DSTNCT – Maketing Account Planner

Summary

• Responsible for creating the communication strategy for an advertising campaign.
• Includes targeting the right audience, as well as setting the tone and message of the campaign.
• Responsible for writing the formal brief and for providing the ideal environment for creative development.
• Combine market data, qualitative research and product knowledge within a brief to enable the creative team to produce innovative ideas that will reach consumers.
• Involved in working with a number of clients at the same time, and will need to identify the specific business needs for each one

Responsibilities

• Liaising with clients to identify specific business problems and develop ideas;

• Communicating with colleagues within the agency, such as creatives and account managers, in the process of developing a campaign;

• Gaining a comprehensive context for advertising strategies by analysing a wide range of information in great detail, including demographics, socio-economics and the market for the client's product and market share;

• Commissioning research from outside organisations to inform advertising strategies, using both qualitative methods, such as focus groups and structured interviews, and quantitative methods, such as demographic profiling and questionnaires;

• Running research groups;
  • Finding an 'angle' on a specific product or service on which to base an advertising campaign;
  • Researching the product or service to be advertised, which may involve gaining technical or specific knowledge;
  • Reconciling the differences between consumers' current perceptions of the brand and the way the client wishes the brand to be perceived;
  • Meeting the client to learn the background of the brand and advising on possible approaches to the target market;
  • Providing the creative team with a clearly defined brief that contains concise information on the product, audience and strategy;
  • Presenting conclusions and ideas to clients and other agency staff;
  • Analysing and interpreting client response and sales data to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign.

Required Skills

• A combination of analytical skills, curiosity, and a strong interest in people;

• Creativity and imagination (this is an industry that is receptive to new ideas and new people);

• Shrewd common sense and commercial awareness;

• Strong communication skills;

• Team-working skills with the ability to listen to, and be sensitive to, consumers, clients and colleagues;

• Presentation skills;

• Ability to think strategically;

• Ability to work with a wide range of market and research information;

• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to work under pressure.