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Abstract: This paper aims to establish the account planner's role and contribution in the creation of effective communication strategies for advertisers. Account Planning was born in 1968 in two advertising agencies in London, within the media and marketing context of that period. In the present circumstances, characterized by consumers' protagonism and the need of an integrated communication, the account planner has acquired a more prominent role as the protector of the consumer. The account planner works to assure that commercial communication is based on in-depth research about the consumers and their characteristics. Thus, account planners add value to advertisers' success because they are in charge of conducting correct brand positioning and effective communication strategies, focused on in-depth consumer knowledge.
These theoretical reflections are more relevant when applied to the empirical study of the contemporary situation of account planners working in Spain, where Account Planning is a recent discipline. It was in the early 1990s when the first advertising agencies adopted this function for the first time, however, in less than 20 years account planning has become a key department in commercial communication. The empirical study is based on a survey applied to professional of account planning working Spain.
Keywords: Account Planning; advertising; consumer; effectiveness; communications strategy; media planning.
Summary: 1. Introduction. 2. Account planner's role in achieving effective business communication. 3. Application to the Spanish reality. 4. Conclusions. 5. Bibliography. 6. Notes.
Translation by Cruz Alberto Martinez-Arcos (University of London)
1. Introduction
Today advertisers demand advertising agencies a cost-effective communication, where efficiency is crucial and mistakes are not allowed. In this scenario, account planning helps advertising meet its objectives and, based on the premise that effectiveness is the alignment of objectives that always seek for a change in consumer behaviour, it is also the discipline that protects the consumer. In the words of Ramon Ollé,
"[...] Today only few professional doubt that planners add value to advertisers and their organizations, that we are the representatives of efficiency, an indispensable part of the process of reflection, and fewer and fewer are the companies that still think they can work without a planner" (Ollé, 2009:3).
Also authors like Kelley and Jugenheimer see advertising effectiveness as a main contribution of their work (Kelley and Jugenheimer, 2006:...