Cambridge Business Association
Super Strategist
Book

Super Strategist

The Art and Science of Modern Account Planning

Lesley Bielby and Douglas Atkin
Figure 1 Publishing, 2021
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Industry veteran Lesley Bielby’s indispensable, up-to-date guide to account planning is for people new to the field or aspiring to enter it. Offering practical advice and numerous concrete examples, she covers branding, consumer research, preparing the creative brief and mapping the customer journey. Bielby was among the “British Planners” who brought the discipline of account planning to the United States in the late 1990s.

Summary

Account planners – or strategic planners – combine data and creativity to generate transformative ideas.

Originally, account planners uncovered insights about consumers and applied those insights to creative ideas. Account planners specialized in the relationship between consumers and brands and combined research with media planning, brand consulting and account management. Today, account planners – often called strategic planners – have become essential players, applying consumer insights as inspiration for data-driven ideas that transform brands and businesses. They combine and balance science and art – on the side of art. Names for this role include creative strategy, brand strategy and brand planning.

Account planners bring together digital and social skills with brand strategy and, often, collaborate with tech companies. Account planners need to have high levels of skills in data and analytics; cultural awareness; knowledge of the competitive landscape; brand development; and customer journeys.

Digital fragmented the world of advertising and made advertising and brands ubiquitous. Each person has a different experience of the messages and brands they...

About the Authors

Lesley Bielby is chief strategy officer at Hill Holliday in Boston. Douglas Atkin is former global head of community and architect of purpose, culture and core values at Airbnb.

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