becoming an account planner

an explanation

2007-08-11T23:31:00.000-04:00

I still want to be a planner but feel i'm too old to start a new career. Only if I lived in the same city that my mentor does I feel it would be possible to make the leap. I have been focusing on my new job in project management at a design firm. I have also currently have an art show hanging at a local tea house. I've sold 3 piece.
I am very excited at it. Perhaps if a few other things fall in to place in my life I can start seriously pursuing account planning would be viable as a career move.

Thanks to Bram and Lynette for putting up with me.

i'm back........

2007-05-24T11:48:00.000-04:00

Well I've been taking a hiatus from the account planning thing. I got discouraged about one of the brand manifesto I was working on. VW basically has stumped me!!

I am just now starting to work on it (VW) again. I can't figure out their brand essence from watching their commercials. I'm finding most automotive brands are extremely scattered.

One of my mentors has given me the answer, I haven't looked at it yet. I feel I need to figure it out for myself. He won't be coming to work with me when I get my account planning job. I really do appreciate him and Lynette. Like Lynette's says if this was easy, everyone would be doing it.

i nailed it

2007-04-08T14:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I wasn't off at all with my beliefs for my manifesto for the Harley Brand. I just am re-writing it. Re-writing it in the way I would give it to creatives so they can create and be inspired from it. If I could write it correctly the 1st time, everyone could be and would be planners.

I'm just glad I nailed the brand essence on the first try; instead of meandering to it.

Which means only one thing I'm getting better. Woo hoo. Remember this is a slow process you are not a planner overnight even though some would like to think they are.

starting

2007-04-06T07:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm getting in gear. I'm starting those manifestos. Why are VW and Harley so sticky as brands? Why do people want to have them? Are the real questions here.

I'm at my research point and gathering thoughts stage. The Harley-Davidson's stuff is really in my head. Because I think it falls into line with something me and one of my friends figured out when we were in high school. I have found that Harley is the ultimate non-conformist, and if you conform to non-conformism you still conform to something. Therefore you are still a conformist. Harley has taken this belief and turned it into a true lifestyle of the mostly rich and almost famous. Some of their commercials make me laugh when I think about it. Only be a Harley non-conformist on the weekends, and be a conformist during the week so you can afford me. Ha Ha Ha. These people are only fooling themselves.

If I'm going to be this cynical about this I guess I should say watch out.

And one more thing, is Account Planning changing names in the U.S. to Communication Strategist? Wow, that's very important sounding.

my favorite place, austin

2007-03-31T23:40:00.000-04:00

Well I'm in Austin this weekend. Yes, I am procrastinating a bit. As on April 1st, once I return home I will get my butt in gear.
I had to get my hair cut and hang out with old friends. And the fact I tried to inadvertently cut my thumb off this week with a broken blender are all reason why I couldn't start on those manifestos. Every time I hit my thumb in some way it begins to bleed.

Surprised it's not infected or I should say grateful. The traditional band-aids have not worked. This is Prolly TMI, I don't care. I could either use super glue to keep it from bleeding or which I did do. I purchase the Advance Band-aids. We'll see how well they will work other wise it will be the crazy glue for my thumb. it can' t fall I need opposable thumbs... for something.

it's 11 pm i've been up since 4:30 am I am going to pass out soon. and is the reason i have chosen to babble so.

finally

2007-03-27T11:50:00.000-04:00

Well today, I'm finally motivated enough to tackle my next assignment. I'm sure my mentor will be happy, since I've been a slacker for almost 3 weeks when it comes to my account planning assignment. If I was really in a class I prolly would have my butt in gear. I am going to have to do research on VW to come up with their brand essence. Does anyone have any unusual places I could look for info? Or just write it for me. Ha Ha I don't really want that. I've already bitched out one person at Wild Alchemy for trying to do it for me. But no harm done. How many times can I say this ? I'm looking forward to getting started this evening.

babbling on

2007-03-24T07:26:00.000-04:00

so this journey i'm on has seemed to slow down now. nah i just have many choices right now. my project management job, i'm learning is basically going to get boring. well in general, life will begin to slow down, i feel. perhaps the beginning of april, i will be able to breathe. i want to do so many things right now, i know it is best, i get focused so i can continue with the things i really want.

neglecting

2007-03-21T22:31:00.000-04:00

Sorry, i've been neglecting my blog lately. I have found a new job. it's not in account planning but it is program management. girl's gotta eat. i've also starting a copywriting business so i've been a busy girl. I must be out-of-my-mind too.

One little point if you want an answer back when you comment on my blog, you gotta give me an email address.i won't post the email address. i promise. you may leave a comment when I'm neglecting again.

I am still on my journey to become an account planner. My next assignment my mentor has given me is to write manifestos for 2 of the companies i've done reverse briefs for. Who said this would be easy? Ha Ha.

just think

2007-02-13T23:26:00.000-05:00

I've just been thinking, how so many people choose absorb certain information and disregard other.
Also how it frustrates me that people can see past themselves. I have always been aware of others and how everyone experiences same things differently. It just kills me that other don't take the time to realize that the world really doesn't revolve around them.

You would think I wouldn't be so sensitive to this, being an only child. I got over myself years ago. But as of late it freaks me out how most people are selfish.

my journey

2007-02-07T21:36:00.000-05:00

Well I would like to thank Russell for putting a link to my blog on his. Hopefully any of you who stumble on the link would give me feedback on my writing. I would like it to be creative criticism not viciously mean. I'm still trying to find my voice on here.

I am involved an apprentice program with a Portland Account Planning Firm. January 2005, I found Lynette through Joe Duffy of Duffy+Partners. Last January, Lynette started me reading books on account planning to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into, before starting on this journey. Of becoming an account planner. I became a little confused about my choice in October when she gave me my first assignment and I had writer's block or that I could not come up with anything to write at all. Or so I thought. And to myself I thought this is really going to be way too difficult. But my job as a graphic designer at an awful company was clouding my mind to where I really couldn't see much of anything. There was an incident at that place that lead me to believe that I am making the correct choice. All culminating at the beginning of December and I discarded that place and those people.

I am an avid runner and in October my health was starting to go down hill. My legs were hurting so bad that I couldn't run or sleep very well, I was having heart palpitations. Within one week from leaving that place my legs were getting better and the palpitations were gone completely. I just can't believe I let people get to me in that way. I was there for 3 years and 2 weeks, and I knew after 2 years of being there I needed to make drastic changes in my life to be truly happy.

So since December I have been headstrong about this journey of mine.

meandering musings

2007-02-02T10:31:00.000-05:00

As I am thinking about the whole blogging thing, I chose to keep it on a non-personal level and just talk about my musings on planning. I have decided sometimes to put my meandering thoughts here also, because as planners we do ramble and go on a bit. Ha ha. I do feel a bit insane, since having decided to write more in general not just here but in my life. I am going to try my hand at copywriting. Before and during my college days, I believed I was a good writer, I am not really sure when I started to believe I wasn't. As of very late my craft has started to rear its head. Pushing me to start on a writing adventure.

I have been reading a lot this past week, I am currently involved in 4 books. Two are about writing and two on planning/advertising. Hopefully I can start writing and get paid for it. I am excited about the changes are starting to occur in my life. I know I will end up, where I want to be.

creative briefs

2007-01-27T07:50:00.000-05:00

This brief thing is getting better. This last brief wasn't as laboring as the my 1st. I am really getting this.

Russell Davies has created a wiki - plannersphere.com that will eventually have templates for briefs. It is and will be nice to have different templates to work with for creative briefs and lots of other stuff, but I will have to remember don't just feel out the form. Think. Look past the obvious and create something different.

Any brief should answer these basic questions?

Decide the real reason why you are advertising the product/service.
What does it solve a problem for the consumer?
Think about what we really need to tell the consumer.
Think about how the product/service will benefit the consumer emotional.

This is the basic gist of any brief.
Just remember keep it short and sweet.
If anyone thinks that I should add anymore to this. email me and let me know.

reverse brief

2007-01-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

I've wrote my 1st reverse brief, which was challenging.
I realized during this process that people use too many words to say too little most of the time. Rantings and ramblings don't belong in a brief, they are not necessary to get a point across.

As I looked at my many revisions, I started out with 2-4 sentences for each category. "Oh no! How is this going to be brief. I need to say all of this so I can be understood," I thought. But after a great deal of thought and work. I look at the final version. WOW, I was able to capture the essence of the brand with only a few words. Did I really do it?

If we could always be this efficient in describing things perhaps, there would be a smaller degree of misunderstandings in general. (We could only hope). To quote my mentor, she said, " Try making every 'bucket' four words or less," it helped me see a little truly can go along ways, especially in a creative brief.

I'm ready to do it again. It was "fun".

what else should i read?

2007-01-22T07:41:00.001-05:00

To the right I have a list of books I've read on account planning.
I'm just curious if any other planners out there can recommend any other books, I should read to further my knowledge about branding, planning, strategy or anything else that would be good to know about.

my planning manifesto

2007-01-20T10:03:00.000-05:00

Making an impact. Creating the uncreated. Achieving vision. Sparking the moment—the moment when everything clicks. Sensation. Gut instinct. Focus. Poignant, strategic and creative. Ideas as resounding as chords. Capturing zing and zest. Eliciting an outstanding reaction. Being a catalyst, inspiring others. Evoking action. Standing out. Being noticed. Value. Compelling imagery. Mind-blowing solutions. Seeing the unseen. Pure excellence. Unique visions etched in time. Being unforgettable. Breaking through. That’s my brand of advertising.

my 1st post

2007-01-18T20:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I've fought it long enough. I'm going public.

After weeks of research, I've discovered chatting with the account planning gurus of the world, if I want to work as a planner, I must start blogging to be noticed and to be known in the world of account planning.

This is going to be a slow process at 1st. I will try to post at least once a week. I will post my thoughts on planning, currently I'm in an apprentice program so I'm sure I will have thoughts on what I'm learning and the feelings I have while I'm working on my assignments.

So I guess I'm on my way to be the planner I've always been.
wooo hoooo.

phil