The Curator of Good Stuff
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Nick Gill, a planning director, argues that traditional planning roles are outdated due to the rapidly changing digital marketing landscape. He emphasizes the need for planners to adopt an iterative and collaborative approach that focuses on meaningful engagement and adapts to ongoing consumer interactions rather than relying on singular insights. The modern planner must now act as a curator, utilizing active analytics and social listening to navigate the complexities of consumer behavior in a dynamic environment.
The Curator of Good Stuff
- 1. of View Point 2010 r eptembe Date: S Author: Director Planning Nick Gill The curator of good stuff The traditional role of a planner doesn’t work anymore . Nick Gill, Planning Director at DCH, explains why planners need an evolved toolkit for an evolved world. Digital has irrevocably changed the marketing landscape. Yawn. Of course it has. Unfortunately however, most agencies and clients are still set up in a formation that would make the England football team’s 4-4-2 look forward thinking. Planning used to be the ivory tower. Everyone would wait for the insight to be lobbed over the edge after weeks of cogitating and research. And then the creative fun could begin. Often, while these creative solutions were being crafted the insight would be chucked aside as its silo-developed relevance began to wane. From insight to invention The role of the planner used to be rooted in traditional advertising. But that just doesn’t work now. Today’s world is faster, more complex, more demanding. A singular insight that rules them all is rare. A silo Today’s world is faster, more Working in a planning department with no interaction with others until the brief is ready complex, more demanding. A is plain ridiculous. singular insight that rules them We need to shift from a linear process that is all is rare. focussed on “insight and brief” to an iterative, agile, collaborative process that is focussed on meaningful engagement and participation through the invention of new ideas. The world has moved away from one great campaign idea expressed through an image and a line. It’s moved from campaigns to dch.co.uk
- 2. multiple micro interactions. From impact and And because we curate, we don’t just stop disruption to usage and experience. From at launch. After all, an idea doesn’t stop at exposure to a moment in time. From one idea launch or after a six-week burst of media to lots of smaller ones. spend. It evolves through the participation of engaged communities. The launch idea is The new mantra just as valuable as the content update coming next Wednesday. A planner has moved from being the miner and polisher of an insight to the publisher or As planners in an evolved world, we must programme producer. A planner is now the use active analytics to understand what’s curator of good stuff. happening; adjust or stop what isn’t working, and accelerate what is. We must constantly So, what’s in the toolkit of our curator of learn, change and adapt while feeding in new ideas and thinking. Why? Because culture and consumer understanding as well as social the media landscape is doing exactly that. trends living comfortably, seamlessly, with the technical possibilities of the digital, social and the real world, often using crowd-sourcing or active listening in the social space to identify new and interesting ways that consumers are playing with brands. When you augment these with user experience and draw on media understanding with deep roots in analytical rigour, you can start to understand why traditional planning skills need to evolve into being those of a NICK GILL curator. Every planner now needs an evolved PLANNING DIRECTOR toolkit for an evolved world. DCH