The Home for Planners & Strategists
A Day in the Life of a Planner
Lucy Banister
16th January 2015
What's your official job title?
Partner at The Nursery
How would you describe to your parents/grand parents what you do?
I talk to people about what they think about advertising, report back to the company who has commissioned me with what people have said and make suggestions to help them make it better.
How would you actually describe what you do?
I talk to people about what they think about advertising, report back to the company who has commissioned me with what people have said and make suggestions to help them make it better.
Please could you write a sentence or two on what you were doing at the following times today/yesterday?
9am
Tube (always the tube – great for people-watching) to Knightsbridge to meet JWT and Shell to debrief them on the findings of their V-Power international creative development campaign to run across America, Asia and Europe. Helping them decide which route would deliver their objectives best and giving guidance to help make the ad look as good as possible.
11am
Back to the office to go through a debrief with my team for a presentation they were making to McVitie’s – they had lots of ideas on how to make the campaign work harder and some perceptive comments about the brand.
1pm
Lunch from Pret (always the same sadly, don’t know why, we are surrounded by fantastic places to eat in Soho) round the office table with the team.
3pm
Off to a terribly posh St James location for a debrief to a luxury brand client- charming people, and bone china teacups. Now that’s what I call a debrief.
5pm
Nip off to Wyoming research studios with a bulging art-bag to discuss brand propositions for pizzas. First group a riot, second group much harder work.
7pm (or whatever time your work day generally ends)
Re-pack the bulging art-bag and stagger off to get a taxi home to North London.
If you left your job right now, what wouldn't happen as a result?
The office tea-bags would never get used up
What's the most interesting thing you've done in the last month?
On a luxury brands project I did a series of interviews with couples in their homes to talk about their designer brands they owned. Getting to nosey round people’s homes AND their relationships - irresistible.
What's the worst thing you've done in the past month?
The Christmas party forfeit.
What are you wearing today?
Jeans, boots and a scarf. Always a scarf, I’m always cold.
What's the one piece of advice you'd give someone trying to get your job?
Make me a strong cup of tea every hour on the hour and the job is yours, but apart from that, stay curious, nosey people make the best researchers and never ever skip the ad-break.
What's the one thing you wish you'd known before you started?
Quite how much caffeine I would need to get through the day and quite how strong my arms would need to be to manage bulging art-bags.