The Home for Planners & Strategists
A Day in the Life of a Planner
Ricardo Aros
29th March 2019
What's your official job title?
Strategy director at Pedro, Juan y Diego (Santiago, Chile).
How would you describe to your parents/grand parents what you do?
I help companies to sell their products telling them how to talk with people and not seem a far corporate stranger.
How would you actually describe what you do?
I’d like to think that planning is a sort of meeting point where people, creatives and business find a cool place to talk, be inspired and innovate.
Please could you write a sentence or two on what you were doing at the following times today/yesterday?
9am
Arriving at the agency. Having coffee (Espresso no sugar). Writing/searching a point of view about a brief… Taking advantage of the calm before everyone arrives at the agency. 9,30 already in a meeting with my team.
11am
Meeting with a client, presenting / defending a strategy, trying not to sell just an ad but trying to build a brand that people care about.
1pm
Having lunch with a fellow planner from another agency.
3pm
In an internal meeting, working with creatives in a campaign. Trying to be a planner who gets part in the creative game and not one that becomes a referee that judges’ creativity.
5pm
Meeting with another client, backing up one of my team’s planner presentation. After the meeting we did a retrospective and defined next steps.
7pm (or whatever time your work day generally ends)
At home, with my wife and kids. Chilling out with wife trying not to speak about brands (she’s a market researcher).
If you left your job right now, what wouldn't happen as a result?
Probably I would re-start my personal planning and consultancy projects unless I get pulled from entrepreneurship by some interesting conversation with another agency or company (again).
What's the most interesting thing you've done in the last month?
Being on vacations on the beach with my wife and kids. On past December I became Head of Strategy at a local agency after three years of independence…. So definitively, not having a schedule and being free from meeting / calls / pendings was marvellous.
What's the worst thing you've done in the past month?
Coming back to work after vacations!
What are you wearing today?
Same kind of jeans, same kind of t-shirt, almost same color as yesterday and everyday.
What's the one piece of advice you'd give someone trying to get your job?
It is not as important as you think it is.
What's the one thing you wish you'd known before you started?
It is not as important as you think it is.