Thinking Strategically by Researching Your Future

On the job hunt, there are many obstacles one must overcome in order to succeed and to stand out from the other runners presenting the same qualities you have (or at least to the eyes of who is hiring you). There are 5 types of planners in the market: which one are you, and does your portfolio reflect it?

1. The Creative Account Planners
This type of planner relies only on their instincts. They don’t do any research, and even though this doesn’t mean their strategy isn’t good, sometimes it lacks facts to sustain their theory. Their artistic focus empowers their empirical insight.

2. The Anthropological Account Planner
These planners have an extensive focus on culture, social organization and communication between groups. I firmly believe that it is our job to be social scientists. Often, these people have a solid foundation in research and an understanding of people on a macro level. They are highly adaptable and versatile when learning new things. Their foundation in research is perfectly suited for the role of account planning, and their abilities will shine on the job.

3. The English Major
Specialized in critical thinking, this type of planner does a very good job as a copywriter and they often get their account planner jobs after being first hired as copywriters. Once the agency notices that they have an uncanny sense of understanding how people think, they advance to the awesome role of account planners. Their schooling has taught them to analyze everything critically, as well as observe the world around them for information. These people are excellent at picking out details that others may miss.

Much like the Creative Account Planner, The English Major should be able to write a creative brief that clarifies strategy on a level that it cannot be misinterpreted by other departments.

4. The Observational Account Planner
They need to be key observers, and should be very good at understanding nonverbal communication. If they are going to be paid to run focus groups, it is imperative that they are able to look beyond what is said and written to get to the key points of what we are trying to find.

This type of planner can come from just about any background, especially within liberal arts and journalism. They are curious by nature (as every account planner should be) and have a carnal need to make sense of what they see.

5. The By-the-Numbers Account Planner
You may have no clue what the difference is between a Pierson Correlation and an ANOVA, but these people do. You may not even know why your agency needs to know this, but once again these people do.

If you are running quantitative data, you need someone that can tell you significance. Averages just don’t cut it, especially in high budget campaigns where you are taking a risk.

As Jon Steel wrote in Truth, Lies and Advertising, “The average person has one breast and one testicle.”
These people believe that the greatest insight comes from crunching numbers. If they have traits of the Observational Account Planner then they might just be very well suited for the job.

All of these people have their own qualities; they have a lot to share and to show on their portfolios. However, if you ask me what your portfolio should show in order to stand out from every other portfolio out there, is a planner that has a qualities described in every type of planner.

For me, the perfect planner should have their hands in a bit of everything. They’ve had stats courses, but they are not necessarily statisticians.They should have had classes in design, but are not necessarily artists. They are observers by nature, but they use their gut instincts to give them further facets to look into when designing the strategy from the ground up.

What type of planner are you, and does your portfolio reflect it?