Influx Insights Tag Feed: zeusjones

in the age of collaboration- planners need to build toolboxes

Influx Insights — 2007-08-10T10:23:50Z

I decided not to post details on the second and third day’s sessions at the AAAAs Planning Conference (I wasn’t there for Bruce Mau and Day 3!) and instead reflect on my overall experiences of the event.

As usual, it was a great with lots of interesting stimuli and conversation, congrats to the organizers, especially the co-chairs Catrina McAuliffe and Suzanne Powers.

Firstly, I want to acknowledge a couple of observations and glaring omissions from the presentation on blogging that Aki and I made on Tuesday.

1.   We shouldn’t have had blogging in our title- it was a turn off- I heard that some people decided not attend because they thought it would be too technical.

2.   We failed to acknowledge one huge problem that our research didn’t uncover and only dawned on me during the conversations that happened after the presentation. For many planners, it’s not that they aren’t motivated and ready to blog; it’s their agency systems that conspire against it. Bureaucracy appears to be holding back many voices. One big system agency has taken 9 months to write a brief for its blogging initiative.

3.   Toolset- We gave a good roadmap for people for those who already have a blog and want to make it better, but we didn’t do it for people who want to get started. They are similar, but have subtle differences. I want to work on that, so stay tuned.

My big take away from the conference was the critical importance of toolsets and/or having strong philosophy about the world and our world because you can shape your agency around it.

It was in Stephen Walker of Headmint’s presentation, it was all over Eat Big Fish’s and expressed as suggested by Zeus Jones, who shared a philosophy, this is something that most agencies don’t have, it describes, not just how they see the world, but also what they plan to do about it.

All the great thinking in the world counts for nothing unless you have platform that can help generate and use it.

The “toolset” is the pathway that helps generate thinking and turns thinking into something. Adam Morgan’s all seeing Third Eye would be meaningless without a pathway that can help you mine, extract and use observation and ideas.

This is critical because today the chances of the “Lone Wolf Guru” identifying and implementing a brilliant idea on his or her own inside an organization are less than zero.

It was clear from the conference that we’ve entered the age of collaboration, both inside clients and agencies, something that can only succeed with new sharing and learning tools.

It’s clearly incumbent on all planners to develop toolsets beyond the creative brief that help them work with others to generate powerful insight to create new ideas to transform a client’s business.

The more structured the process, the better the results will be.

Finally, back to the subject of the conference, here are 5 pieces of advice for next year’s conference committee, if they choose to listen.

1.   Get more people up onto stages- shorter sessions and more of them- think Barcamp and snack-sized 10 minute shows

2.   More diversity- Fewer white male ad planners with British accents and more planner practioners from new worlds like usability, connections planning and design

3.   Keep bringing in the inspiring showmen-as long as they have a great and relevant story to tell- more Sir Kens and more Eric Ryans

4.   Bring some diverse thinkers into the breakouts –writers, photographers, designers, architects, artists and people from the non profit world- this new planning generation wants to do good

5. Add workshops where planners get to do something as giant teams- attack a problem- like how to make the conference better!

Posted by Ed Cotton

aaaa's planning conference- zeus jones and the future of planning

Influx Insights — 2007-08-09T01:36:18Z

I spent my afternoon trying to discover, for the trillionth time in my life, where planning is heading, with Headmint’s Stephen Walker and Adrian Ho and Rob White of Zeus Jones.

Stephen talked about how Headmint has evolved into a consulting company, who’s business is creating formats and toolboxes to help others identify creative solutions.

He suggested planners should develop a new set of tools because the ones they are using are 20 years out of date. He challenged planners to get out of their regimented Groundhog Day like world and become more Minority Report/Precrime like, a space where they could use their “gymnastic imaginations”.

He picked apart the Creative Brief as a static document that has a limited role in a dynamic world. According to Walker, the brief should be more like a “slowly developing photograph” and evolve over time and should ask questions and suggest potential consumer responses, rather than a static proposition.

He suggests that we look at media in a new way by understanding the benefits consumers derive from different media as a route in.

Finally, he cautioned planners from rushing full bore into the revolution without checking with their culture first. He wanted planners to make sure they matched their evolved process to their agency culture and rolled it out in small steps.

Next on my agenda were Rob White and Adrian Ho of Zeus Jones, who both had enough with talking and blogging about change and decided to do something about it.

Their creation is a DoTank. Their whole pitch is about developing marketing that creates value for the consumer; value creation, instead of creactive communication. Something that any brand can now do because of Web 2.0.

Rob White suggested the catalyst for Zeus Jones is the flawed advertising industry model that’s fixated on lowering unit costs and winning creative awards.

They also believe the ad industry is full of smart planners, who can’t unlock their potential because they are limited to feeding the ad making machine. It’s a wrongly configured system designed to identify ad making opportunities, not business building ideas.

Zeus Jones has a single minded motivation- grow the client’s business and they only get paid if they can do this.

They harkened back to Sir Ken’s morning session when talking about their flat five-person structure, one that obviously allows ideas to come from anywhere and anyone.

Rob ended the session on a positive note by suggesting how planning had the power to help re-invent the ad industry just like it had done in the UK in the 1960s.

For those less interested in battling their own culture, perhaps ZJ is the future of planning, a world with more agency/consultancy start-ups led by planners.

Posted by Ed Cotton

alive from san diego- 800 planners gather for their annual fest

Influx Insights — 2007-08-05T19:11:03Z

I am now here in the surprisingly humid San Diego for the AAAA's annual planning smoozefest with 800 planners- including 11 from Google and 29 from TBWA Chiat Day LA.

There were things to look forward to today, like the baseball game I was supposed to attend with Gareth Kay, Mark Lewis, Mark Earls and others, but I am sure they told me it was Wednesday.

Here’s what I am looking forward to over the next few days.

Sir Ken Robinson – If anyone saw him at TED or at least the film on the TED website- he is spectacular

Mark Barden and Adam Morgan’s- Third Eye- Perhaps a preview of Adam’s new book?

Adrian Ho and Rob White’s new vision for Planning

Eric Ryan- Planning and San Francisco’s hero of lateral thinking. Eric had the good sense not to give his insights away. Instead, he kept them to himself and built a multi-million dollar business called Method

Bruce Mau- Looking forward to hearing his version of Massive Change and how his thinking has shifted in the last 18 months

I plan to post on the above and more.

Posted by Ed Cotton