Strategists have failed the advertising industry

Does an ‘engagement planner’ do weddings? Whilst I agree with the premise of the article, the business title unravels everything…

Coming from a guy who’s job title is “engagement planning Director”. Is there also a reach planning director and a sales planning director?

A provocative headline for a fairly well worn line of thinking. Especially in most good modern advertising agencies.
Btw – what is an Engagement Planner?

I consider myself as just doing strategy but point taken 🙂

The author’s use of the word “should” implies a lot of disconfirmed expectations.

all I read in the article was a premise consisting of sweeping, critical points with almost no examples or proof to back the argument up

the kind of argument that a bad strategist would make.

I think he should have planned to put on some sunscreen.
A good strategy.

Oh lord. The perennial planner self-flagelation navel gazing article. Good to keep up the annual traditions.

Does the engagement planning director report into the planning director? Hilarious as your very being undermines your exact argument…. which was first raised over 15 years and gets re-hashed most years. https://lbbonline.com/news/nakeds-will-collin-on-the-future-of-communications-planning/

PS Im guessing the title of ‘engagement planner’ is a euthemism for media planner – and you’ve had no brand planning experience. Which is ok, but we need to realise they are seperate things and therefore – in my opinion they need different titles and we should be happy with that.

PS great you’re having an opinion – thats what planning ultimately is. The more reasoned and helpful the better.

@Henry – if you consider yourself as just doing strategy, please ask your boss to change your job title to “Strategist”.

As a client, I have no clue what engagement planning director is meant to mean or do, I suspect its some internal fluffery used by your agency. Doesnt mean anything to anyone else.

As your article very well argues, strategy is just strategy. The forced fragmentation of it into separate roles done be separate people, I have seen first-hand led to not only inefficiencies but also very bad outcomes.

Bringing all the thinking together and unifying it, rather than fragmenting it, is what I and other marketers I speak to, are looking for.

So strategists have failed the advertising industry and Engagement Planners are the solution?

I think the problem is the creative agency model dictating that every f*cking campaign needs a new strategy.

The brand has a business strategy. The marketing strategy complements that.

That’s it.

No need for a campaign strategy, a digital strategy etc.

You don’t need to have ‘strategy’ in your title to be strategic. Treat creatives with respect and let them execute against a marketing strategy without spoonfeeding them a new brief on an agency template every campaign. We’ve all seen agency briefs where the planner has, more or less, attempted to write the tagline and sends everyone down a dangerous path of not questioning the strategy.

This is exactly why management consultancies are eating agencies’ lunch. Strategy and account management should be one function ie. business consulting. Ultimately it’s about providing services to clients to help them grow their business.

Strategy means plan.
Strategic planner? Tautology.

Henry – how’s your 80’s pop synth band going?

When I conceived the radical new ad agency role later named the planner at Unilever in 1965 and launched it in a Sydney ad agency in 1966 it was the most powerful and most multi-skilled planning role in the very early years. It included skills and experience in [Unilever] marketing, [Unilever] market research, intelligence [with battle experience], planning and advertising [client service, creative writing, media management]. In following years I exhorted the Com Council and APG to pay far greater attention to skills in marketing [business].with very little response. See my articles in 2005/2006 APG newsletters. That is one of the main reasons why management/marketing consultants are moving into advertising industry territory – ad agency chiefs who don’t really understand the true Unilever inspired ad agency planning role and inadequately experienced planners. The ad industry has been “shooting itself in the foot” – again! When will the Com Council and the APG wake up?

Does an engagement planner eventually get promoted to a wedding planner?

Just remember… the best strategists are always bald!

I really loved reading this, hilarious seeing the snowflakes getting grumpy 😉

I love Henry’s point – if there are any agencies or any companies actually that are reading this article, there certainly needs to change.

The last time I checked, Strategy = Plan. Attempting to separate this is the biggest BS I’ve read so far. If we have to explain this article to a 5 year old, hiring a “planner” and a “strategist” is like buying two of the same items. They’re really not that much different. In fact, they are exactly the same. No real reason why there are two and “I” don’t really know what else to get but at least at least we have two.

Not having a go at Henry personally and to be absolutely fair, I understand why our industry has exploded with BS job titles (e.g. staff morale, promotions, we run out of job titles so we will give you a new one that really looks cool to make you happy or you will join us, etc) but to start preaching that whole industry needs to change just because your company has decided to “split” the role does not necessarily mean it’s true nor it’s appropriate for others. Heck, if I am to run a lean team, I’d get rid of the other or not hire for that matter, pay the remaining with a higher salary and hire an additional junior to mentor them so they would have a career path. It’s called paying it forward.

When we start preaching about these stuff, please use common sense. We have a lot of newbies joining the industry and we do not need to make sh-t complicated for them. Not every situation is the same and respecting that when we work, write, speak or “engage” is key in helping the industry better.

Henry, your argument in the piece (& I suggest the thoughts behind them) would have more weight if you were to read / reference / incorporate any text about communication industry specifically.

The history/ies of planning such as Anatomy of Humbug, Paul Feldwick (is the best one IMO) or 98% Pure Potato. And the economics of our industry – Madison Ave Manslaughter by Farmer.

Both of those aspects shape our current industry more than just textbook definitions of strategy (albeit great ones – Rumelt I recommend to everyone).