Introduction
In the world of advertising, we often picture creative geniuses coming up with brilliant ideas in swanky offices. However, behind every successful ad campaign, there's an unsung hero: the account planner. Jon Steel's book "Truth, Lies and Advertising" pulls back the curtain on this crucial role, revealing how account planners bridge the gap between clients, creative teams, and consumers to create truly effective advertising.
This book summary will take you on a journey through the art of account planning, exploring the key ideas and strategies that make it such a vital part of the advertising process. We'll discover how account planners conduct research, develop creative briefs, and work with both clients and creative teams to bring compelling campaigns to life. Along the way, we'll see real-world examples of account planning in action, including the development of the iconic "got milk?" campaign.
The Role of the Account Planner
Account planners are the unsung heroes of the advertising world. They play a crucial role in bringing together three essential elements: the client's business interests, the agency's creative team, and consumer needs. Unlike the stereotypical image of untrustworthy ad executives, account planners strive to create meaningful connections between brands and their audiences.
The primary responsibilities of an account planner include:
- Conducting consumer research
- Developing information briefs
- Analyzing sales figures and other relevant data
- Keeping the creative team focused on target consumers
- Communicating client needs effectively
Account planners don't make the final decisions, but they provide the foundation for great ideas to flourish. They work closely with a limited number of clients (ideally no more than three at a time) to ensure they can dedicate enough time and energy to each project.
The Isuzu Rodeo Example
To illustrate the account planner's role, let's look at a project the author worked on for Isuzu. Steel hosted focus groups at dealerships to understand the customer base for different models. He discovered that the Rodeo model attracted adventurous types. Armed with this insight, he shared the information with the creative team, who then developed a commercial featuring a young father and son visiting a toy store. In the ad, they find an Isuzu Rodeo packaged like a toy car, with the tagline: "The Rodeo. Grow up. Not old."
This example shows how the account planner's research directly informs the creative process, resulting in a campaign that resonates with the target audience.
The Art of Consumer Research
One of the most critical skills for an account planner is the ability to conduct effective consumer research. This involves asking the right questions, creating a comfortable environment for participants, and analyzing the results carefully.
Asking the Right Questions
When interviewing consumers, it's essential to ask questions that reveal how a product fits into their lives. Some key points to remember:
- Don't be afraid to ask obvious questions
- Avoid questions that only produce one answer
- Create a comfortable environment for participants
- Use a conversational interviewing style
The author learned the importance of asking obvious questions when he discovered that many people underestimated their milk consumption. By asking, "How much milk do you drink?" he found that participants often forgot about milk in their coffee or on their cereal.
Creating a Comfortable Environment
To get the most accurate and useful information from consumers, it's crucial to create a relaxed atmosphere. Some effective strategies include:
- Conducting interviews in private homes rather than research facilities
- Watching consumers use products in their natural environment
- Lending products to participants for independent testing before discussions
For example, Sega account planners observed kids playing video games in their own rooms, which provided valuable insights into their gaming habits and preferences.
The Creative Brief: Bridging Research and Creativity
After conducting thorough research, the account planner's next crucial task is to prepare a creative brief. This document serves as a bridge between the research findings and the creative team's work. The creative brief should be simple, casual, and designed to facilitate the flow of ideas.
Key Elements of a Creative Brief
Every creative brief should include the following information:
- Business problems the campaign should address
- Specific campaign objectives and desired effects
- The target audience
- Concrete knowledge about the target consumers
- The proposition - a core message written as one simple sentence
The proposition is perhaps the most critical element of the brief, as it's what the creative team will try to convey in the final advertisement.
Bringing the Brief to Life
To make the creative brief more engaging and inspiring, account planners should include ideas on how to convey the proposition in an entertaining way. Often, these ideas come directly from the research process.
For example, during a focus group for Cuervo tequila, the author noticed participants' reactions when asked to imagine a guest arriving with a bottle of Cuervo. Their body language clearly communicated that Cuervo equaled party. This observation led to the proposition: "A party waiting to happen."
Collaboration with the Creative Team
Once the account planner presents the creative brief, it's time for the creative team to take the preliminary ideas and add their unique flair. This collaborative process often results in unexpected and brilliant outcomes.
The Sega Example
When working on the Sega account, the author's research showed that kids preferred Sega's console to Nintendo's. In his creative brief, he compared the experience of using the console to getting called up to play in baseball's Major Leagues, describing it as getting called up to "The Show."
The creative team liked the concept but translated it from baseball terminology to gamer language. In just 30 seconds, they came up with the winning tagline: "Welcome to the next level." This example demonstrates how the creative team can take the account planner's insights and transform them into powerful, memorable messages.
Incorporating Client Feedback and Consumer Response
The account planner's job doesn't end with the creative brief. After the creative team develops the campaign, it's the planner's responsibility to make improvements by testing consumer response and incorporating client feedback.
The Foster Farms Campaign
For the Foster Farms account, the core message was that their chicken was more expensive but natural, fresh, and local – not frozen and imported. The creative team developed a commercial featuring chicken puppets driving to California, trying to pass themselves off as high-quality Foster Farms chickens. Their car was cluttered with empty beer cans and cigarettes.
However, the president of Foster Farms didn't like the alcohol and nicotine props. The client asked the agency to scrap the chicken puppets and develop two new concepts. The creative team complied but also improved the original idea by replacing the beer and cigarettes with junk food.
When the account planner tested all three concepts in focus groups, people were most excited about the puppet chickens. These results ultimately convinced the Foster Farms president to go with the original concept, albeit with the modifications.
This example illustrates how the account planner navigates between client expectations and consumer preferences, finding a solution that satisfies both parties.
Case Study: The "got milk?" Campaign
To see how all these elements come together in practice, let's examine the development of one of the most famous advertising campaigns of all time: "got milk?"
The Client and Research Phase
The client was the California Fluid Milk Processors Advisory Board (CFMPAB), which wanted to increase milk consumption. The author began by researching declining milk consumption trends and identifying target customers.
Key findings from the research included:
- Many people were drinking less milk because they thought it was boring, childish, and fatty.
- People typically drank milk in combination with something else.
- Consumers often forgot how much they enjoyed milk with certain foods.
The Creative Brief and Campaign Development
Based on these insights, the author's creative brief outlined a strategy to remind consumers to stock up on milk and avoid feelings of deprivation. The idea was to create desire for certain foods, which would, in turn, create a greater desire for milk.
The creative team developed the campaign around this concept, portraying milk as an essential companion for certain foods. This led to the birth of the "got milk?" tagline.
Testing and Implementation
The campaign was first tested on TV and then on billboards near grocery stores, as research showed that milk consumption primarily happened at home. The campaign also ran in magazines, featuring a photograph of a chocolate chip cookie with a bite missing and the "got milk?" tagline underneath.
Focus groups demonstrated that the campaign was raising awareness of milk, making people more likely to stock up at the store.
Results
The "got milk?" campaign launched in 1993 and quickly showed impressive results. Milk consumption in California outpaced every other state, and when the campaign expanded nationally in 1995, it achieved similar success across the country.
This case study exemplifies how the account planning process – from initial research to creative brief development, collaboration with the creative team, and consumer testing – can result in a truly iconic and effective advertising campaign.
The Importance of Broadening Perspectives
Throughout the book, Steel emphasizes the importance of broadening one's perspective as an account planner. Inspiration can come from anywhere, so it's crucial for agency staff, especially account planners, to:
- Read non-business books and magazines
- Talk about ideas with people outside the industry
- Seek out diverse experiences and viewpoints
By cultivating a curious and open mindset, account planners can bring fresh insights and ideas to their work, ultimately leading to more innovative and effective advertising campaigns.
Conclusion: The Art of Human Connection in Advertising
"Truth, Lies and Advertising" reveals the crucial role that account planners play in creating meaningful, effective advertising campaigns. By bridging the gap between clients, creative teams, and consumers, account planners ensure that advertisements resonate with their intended audience and achieve their business objectives.
Key takeaways from the book include:
- The importance of thorough, well-conducted consumer research
- The power of a well-crafted creative brief in guiding the creative process
- The need for collaboration between account planners, creative teams, and clients
- The value of testing and refining campaigns based on consumer feedback
- The potential for truly iconic campaigns when all elements of the account planning process come together
Ultimately, the art of account planning is about creating human connections through advertising. By understanding consumer needs, desires, and behaviors, account planners help brands communicate in ways that are both meaningful and memorable.
As we've seen through examples like the "got milk?" campaign, effective account planning can lead to advertising that not only sells products but also becomes a part of popular culture. It's a testament to the power of understanding people and translating those insights into compelling creative work.
For anyone interested in advertising, marketing, or consumer behavior, "Truth, Lies and Advertising" offers valuable insights into the often-overlooked but essential role of the account planner. It serves as both a practical guide for those in the industry and an eye-opening look at the thought and strategy behind the ads we encounter every day.