The Royal Society of Account Planning

Great New Features at APFIND.ORG! - a planner news democracy site inspired by Digg™

2010-05-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

APFIND.org just got a major overhaul!

Some new features include:

New Signin via: Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Yahoo and Google!
Link all your posting activity to your twitter account. Post to APFIND and it will go to Twitter automatically.
New and improved bookmarklet lets you post new stories directly from your browser.
You now get points for posting and voting. Badges are awarded, and it's a challenge to see who can top the monthly ranking board.
A great save posts feature! Saved posts will be listed on your sidebar for easy access.
RSS everywhere. You can now automatically feed any part of the site, from other users posts to posts on a specific topic. (For Example: Account Planning Theory.)
Follow! Just like twitter, you can now follow people on APFIND. You will have access to a news feed of all the posts of your followers. (and this has RSS too!)

Update: Study Guide to help you memorize all of the Cognitive biases!

2010-05-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Cognitive Biases - A Visual Study Guide

You Can Download The PDF Here.

Hello Everyone,

A big thank you for all the interest in this study guide. It was originally created as a fun introduction that took the Cognitive Bias wiki and tried to make it easier to memorize.

However, the authors of the wiki article have expressed some concern over the accuracy of certain entries. The document was taken down until that could be corrected.

But, people started asking that I release a new version with a warning. In response, a new "Beta version" of the document has been uploaded with a very strong warning label up front and improved citations. I made it really clear that all the text is based on an evolving wiki page and that some of the cognitive biases in there might be incorrect wiki entries. My hope is that this will continue to get people interested in pitching in to help fix the Cognitive Bias wiki pages. :) When the wiki is in a good place, I will take the document out of Beta, and will remove the warning label.

If you are a cognitive expert, join “Operation Fix The Cognitive Bias Wiki!” Add your suggestion to the conversation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:List_of_cognitive_biases.

Eric

Alex Bogusky's Mirren Keynote Video

2010-05-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Here Mr. Bogusky explains Crispin's philosophy and strategic foundation. He makes some great points about key shifts that continue to take place in our industry and sheds some light on the behind the scenes thinking that helped Crispin become so successful. Enjoy!

Here's The presentation:

2010 Mirren New Biz Conference Alex Bogusky Presentation

View more presentations from Mirren Business Development.

And, here are some redesigned slides with Alex's comments added:

APFIND.org - A new site for Account Planners inspired by Digg™

2009-12-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

R.S.O.A.P. and Accidental Thinking (http://www.accidentalthinking.com/) are about to launch a site where planners can find and vote on articles similar to digg™. Essentially, it's a way for us to crowdsource ourselves. We would love for you to join us and share your finds!

Try it out at... APfind.org

Download the ARF 2009 David Ogilvy Award winning case studies

2009-11-06T07:54:00.000-08:00

The ARF 2009 David Ogilvy Awards Winners
In March 2009, ARF announced the 2009 Winners of The ARF David Ogilvy Awards sponsored by Microsoft Advertising.

You can download all of the case studies here:
http://www.thearf.org/assets/ogilvy-09

Kenji Summer has created --> Planners who Wave!

2009-11-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

For all of you with Google Wave accounts, Kenji Summer (http://www.kenjisummers.com) has created a great Wave just for planners! Join up HERE.
Thanks Kenji!

For those that don't have invites yet, I'll help people out as soon as I get some!

Heather LeFevre's Yearly Planning Survey - 2009 Results!

2009-08-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

Planner Survey Results 2009

View more documents from Heather LeFevre.

The secret of being promoted - A sneak peek at part 1 of Heather's World Famous Account Planning Survey!

2009-07-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

If you don't know her already, you should. Heather is an international strategist at DDB and the author of the loved planning blog "buy me and i'll change your life."

But, every year she does something that can only be described as epic.

She interviews the entire planning world.

Why is that so important? For most of the year, the voice of Account Planning is the voice of it's leaders, public speakers, and the plannersphere. Their wisdom guides us and inspires us, but the voice of planning as a whole is silent.

But, once a year, planning grows a central nervous system and comes close to feeling its whole body all at once. And when that happens we get a glimpse of who we really are and what we really stand for.

That is why the annual account planning survey is so important for all of us. It's a mirror into the very soul of our industry.

This year the survey was the best yet. Participation has been through the roof, and Heather is busy distilling 100 pages of raw answers into 40 pages of premium planning wisdom. Cheers to Heather and all her hard work! Bravo!

But, we must wait for that. For now, we just get a sneak peak.

Heather has given us the raw answers to one subject. What makes a planner ready for a promotion? This was asked to Planning Directors only and covers all levels from assistant planner up to group planning director.

To quote Heather..."let the games begin…"

Moving On Up

View more documents from Heather Lefevre.

4 years of Account Planning Survey's from Heather Lefevre!

2009-07-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

2008

Planner Survey Results 2008

View more documents from Heather Lefevre.

2007

Planner Survey Results 2007

View more documents from Heather Lefevre.

2006

Planner Survey Results 2006

View more documents from Heather Lefevre.

2005

Planner Survey Results 2005

View more presentations from Heather Lefevre.

FAST COMPANY ARTICLE: Design Is a Point of View: Seven Truths in Designing

2009-07-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a great article by Brett Lovelady, for Fast Company. Brett is the founder and driving force at ASTRO Studios of San Francisco, a company he launched in 1994. Within a short time, ASTRO has become an international design powerhouse by designing industry leading products and brands for companies like Nike, Microsoft, HP, Alienware, Herman Miller, Xbox, Virgin and many more. In the past decade, ASTRO has won numerous design and industry awards, including 2 prestigious BusinessWeek/IDSA Design of the Decade Awards, for both NIKE Triax Sportwatches and Kensington Smartsockets and was featured as one of Fast Company's Fast 50 in 2003.

In the article below, Brett outlines ASTRO's Design Theory.

Quoted from: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/brett-lovelady/astro-design/design-point-view-seven-truths-designin

1. DESIGN is a point of view.
Many people believe design equals the visual object or result of the presentation skills a creative person creates; pictures, models, sketches, photos. I believe that design happens prior to these results and is actually about taking an original idea and applying a point of view by translating it into presentable, tangible elements for ease of sharing with others. Good designers happen to have talents or skills that allow them to make their point of view tangible, but that's not enough. Designers should be engaged due to their ability to create and support a strong point of view first, followed quickly by their ability to produce the goods.

2. PEOPLE are our ultimate clients.
As designers, we collaborate with a lot of other disciplines to bring our designs alive. We often come up with the vision for a program, develop the details and then spend a lot of time protecting the original design intent through production. But after these efforts are complete, they matter little. The end results are all people see, experience or remember. No one typically cares how you got to the result--the battles, the compromises, the inspirations--they only know the final product. Because of this, I believe that as the other disciplines cover their specialties, designers should be the end-user advocates through the entire program, reminding the team that people are our ultimate clients.

3. EMPOWER individual creativity.
We've all heard the term "design by committee" or possibly the old maxim that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. And I strongly agree. It's very difficult to create groupthink around multiple points of view. It's great to voice them, collect them and prioritize them, but to avoid camels, I recommend empowering one ultimate individual you trust to become the director and keeper of the vision. Empowering individual creativity also ensures a higher level of passion, focus, commitment and ownership for the results.

4. PROACTIVE over reactive.
You can wait to be told what to do when someone else takes the lead and imposes their directives. Or you can identify opportunities, then take things into your own hands and provide options, ideas and leadership. A favorite mantra at ASTRO is "I'd rather get a speeding ticket, than a parking ticket." Of course, approval for certain levels of involvement are necessary, but I believe designers are leaders, and should be proactive over reactive. 5. DESIGN is not a democracy. Democracies are fine, mainly for collecting diverse input. But they can kill design. Often too many opinions water down the clarity of the design intent. I've had many clients where there are way too many brilliant people involved in programs. They find it their duty to provide all the alternative solutions or insights to every program--always broadening the thinking--instead of focusing on decision-making. If not for the benevolent dictatorship of the program director in these programs, they would never reach the goal. Design requires focused leadership, not democratic consensus.

6. CULTURE is the key to soulful work.
Designers are kinda like plants (I know, I know...but it's a good visual). They really need an environment that supports their needs. I believe they need sunlight, nutrients, good weather, conversation, or music, maybe a hug, pruning, cleaning and sometimes transplanting. On top of all of that, they need space to express themselves individually, even while being part of a greater identity. Burying designers in cubicle-land, away from other creatives or off in isolation can be effective for those who have strong wills to survive, but for more relevant, beautiful, inspiring results, designers need a culture of design stimulus. They need environments that feed their visions and help them reflect and generate more soulful work.

7. CHALLENGE anything.
I like to tell the designers I work with to simply ask questions: There are no bad ones except the ones you don't ask. And to not take everything at face value, especially if your gut tells you otherwise. It's always good to immerse yourself in data, but it's best to digest it like fuel for the process, not take it as absolute gospel. Notice I said challenge 'anything' and not 'everything.' The idea is to think about what you're creating, but not overthink it. Learn to trust your instincts and intuition, especially once you've digested all the information. I believe the magic of design can really occur when you challenge convention with confidence, then apply design talent and skills to make everything look super sweet.

WHAT'S THE BEST SOURCE FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES? PHYSORG.COM!

2009-07-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

This site always seems to get access to the latest scientific research before anyone else. Use it to stay up to date on the latest academic studies.

http://www.physorg.com/science-news/social-sciences/

Here's a recent study of interest: the fall of an item’s popularity mirrors its rise to popularity

Planning Blog Aggregation Magic! THE PLANNER COLLECTIVE

2009-07-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Whoa! Look at this aggregation wizardry! Several popular account planning blogs have been corralled into one continuously uploading webpage. And, it even gives you a sweet little mouse over pop up with the posts. Excellent work Brent Terrazaz! We salute you! CLICK!

Continum's “Resonance,” a Short Film on Planning

2009-07-05T22:08:00.000-07:00

An short film by Continuum called “Resonance,” talks about the importance of consumer insights in generating design ideas. While most of us will be familiar with their approach and methodologies, it is a worthy case study of a clear presentation of services that caries a sense of transparency and honesty.

Resonance from Continuum on Vimeo.

Anomaly, BBH, Trumpet, And Fuseproject discuss how account planning is helping agencies are build their own brands.

2009-07-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

Force the government to contact you as soon as new numbers are available!

2009-07-05T21:05:00.001-07:00

If you are a US marketer and are not already on the US Department of Labor's email mailing list, click here, sign up and always be the first to know when key numbers change!
http://www.dol.gov/index.htm#stats

MRS (Market Research Society) Code of Practice principles

2009-07-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

In "What is Account Planning" The official Account Planning Group's document that defines the field written by Merry Baskin in 2007. Mary writes,

"We believe quite strongly that market research craft skills (and adherence to MRS (Market Research Society) Code of Practice principles) are the backbone of the planner’s platform."

"If you can’t devise, conduct, analyse, report on and monitor surveys objectively, how can you possibly hope to judge their usefulness or commission them appropriately? The planner should never assume that the researcher is the sole expert. Elements of questionnaire design, the way a question is phrased, for example, can fundamentally affect the outcome of the study. Black box modeling techniques may be so much impressive theory but they can critically enhance or destroy projects. Planners need to be able to ignore, challenge or exploit such things from a perspective built on understanding or on at least something more solid than assertion and prejudice."

So, what is the MRS (Market Research Society)? And What are these Code of Practice principles?

About The Market Research Society

With members in more than 70 countries, The Market Research Society (MRS) is the world’s largest association serving all those with professional equity in provision or use of market, social and opinion research, and in business intelligence, market analysis, customer insight and consultancy. In consultation with its individual members and Company Partners, MRS supports best practice by setting and enforcing industry standards. The commitment to uphold the MRS Code of Conduct is supported by the Codeline service and a wide range of specialist guidelines. MRS contributes significantly to the enhancement of skills and knowledge by offering various qualifications and membership grades, as well as training and professional development resources.

How to Join The Market Research Society

Here's a link to a PDF with information about joining the MRS: About a MRS Membership

And here's a Link Directly to the membership page!:

http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/join.asp?CID=10&DID=15

The Membership Options are:

	Regular Membership - $115
	Student Membership - $30
	Unemployed Membership - $30
	Retired Membership - $30

And here is a document that provides and
overview of MRS's Code of Practice principles.

MRS - Code of practice for conducting market research in town centres

A classic planning story about creative brief writting: The Sistine Chapel Brief

2009-06-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

This is a classic account planning story about brief writing written by Damian O'Malley. It first appeared in "How to Plan Advertising - the Blue Book", published by the APG, 1987 and exists now on www.accountplanning.net. Tweaking a few words and adding some pictures, Steven Stark has created a power point version. You can download that document here and also find it below: http://www.accountplanning.net/Central/Downloads/TheBrieffortheSistineChapel.ppt

And here at RSOAP we added some summary speech bubble's and just a bit more graphics to Stephen Stark's great presentation.
A Classic Example of How to Write Effective Creative Briefs

{R.S.O.A.P!}

The Brief for the Sistine Chapel
Written by Damian O'Malley, Interpreted by Steven Stark

When you have a proposition you should try to express it in a way that will propel your creative team towards a solution. Here is a story to help illustrate what this means. Everyone knows the frescoes that were painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. They are among the greatest works of art of all time. You can imagine the briefs he might have been given for this work by his client, Pope Julius II, or the Pope’s account man, Cardinal Alidosi:

Brief #1: Please paint the ceiling.
There is no doubt that this is what Michelangelo was being asked to do, but this brief gives him no hints as to what the solution to the request might be. It leaves all the decisions and thinking to the artist before he can put paint to plaster.

Brief #2: Please paint the ceiling using red, green and yellow paint.
This brief is worse. Not only does it not tell him what to paint it gives him a number of restrictions without justification; restrictions which will inevitably prove irksome and which will distract him from his main task.

Brief #3: We’ve got terrible problems with cracks in the ceiling. Can you cover it up for us?
This is much worse. It still does not tell him what to do and it gives him irrelevant and depressing information that implies no one is interested in what he paints because it won’t be long before the ceiling falls in anyway. How much effort is he likely to put into it?

Brief #4: Please paint biblical scenes on the ceiling incorporating some or all of the following: God, Adam, angels, cupids, devils and saints.
Better: now they are beginning to give Michelangelo some direction. They have not given him the full picture yet (pardon the pun) but at least he knows the important elements. This is the sort of brief that most of us would have given. It contains everything the creative needs to know, but it does not go that one step beyond, towards an idea and a solution.

Here is the brief that Michelangelo was actually given:
Please paint our ceiling for the greater glory of God and as an inspiration and lesson to his people.
Michelangelo took this brief and painted frescoes which depicted the creation of the world, the fall, mankind’s degradation by sin, the divine wrath of the deluge and the preservation of Noah and his family. He knew what to do—and was inspired by the importance of the project. With direction like this he was free to devote his attention to executing the details of the brief in the best way he knew how.

Words are little bombs: the right ones can explode inside us, demanding an original and exciting solution instead of a mediocre, pedestrian one. Always work very, very hard to find the right proposition and then even harder to find the words which express it in the least ambiguous and most exciting way.

SPEACHES FROM THE 40th ANIVERSARY OF PLANNING!!

2009-06-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

Alison Burns
Introduction to 40 years of Planning
Alison Burns: Introduction to Planning begins at 40 from JWT on Vimeo.

Jeremy Bullmore
In Praise of Antinomies
Jeremy Bullmore: In praise of Antinomies from JWT on Vimeo.

John Grant
Planning's Midlife Crisis?
John Grant: Planning's Midlife Crisis? from JWT on Vimeo.

Jon Steel
Planning at 40: Solving the Wrong Problems
Jon Steel: Planning at 40: Solving the wrong problems from JWT on Vimeo.

Guy Murphy
‘What Would Stephen Say?’
Guy Murphy:'What would Stephen say?' from JWT on Vimeo.

Lectures from Parsons School of Design:

2009-06-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

Tim Stock's Lectures from Parsons School of Design Strategies

DECODING BOOMERS & POST-WAR NARRATIVE

Decoding Boomers & Post WW2 Narrative

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

Culture Networks (Lecture)

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

The Structure of Trends (Lecture)

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

INTRO TO SCENARIO DNA

2009-06-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

Just had an amazing meeting with Scenario DNA. Here's some links to their great thinking.

What GTA Can Teach Us About Connecting with Consumers

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

Green 2009 | VIEW SLIDESHOW NEW
Consumers are gaining knowledge. They are wisening up to the real meaning behind green. They understand tradeoffs vs. trivial. They’re at the brink of growing green deaf.

Green 2009: A Cry for Real Things with Real Impact

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

Luxury 2009 | VIEW SLIDESHOW NEW
When it comes to luxury, much like the emperor staring in the mirror at his non-existent new clothes, luxury is at its crossroads.

Luxury 2009, showing a vulnerable side

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

Recession Washing 2009 | VIEW SLIDESHOW NEW
Fast on the heels of green washing, recession washing will test marketers not to push empty messages in tough times.

Recession Washing 2009

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

Understanding Gen Y Narrative: The Transformer Generation | VIEW SLIDESHOW (Fall 2008) The narrative that Gen Y shares with Transformers is an open-source story of collaboration, new globalism, a currency of culture, eBay economics and mash-up. In this contemporaneous tale, the impact of technology blurs the lines from urban/suburban and east/west. http://www.transformergeneration.com/

Transformer Generation

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

Tried and texted approach to getting consumers talking | Admap January '09 | DOWNLOAD
... it means using an authentic organic approach to understanding the consumer in their world. Unfortunately, for some brands and agencies, it means taking shortcuts on research.
“Admap articles reproduced with permission of Admap, the world’s primary source of strategies for effective advertising, marketing and research. To subscribe visit www.admapmagazine.com. © Copyright Admap.”

Green: Co-mingling Perspectives | VIEW SLIDESHOW (Fall 2008)
In the midst of economic crisis, the concept of Green becomes tightly interwoven with old school recession planning. Our research has found three distinct personas that are driving green concepts side-by-side. A fourth persona is ironically pushing back, but following a tenet of self-reliance. Together they’ll make green grow more mainstream. Secret Vices and Depression-style DIY will be the backlash as green gets too slick.

Trend Report: Green, Co-mingling Perspectives

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

Redefining Luxury: From Excess to Stealth | VIEW SLIDESHOW (Spring 2008)

Redefining Luxury: From Excess to Stealth

View more Microsoft Word documents from Tim Stock.

Tried and texted approach to getting consumers talking | Admap | DOWNLOAD
... it means using an authentic organic approach to understanding the consumer in their world. Unfortunately, for some brands and agencies, it means taking shortcuts on research. The result is that recruitment loses its balance, time in the field is diminished and incentives dwindle. There are no shortcuts when it comes to dealing with real people. Good research requires a relationship to coax information out of people and there’s no easy way to do it. Optimising budgets is crucial in the current market conditions

Casting Confident Brands | Admap | DOWNLOAD
Too often product placement is not seen as part of the overall longterm brand strategy. The thought is to get it in and get it visible. But we know the rules have changed and the consumer is filtering out more and more messages, as the media landscape becomes more and more cluttered. To get past this is all about finding the ideal venue to demonstrate honestly the 'coolness' of the brand. As video-on-demand and mobile content delivery evolve from mass to niche market, it becomes easier to alienate people. Now we need to get closer and focus in to get these new techniques to work.

How to Market Brands in a People Economy | Admap | DOWNLOAD
Brand marketers are in the midst of a fundamental shift in human behaviour and consumption. Getting increasingly more elusive and enabled by networked personal technology, consumers are moving from mass market to multiplying custom markets. Today's emerging demographic segments and affinities devalue traditional consumer market boxes.

Can Consumers Own the Brand? | Admap | DOWNLOAD
Exactly who is holding the reins on brands these days? Does it really matter? Or should branding be more about the way a campaign evolves, rather than from whom or where? With everyone talking about how much power the consumer wields, the advertising industry is in desperate need of embedded consumer insight.

“Admap articles reproduced with permission of Admap, the world’s primary source of strategies for effective advertising, marketing and research. To subscribe visit www.admapmagazine.com. © Copyright Admap.”

What Unites Global Youth | Young Consumers | DOWNLOAD
There are emerging similarities in youth culture across the globe, in particular technology is a focus. The brands and styles preferred by youth around the world are surprisingly alike. The more exposure young people have to common information, for example through the internet, the more homogeneous they appear to become.

A new media platform. An amazing new gaming interface from Xbox. (Just announced on JUNE 15th at the E3 2009 Microsoft conference)

2009-06-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Xbox's Project Netal! Still a prototype right now, but this is something you should keep track of.

Hiring Account Planners: A look at posted job descriptions from the past month

2009-06-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

Account Planning Director at Digitas

Job Description

Join the Digitas Planning team to uncover breakthrough customer insights, and help turn them into big creative marketing ideas!
Do you have experience developing and applying breakthrough customer insight within a creative agency? How about exceptional thinking, communication and influence skills, leadership, and energy? Digitas is recruiting an Account Planning Director who continues to push the frontier of how digital media can evolve to meet the needs of an ever more powerful consumer. The Account Planning Director is the customer insight lead for Digitas clients with 3 primary responsibilities:
- Leveraging customer insight to help the team come up with great creative marketing ideas
- Helping our clients make the most of the evolving digital landscape
- Being a champion of the client’s brand
You should have solid experience working in a marketing and/or strategic services organization, such as a digital marketing or advertising agency or brand consultancy, and be passionate about applying cutting edge qualitative methodology to the development of insight. An understanding of marketing strategy and disciplines and a clear view on how each aspect of the marketing mix can and should be applied to the client’s business is necessary as is a clear understanding of specific digital marketing disciplines and how digital marketing can work and should be applied within the broader marketing context.
If you feel you could be a key partner in communication and implementing the Digitas planning vision across the network and our clients’ businesses get in touch!

Skills

You should have solid experience working in a marketing and/or strategic services organization, such as a digital marketing or advertising agency or brand consultancy, and be passionate about applying cutting edge qualitative methodology to the development of insight. An understanding of marketing strategy and disciplines and a clear view on how each aspect of the marketing mix can and should be applied to the client’s business is necessary as is a clear understanding of specific digital marketing disciplines and how digital marketing can work and should be applied within the broader marketing context.
If you feel you could be a key partner in communication and implementing the Digitas planning vision across the network and our clients’ businesses get in touch!

ATTIK
Title: Sr. Account Planner
Location: San Francisco, California 94105

ATTIK, a Division of Dentsu America, with clients the like of Scion, NFL, Sony Online and various emerging technology companies, is looking for a Senior Account/Strategic Planner with 8-10 years of planning experience to work on Scion and other youth brands. Automotive and ad agency experience is required. Product launch experience a plus.

The Sr. Account Planner will be adept at defining and understanding target audiences, their lifestyles, the decisions they make and their relationship with brands. You will be responsible for uncovering core insights into the attitudes and behavior of the consumer, bringing this to bear on creative briefs that are focused, concise, logical and creatively inspiring.

The ideal candidate is comfortable in a highly creative, fast-paced environment where insights often have to be found in non-traditional ways.

Account Exec/Junior Planner
at Circus London

Job Description - Brief:
An insightful analyst/researcher, an excellent communicator with an empathy for brand/communications and strategy, a well organised team player

Broad responsibilities:
• to support Associates/Senior Associates in delivering insightful brand strategy and communications projects
• to undertake primary and secondary research for projects
• to undertake one-on-one stakeholder interviews
• to plan appropriate research methodologies with an Associate/senior Associate
• to undertake day-to-day client contact
• to interrogate research & market data, extract insights and communicate those insights internally and to the client
• to write appropriate summaries and presentations for the investigate phase
• to deliver their contribution on time, to budget and in the spirit of the Circus brand engagement® ethos

Key attributes:

• brand literate
• ability to assimilate and interrogate data
• commercial and business minded
• ability to work across all disciplines
• excellent communicator (verbal and written)
• good project and people management skills
• budgetary and financial awareness
• well organised
• confident and pro-active

Company Description:
www.circuslondon.com
A Circus person is exceptional. S/he is a strategic thinker who has honed her/his sparkling creativity, organisational flair and people skills in our specialist area – consultancy for people-centred brands and services. Entrepreneurial and business-orientated, s/he relishes getting under the skin of organisations, relates confidently to clients at the highest level and is keen to challenge and innovate. S/he’s an impressive communicator and an empathetic, thoughtful listener. A strong team player with excellent project management skills, s/he’ll remain formidably organised and disciplined even under pressure.

[Circus traits]

There are three facets to a Circus role:
1. It is the quality of our strategic response which more than anything creates value for our clients, drawing on the insights produced by meticulous research and investigation. So a Circus person needs to be analytical and creative – as well as inquisitive, well-informed and genuinely fascinated by each new client challenge.
2. Because a Circus role is client-facing, s/he also needs to be articulate and astute, with super-sized empathy and intuition.
3. And because s/he will be running projects, a Circus person needs a good practical head for business, efficiently managing time, clients and budgets and spotting new commercial opportunities.

Presentation Skills Training: Business Week Carmine Gallo's 2008 article about delivering a Presentation like Steve Jobs

2009-06-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

It's old, but good presenting wisdom is timeless. Here's an article from last year (Jan 2008) where Business week's communications coach, Carmine Gallo, breaks down the ace presenter's Macworld keynote. He gives us a 10-part framework on how to be a presentation rockstar.

Gallo writes, "When Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs kicked off this year's Macworld Conference & Expo, he once again raised the bar on presentation skills. While most presenters simply convey information, Jobs also inspires. He sells the steak and the sizzle at the same time, as one reader commented a few years ago.

I analyzed his latest presentation and extracted the 10 elements that you can combine to dazzle your own audience. Bear in mind that Jobs has been refining his skills for years. I broke down his 2007 Macworld keynote in a previous column (BusinessWeek.com, 7/6/07) and in a chapter in my latest book. Still, how he actually arrives at what appear to be effortless presentations bears expanding on and explaining again.

1. Set the theme. "There is something in the air today." With those words, Jobs opened Macworld. By doing so, he set the theme for his presentation (BusinessWeek.com, 1/15/08) and hinted at the key product announcement—the ultrathin MacBook Air laptop. Every presentation needs a theme, but you don't have to deliver it at the start. Last year, Jobs delivered the theme about 20 minutes into his presentation: "Today Apple reinvents the phone." Once you identify your theme, make sure you deliver it several times throughout your presentation.

2. Demonstrate enthusiasm. Jobs shows his passion for computer design. During his presentation he used words like "extraordinary," "amazing," and "cool." When demonstrating a new location feature for the iPhone, Jobs said, "It works pretty doggone well." Most speakers have room to add some flair to their presentations. Remember, your audience wants to be wowed, not put to sleep. Next time you're crafting or delivering a presentation, think about injecting your own personality into it. If you think a particular feature of your product is "awesome," say it. Most speakers get into presentation mode and feel as though they have to strip the talk of any fun. If you are not enthusiastic about your own products or services, how do you expect your audience to be?

3. Provide an outline. Jobs outlined the presentation by saying, "There are four things I want to talk about today. So let's get started…" Jobs followed his outline by verbally opening and closing each of the four sections and making clear transitions in between. For example, after revealing several new iPhone features, he said, "The iPhone is not standing still. We keep making it better and better and better. That was the second thing I wanted to talk about today. No. 3 is about iTunes." Make lists and provide your audience with guideposts along the way.

4. Make numbers meaningful. When Jobs announced that Apple had sold 4 million iPhones to date, he didn't simply leave the number out of context. Instead, he put it in perspective by adding, "That's 20,000 iPhones every day, on average." Jobs went on to say, "What does that mean to the overall market?" Jobs detailed the breakdown of the U.S smartphone market and Apple's share of it to demonstrate just how impressive the number actually is. Jobs also pointed out that Apple's market share equals the share of its top three competitors combined. Numbers don't mean much unless they are placed in context. Connect the dots for your listeners.

5. Try for an unforgettable moment. This is the moment in your presentation that everyone will be talking about. Every Steve Jobs presentation builds up to one big scene. In this year's Macworld keynote, it was the announcement of MacBook Air"

Now Showing in the Society's Grand Hall: Creative Brief Formats From All Over The World

2009-06-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

Ad literate has let there prized collection of brief formats travel to the Great Hall of the Royal Society to become a truly wonderful exhibition. We are overjoyed. Great work literate! At the opening reception there will be free homegrown beers for all and we have heard rumors about an exquisite batch of mead straight from our abbey. Cross your fingers! {R.S.O.A.P!}

Here are the links to each brief format and the delightful comments from the Adliterate:

Quoted from: What's in a format? http://www.adliterate.com/archives/planning_/index.html Posted in adliterate on October 15, 2008

Saatchi & Saatchi - London
Download file
This is the new naked brief format we are working to. Essentially is a blank sheet of paper with a nice logo at the top and the idea is that you write you brief from the heart rather than filling in a form.

Fallon - London
Download file
This is Fallon's brief - look at how lovely and naked it is.
And here is their Red brief - for re-briefs and pitch briefs. Download file

BBH - London
Download file
A powerpoint version of the BBH brief.

M&C Saatchi - London
Download file.
This is the briefing format I have been banging on about, Interestingly this is now a little dated and they no longer use a briefing format. Up the revolution.

M&C Hong Kong/APAC
Download file
This is the brief from last year as M&C have dispensed with a format here as they have in London.

Modernista - Boston
Download file
M! creative brief format.

Testardo Redcell - Poland
Download file
A classic format from my old network.

Naked
Download file
Naked's naked brief

Euro RSCG Australia
Download file

Singleton Ogilvy & Mather - Australia
Download file

Oomph - Cirencester, UK
Download file

Sudler & Hennesy - Sydney
Download file

Impact BBDO - Dubai
Download file

Tullo Marshall Warren
Download file

McCann Erickson - Indonesia
Download file. And here is an personal approach from one of their planners Download file.

EXIBITION COMMENTARY:

Naked Briefs - Thoughts on Creative Brief Formats from AdLiterate.
It is one of the least edifying characteristics of planning directors that they spend alot of time creating a new briefing format for the agency or network. It is what my old boss Jim Kelly would call "displacement activity". I don't know about you but I have never liked briefing formats and forms. The theory goes that if you fill out all the boxes on the funky new template that someone has spent the last six months of the agency's time putting together then you will miraculously end up with a brilliant brief. If only it was that easy.

I have always believed that filling out boxes on a brief reduces the process to something more akin to applying for a credit card and thus regarded the whole briefing form approach with utter derision. But some agencies seem to like it. Fortunately neither of the places I have spent most of my career (AMV - the UK's largest agency - and HHCL - for a long time the UK's most interesting), had a briefing form. Both places felt that planners should write the right brief for the task in hand. Lets face it we are all grown ups here and we can all write a brief without the help of some ridiculous form. I tend to write mine using a decidedly simple, decidedly old fashioned structure which I am minded to call the naked brief. It is naked because the structure is so spare that it directs one's attention to the quality of the thinking and away from the quality of the form.

And this is how it goes:

1. The role for communications. Look mum, no background. Background is usually an excuse to dump a load of stuff that is not important enough to get in the body of the brief but somehow seems like it might be relevant. My advice is to bin the background and get straight into the effect the activity is intended to create. The role should get to the absolute heart of the problem. And when you have nailed it it is still worth asking yourself 'why' a couple more times simply to get to right to the root of the task.

2. Target audience. This is the stuff about the audience that is absolutely relevant to the task. And don't write it in a "Timothy and Samantha are both aged 24 and like to go out a lot, watch DVDs at home and have a very experimental attitude towards sex" unless you have actually met these people and you aren't just making up some ghastly advertising targeting confection. This sort of trite story is the 21st century equivalent of telling the creative team that the audience are ABC1, Men and Women aged 25-44 - the square root of fuck all use.

3. Proposition. Call it what you will but this is what you are trying to communicate about the brand. Propositions work with the role for communications. The role for communications sets the challenge the work must meet and the proposition is the idea that we want to land about the brand.

4. Support. The stuff that convinces you that the thinking can be supported, will convince the creatives and ultimately will convince the consumer. This is not the repository of all knowable information on earth but the stuff that makes the thinking compelling.

5. Tone. Only if it makes the difference and you can elevate yourself above the cesspit of statements like "businesslike but not formal". On Tango briefs I used to write that if the work wasn't so funny that it made you piss blood then the work wasn't right.

6. Requirements. What do we know we have to do. If it is prescriptive then tell the team what the media agency has already bought. If this is a campaign that can achieve its aims by any means necessary then keep it open.

7. Mandatories. This is not the place on the brief to get creative. It is the place to communicate the stuff that is non-negotiable.

8. Creative starters. Use this to road test your thinking and to open up the ambition of the brief. Ensure that a couple are media starters, and if the requirements are open guide the team about the nature of potential solutions - digital applications, events, promotional ideas - whatever it takes.

It's as boring as hell but that is the point. Minimum time spent designing a funky new creative brief and maximum time spent on the thought or thinking that goes into them.

- Adliterate, February 29, 2008

A Note was found in the society hallways...

2009-05-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

We found a sheet of notes in the Society Hallways, and decided that its now public access! If you are the original owner, you can pick them up at the front desk! If not, enjoy the gossip!

The Wisdom of Bill Bernbach

2009-05-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

William (Bill) Bernbach (August 13, 1911, New York City - October 2, 1982, New York City) was a legendary figure in the history of American advertising. He was one of the three founders of Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) and directed ad campaigns such as "Think Small" for Volkswagen Beetle (recognized by Advertising Age[1] as the top advertising campaign of the 20th century). Bernbach was noted for his devotion to creativity and offbeat themes, a legacy that has hailed him as a major force behind the Creative Revolution of the 1960s and 70s. He is also credited with being the first to combine copywriters and art directors into two-person teams—they had commonly been in separate departments—a model that still flourishes in advertising agencies today.

Here is a collection of his quotes. You can download them as a PDF here

“Rules are what the artist breaks; the memorable never emerged from a formula.”

“You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You’ve got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because if they don’t feel it, nothing will happen.”

“Properly practiced creativity Must result in greater sales more economically achieved. Properly practiced creativity can lift your claims out of the swamp of sameness and make them accepted, believed, persuasive, urgent.”

“If your advertising goes unnoticed, everything else is academic.”

“Is creativity some obscure, esoteric art form? Not on your life. It’s the most practical thing a businessman can employ.”

“There is no such thing as a good or bad ad in isolation. What is good at one moment is bad at another. Research can trap you into the past.”

“You can turn a page and, before you really comprehend it, there’s a feeling. There’s a vibration. If it’s the wrong vibration for what you want to convey, what follows is going to fight it-an uphill battle against the original impression you made.”

“The magic is in the product.”

“It’s not just what you say that stirs people. It’s the way that you say it.”

“Merely to let your imagination run riot, to dream unrelated dreams, to indulge in graphic acrobatics and verbal gymnastics in NOT being creative. The creative person had harnessed his imagination. He has disciplined it so that every thought, every idea, every word he puts down, every line he draws, every light and shadow in every photograph he takes, makes more vivid, more believable, more persuasive the original theme or product advantage he has decided he must convey.”

“Surely it is better to state our proposition with the kind of talent that will touch and move the reader and viewer than to bore them to death with the ordinary.”

“Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make.”

“You can get attention and really make people resent you if you do it with an unrelated gimmick. They won’t like you for that.

“You can have everybody coming in on time, everybody leaving on time, all work finished on the due date, and still have a lousy ad, and fail.”

“I can put down on a page a picture of a man crying, and it’s just a picture of a man crying. Or I can put him down in such a way as to make you want to cry. The difference is artistry- the intangible thing that business distrusts.”

“It is one thing to have a selling proposition and quite another to sell it.”

“Properly practiced creativity can make one ad do the work of ten.”

“It’s that creative spark that I’m so jealous of for our agency and that I’m so desperately fearful of losing. I don’t want academicians. I don’t want people who do the right things. I want people who do inspiring things.”

“Technique for its own sake can be disastrous. Because, after a while, you’re so anxious to do things differently, and do them better and funnier and more brilliantly than the next guy, that becomes the goal of the ad, instead of the selling of the merchandise.”

“Imitation can be commercial suicide.”

“Just because your ad looks good is no insurance that it will get looked at. How many
people do you know who are impeccably groomed ... but dull?”

“We are so busy measuring public opinion that we forget we can mold it. We are so busy listening to statistics we forget we can create them.”

“Today’s smartest advertising style is tomorrow’s corn.”

“Be provocative. But be sure your provocativeness stems from your product. You are NOT right if in your ad you stand a man on his head JUST to get attention. You ARE right if you have him on his head to show how your product keeps things from falling out of his pockets.”

“We don’t do just snob ads, we don’t do just short copy ads, or just long copy ads, or any particular style. If you want to know what makes DDB ads, it is a fresh and original idea that conveys the advantage of the product memorably. We have no formula.”

“I warn you against believing that advertising is a science.”

“I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to choose the plain looking ad that is alive and vital and meaningful, over the ad that is beautiful but dumb.”

“Our job is to sell our clients’ merchandise ... not ourselves. Our job is to kill the cleverness that makes us shine instead of the product. Our job is to simplify, to tear away the unrelated, to pluck out the weeds that are smothering the product message.”

“Know your product inside and out before you start working. And relate that knowledge to the consumer’s needs.”

“No matter how skillful you are, you can’t invent a product advantage that doesn’t exist. And if you do, and it’s just a gimmick, it’s going to fall apart anyway.”

“There will be a time when no headline is proper; there will be a time when a headline is proper. There will be a time when a logo is good and there will be a time when using a logo is the worst thing in the world you can do.”

“Our job is to bring the dead facts to life.”

“A great ad campaign will make a bad product fail faster. It will get more people to know it’s bad.”

“The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you, and they can’t believe you if they don’t know what you’re saying, and they can’t know what you’re saying if they don’t listen to you, and they won’t listen to you if you’re not interesting, and you won’t be interesting unless you say things imaginatively, originally, freshly.”

“Forget words like ‘hard sell’ and ‘soft sell.’ That will only confuse you. Just be sure your advertising is saying something with substance, something that will inform and serve the consumer, and be sure you’re saying it like it’s never been said before.”

“Adapt your techniques to an idea, not an idea to your techniques.”

“Playing it safe can be the most dangerous thing in the world, because you’re presenting people with an idea they’ve seen before, and you won’t have impact.”

“Advertising doesn’t create a product advantage. It can only convey it.”

“The difference between the forget-table and the enduring is artistry.”

“You’ve got to live with your product. You’ve got to get steeped in it. You’ve got to get saturated with it. You must get to the heart of it. Indeed, if you have not crystallized into a single purpose, a single theme, what you want to tell the reader, you CANNOT be creative.”

“There are two attitudes you can wear: that of cold arithmetic or that of warm, human
persuasion. I will urge the latter on you. For there is evidence that in the field of communications the more intellectual you grow, the more you lose the great intuitive skills that make for the greater persuasion-the things that really touch and move people.”

“Execution becomes content in a work of genius.”

“Can you really judge an idea from a storyboard? How do you storyboard a smile?”

“A dull truth will not be looked at. An exciting lie will. That is what good, sincere people must understand. They must make their truth exciting and new, or their good works will be born dead.”

“Don’t confuse good taste with the absence of taste.”

“At the heart of an effective creative philosophy is the belief that nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature, what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action, even though his language so often camouflages what really motivates him.”

“There is practically nothing that is not capable of boring us.”

“In communications, familiarity breeds apathy.”

“It is insight into human nature that is the key to the communicator’s skill. For whereas the writer is concerned with what he puts into his writings, the communicator is concerned with what the reader gets out of it. He therefore becomes a student of how people read or listen.”

“There are few things more destructive than an unsound idea persuasively expressed.”

“To succeed an ad (or a person or product for that matter) must establish its own unique personality, or it will never be noticed.”

“To keep your ads fresh you’ve got to keep yourself fresh. Live in the current idiom and you will create in it. If you follow and enjoy and are excited by the new trails in art, in writing, in industry, in personal relationships ... whatever you do will naturally be of today.”

“It took millions of years for man’s instincts to develop. It will take millions more for them to even vary. It is fashionable to talk about changing man. A communicator must be concerned with unchanging man, with his obsessive drive to survive, to be admired, to succeed, to love, to take care of his own.”

“Word of mouth is the best medium of all.”

“Find new symbols, even though in time those symbols will grow old and die. The most
freshly sculptured phrase will eventually become a cliché.”

“With our industry being watched so carefully by governmental agencies, with the FTC
ready to pounce on every claim we make, what we CAN say in our ads is forever narrowing and the sharpest tool left for us is HOW we say it.”

“Finding out what to say is the beginning of the communication process. How you say it makes people look and listen and believe. And if you are not successful at that you have wasted all the work and intelligence and skill that went into discovering what you should say.”

“Dullness won’t sell your product, but neither will irrelevant brilliance.”

“An idea can turn to dust or magic depending on the talent that rubs against it.”

“You’ve got to believe in your product ... you’ve got to believe in your work. Only a deep belief will generate the vitality and energy that give life to your work.”

“You cannot sell a man who isn’t listening.”

“Getting a product known isn’t the answer. Getting it WANTED is the answer. Some of the best known product names have failed.”

“Maybe we’re getting bogged down in too much detail. Maybe our advertising ideas are
being ground up in that multi-level American efficiency machine.”

“It’s not how short you make it; it’s how you make it short.”

“The great mistakes are made when we feel we are beyond questioning.”

“Today, everybody is talking ‘Creativity,’ and frankly, that’s got me worried. I fear lest we keep the good taste and lose the sell. I fear all the sins we may commit in the name of ‘Creativity.’ I fear that we may be entering an age of phonies.”

“Logic and overanalysis can immobilize and sterilize an idea. It’s like love-the more you analyze it the faster it disappears.”

“A unique selling proposition is no longer enough. Without a unique selling talent it may die.”

“Because an appeal makes logical sense is no guarantee that it will work.”

“Working from a method or a formula is guaranteed to do the same thing to the
effectiveness of an idea that time does to a loaf of bread. Ideas must be hot out of the oven if they are to arouse the appetite. That is why, in communications, imitation is commercial suicide.”

“The fragile structure of logic fades and disappears against the emotional onslaught of hushed tone, a dramatic pause, and the soaring excitement of a verbal crescendo.”

“Knowledge is ultimately available to everyone. Only true intuition, jumping from knowledge to an idea, is yours and yours alone.”

“An important idea not communicated persuasively is like having no idea at all.”

“It is ironic that the very thing that is most suspect by business, that intangible thing called artistry, turns out to be the most practical tool available to it. For it is only an original talent that can vie with all the shocking news events and violence in the world for the attention of the consumer.”

“The men who are going to be in business tomorrow are the men who understand that the
future, as always, belongs to the brave.”

“In this very real world, good doesn’t drive out evil. Evil doesn’t drive out good. But the energetic displaces the passive.”

“We don’t ask research to do what it was never meant to do, and that is to get an idea.”

“Most readers come away from their reading not with a clear, precise, detailed registration of its contents on their minds, but rather with a vague, misty idea which was formed as much by the pace, the proportions, the music of the writings as by the literal words themselves.”

“All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can
vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level.”

“However much we would like advertising to be a science-because life would be simpler that way-the fact is that it is not. It is a subtle, ever-changing art, defying formularization, flowering on freshness and withering on imitation; where what was effective one day, for that very reason, will not be effective the next, because it has lost the maximum impact of originality.”

“More and more I have come to the conclusion that a principle isn’t a principle until it costs you money.”

“The real giants have always been poets, men who jumped from facts into the realm of
imagination and ideas.”

“If you stand for something, you will always find some people for you and some against you. If you stand for nothing, you will find nobody against you, and nobody for you.”

“When we started our agency, we had in mind precisely the kind of people we wanted with us. There were two requirements: You had to be talented and you had to be nice. If you were nice but without talent, we were very sorry, but you just wouldn’t do. We had to ‘make it.’ And only great talent would help us do that. If you were a great talent, but not a nice person, we had no hesitation in saying ‘No.’ Life is too short to sacrifice so much of it, to living with a bastard.”

“A great talent, sailing in the wrong direction will, like the lost pilot breaking the speed record, reach the wrong destination all the more quickly.”

“The purpose of advertising is to sell. That is what the client is paying for and if that goal does not permeate every idea you get, every word you write, every picture you take, you are a phony and you ought to get out of the business.”

Geography Party with The Taglines of America!

2009-05-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Nations, provinces, colonies, states, and cities are all brands! And, many have taglines. Here are the mottos of the States of the United States of America, and the stories behind the honorary account planners that gave birth to century old brand positionings! Cheers! {RSOAP}

Alabama: Audemus jura nostra defendere – We Dare Defend Our Rights
Originates in lines from ‘An Ode in Imitation of Alcaeus’, a poem by Sir William Jones (published 1781), which were adapted by Marie Bankhead Owen (Alabama State Archives) and translated into Latin by Dr W.B. Saffold (University of Alabama).

Alaska: North to the Future
The Commission for Alaska’s Centennial (1967) sponsored a contest to provide the state with an official motto. Out of 761 entries, it awarded the $300 prize to Richard Peter, a journalist from Juneau. Peter stated that his motto “…is a reminder that beyond the horizon of urban clutter there is a Great Land beneath our flag that can provide a new tomorrow for this century’s ‘huddled masses yearning to be free’.”

Arizona: Ditat deus – God Enriches
First included in the state seal by Richard Cunningham McCormick (1832-1901), Secretary of the Arizona Territory. Probably an adapted abbreviation of Genesis 14:23 (”quod a filo subtegminis usque ad corigiam caligæ, non accipiam ex omnibus quæ tua sunt, ne dicas : Ego ditavi Abram:” – “That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:”)

Arkansas: Regnat populus – (May) the People Rule
First adoped in 1864 as part of the seal, and originally rendered as Regnant Populi (’May the Peoples Rule’), it was changed in 1907 to the current, singular version. Origin of the phrase unknown.

California: Eureka – I Have Found It
This form of the Greek verb heuriskein means ‘I have discovered it’, and was most famously uttered by Archimedes, when he had his Aha-Erlebnis while sitting down in a bath, and simultaneously understanding that the volume of water displaced must be equal in volume of his submerged body. He is said to have been so psyched by his discovery that he ran through the streets of Syracuse naked.
The Californian moment of discovery celebrated by the state slogan is the striking of gold near Sutter’s Mill in 1848, giving rise to the Gold Rush. The Greek exclamation has been on California’s seal since 1849, but was only officialised in 1963. The town or Eureka uses the state seal as its city seal. Over 40 localities were similarly named, and the word has also been used in Australian gold rush, a few years after the Californian one.

Colorado: Nil sine numine – Nothing Without Providence
Probably an adaptation of Line 777 in Book 2 of Virgil’s Aeneid: (…) non haec sine numine devum eveniunt. The translation has often given cause for dispute, as ‘numen’ is a word that may be translated as vague-sounding Providence, as a rather non-commital Deity or as the strict and fierce monotheistic God. Some more practically-minded pioneers anglified the state slogan as ‘Nothing without a new mine’.

Connecticut: Qui transtulit sustinet – He Who Transplanted Still Sustains
Originally rendered as Sustinet qui transtulit on a seal brought from England to New England by Colonel George Fenwick in 1639, the realigned phrase was explained in 1775 as: “God, who transplanted us hither, will support us.” It might ultimately be a reference to Psalm 80, which speaks of a vine out of Egypt, transplanted to the Promised Land by God.

Delaware: Liberty and Independence
This motto was suggested by the Society of the Cincinnati, a hereditary organisation of descendants of officers from the American Revolutionary War, and underscores tiny Delaware’s huge importance in the start of that war, and consequently its pivotal role in establishing liberty as a cornerstone of American independence.

Florida: In God We Trust
First appeared on US coinage in 1864 and the nation’s official motto since an Act of Congress in 1956, this is also the state of Florida’s official motto – although only since 2006.It might be an adaptation of the line ‘In God is our trust’ in the US’s national anthem, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ by Francis Scott Key; or it might refer to In Deo Speramus (’In God we hope’), the motto of Brown University, alma mater of president Lincoln’s personal secretary John Milton Hay.

Georgia: Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation
Georgia has two different mottos, one for each side of the Great Seal; the other one is Agriculture and Commerce. Since the side with the former motto is used
to officiate state documents (and since Tennessee also uses the latter motto), Wisdom, Justice and Moderation is generally considered to be Georgia’s state motto.

Hawaii: Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono – The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness
Adopted as the motto of the (independent) Kingdom of Hawaii in 1843, after it was used by King Kamehameha III upon the restoration of Hawaiian sovereignty by the British (who had usurped it for five months).

Idaho: Esto perpetua – Let It Be Eternal
Famous last words of Venetian theologian Fra Paolo (16/17th century), referring to his beloved home city (then still a powerful independent state). They also appear in the closing chapter of Jefferson Davis’ History of the Confederacy (1881), which might be the primary source for the state motto.

Illinois: State Sovereignty, National Union
This state motto is indicative of the tensions that simmered for much of the 19th century between pro-slavery states (using state sovereignty as a justification for maintaining the institution of slavery) and anti-slavery states (seeing the abolition of slavery as a matter of overriding concern for the unity of the nation). The motto was decreed in 1819; Illinois has just entered the Union as a free state, straight after Mississippi, and just before Alabama (both slave states). The balancing act expressed by Illinois’ motto was somewhat upset when in 1867 (shortly after the Civil War) it was proposed to reverse the wording to National Union, State Sovereignty, the proposal was rejected, but the amended seal now features the second part of the slogan slightly more prominent than in the first design.

Indiana: The Crossroads of America
Indiana had no state motto until the mid-1930s, when newspaper columnist J. Roy Strickland used his column ‘Paragraphy’ to start a campaign to find one. Hundreds of suggestions poured in, and a committee of five Indiana legislators selected the current motto (as always, it would be fun to have a look at the also-rans, but alas, the sources remain silent on this matter). “The Crossroads of America” was officially adopted by Joint Resolution No. 6 of the General Assembly of the House of Representatives of Indiana on March 2, 1937 – curiously, the resolution states that the phrase may be used “as the official State motto or slogan”…

Iowa – Our Liberties We Prize and our Rights We Will Maintain
Devised by a three-man committee of the State Senate and adopted as part of the state’s Great Seal upon its entry into the Union in 1846, Iowa’s motto has no (known) antecedents in literary antiquity.,

Kentucky: United We Stand, Divided We Fall
One of the most widely used mottos, traceable to two of Aesop’s Fables (The Four Oxen and the Lion, The Bundle of Sticks), used in Revolutionary War songs and since 1942 Kentucky’s official state motto. The slogan is/was also used on the Missouri flag, by Indian independentists, Ulster Unionists and many others.

Kansas Ad Astra per Aspera – To the Stars Through Difficulties
Often reversed to Per Aspera ad Astra or adapted further to Per Ardua ad Astra, this is a very popular Latin motto, also used by the Royal Air Force, NASA, several schools and universities, the former German Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Dutch city of Gouda (of cheese-making fame), Starfleet (in Star Trek) and on packs of Pall Mall cigarettes.

Louisiana: Union, Justice, Confidence
Specified in 1902 by governor W.W. Heard as part of the official state seal.

Maine: Dirigo – I Direct
Maine was once the only state to hold its presidential elections in September, leading to the saying: “As Maine goes, so goes the nation”.

Maryland: Fatti maschii parole femine – Strong Deeds, Gentle Words
This might sound like Latin, but it is in fact Italian – Maryland being the only state to have a motto in that language (and in an antiquated orthography too). It translates literally as ‘Manly deeds, womanly words’, which these days would be highly politically incorrect, as it conveys the same meaning as Teddy Roosevelt’s “Walk softly and carry a big stick”. Maryland state government translates the motto as “Strong deeds, gentle words”. The motto is that of the English Calvert family (the barons Baltimore), who founded the state in 1622 as an English colony reserved for catholics.

Massachusetts: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem – By the Sword We Seek Peace, But Peace Only Under Liberty
In frequent use since 1775, but not (yet) adopted as an official state motto. Attributed to the father of English politician Algernon Sydney, in a letter to his son, and later included in Sydney (Jr)’s “Book of Mottoes”.

Michigan:Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice – If You Seek a Pleasant Peninsula, Look About You.
Adopted in 1835, possibly inspired by a tribute to architect Sir Christopher Wren, who rebuilt much of London after the Great Fire (1666), at St Paul’s, which he also rebuilt.

Minnesota: L’etoile du nord – The Star of the North
Chosen by the state’s first governor, Henry Hastings Sibley and adopted in 1861, and the origin of Minnesota’s nickname as the North Star State.

Mississippi:Virtute et armis – By Valor and Arms
May have been influenced by Lord Gray de Wilton’s motto: Virtute non armis fido (I trust in virtue, not arms).

Missouri: Salus populi suprema lex esto – The Welfare of the People Shall Be the Supreme Law
Taken from Book III of Cicero’s De Legibus (’On the Laws’), and also the motto of Salford and Lewisham (both in the UK), and used by John Locke as the epigraph in his Second Treatise on Government.

Montana: Oro y plata – Gold and Silver
Conceived in 1865 to reflect Montana’s assets, and to have a nice ring to it (hence the Spanish), it defeated the proposition to make El Dorado (’The Place of Gold’) the state’s motto.

Nebraska: Equality Before the Law
(No background information found)

Nevada: All For Our Country
Possibly the blandest of all state mottos, especially compared with the combative tone of the next one.

New Hampshire: Live Free or Die

Probably the best-known of all US state mottos, as it succinctly and boldly expresses the original essence of American independence. It originates with General John Stark, who in 1809 used it to decline an invitation to a reunion of the Battle of Bennington because of poor health. The entire message read: Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils. The stridency of the slogan opens it up to parody, such as Live Free or Don’t (used in Futurama) and Live Free or Cheap (The West Wing), its recognisability has even been used to provide the fourth in a series of Bruce-Willis-saves-the-world-yet-again vehicles with a name: Live Free or Die Hard.

New Jersey: Liberty and Prosperity
Derived from the two goddesses portrayed on the state’s Great Seal.

New Mexico: Crescit eundo – It Grows As It Goes
Without context, the motto sounds like an avant-slacker anthem. But it is a phrase originating in Book VI of Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura (’On the Nature of Things’), where it describes the growing force of a thunderbolt.

New York: Excelsior – Ever Upward
Origin unknown. Possibly derived from the eponymous inspirational poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

North Carolina: Esse quam videri – To Be Rather than to Seem
From chapter 98 of Cicero’s essay De Amicitia (’On Friendship’), where in its context is is used to mean the opposite: Virtute enim ipsa non tam multi praediti esse quam videri volunt: ‘Few are those who wish to be endowed with virtue rather than to seem so’. Sallustius however used it more positively in Bellum Catalinae, where he describes Cato the Younger as esse quam videri bonus malebat (’he preferred to be good rather than to seem so’). The motto is particularly popular in educational circles, figuring as the motto of many schools, sororities and fraternities. It was adopted by North Carolina in 1893 – prior to that, it had been the only one of the original 13 states without a motto.

North Dakota: Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable
A quote of Daniel Webster from his Second Reply to Hayne in the famous Webster-Hayne debate on the Senate floor in 1830 – and now the longest state motto of them all.

Ohio: With God, All Things are Possible
Despite judicial action by proponents of a separation of church and state, this remains Ohio’s motto, arguably the country’s most overtly religious. Deriving from Matthew 19:26, it was enacted in 1959 after remarkable lobbying by Jimmy Mastronardo, a 9 year old boy who travelled to the state capitol, registered as a lobbyist and campaigned for three years before the governor signed it into law.

Oklahoma: Labor omnia vincit – Labor Conquers All Things
A quote from Book I of Virgil’s Georgica, which supported Augustus’s campaign to encourage more Romans to become farmers. Also the motto of the American Federation of Labor, some cities and a truckload of schools.

Oregon: Aliis volat propriis – She Flies With Her Own Wings
First written in English (by Jesse Quinn Thornton, a local judge) and only then translated into Latin. It was officially adopted in 1854 (when Oregon was still a territory), and referred to a vote establishing a provisional government for the territory, independent of the US and Britain.

Pennsylvania: Virtue, Liberty and Independence
Adapted in 1875, taken from the state’s coat of arms, representing the fact that Pennsylvania was where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Rhode Island: Hope
(no additional information found)

South Carolina: Dum spiro spero – While I Breathe, I Hope
In its brevity and elegance, this motto is a fine example of why Latin makes such a good language for mottos. The saying is attributed to Cicero, in his letters to Atticus, and to St Andrew. It has been adopted as a motto by the town of St Andrews in Scotland, and by the Hutt River Principality, an Australian (unrecognised) micronation (discussed earlier in on this blog). It also adorns the coat of arms of numerous families, among which the Scottish clan MacLennan and is used – possibly with a hint of irony – by the Asthma Sinus Allergy Program in Maryland’s Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

South Dakota: Under God the People Rule
Adopted as part of the state seal at the 1885 Constitutional Convention, on the suggestion of Rev. Joseph Ward (founder of Yankton College), this one strikes a fine balance between religion (as one of the great motivating forces of Americans) and democracy (requiring a separation of church and state).

Tennessee: Agriculture and Commerce
Appeared on the state’s Great Seal since 1801, but officially adopted as state motto only in 1987.

Texas: Friendship
Refers to the state’s name, which derives from taysha, a Native American word meaning ‘friends’ or ‘allies’.

Utah: Industry
The concept of industry has for centuries been connected with the image of the beehive, which is a state symbol in Utah.

Vermont: Freedom and Unity
Adopted in 1788 for use on independent Vermont’s Great Seal, and re-approved upon its admission to the Union in 1791. The new US state’s first governor, Thomas Chittenden, cited the motto in his epitaph: “Out of storm and manifold perils rose an enduring state, the home of freedom and unity.”

Virginia: Sic semper tyrannis – Thus Always to Tyrants
Originally attributed to Marcus Junius Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar (March 15, 44 BC), later used by John Wilkes Booth as he shot dead president Lincoln (1865), and more recently by Timothy McVeigh, who wore a t-shirt with this motto (and with Lincoln’s picture) when he bombed the government building in Oklahoma City (1995). Usage of the motto by Virginia dates from 1776 and thus predates the latter two (mis)uses.

Washington: Alki – By and By
In 1851, the first settlers founded New York al-ki, which means “by and by” in the Chinook language.

West Virginia: Montani semper liberi – Mountaineers Are Always Free
The motto was suggested by Joseph H. DisDebar, the artist who created the state’s Great Seal, and was officially adopted in 1872. The Colombian city of Bucaramanga uses the same motto.

Wisconsin: Forward
(no additional information found)

Wyoming: Equal Rights
In 1869, Wyoming was the first US state, and one of the first territories worldwide, to give women the right to vote. Hence the motto, celebrating Wyoming’s pioneering role in establishing women’s suffrage. One of the state’s nicknames is “Equality State”.

Special thanks to strangemaps.wordpress.com for letting us know about this. You can visit their original post here

Skull Question 1: A royal gentelman asks, "Do we all belive in the law of singularity?"

2009-05-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

Deep in the dusty old library of the royal academy, we pulled out a book from 2002, entitled the 22 immutable laws of branding. One of our members laughed at it and called it rubbish. But, as we drank library ale and perused the yellow pages we did find a law that might be worthy of
"immutable-ness."
Law number 22. "The law of singularity." It states, "The most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness." "A brand is a proper noun that can be used in place of a common word" Then they go on that common anti-Panasonic rant we have all heard before. Explaining, how "Panny" is worthless because while standing for so many electronics that stand for nothing in peoples minds.

Think about this carefully fellow members... Can you think of a brand that kicks bullocks but is also absent minded in its focus. If so please comment!

Just in case you haven't read this already

2009-05-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

This is a classic and a must read for all Account Planners. So, if you're just starting out and haven't read this yet, click on the link and buy a copy now. Truth, Lies and Advertising : The Art of Account Planning by Jon Steel

Welcome Welcome! Let's start with an anatomy lesson on Account Planning

2009-05-20T07:12:00.001-07:00

Welcome! To the first meeting of the Royal Account Planning Society. We are honored to have you among our ranks. The first order of business will be to make sure that we all have a firm grasp of what it is we all do.

Here are 3 Documents that should help:

1. The Account Planning Group's Definition of Account Planning
What is Account Planning (2007) PDF
What is Account Planning (1986) PDF
In 1986 the APG published a booklet written by Sev d'Souza as a definition of account planning. Fifteen years later, with the further evolution of planning, that definition needed updating. Merry Baskin (APG Chair in 1998 and 1999) undertook the task and in 2001 wrote the Millenium edition -- which she updated in 2007 to be ready for the 40th anniversary of planning in 2008.

2. Henrick Habberstad's highly recommended Anatomy of Account Planning (2000) Click here to download the Word file
This document analyzes our craft, it's history, and gives some visions for the future. I was written by Henrik Habberstad, a planner at Dinamo in Oslo with input from some of the best brains in the business and comes highly recommended from Stephen King himself "The father of account planning."

“Henrik Habberstad has clearly done an enormous amount of research about account planning and talked to a lot of people. I can’t believe that there’s much remaining about the topic that hasn’t been covered; so this will be the most detailed and comprehensive paper available on planning”

- Stephen King -

3. The 1974 classic by Stephen King: The JWT Planning Guide
Click here to download the PDF