The strategic planning department is responsible for generating consumer insights that aid in the development of strategy and tactics and in evaluating communications campaigns. Strategic planning encompasses three phases: strategy development, creative development and evaluation of effectiveness.
The primary responsibility of the department is to understand the target audience and to “represent” it throughout the advertising development process. This is accomplished through the use of market and research data on the product or service, the category, the market, the competition and the client. Consumer insights into the potential customer provide an understanding of what motivates consumers first to try a product and then to continue buying it, which enables advertisers to establish an innovative connection between a brand and the consumer’s life.
While more traditional research may uncover consumer insights, our strategic planners’ department takes these consumer insights, interprets them and advises the creative team how they can be used to develop creative strategy. Strategic planning influences the entire creative development process except for production. It has a crucial role during strategy development in helping to incorporate the consumer’s point of view, ultimately putting the consumer at the heart of the communication process.
This enables the agency to create advertising that is consumer-centric, relevant, impactful and effective. It is important to remember that even the most brilliant creative execution that is not consistent with the strategy cannot compete with an average execution that is.
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory, tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” –Sun Tsu, Ancient Chinese Military strategist