I think it continues everywhere. SPUR video series, twitter, Mike’s blog…

Thanks for your comments. I think the points you make are in-lilne and relevant to the larger conversation that Mike and RedScout are looking to have. What is a planner? What skills must he/she possess?

I think this discussion will be continuing across the web for months to come.

Account planning has evolved to take on larger roles in certain industries, especially interactive where the idea of making something that resonates with consumers branches into elements of product, service and system design. In many pure play digital shops, the planner not only has to make sure the core insights are extracted from customer and competitive work, but they also often lead digital strategy, a team of IA’s, qual and quant analysts, understand user experience design, channel usage, and emerging trends, and make sure that their is alignment between what the business wants to accomplish through digital channels and what their customers are trying to accomplish.

The core idea of a planner that is grounded in deriving insights still rings true, but the role of the planner in certain industries is much bigger and more important than it ever was.