A Planner's Playbook - Everything I learned about planning at Miami Ad School...Sytse Kooistra
After being in advertising for 4 years, I needed some new guidance and inspiration as a strategist. And that is exactly what I found: I spent the summer of 2013 with 17 other (soon to be) planners from all over the world attending the Account Planning Bootcamp at Miami Ad School New York.
Thanks to the 38 industry heroes and instructors that shared their knowledge and coached us in those 3 months, I learned more than I ever could imagine about planning.
'A Planner's Playbook' is my attempt to summarize all that wisdom in 30 short nuggets (or plays, to stick with the metaphor of a playbook) and share it with you. I left out all the difficult frameworks and models and kept in simple by just stating, in my opinion (and in that of my instructors), what a planner should be and do.
Enjoy reading.
How to Create a Killer Creative Brief with Wild AlchemyUnited Adworkers
United Adworkers had the honor of hosting Lynette Xanders with Wild Alchemy to share her incredible knowledge and insights on "How to Create a Killer Creative Brief". For more information about Wild Alchemy and Lynette Xanders, visit WildAlchemy.com.
A Planner's Playbook - Everything I learned about planning at Miami Ad School...Sytse Kooistra
After being in advertising for 4 years, I needed some new guidance and inspiration as a strategist. And that is exactly what I found: I spent the summer of 2013 with 17 other (soon to be) planners from all over the world attending the Account Planning Bootcamp at Miami Ad School New York.
Thanks to the 38 industry heroes and instructors that shared their knowledge and coached us in those 3 months, I learned more than I ever could imagine about planning.
'A Planner's Playbook' is my attempt to summarize all that wisdom in 30 short nuggets (or plays, to stick with the metaphor of a playbook) and share it with you. I left out all the difficult frameworks and models and kept in simple by just stating, in my opinion (and in that of my instructors), what a planner should be and do.
Enjoy reading.
How to Create a Killer Creative Brief with Wild AlchemyUnited Adworkers
United Adworkers had the honor of hosting Lynette Xanders with Wild Alchemy to share her incredible knowledge and insights on "How to Create a Killer Creative Brief". For more information about Wild Alchemy and Lynette Xanders, visit WildAlchemy.com.
Back to basics: Creative brief workshop
Becky McOwen-Banks
Before great creative work can be done it's key to create the environment in which creative work can be produced.
In this pres we look at the processes and provide a few tips for those with a hankering for effective creative work. Skewed for the in-house relationships but applicable for anyone involved in the creative process.
Covers: structure, department relationships, Briefs, idea generation, evaluating creative work and feedback
The slides from my inaugural creative brief writing workshop. Theory and practice. Attendees had to complete a brief prior to the session, and their work was used to illustrate best brief writing practice. More sessions to follow.
These are the slides from a workshop I delivered for the CIPR Scotland. It was a PR professionals workshop, meant to give them the skills to take a proper creative brief in order to, in turn, brief a designer to produce the creatives.
One of the most helpful ways you can ensure your designer delivers work that wows you is by telling them exactly what you’re looking for up front. That’s where your creative brief comes in.
Here, Tim Reid of The Small Business Big Marketing Show and Aleks Witko of 99designs will walk you through the best practices of writing a great creative brief—one that puts your designer on the right track for delivering you a design solution that truly fits your business and your brand.
I've been teaching entrepreneurship to designers for just over a year now, but I've been amazed at swift and powerful the results are. Designers feel able to participate in hard product discussions, uncover and promote insights to improve the business model and even make better decisions about their personal life, from salary negotiation to budget making. That's bc entrepreneurship is a microcosm of business, simple yet complete. Along with technology and user research, business must be a common core in design education. Entrepreneurship is the best way to do it.
Back to basics: Creative brief workshop
Becky McOwen-Banks
Before great creative work can be done it's key to create the environment in which creative work can be produced.
In this pres we look at the processes and provide a few tips for those with a hankering for effective creative work. Skewed for the in-house relationships but applicable for anyone involved in the creative process.
Covers: structure, department relationships, Briefs, idea generation, evaluating creative work and feedback
The slides from my inaugural creative brief writing workshop. Theory and practice. Attendees had to complete a brief prior to the session, and their work was used to illustrate best brief writing practice. More sessions to follow.
These are the slides from a workshop I delivered for the CIPR Scotland. It was a PR professionals workshop, meant to give them the skills to take a proper creative brief in order to, in turn, brief a designer to produce the creatives.
One of the most helpful ways you can ensure your designer delivers work that wows you is by telling them exactly what you’re looking for up front. That’s where your creative brief comes in.
Here, Tim Reid of The Small Business Big Marketing Show and Aleks Witko of 99designs will walk you through the best practices of writing a great creative brief—one that puts your designer on the right track for delivering you a design solution that truly fits your business and your brand.
I've been teaching entrepreneurship to designers for just over a year now, but I've been amazed at swift and powerful the results are. Designers feel able to participate in hard product discussions, uncover and promote insights to improve the business model and even make better decisions about their personal life, from salary negotiation to budget making. That's bc entrepreneurship is a microcosm of business, simple yet complete. Along with technology and user research, business must be a common core in design education. Entrepreneurship is the best way to do it.
Our Agency Management Playbook is a planning methodology that highlights our premium tool-kit of premium tools & templates to help you develop a streamlined approach to agency selection, management and evaluation.
Slides from the talk I gave at NXNE in Toronto and Halifax Pop Explosion. The corresponding sketchnotes by @IainKeith are here: http://bit.ly/T9BLwC
It’s time for the ultimate face-off: People vs. Brands.
We dissected six of the biggest trends in our industry, including storytelling, transmedia, entrepreneurialism, curation, influence & cause marketing. We looked at best-in-class examples from both brands and people.
After determining who comes out on top, we looked at what we can learn from the winner and how to apply key learnings to brand communications & marketing strategies.
This Presentation was delivered by Sir Eric Seyram A at the “iSpace Women’s Entrepreneurs” Program. organised by ispace, a technology hub in Accra supporting start ups and in partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs,
The program was a three-week intensive program aimed at women entrepreneurs who are looking to create a winning business proposal and business pitch. Participants were coached by Sir Eric Seyram A and other industry experts on how to write their business proposal and present themselves to potential investors. Some selected business proposals got a sponsored package from iSpace and also a one on one mentoring with few of the leading women in business in Ghana today.
The program run from 1st April to 18th April 2014 within which there were 9 lecture sessions.
The presentation was captioned Carving your Marketing Strategy and sought to orient participants on how they can create value for their customers and other stakeholders to ensure competitiveness, profitability and sustainability.
Free Download on How to stop writing Ugly Creative Briefs
The Creative Brief should help Brand Leaders to control the strategy, yet give freedom on execution. Brand leaders have this backwards, giving freedom on the strategy with various options in the brief, and yet control the execution with a long list of mandatories and direction on style of advertising. But really, you want “creative” options, not strategic options. You should write a very tight brief, based on the strategy you decided on, before you even wrote the brief. Slow down and let your strategic thinking prevail. Brand leaders try to control the outcome of the creative process so they write a long list of mandatories in the brief, they try to steer the type of advertising they want to see, or don’t want to see. You should allow the creative process to unfold, as you always hold the power of decision. Go faster with your instincts to not over-think great ideas.
Through this ebook, you can learn how to strengthen your brand, build the best website for your business, and optimize your site to make it easier for people to discover on Google.
Over the last year, we’ve done several customer insights projects for clients using the 'Jobs To Be Done' framework. We’ve done this for companies in management consulting, consumer packaged goods, and apparel. Doing 60-minute interviews with one customer at a time and distilling that information has been some of the most interesting work I’ve done in my career. Here’s how we do it and why it’s worth doing.
Startup and social media how to effectively execute your social media marketi...Dr. Deepika Salwankar
Today, we live in the world built around content and chaos. All brands, with any kind of budget want to get their message across to the same consumer through social media. In a world that is fighting for the 8-second attention span of a consumer, it’s easy for a startup to get overwhelmed while figuring out a social media strategy. Creating a brand presence and breaking through the clutter may not be an easy task, but it can get easier if you follow the five key steps.
This is the hottest ad sales seminar around and has been for years ...targeted to magazine executives....FOLIO, the CRMA, hundreds of publishers sales meetings and ad sales conferance
5 big bets to drive growth in 2024 without one additional marketing dollar AND how to adapt to the biggest shifting eCommerce trend- AI.
1) Romance Your Customers - Retention
2) ‘Alternative’ Lead Gen - Advocacy
3) The Beautiful Basics - Conversion Rate Optimization
4) Land that Bottom Line - Profitability
5) Roll the Dice - New Business Models
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
Monthly Social Media News Update May 2024Andy Lambert
TL;DR. These are the three themes that stood out to us over the course of last month.
1️⃣ Social media is becoming increasingly significant for brand discovery. Marketers are now understanding the impact of social and budgets are shifting accordingly.
2️⃣ Instagram’s new algorithm and latest guidance will help us maintain organic growth. Instagram continues to evolve, but Reels remains the most crucial tool for growth.
3️⃣ Collaboration will help us unlock growth. Who we work with will define how fast we grow. Meta continues to evolve their Creator Marketplace and now TikTok are beginning to push ‘collabs’ more too.
Search Engine Marketing - Competitor and Keyword researchETMARK ACADEMY
Over 2 Trillion searches are made per day in Google search, which means there are more than 2 Trillion visits happening across the websites of the world wide web.
People search various questions, phrases or words. But some words and phrases are searched
more often than others.
For example, the words, ‘running shoes’ are searched more often than ‘best road running
shoes for men’
These words or phrases which people use to search on Google are called Keywords.
Some keywords are searched more often than others. Number of times a keyword is searched
for in a month is called keyword volume.
Some keywords have more relevant results than others. For the phrase “running shoes” we
get more than 80M relevant results, whereas for “best road running shoes for men” we get
only 8.
The former keyword ‘running shoes’ has way more competition from popular websites to
new and small blogs, whereas the latter keyword doesn’t have that much competition. This
search competition for a keyword is called search difficulty of a keyword or keyword
difficulty.
In other words, if the keyword difficulty is ‘low’ or ‘easy’, there won’t be any competition
and if you target such keywords on your site, you can easily rank on the front page of Google.
Some keywords are searched for, just to know or to learn some information about something,
that’s their search intention. For example, “What shoe size should I choose?” or “How to pick
the right shoe size?”
These keywords which are searched just to know about stuff are called informational
keywords. Typically people who are searching this type of keywords are top of a Conversion
funnel.
Conversion funnel is the journey that search visitors go through on their way to an email
subscription or a premium subscription to the services you offer or a purchase of products
you sell or recommend using your referral link.
For some buyers, research is the most important part when they have to buy a product.
Depending on that, their journey either widens or narrows down. These types of buyers are
Researchers and they spend more time with informational keywords.
Conversion is the action you want from your search visitors. Number of conversions that you
get for every 100 search visitors is called Conversion rate.
People who are at different stages of a conversion funnel use different types of keywords.
SMM Cheap - No. 1 SMM panel in the worldsmmpanel567
Boost your social media marketing with our SMM Panel services offering SMM Cheap services! Get cost-effective services for your business and increase followers, likes, and engagement across all social media platforms. Get affordable services perfect for businesses and influencers looking to increase their social proof. See how cheap SMM strategies can help improve your social media presence and be a pro at the social media game.
For too many years marketing and sales have operated in silos...while in some forward thinking companies, the two organizations work together to drive new opportunity development and revenue. This session will explore the lessons learned in that beautiful dance that can occur when marketing and sales work together...to drive new opportunity development, account expansion and customer satisfaction.
No, this is not a conversation about MQLs and SQLs. Instead we will focus on a framework that allows the two organizations to drive company success together.
Videos are more engaging, more memorable, and more popular than any other type of content out there. That’s why it’s estimated that 82% of consumer traffic will come from videos by 2025.
And with videos evolving from landscape to portrait and experts promoting shorter clips, one thing remains constant – our brains LOVE videos.
So is there science behind what makes people absolutely irresistible on camera?
The answer: definitely yes.
In this jam-packed session with Stephanie Garcia, you’ll get your hands on a steal-worthy guide that uncovers the art and science to being irresistible on camera. From body language to words that convert, she’ll show you how to captivate on command so that viewers are excited and ready to take action.
A.I. (artificial intelligence) platforms are popping up all the time, and many of them can and should be used to help grow your brand, increase your sales and decrease your marketing costs.In this presentation:We will review some of the best AI platforms that are available for you to use.We will interact with some of the platforms in real-time, so attendees can see how they work.We will also look at some current brands that are using AI to help them create marketing messages, saving them time and money in the process. Lastly, we will discuss the pros and cons of using AI in marketing & branding and have a lively conversation that includes comments from the audience.
Key Takeaways:
Attendees will learn about LLM platforms, like ChatGPT, and how they work, with preset examples and real time interactions with the platform. Attendees will learn about other AI platforms that are creating graphic design elements at the push of a button...pre-set examples and real-time interactions.Attendees will discuss the pros & cons of AI in marketing + branding and share their perspectives with one another. Attendees will learn about the cost savings and the time savings associated with using AI, should they choose to.
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
Come learn how YOU can Animate and Illuminate the World with Generative AI's Explosive Power. Come sit in the driver's seat and learn to harness this great technology.
The What, Why & How of 3D and AR in Digital CommercePushON Ltd
Vladimir Mulhem has over 20 years of experience in commercialising cutting edge creative technology across construction, marketing and retail.
Previously the founder and Tech and Innovation Director of Creative Content Works working with the likes of Next, John Lewis and JD Sport, he now helps retailers, brands and agencies solve challenges of applying the emerging technologies 3D, AR, VR and Gen AI to real-world problems.
In this webinar, Vladimir will be covering the following topics:
Applications of 3D and AR in Digital Commerce,
Benefits of 3D and AR,
Tools to create, manage and publish 3D and AR in Digital Commerce.
Mastering Multi-Touchpoint Content Strategy: Navigate Fragmented User JourneysSearch Engine Journal
Digital platforms are constantly multiplying, and with that, user engagement is becoming more intricate and fragmented.
So how do you effectively navigate distributing and tailoring your content across these various touchpoints?
Watch this webinar as we dive into the evolving landscape of content strategy tailored for today's fragmented user journeys. Understanding how to deliver your content to your users is more crucial than ever, and we’ll provide actionable tips for navigating these intricate challenges.
You’ll learn:
- How today’s users engage with content across various channels and devices.
- The latest methodologies for identifying and addressing content gaps to keep your content strategy proactive and relevant.
- What digital shelf space is and how your content strategy needs to pivot.
With Wayne Cichanski, we’ll explore innovative strategies to map out and meet the diverse needs of your audience, ensuring every piece of content resonates and connects, regardless of where or how it is consumed.
25. strategy in military terms: a
plan of action designed to
achieve a particular goal.
tactic in military terms:
employing available means
to accomplish objective.
26. a [quick] look at the traditional
ad agency departments.
28. anthropologist
support for account
right hand to client
investigator
voice of clarity
researcher
inspiration to creative
investigator
brief writer
voice of consumer
29. there is no such
thing as a
[typical] day in
the life but let’s
imagine.
31. the brief
• qualitative or quantitative research
• getting a client brief
• workshops with product insight team
• competitive analysis
• developing positioning statements
• testing already developed key messages
32. the brief
• getting client and creative to buy-in
• thinking of different ways in
• brainstorming with creative team
• making sure creative is on brief
• tweaking the brief to match the work
• sending inspiration to creative team
• writing set-up story slides for the work
• presenting work to client
• making decisions based on performance
38. about
the
brief.
ü it’s a source of clarity, inspiration and direction.
ü every planner has their own style.
ü every agency has their own template.
ü some briefs are left open while others are written tightly.
ü creative appreciates thought starters
ü client and account typically approve the brief.
ü a brief doesn’t have to be a piece of paper.
ü some people ignore briefs.
ü others edit them until the end.
39. “this tension between control and freedom is at the heart of
creative briefing. getting it right isn’t easy. however, i
believe that whilst you need to rigidly control and give
clarity about the problem you are asking creativity to fix,
being open-minded and giving people freedom in how
they solve it is the smartest thing any briefer can do.”
- Pete Heskett, art of the brief
40.
41. BACKGROUND
ü what is the objective?
what is the problem (awareness, trial, sales)?
ü what is the real problem (price, cultural irrelevance, unclear product benefit)?
ü what category are we in?
AUDIENCE
ü who are we talking to?
ü what do we know about them demographically or psychologically?
ü are they users or non-users of our brand (retain vs. recruit)
INSIGHT AND STRATEGY
ü after looking through the lens of culture, consumer, brand and category, what is our target insight?
ü using our target insight, what is the plan we want to make for our communications?
REASONS TO BELIEVE
ü what are the brand and product truths that support our strategy?
IDEAL OUTCOME
ü after our target sees our ad, what do we want them to think, do or feel?
MANDATORIES AND CONSIDERATIONS
ü what are we making?
ü what should the creatives keep in mind when developing the work?
TIMING
ü when do we go to market?
BUDGET
ü how much money to we have to play with?
43. 1. write, re-write and write again.
2. running a napkin with doodles on it to a colleague
is allowed.
3. the words should jump off of a page.
4. the briefing moment does not have to be in a
room.
5. know it’s the first step in the creative process and
not the last step in the strategy process.
6. client and account typically approve the brief
44. possible challenges with client briefs:
• no clear problem [often something like increase
awareness or sales by x%]
• unclear how success is measured [often confusion
between marketing goals and advertising goals]
• many people write them with different intentions
[maybe someone wants to please their boss,
maybe someone wants to win an award]
• sometimes there is no general direction
49. let’s practice.
why?
the battery is dead.
why?
the alternator is not functioning.
why?
the alternator belt has broken.
why?
the alternator was well beyond its useful service life and not
replaced.
why?
the vehicle was not maintained according to the
recommended service schedule.
50. how to go about finding the real problem.
ask many, many questions.
rephrase the problem.
challenge the assumptions that come in.
fill your brain with goodness.
you’ll have the chance to ask clients about their creative brief
and to ask consumers about their hopes, dreams and fears.
example: when an executive asked employees to brainstorm
ways to increase productivity, he got blank stares. but when
he rephrased his request as ways to make their job easier, he
couldn’t keep up with the load of suggestions.
remove bias, come up with different ways of looking at the
category and provided problem. example, if you’re working
on a restaurant brand, don’t assume they have a clear menu.
this is a great time to fill your mind with as much information
about the current category, competition, audience, historical
advertising and product.
58. Product
an issue with the way the
object works, doesn’t work or
is priced and like can’t count
on advertising to change it
59. Brand
there is a perception of the
brand that is weighing it
down that can likely be
solved with advertising
60. Communications
a problem with customer service,
an advertising touch point along
the customer journey, or
something in media that is
hurting the brand that can likely
be helped with advertising.
61. Audience
there’s a thought or behavior
with the intended audience that’s
between he/she and the brand
or the current audience is the
wrong audience, and can likely
be solved with advertising.
62. Category
the competition is doing
something better, your brand is in
the wrong category, and can likely
be helped with advertising.
63. the key to uncovering
insights was given to you
at a very young age.
65. c a t e g o r y
what category are we in?
what is the pricing and features of the different products?
who else is in our category?
what category could we be in?
can we re-define the category?
66. c o n s u m e r
what is the current behavior of our consumer?
how do we want to change their behavior?
what words do we want our consumer to use when telling
their friend about us?
what are their conflicts, passions and goals?
who are they influenced by?
72. c o m p a n y
what are the functional and emotional benefits?
what is your client’s goal?
what is their boss’s goal?
what is the company’s goal for this advertising campaign?
what is the company’s goal for the next five years?
73.
74. 1. Pick a brand or product
2. Label the end points
3. Fill it in
77. c u l t u r e
what is happening in the world right now?
can the product tie to a movement?
is the brand going with a cultural trend or against it?
is there a specific group of people that we can focus on?
example: if it’s known that many new yorkers are waking up
earlier than ever before, how can a brand or product fit into
the 7am time slot?
78.
79.
80. PURCHASE FUNNEL METRICS
awareness, purchase intent, consideration, loyalty
BRAND ATTRIBUTES
personality descriptors, product attributes,
customer satisfaction
THE CREATIVE
brand archeology, current campaigns, social
media audit
81.
82. congratulations! you just
opened your own advertising
agency and you landed your
first client without having to
ever meet them. you have an
initial meeting to learn about
their business. what do you ask
them?
85. pretend these are your brands. what
does a successful headline in the
wall street journal look like?
86.
87.
88.
89.
90. now let’s get to an
in-class
assignment in
prep for the big
weekly one.
91.
92. your client is peet’s coffee.
the owner is planning on closing all stores on the west coast unless
each store increases its yearly revenue by 15%.
your assignment is to:
1. identify the problem/s [product, brand, communications,
audience, category] and articulate it back in an inspiring way
2. with the problem in mind, conduct and then present your
research plan on how you got to your problem
3. write a creative brief for your [imagine] creative team that they
would use to come up with a campaign
4 [bonus]: put a few creative ideas on paper
93. it’s arguably the best job in the world
five learned lessons from
being a planner.
the skills are transferable
planners aren’t needed to make work but are there to make the work better
inspiration fades. stay with it and get out there
planners don’t need the answers but need to know how to get them later
95. it’s time to say
goodbye.
and hello to the best
three months of your
darn life.
96.
97.
98. The CEO found $50 million dollars in
his pocket.
he has 6 months to turn the brand
around and has agreed to use all of the
found money for a marketing
campaign.
what would you recommend?
best strategy and creative wins.