More obnoxious hyperbole from Ad Age as it examines the future of account planning:
Not long ago, planners were the undisputed rock stars of the agency business. But they’re now mere mortals in “the middle of the maelstrom of everything going on — what communication, what media, how to compete and how to become versed in multimedia,” said Edward Cotton, director-strategy, for Influx Insights, a unit of Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, Sausalito, Calif.
Not to mention that they are increasingly finding themselves on teams with other disciplines of, yes, planners. Media planners, connection planners, trans-media planners, channel planners, directors of user experience. “How do you [prepare a] brief if there’s 10 on a team?” Mr. Cotton asked.
“Undisputed rock stars”? Please. Account Planning is important, but Ad Age loves to pump and dump whatever’s trendy. I thought CMOs like Julie Roehm were the undisputed rock stars. But as I’ve said before, in advertising, there are no rock stars.
By the way, I’ll be hanging with the rock stars-turned-mere mortals at the 4A’s Account Planning Conference in San Diego next week, and then driving north on vacation. If you’re going to be at the conference, email me at [email protected] and let’s get a drink.
