DSTNCT Pte Ltd – Planners

Summary

Account planners are responsible for creating the communication strategy for an advertising campaign. This includes targeting the right audience, as well as setting the tone and message of the campaign.

Planners are responsible for writing the formal brief and for providing the ideal environment for creative development.

They combine market data, qualitative research and product knowledge within a brief to enable the creative team to produce innovative ideas that will reach consumers.

Planners can be involved in working with a number of clients at the same time, and will need to identify the specific business needs for each one

Responsibilities

• Liaising with clients to identify specific business problems and develop ideas;

• communicating with colleagues within the agency, such as creatives and account managers, in the process of developing a campaign;

• Gaining a comprehensive context for advertising strategies by analysing a wide range of information in great detail, including demographics, socio-economics and the market for the client's product and market share;

• Commissioning research from outside organisations to inform advertising strategies, using both qualitative methods, such as focus groups and structured interviews, and quantitative methods, such as demographic profiling and questionnaires;

• Running research groups;

• Finding an 'angle' on a specific product or service on which to base an advertising campaign;

• Researching the product or service to be advertised, which may involve gaining technical or specific knowledge;

• Reconciling the differences between consumers' current perceptions of the brand and the way the client wishes the brand to be perceived;

• Meeting the client to learn the background of the brand and advising on possible approaches to the target market;

• Providing the creative team with a clearly defined brief that contains concise information on the product, audience and strategy;

• Presenting conclusions and ideas to clients and other agency staff;

• Analysing and interpreting client response and sales data to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign.

Required Skills

• A combination of analytical skills, curiosity, and a strong interest in people;

• Creativity and imagination (this is an industry that is receptive to new ideas and new people);

• Shrewd common sense and commercial awareness;

• Strong communication skills;

• Teamworking skills with the ability to listen to, and be sensitive to, consumers, clients and colleagues;

• Presentation skills;

• Ability to think strategically;

• Ability to work with a wide range of market and research information;

• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to work under pressure.