Amy Dawson (resident goddess of Account Management), John Stertz (that guy is a genius) and I had the opportunity to attend the 2008 Account Planning Conference.
Set on the beautiful beaches of Miami Beach, we were surrounded with some of the best and brightest minds currently calling the planning world “home.” Having attended several conferences over the past few years, my opinion is that this was one of the most interesting, validating and ultimately, inspiring discussions. And considering that our industry is facing some of the most challenging issues in recent years…a little inspiration never hurt.
Here are a few key takeaways from the 2008 Account Planning Conference:
People are no longer waiting to hear from us. Everything we do, as advertisers, must earn the right to have an audience and earn the right to be in their lives, on their bodies, in their minds.
We need to continue to question the effects of all of the forces weighing on consumers today. The election, the stock market, revised downward predictions for 2008 and 2009 advertising investments… all of these elements have proven to be a wake-up call for America. It’s a shifting world, and understanding the landscape and consumer is more important than ever.
We are living in a world where consumers are behind more and more content that is being created, distributed and re-created. And this is something that is happening moment by moment.
We need to get to and deliver better ideas faster. Consumers are changing their minds faster than we can keep up. Becoming part of a conversation, while it’s fresh is where opportunity can be realized. Days of annual campaign planning are fast becoming a thing of the past.
We need to create ideas that people care about. This might mean counseling our clients to take a position or point of view that they might not totally be comfortable with. It’s about giving people something to care about that is bigger than themselves and more important than a simple product truth.
Creativity really is still, and will always be, the business we are in. We just need to be open-minded as to what it means to be creative in today’s tumultuous business environment.
Like I said earlier, this conference really was a source of inspiration. While we may have challenges ahead, we have the talent, dedication and determination to really make a difference in our business. Here’s a deeper recap of the conference.
