If you work at an ad agency, the role of the strategic (or account) planner is well known to you. Originally conceived by J. Walter Thompson and Boase Massimi Pollitt in the UK in the 1960s, the discipline has played an increasingly important role in advertising over the years.  If you want to read the definitive book on the subject, check out Truth, Lies and Advertising by Jon Steel. More great planner info and resources at the Plannersphere wiki and the Plannersphere Ning group.

A couple of developments in the world of planning recently that I thought were worth sharing. First, PSFK, in conjunction with RedScout, has a tremendous video series on planning. They gathered the smartest folks and asked some intriguing questions. The video series is called Spur, here’s the intro video:

Watch episode 1, Is planning impotent? Overcoming planning’s identity crisis here. Episode 2 is entitled, “Talent.”

In other planning news, Mike Arauz from Undercurrent has been doing what Mike Arauz does; ask penetrating questions that challenge our notion of the status quo. First he asks, “What is strategic planning?” then follows that up with “On strategic planning (again…)”

It’s an interesting time for agencies of all stripes. The ones that will survive are those that have the courage to ask tough questions of themselves and adapt to the needs to the clients.

Watch out boy, she'll chew you up!

If you were alive in the 80s you were a Hall and Oates fan. You might not have admitted, but when you were alone at home or in the car and one of their tunes came on, maybe Rich Girl or I Can’t Go For That,  you were singing along. But, let’s be honest, Daryl and John and just a distant memory for most of us. But some b(r)ands instill a deeper level of passion. One that brings about the creation of… BestofHallandOates.com.

Mike Arauz, one of the Undercurrent Wizards is behind this little nugget of fan-geek love. I love this site because of it’s aunthenticity. Here’s my back of the book blurb quote:

“If a Best of Hall and Oates album came to life on the Internet, this is what it would look like.”

Could a record label, or Hall and Oates themselves have done a better job? Honestly, no. And if they had tried it would seem a little desperate. Mike perfectly captures the spirt, look and feel of Hall and Oates. It’s 1983 all over again, but he’s also given us the opportunity to buy songs via iTunes or Amazon. Too cool.

How many opportunities are there like this out there? Hundreds if not thousands. There’s a lot of ‘lost content’ out there waiting to be repurposed and repackaged by a fan with talent and passion. Great job, Mike, I actually like your site better than the official one.

Whether we’re looking a pictures of hunters and bison in the caves of Lascaux, or getting an inside peek at the lives of the folks at Sterling Cooper via Twitter, one thing has been a constant: Compelling content draws attention.  The Washington Post just released their list of the Top Viral Videos of 2008. Put aside for a moment any issues regarding the term viral – and oh, I’ve got issues. As do people like Mike Arauz and Faris Yakob. But whatever you want to call them, these videos were shared, spread and enjoyed. Their list contains a lot of good stuff, including Tom Cruise going all Scientology on us; Will.I.Am singing “Yes We Can”; and some very literal music videos.

The constant here is that these videos entertain first and foremost. They aren’t contrived for the purpose of selling us stuff (noted exception – the mobile phone meets popcorn meme, courtesy of Cardo, bluetooth headset maker). The focus is on telling a story, or building upon an existing one.

Now, is this a surefire way to generate big sales? Truthfully, I think the jury is still out on that. But it’s certainly a strong way to build a brand. Another ad is not going to get consumers to stop and consider your product, you need to start building a relationship. How do you do that? By creating something more interesting than a 2-for-1 coupon or add a freshness date to your product.

Let your customers get to know you (let your employees have blogs and Twitter accounts), and just as importantly, get to know your customers (follow their Twitter accounts and post comments on their blogs).

This is the time to start developing these relationships, there is no benefit to starting ‘when times are good’ or when you have a new product, dive in, create a story, add to the conversation.

Just finished a pretty interesting book called Ghost Map. It’s a complex book about science, cities, urban planning and industrialization told through the lens of the cholera epidemic of 1854 in London. It’s a smart book and worth your time. It was fascinating to learn about how diseases spread. Usually, when a virus goes from one person to another it in an unconscious act. Rarely do people say, “I think I’ll infect others with my illness.” Yet the common marketing parlance for the conscious act of passing information along is for it to “go viral.”

Take a look at Mike Arauz’s post regarding this very topic. He offers some really smart tips for creating content that people will actively and purposefully pass along. He also references a recent post by the super sharp Faris Yakob. Faris isn’t a big fan of the term “viral” either, and does a good job of explaining why.

Normally I write about properties that create believable, authentic Deeply Immersive Narrative Universes (DINUs). Here’s a fantastic example of someone pulling the make-believe into the real.

Hat tip to Mike Arauz for bringing this to my attention.