(1) 
Instead it's an experiment to try and see if a global network of planners can come up with fast/smart thinking in close to real time.
The IPA (the UK's AAAA's) are doing something very interesting this Monday April 28th.
They have a conference on Fast Strategy.
It's basically planning as you know it, on speed. No time for weeks of research, this is all about coming up with ideas and platforms in hours, not months.
Mark Earls, one of the brains behind Planning for Good is taking part in a live contest against some of the sharpest minds in the London Planning scene and needs to build an army to tackle a brief from the UK Government.
In short, Mark needs you and your brain.
The time difference is a killer for those of us in North America, but perhaps sleep means nothing to you and you will welcome the challenge.
The brief will be available at 10am, London time on Monday 28th and he needs your responses up on his Wiki by Noon, London time.
If you are interested in joining Mark's virtual planning army, please email me at ecotton@bssp.com and I will connect you.
Of course, you need to be a member of Planning for Good to participate.
You can join up here.
Details about the IPA event below..
How can you come up with the right strategy fast? A selection of Adland’s finest will be giving practical advice on how to achieve this at the IPA and Times Media Strategy Conference on Monday 28th April.
Speakers will include:
- Tim Lindsay, President, TBWA Group: 'How taking the disruption approach can help you get to the right answer fast.'
- Tim Hames, Assistant Editor & Chief Leader Writer, The Times: 'What planners can learn from those that write the news and the pressures of doing it fast and accurately.'
- Gurdeep Puri, Head of Effectiveness, and Janey Bullivant, Board Planning Director, Leo Burnett: 'How, counter to popular belief, data can help you to get to the answers fast'.
- Jon Wilkins, Founder, Naked: 'Fast strategy in a media environment'.
- Stuart Smith, Head of Planning, Wieden & Kennedy London: 'Strategic and creative dovetailing - Fast'.
- Rob Forshaw, Founding Partner, Grand Union: 'How to develop thinking quickly from a digital perspective'.
These short, sharp and fast presentations will be presented throughout the morning, whilst leading communications consultant Mark Earls; Phil Georgiadis, Chairman of Walker Media; Johnny Hornby, Founding Partner of CHI & Partners, and their respective teams, will be putting into practice what they do best and responding to a highly realistic but fictitious COI brief, set and delivered by Peter Buchanan, Deputy Chief Executive, COI.
You, the audience, will then get the opportunity to vote for who you think is the fastest strategist in town, when these three teams return to the stage in the afternoon to pitch live in front of the audience.
Says Guy Murphy, Chairman IPA Strategy Group and Worldwide Planning Director, JWT, “The most important skill that strategists need to learn in this era is speed. The quality of a strategic answer is now partly determined by the time taken to create it. Slow-baked strategy, no matter how good, can never be great.”
The conference will take place between 9am-5pm on Monday 28th April at the Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 0AE.
Posted by Ed Cotton
interesting blog. now that i am part of an interactive media platform, i understand what fast truly means. i think not doing research is imperative, but can only be executed by a team (collaboration is key) of diverese members. Some of them have a foundation of knowledge, others are stronger in the creative intuition area, etc. on a separate note, i think columbia should doing something on YouTube.