No Planning Conference - what are you going to do about it?
So the planning conference has been canceled - on reflection not to much of a surprise in the face of the economy. Still, I see they have not canceled Cannes this year.
It is easy to write of the planning conferences as a little bit navel gazing and repetitious, but this is probably because the conference has not caught up to the online conversation that goes on the rest of the year. But writing things off in that way goes against the philosophy we are all talking about in marketing - it's about what you do not what you say.
This is the opportunity to reinvent/supercede the planning conference. As Adrian and Gareth tweeted earlier, maybe it's not a conference at all. So here are some of my thoughts of what I/we could organize. This is not an idle post - if enough people are interested I'll put the work in....but it would be much better to crowdsource it.
So....
a) Where: an in person gathering has a real value - we all no casual unexpected conversations add huge value and can't replace online chat completely. In that case I would still suggest meeting in SF where the weather is nicer in the fall (organizing something new in August is asking for trouble). Still, using a Skype/oovoo/Facebook broadcast system with chat might well work.
b) For who: We're now pretty sure agencies are not going to pay for planners to go to a conference. So lets organize something for planners as people (which isn't that different than their professional selves). Lets make it on the weekend and make it attractive to creative/strategic minded people across industries.
c) What: the biggest question! Do we really want a conference? On a very personal level, I would like to have a live version of Howcast - people from various discplines conducting workshops teaching how to do things like run a successful political lobbying campaign, tell a story, evaluate a screenplay etc. The idea would be to start with one person's process and that have the group improve the process or add thoughts to add to the learning.
It would also be interesting to add/curate a performance component to this event - music, art and design that reflect interesting areas of cultural development.
When I step back this may be starting to sound like a bit of a planner's Burning Man. Bu that wouldn't suck to badly.
19 Comments:
i'm in, mr.lewis.
Actually it kind of sounds like a Planning Barcamp. But a Bruning Man for Planners sounds way cooler. I'd like to help, even if it's only with my ideas.
Let's prove our worth as a group by generating a shit load of buzz. Here are some ideas on how to accomplish this objective:
1) Set a world record: "World's largest focus group?"
2) Planner "parade" through the streets of SF.
3) "Brief Strike" which could be hilarious but also backfire considering there was good advertising before the "brief."
4) Two words...Six Flags!
5) Planning camping trip. No iPhones, blogs, etc. Just people, ideas and nature.
more to come...
I'm in Mark.
My suggestion would be to apply planning and strategy to the creation of this conference. I think decisions like location, agenda and form can be improved upon by thinking through this strategically. I think it would actually be interesting to make the strategy for the conference a part of the agenda.
This is probably a stupid idea, but hey I'm young and stupid so here goes :)
I'd do it in the less developed world and make a long weekend out of it, maybe someplace in Central America or Africa.
I'd do this for two reasons
1) To get people out of the advertising fraternity mentality, make it about people (which I believe is something many, more smareter people have touched on) and about connecting on a deeper level than say "Hey let me share my latest campaign insight"
2) I really only got into advertising because I saw it as a community which was full of people who had the problems of the world on their minds, like how do we make people's lives better - and as a student I really admired the planners for taking a stance on putting ideas out there that could help companies help people (along with initiatives like Planning 4 Good). So why not make it all about going to a place where we have a project for the weekend as well as being an opportunity to mix with some of the most awesome minds in the biz.
If you're gonna do it you may as well go big :)
So go on let me have it...
Love the ideas, Adrian, Mark and Tim. Applying strategy to the meeting would demonstrate value and be an enriching experience for all.
How do other planners (ie from security/defense, politics or economics) think about their gatherings? Is it any different than any other conference in the world? Anyone know?
I just want somewhere where I can be inspired by planners from larger agencies that actually get to plan for big clients, and figure out how they lead teams and effective communication strategies for creative and media. Basically, small agency planners like myself need to get inspiration from the professionals, and the how, why, when you started your planning journey so we know how to get from point A to point B in our planning careers. Also, case studies were some of my favorite highlights from past years: Pedigree, Cheetos, Rolling Rock, etc.
However, no planning camping trip for me. Although i'm from the desert, nothing hinders my learning experience like latrines and bug spray. :)
Although San Fran isn't the closest to me, I guess it's better than Miami or NYC. Anywhere where we can have a Planning Pub Crawl.
I'm really curious to see who all is down for an adventure. What a bummout that the conference is cancelled. But i'm glad there's such excitement about trying to do something on our own.
have to rush, more thoughts later, but i am definitely in.
game on, i'm in from the outside..
Glad people are in - very good suggestions.
I'm going to post another update later but just to know that if we don't opt for camping we have space at the Academy of Art (thanks to Cameron Maddux). I really love the iea of a service project in the midst of all this as well.
As for camping, it's not everyone's cup o tea, but I would urge us to get out of our comfort zone
Taking a strategic approach is always good. I'm going to see if we can take a crack at a brief!!!!
I'd like to be contribute in some way. I'm in.
thanks for spearheading, mark and everyone. I think this is a great idea - inspiring to think about pulling this off. I'd love to contribute and will give this some thought over the coming days.
i'm w/Sam. am liking the idea of a service project where we get all of us together and pitch-in for some do-good-ery in the local community. for people or local business. Count me in.
Goes without saying Mr Lewis I'm right there...
I'm all for cracking a brief together but I also wonder whether there's some fun and learning in actually making something together so that there's an output, solution that we can share at collectively own at the end...
Maybe it's a planning for good project or just a good old fashioned film on 'new world planning'? Faster, better, cheaper etc...
PS. Not sure Africa is a weekend destination... but just getting outside and doing something tangible would be a great treat.
Gorsie
adrian (and mark)
agreed that this requires application of the planning process to what we're trying to do.
that said (cracking open my dusty copy of 'truth, lies and advertising') a few things come to mind.
first, can a plan like this be crowdsourced? like i said in my tweet (is that ridiculous to say in public?)doesn't there need to be a junta de gobierno? maybe/maybe not. we'll see. maybe we should put sveta in charge... she's tough...
second, if we're Account Planning this, what's the problem we're trying to solve? i think previous planning conferences were unclear in this respect, with the exception of meeting cool people and to give the opportunity for single planners to meet cute, single planners. what happens at the apg stays at the apg (you know who you are)
third, how does technology play in to this? we already have more planning blogs than we need. how will this content be different than the last 5 years of great posts from adrian, gareth, et al?
anyway, when's the conference call?
another thought. if we already have influx + psfk and others, is the planning conference necessary?
i think it is, just not sure what it's role is...
Speaking of PSFK and conferences/unconferences that are truly valuable, I have found the PSFK Good Ideas Salons to be super inspiring. I dig the format and also appreciate PSFK as curator, inviting thought leaders that are a bit more interesting and unexpected. Also, the Howcast idea sounds fantastic. More and more, people (like us) want to learn how to do stuff and make stuff, both physically and on the internet. And this could be a good platform for generating an actual output as suggested in the comments. I’m in.
As I tweeted, I'm in and willing to help with coordinating, etc. As for content, I've always dug how-to-do and how-we-did-it type things.
I'm not sure what you all think, but here's another angle. Rather than focus on "planning," focus on cross-pollination, inspiration, and exposure to new things, rather than further exploring what you do the rest of the time.
Perhaps thinking in a more BarCamp/TED-esque model might prove useful. Sharing/Presenting/Teaching/Discussing cool ideas/things/processes/howtos/creations.
Also, as far as service projects at conferences/conventions, I've always been a big fan.
"Session" Ideas:
* Short slide show followed by Q&A with a grafitti artist
(imagine..."How do you paint the underside of overpasses? What's your process like? What was your closest call? When did you start, and how? What are you influences?")
* Discussion w/ the head of an architectural landmark like the DeYoung Museum, (and maybe the architect) about the creative and technical process, the war stories, and all the rest from RFP to Opening Day and beyond.
* Collaborative session to create a twitter app: brainstorm and spec in morning, review at lunch, prototype by dinner, live by drinks.
* A basic photography tutorial...how to make the most of your new digital camera...What are apeture and shutterspeed and how do I make them work for me?
* Basic strategies for surviving your digital life, presentation and collaborative session where people share their tips, tricks and best practices.
* Create an email code of conduct that everyone can agree to...and then promote it.
* Presentation on the advancement of 3D printing and what it could mean for industry and consumers.
* How the hell do you launch an Alternate Reality Game/Campaign and be sure people will get it/be involved?
* Off-Topic Coffee Breaks:
-What was your best day ever (kids and weddings excluded)?
-The one place you want to go before you die?
-When did you first start getting belly-button lint?
-If you won the lotto tomorrow, what is the first thing you would buy?
-If you could have a voodoo doll of one person in the world, who would it be?
These are just a few ideas off the top of my head, I'm sure you all could contribute more.
Count me in. Brandcenter would love to be a part of this and many of our students would jump at the chance to share some of what gets them excited about culture these days.
Really appreciate Mark's desire to bring in completely different disciplines. While I can always find something good in a campaign case study talk, hearing the ins and outs and applications of strategy in the world of politics, religion, product development, medicine, art, always seems to leave a bigger imprint on my view of the world and provide fresher perspective on the business problems in front of me.
Post a Comment