"Creative and media are inseparable." - Carl Johnson, Anomaly

What is connection planning?

Connection Planning is the combination of account planning, media and creative thinking - the traditional silos of advertising. A connection planner combines all or some of these disciplines to approach the client’s communications challenges from an idea-neutral point of view. They don't just focus on people and media. They seek the best way to create meaningful relationships with people and utilizes any medium to do so.

History

Connection Planners

Job description from Fallon..

"You might be a Connection Planner and you don’t know it.

If you work in politics and your job is to create complex communication strategies to narrowcast to multiple target audiences all towards one big defining win. You think of everything as an opportunity to extend your message: the photo op, the setting, the PR spin, the sound byte, whether or not to tell people the candidate windsurfs . . . You have passion for using communications to convince people to believe in something – a person, a cause, an idea.

If you work in the media department of an ad agency but you’re a strategic thinker. You find yourself awash in tchotkes, boondoggles, flow charts, and Excel spreadsheets. When what really interests you is the big idea. And we’re not talking about tactics, we’re talking about the big strategic idea. The thing that makes it all go. You’re more interested in building the Velcro wall for the other guys (some who work in media) to know what should stick.

If you work in music or film and your job is to give albums or films their moment in time. You understand the communications complexity to making a film “open” weekend one, and the necessary actions before and after. You understand how the Web has changed music, and that some of today’s most popular bands were built by pasting small together over and over until it was BIG (see Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, etc.), and by urban street teaming and word of mouth (see hip hop, the mix tape).

If you work in planning but your heart is in popular culture not research. If you find you’re less interested in giving birth to the big idea, and more interested in raising it in today’s fascinating new media world. If you consider yourself more street smart than book smart. If you think you can learn a lot about communication strategy from American Idol, P. Diddy, and match.com. You’ve read the marketing books, but you want to bring them to life, to take action, not just philosophize. You know what's wrong, now you want the opportunity to do something about it."

Agencies

According to TBWA\CHIAT\DAY, Connection Planning is "Apart from traditional mainstream advertising, there are various consumer touchpoints available today. CONNECTIONS\ is our process for delivering Disruptive ideas and strategies to all of these consumer touchpoints. Simply, it is a disruptive approach towards media planning. It is an approach that requires the delivery of the idea as an integral part of the idea itself as against it being an afterthought.

The conventional approach is to target a select audience and create a message for them. In modern times, this task of identifying 'who', 'when' and 'where' has become increasingly difficult. Demographic and behavioural changes, technology and fragmentation of media have restructured the playing field for modern brands. In the process, the tried and tested concepts of 'mass-messaging' that are measured by reach and frequency have been deemed ineffective and redundant.

CONNECTIONS disrupts these very outdated conventions of media planning. The 'who' could be not just the end-user, but also management, staff, investors, media, governments or suppliers. CONNECTIONS also defines the 'where' and 'when' as anything and everything that exists between your brand and your audiences. Most importantly it seeks to measure the level of involvement of the prospect with the brand.

Delivering ideas that are indifferent to specific communication channels allows us to categorise CONNECTIONS\ into anything that communicates a brand's identity, relationship or reputation. CONNECTIONS\ is planned in these areas using the varying disciplines of public relations, direct marketing, action marketing, advertising and content.

As a result, CONNECTIONS\ planning determines the most relevant, cost-effective and advantageous points of contacts between clients and existing or potential customers. This enables us to arrive at an optimal mix, use and order of CONNECTIONS\ to compel consumer behaviour and achieve our objectives."

Conference

Mark your calender for the Polygamous Marriage of account planning,
media and creative in New Orleans. Precise and provocative insights
from people bringing Connection Planning forward - the world's first
conference as far as we know. Challenge our bullshit, call your shot
and get on with the noble quest of transforming the industry. That's
right: Branded Utility. Put it to work in your own little revolution.
Make it a big revolution. Conversations stirred by provocateurs like:

Adrian Ho - Zeus Jones
Ed Cotton - Butler Shine Stern & Partners
Jim Elms - Barkley
Gareth Kay - Modernista!
Demian Brink - Boone/Oakley
Lisa Seward - Mod
Paul Woolmington - Naked
John King - Fallon
Michael Jager - JDK
Rob Walker - NY Times

A scheme from your friends at Trumpet, sponsored by the NY Times and
lifted by the hands, brains and hearts of many. To register visit
polygamousweddings.com and check out the blog while you're at it too!

External links

Strange Bedfellows: Creative Agencies in the Media Game

Creative Cache