Are advertising account planners losing out?

Today, advertising has evolved significantly from the time when the monopoly of the ‘creative agency’ in brand management was all pervasive! With media and creative duties going separate ways, the general perception is that there is no meeting ground between the two. Also, it is felt that the role of the account planner, who was an integral part of the planning process earlier, seems to be diminishing. Independent media agencies seem to have taken charge of contributing to brand strategising, while creative generally ‘toes the line’ in terms of media strategy. Also missing are the significant insights that planners offer to sharpen the brand communication. Account planners seem to be spending most of their time in ‘new pitches’. Bindu Nair quizzed some marketing and advertising stalwarts to get their perspective. Read on…

Santosh Desai

President

McCann Erickson India

In the context mentioned, I feel that it is not merely the account planner but the agency as a whole and ultimately the brand, which is the biggest loser. Brands will suffer in the bargain, given the fact that there is actually no meeting point between the creative and media agency nowadays. With creative and media activities getting segmented, the account planning process gets fragmented. I won’t say that the account planners will lose out or disappear — they will continue doing other tasks assigned to them.

Nirvik Singh

Chairman (South Asia)

Grey Global Group

I don’t feel that the account planner is losing out at all. His job is linked to the agency’s final creative output. In my view, the account planner’s position is only going to get stronger and stronger. Given how accurate the creative output in the industry is, it is a measure of the account planner’s extensive involvement in the final creative product. It is backed by his insights on the fast changing face of consumers today.

Manoj Tadepalli

Head-Marketing

Titan Industries Ltd.

First of all, I don’t understand the difference between good advertising people and account planners. I suspect that in the current scenario, there is a scarcity of talent due to which, a lot of people are being converted into ‘planners’. There are very few account planners left in the business today. Several ‘account planners’, as they exist in the industry today, are not really doing their job. They are supposed to bring meaningful insights into the job — but who is really fulfilling this role?

The earlier system of having one agency to deal with (on both the creative and media side) made more sense. Today, everything is disaggregated as media agencies are more getting skewed towards planning on the marketing side. Creative agencies are left with some sundry market insights, which they work with. The result is that no one really has an informed perspective on the account.

….. To read the entire story, grab your copy of Impact Advertising and Weekly magazine issue dated March 28-April 3