Collaboration as Direction: How to Identify A Great Planning Director

Kathryn Bigelow stood before the Academy Awards audience last night and while accepting the Oscar mentioned that Directing in Film is really “just great collaboration”.

In my career, I’ve had the pleasure of several planning bosses – each influencing the way I think and the way I approach strategy. In no short order, I’ve worked for Mike Canterbury (who has since sadly passed, but whose presence is still felt at Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney), Adrian Barrow (now Global Planning Director on Diageo at JWT New York), Sudeep Gohil (now Founding Partner at Droga5 Sydney), Bram Williams (most recently Head of Content at Channel [V] Australia) and now Claudine Cheever (formerly of Goodby Silverstein and now running the 34-strong Strategy Department at Saatchi & Saatchi New York).

Singing the (Brand) Anthem

Every brand has an anthem. Or at least thats what we in agency-land like to tell the clients that manage them.

In every category, there exists an “ownable” territory that is worth a manifesto of empty thoughts all linked by a common theme. These anthems became useful in establishing what Adam Morgan (he of the “Eatbigfish” phenomenon) calls a ‘Lighthouse Identity’ – essentially, the idea that a brand can espouse values that consumers can live by, rather than brands whose values are informed by their intended audience. In this school of thinking, you could think of the more common brand-value associations: Coke and Happiness, Apple and Creativity, Nike and whatever you’re meant to take out of Just Do It.

Values are important to the brand and the organisation behind it. But if you don’t have tangible, solid proof of what these values offer as a point of difference you risk creating the sort of work that improves brand likeability scores but doesn’t work in selling a product or service.

New City, Same Deal.

The Mothership

Moving to New York for me feels like a TV spin-off. I leave my major storylines at home (family, relationships) but keep on a familiar trajectory (still working in advertising, still very much the big guy who eats and drinks too much and fits strategy into his day somehow).

This season will be filled with lots of new characters and lots of new plot twists and turns. Personally, I’m looking forward to it. Professionally, its a new challenge and a new reason to dust off the writer-within and use this blog as a means to share my stories and perspectives in this weird but amazing country. I’m at Saatchi & Saatchi New York and whilst everything on this blog is my opinion alone, you’ll hopefully gain a glimpse into my work projects and some of the great stuff we’re cooking at the Agency. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I will writing it.