Long Term Digital Planning vs an Agile Methodology
I’ve spoken before on the need for agencies to become more agile in developing digital solutions for clients. As the velocity of change continues to accelerate, clients are going to insist that their agencies rise to the occasion. A second consideration is that, in the main, client’s expect the agencies they appoint to be unencumbered by internal corporate governanence that slows innovation down.
Earlier this week my agency had an external talker put forward the view that there will no longer be a need for long term strategic thinking by planners because the world will have moved on. Granted you can never say never, and indeed the role of the advertising planner may evolve into something more or something less. Indeed it has been suggested that it’s highly likely that our children in school today will perform a job or role that hasn’t come into existance yet.
But far from powering down Powerpoint or keynote for one last time, I do believe that having a long-term plan does have a valid place going forward. Jon Steel, in Truth, Lies, and Advertising
…the architects and guardians of their clients’ brands, the detectives who uncovered long-hidden clues in the data and gently coerced consumers into revealing their inner secrets, and the warriors who stood up and fought for the integrity of their strategic vision. They had the logical, analytical skills to consume and synthesize vast amounts of data, and the lateral and intuitive skills to interpret that data in an interesting and innovative way.
Being the voice of the consumer as Jon Steel says is the key distinction. There is a certain scientific creativity at work within the planners role that develops advertising and keeps it relevant. Be it digital or non digital. Applying a more Agile methodology within the planning discipline should still have the end-consumer in mind when it comes to the output that makes them compatible regardless of looking through the lens of long-term or short-term thinking.
