Alan Feldenkris, Director, Client Development & Marketing Innovation at SapientNitro, gave this presentation at "Ambidexterity 2," the VCU Brandcenter's Executive Education program for account planning on June 24th at the VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, VA.

1. The Evolving Role of Advertising

2. 2
But first, a bit about me
Al#Feldenkris,#Account#Man#

3. Great Insight has Always Been Someone’s Job
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4. SapientNitro

5. SapientNitro

6. SapientNitro

7. SapientNitro

8. McDonald’s
Little Giants
1992
VW Funeral
1969
Rooted in Meaningful Insight
Keen Understanding of Target
Refreshing Respect for Target
Totally on-Brand Personality
Strong Benefit Messaging
Well Cra ed
Lingering Quality
Deeply Connected to Popular Culture
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9. Teams
2014
AE
Researcher
Account Planner
Connections Planner
Social Strategist
Copywriter
Art Director
Digital Strategist
UX Designer
Analytics Manager
Other people looking to bill the account
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1969
AE
Researcher
Copywriter
Art Director

10. The advent of planning didn’t invent the need for
deeper, richer consumer understanding, but it did
shine a necessarily bright light upon it
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11. “Planners are involved and integrated in the
creation of marketing strategy and ads. Their
responsibility is to bring the consumer to the
forefront of the process and to inspire the team
to work with the consumer in mind. The planner
has a point of view about the consumer and is
not shy about expressing it.”
LISA FORTINI-CAMPBELL
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12. 12
ChiatDay Account
Planner Job Spec
- BACK IN THE DAY
! Curiosity about what makes people act and think the way they do; capable or real insights into
motivation; someone who understands that what people say is not necessarily what they believe or do;
someone who is detailed enough to examine a problem from different perspectives without losing sight
of the big picture; logical and analytical, yet capable of lateral thought; views research as a means to an
end; not technique-oriented; pragmatic approach to problem solving.
! Ability to conceptualise and think strategically; ability to clearly identify problems (getting to the nub of
it); capable of taking a commercial and making a reasonable judgement/guess on its intended effects
(role of advertising, target consumer, desired responses); intuitive about people, brands and advertising;
able to portray a target consumer without immediately stating demographics; an understanding of
advertising as only one tool in the marketing mix, its potential uses and its limitations; an ability to see
alternate strategic routes for a given problem/brand.
! Numerate. Able to visualise the meaning of numbers and generate hypotheses, or draw conclusions; an
eclectic user of information, with a desire to draw on all sources rather than just the most recent;
someone who accepts nothing at face value, and challenges assumptions until the whole picture (sales,
quantitative, qualitative, competitive info, etc) makes sense.
! Advertising orientation; passionate about the subject, have always been interested in advertising; above
all, someone who enjoys talking about advertising.
! Presentation skills; able to argue a point of view coherently and concisely; not afraid of big or senior
audiences; able to win an argument without making the protagonist (client) feel like a loser; quick-
thinker; able to speak authoritatively, without seeming dogmatic or inflexible.
! People skills; a team player; someone who can appreciate and use inputs from others; someone who
knows when to push and when to relax.
! Great personality! Must be able to see the funny side of it all; to be a participant, not an observer;
involvement must be genuine, not forced; must to able to deal with pressure, unpredictable
circumstances (like jumping on a plane to Wichita at a momentís notice), an informal, loosely structured
work environment, and (occasional) criticism; not territorial nor defensive nor paranoid.

13. 13
But wait a sec…isn’t
that what I do?
YOUNG Al Feldenkris, Account Man

14. 14
I’m really not this guy

15. Where did all this come from?
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16. 16
Besides here…

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1964# 1982# 1988# 1998# 2003#
Recent Industry Evolution
Account#
Planning#comes#
to#the#US#
MergerCmania#
MediaCservice#firms#
Digital#Agencies#
“I joined a fledgling creative agency called Boase Massimi Pollit in London. They wanted to introduce a new position to the team and
called it an Account Planner. Terrible name. Really bad. Very confusing, but what he wanted was someone on the team that was
responsible for the relevance of the advertising to the consumer.” Jane Newman

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“The TV ad was an extra thing, and
therefore, to clients, it was expendable.
They thought it was scary, and started
questioning it: who are all these old guys,
this is horrible, how can our product be
associated with these awful people, it’ll
lead to nightmares…etc. They couldn’t
see how it would blueprint the Apple
brand forever. Quant research was also
telling them some weird stuff. I articulated
the argument for why they should want the
ad. My contribution there was about
persuading the client to run it, against
what market research was telling them.”
MT#Rainey#
The Greatest Ad Ever Made…and Sold?

19. At the Same Time All this Wonderful Stuff was
Going on…
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20. Page 20
1964# 1982# 1988# 1998# 2003#
An Erosion of Account Leadership
Total#strategic,#sales,#business,#team#
and#relaKonship#leadership#
Client#Advocate#and#R
Management#
“I’m#the#guy!”#
Industry#ExperKse,#CreaKve#Brief#and#
Team#Leadership#
Client#RelaKonship#(parKal)#and#
Team#Leadership#

21. OK Enough Whining…
Lets Talk About Our Cra
Leveraging Great Insights and Planning Today
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A New “Golden Age” of
Advertising...
Experiences
Technology

23. 23
A new “Golden Age” of
Advertising

24. 24

25. Story lines become story# S
Y
T
S#
S
E
M
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EXPERIENCESSTORIES VS.
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27. 27
not ads.
WORLDS
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STORYSCAPING
A landscape of emotional engagement and experiences where consumers
connect with stories at any point and in any channel allowing the brand to
become part of the consumer’s story.
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29. And You?
What does your Strategic organization look like?
Where does planning and insight happen?
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30. What’s the Right Balance of People Contributing
to, or Leading the Strategy?
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Does More Specialty
and Do More People
Produce Better Work?

32. In larger companies it can be
tricky
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33. Ambiguity
Communication
Accountability
Matrixed Practices
Leadership
Multiple Voices
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34. Opportunities in
Smaller/Medium Groups
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Dexterity
Cohesion
Shared Thinking
Concentrated Energy
Shared Accountability
Efficiency
Clarity
Nimbleness

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A Client Perspective

37. 37
Where are the
boundaries of Planning
these days?

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“We as people in the industry have tendency to overcomplicate things
Think about mad men and the simplicity…have we over engineered the
cra ?”

39. Page 39
“As agencies scramble to solidify client relationships, move ‘upstream’ as
‘partners’ in the business, and to be quite simply taken seriously as the
experts on consumers and brands that they are, I find planners are
cleaving ever closer to the client, aspiring to be ‘problem-solvers’ and
business partners and consultants… But while they court clients and read
data tabs and steep themselves in consumer and media and technology
trends, they risk neglecting the importance – sometimes even the
transcendence – of great ideas artfully executed.”
- Farah Bostic, Founder, The Difference
Engine, NYC

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“Be more commercially savvy: think operationally and think practicalities
—more of your ideas will get through and you’ll have more credibility.
Be a good storyteller—be provocative and engaging.
Go out and use/experience the product the way it is actually used by
consumers.”
- Jennifer Cottineau, VP, Brand, Virgin USA

41. Page 41
“Understand…
- who is signing the check
- what is the psychology in the room
- how do I demonstrate roi
- can I explain this to my dad
- can I explain this to the consumer
- can I get it done”

42. And I love these…
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i’m an account guy
Be Radically Useful
Participate In The Big Data Renaissance
Make Relevant Ads By Understanding People
Pitch New Business Like It’s No One’s Business
Find A Job That Enables You To Be Brave
”
hZp://www.ps_.com/2014/05/adverKsingChallCofCfameCjaneCnewman.html#!1WkW8#
Former Chiat-Day Planner Panel, May 2014

44. What Should You Expect of Your
Account Partners?
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45. 45
They should be the most caring and passionate person about that
account in the agency, period
They should have a high bar for all parts of the account
Challenge them about the business to ensure they have all the
knowledge they should
Be thankful, but unimpressed by their basic client handling
skills...they can do much more than meetings, lunches and
conference reports
Make sure they fight for the work
Make sure they’re seeing the work and providing real insight, not
just providing meeting readiness
Expect perfection in logistics and coordination.
Hire account people who really really want to be account people,
not creatives, producers or strategists. If managing and growing a
client’s business isn’t at the top of their list, then pass and move
on.

46. 46
Expect them to know EVERYTHING about the client and the
competition
Expect them to bring client organizational insight…they’re the ones
walking the halls
Expect them to have the more senior relationships that extend from
the day to day operations of the account
Expect them to lead and provide them the space to do so. Call them
out when they don’t
Insist that they KNOW THE ASK…nothing is less productive than 8
people in a meeting room trying to figure out what the client meant.
Expect that they should know what to do look for in growth
opportunities…
and they know what’s coming down the pike strategically for the
client
Expect them to loiter
Expect them to generate “Planned Spontaneity”…to cra
opportunities for us to shine, to surprise and delight the client

47. And Finally,
How do We work Better Together?
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Collaborate…really
Invite your account person…they won’t mess it up, promise
Put the work as the north star, but mind the full universe
Check your ego at the door…and we’ll check ours ;)
Be flat but embrace leadership and vision
Love the jam session, but look for an actual song
Share a mutual fanaticism and love for our cra
…were in advertising for crying out loud.

49. SapientNitro
Thoughts?
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50. SapientNitro
THANK YOU!
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