Helping brands communicate better
In order to protect a family member’s health, I won’t be able to work outside home for a long time. Although a lot of the Planning/Strategy work that I do for agencies can still be done remotely, the face to face workshops, focus groups and training are a write-off for now. So I’m pivoting! I’ve … Continue reading time to pivot
I’ve been thinking a lot about creative briefs recently – I deliver Creative Brief Writing training for agency account handlers and/or junior planners and I’m also currently prepping a brief writing workshop that I’ll be delivering to some undergraduate students soon. It turns out that I have pretty strong feelings about briefs and briefing: 1. … Continue reading I really care about Creative Briefs
My last post Where have all the Planners gone? about the lack of trained Junior and Midweight Planners round here (due to the lack of available training and opportunities for them) resonated with a few people Up North, particularly former Planner Chris McCash, now of Breadwinner. He offered to host a Planning get-together in Leeds to … Continue reading Training the future
I spoke at London Strategy Unit’s 1UP training course for junior and aspiring Planners earlier this year. LSU are running another 1UP, plus a new 2UP for more experienced Planners this Autumn so as an LSU training evangelist I thought I’d better spread the word. 1UP: The strategist as original thinker is about the practical … Continue reading more plannery strategist training coming from LSU
I spent last Thursday in London to help out at day one of London Strategy Unit’s 1up, a two day workshop-type course for aspiring and junior planners and strategists. The lovely Andreea from LSU asked me to come down and share my thoughts with everyone on practical day-to-day stuff like building client relationships. So I … Continue reading 1up – LSU assemble a crack team (and me) to train junior strategists (and, it turns out, me)
I’ve written lots of posts with tips for wannabe Planners (here, here and here), but it struck me that I’ve never posted anything aimed at Junior Planners who are already in their first Planning post. If you want to get ahead, you need to get noticed. And these days being good at your specific Roles … Continue reading junior planners – get noticed to get ahead
I’m still being contacted regularly by aspiring account planners (thanks for getting in touch!) and it feels like my series of Straight Talking Advice for Wannabe Planners is due for another instalment (if this sounds like your kind of thing and you haven’t done so already, read part one and part two first). This time … Continue reading yet more straight talking advice for aspiring account planners (part three)
I spent yesterday morning in the very picturesque surroundings of Carlshead Farm near Wetherby with Learning to Listen, a leadership, teambuilding and coaching organisation. I was there for an open morning/taster session, checking out their approach to see if it might suit my sort of clients. The fact that Learning to Listen do a lot … Continue reading the perfect workshop venue?
After putting out a call for some reading recommendations in July, I got some great suggestions and am still wading through them. But the stand out winner has to be Sarah’s recommendation of Moderating to the Max: A Full-tilt Guide to Creative, Insightful Focus Groups and Depth Interviews. For qualitative research types who want to … Continue reading maximum marks for moderating manual
There has been a depressing wave of news of agencies in trouble round my way over the last couple of weeks, which reminded of this post I wrote about how the people who run an agency actually need to know how to run a business. I’m not suggesting that every agency that fails does so … Continue reading FAO agency MDs – you’re running a business, not an agency