEPTED
DEFINITION FOR WHAT THEY DO
The Account Planner’s primary function is to find consumer truth and insight that helps the
creative teams to create work that is not only entertaining and highly memorable, but that is
relevant to the consumer and effective in the marketplace.
26. Behavioral Mapping
Engagement Metrics
Media Mix Modeling
Demography
Reach/Frequency
Ratings
Sub Segmentation
MEDIA HAS NOT PROGRESSED AS FAR
MIND
SPACE
PRODUCT
Measuring Exposure
Measuring the Results
of Exposure
27. TO DO SO WE NEED TO MAKE THE SAME LEAP THE CREATIVE AGENCIES
DID...AND FULLY UNDERSTAND MIND SPACE...
IN OTHER WORDS WE NEED COMMUNICATION STRATEGISTS
28. A DEFINITION OF THE COMMUNICATION
STRATEGIST
The Communication Strategist’s primary function is to find consumer and cultural truths and
insights that identify the communication vehicle or vehicles for the message to be its most
relevant, entertaining and memorable: resulting in effectiveness in the marketplace.
39. INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS MODEL
Account Planning
Positioning/
Creative Brief
Account
Management/
Production
Campaign
Comms
Strategist
Comms
Framework
Media
Planning
Media
Buying
40. 3
WE DON’T TRAIN PEOPLE TO THINK ACROSS
QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE
41. 3
NOT MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE INHERENTLY ADEPT AT
UNDERSTANDING AND CRAFTING FROM BOTH SETS OF
INFORMATION
42. 4
TERRITORIALISM
CREATIVES -- DO CREATIVE
ACCOUNT MANAGERS -- HANDLE THE CLIENT
ACCOUNT PLANNERS -- WRITE THE BRIEF
MEDIA PLANNERS -- MAKE FLOWCHARTS
MEDIA BUYERS -- BUY THE MEDIA
43. 4
“I THINK YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER YOU ARE IN MEDIA”
“WHY WOULD NEED TO LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT THE HISTORY OF
THE COUNTRY? WE’VE ALREADY DECIDED WE ARE RUNNING IN
NEWSPAPERS”
“WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE (BRAND)
POSITIONING IS TO DO A MEDIA PLAN”
“YOU SHOULD STOP LISTENING TO PEOPLE ON THE STREETS, THIS THING
(THE INTERNET) IS A FAD”
46. Client expected original viewers of the program
(1979) as well as “hard core” fans of classic TV to
be the main target
But then we received the first dailies....
Even unedited, the writing, directing and
cinematography were more Film Noir or “Blade
Runner” in look and feel than 70’s TV
We knew the targeting was wrong, but that the
had no quantitative way to determine the
audience
Called a number of viewing parties to get
feedback on whom the program might appeal.
47. Indie/Art film fans admired the
writing, camera work and directing
Fans of proceedural police dramas
(e.g. CSI) universally liked the plot and
characters
Many of the main characters weren’t
Caucasian, which surprised and
appealed to Hispanics and Asians
48. Changed creative to look more like a
movie opening and placed moviesized poster in “coming attraction”
marquee’s, napkins, popcorn bags, and
drinks
Outdoor in Asian and Hispanic
neighborhoods
Television scheduling changed from
Syndication to Primetime Police
Proceedurals and vertical cable, e.g.
IFC
Online was added to target film fan
sites and reviews
50. CHARLES PINKERTON
THE MEDIA KITCHEN
WWW.THEMEDIAKITCHEN.TV
CPINKERTON@MEDIAKITCHEN.TV
TWITTER: CPINKMEDIA
PRESENTATIONS: WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/MEDIAKITCHEN