The Home for Planners & Strategists
A Day in the Life of a Planner
Frances Docx
28th January 2019
What's your official job title?
Senior Planner
How would you describe to your parents/grand parents what you do?
So when this conversation came up we settled for: I make the stuff either side of Bargain Hunt.
How would you actually describe what you do?
Keynote presentation version 6 Final Final.
Please could you write a sentence or two on what you were doing at the following times today/yesterday?
9am
I was prepping for a meeting later in the day to present Brand Platform territories to a client.
11am
elevenses of course!
1pm
I’m being inducted onto a new account and there’s a meeting on it this afternoon. Manic speed reading in tracking data and post campaign analyses. Will. Not. Remember. Any. Of. This.
3pm
Very quick meeting to review some radio scripts. Why is good radio so hard to come by? Before the meeting, I google “award winning radio campaigns”, I get big ideas and am then reminded by well-meaning account manager that there’s no money, time or client appetite for anything other than campaign line and brand name. Cool.
5pm
Shuffling papers and stewing over radio scripts, reminding myself of the best career advice I’ve never listened to “pick your battles”…decide to write “big idea” radio brief anyway.
7pm (or whatever time your work day generally ends)
Off to the gym, it’s January and I’m a bit basic like that.
If you left your job right now, what wouldn't happen as a result?
This is a depressing question because the real answer would be that department emails might have less sarcasm in them and my rent wouldn’t get paid. The other answer is that certain major retailers and consumer goods companies would collapse without culture defining work elevating their brand to emotional and financial heights previously unheard of. Maybe it’s time I left my job…
What's the most interesting thing you've done in the last month?
Flew to Berlin and visited M&C’s offices there – they are so cool.
What's the worst thing you've done in the past month?
Blag everything. Being new to the agency my usual blagging capacity has been dialled up to 11.
What are you wearing today?
Red DMs, tweed grey trousers and a plain white jumper. Today is a particularly good wardrobe day because it’s Monday. Everything is downhill from here.
What's the one piece of advice you'd give someone trying to get your job?
Try to be interested in everything even the “boring” stuff sometimes has untapped value
What's the one thing you wish you'd known before you started?
No one in this industry really knows what they’re doing so you’re as good as anyone to study up and give it a go.