Planning reading list and other stuff

Someone asked me what a reading list for a new planner would be, how to engage with creatives and how to get a job in the UK when you live in Australia. 

This is what I said. Any other thoughts?

Read, in this order:

Truth Lies and Advertising By John Steele

A masterclass in brand planning a collection of Stephen King Essays

Eating the Big Fish by Adam Morgan

The Book of Gossage by Howard Gossage

Perfect Pitch by John Steele

Testing to Destruction - a Paper you can get on the APG website for free

 

Those are the big ones, that sort of stand the test of time. 

 

Then:

How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp

Brand Immortality by the IPA

The long and short of it - an IPA paper by Peter Field and Les Binet

There are the ones with the most up to date data on how advertising and stuff really work and are essential - but it's essential to form your own opinion too. 

 

 

Then:

Cultural Strategy by Douglas Holt

Transformations by Grant McCraken

The stuff you can't bottle King Ads

Very current, more about how to do imaginative work and great cultural insight. 

 

And ongoing, blogs:

Don't bother with my rubbish

Read Canalside View by Martin Weigel, go to the start and work through

Read Russell Davies' archive before around 2008

Read Rob Campbell's wordpress blog

Read Ad Contrarian

Scamp (for a creative point of view)

 

And if your agency has WARC, read ADMAP religiously. 

 

Then read nothing else about planning, read as much as you can about popular culture. 

Get interested in art, the latest digital art, the latest stuff in video etc. 

Read as many psychology books as you can get your hands on

Get good at economics - the best planners get commerce as well as culture

And consume popular culture - the stuff the average Joe reads, watched and surfs. They are your audience, be one of them, learn why the like what they like. 

 

On engaging creatives, read this:

http://joymachine.typepad.com/northern_planner/2006/07/working_with_cr.html

And more importantly:

Make them lots of coffee

By as up on their craft as you can - read Scamp's blog, they want to know you love what they love

You'll be given small briefs at first I guess - look like you've worked bloody hard on it, make it better than it has to be, they'll love that

Find out what they're interested in, how they like to work, tailor your approach to individual teams

Never lose your temper

Try and make them think they thought of everything themselves

SURRENDER YOUR EGO!!

 

On getting a job in the UK:

I'll help if you help me get one in OZ!!

But more seriously, write to planning directors in the agencies you think fit your bill, be clear why you want to move and what you can offer. They're more generous than you might think. 

Comments

[Martinheadon]

I would add to the third-to-last paragraph, keep your feet on the ground. Remember what real people (like you) think about products, brands and advertising. Observe your own and others' behaviour.

That way, you write briefs that are grounded in reality (teenagers are more likely to pull if they spray on some deodorant like Lynx) than get sucked into the brand's solipsistic fantasy world (Lynx produces the best smelling range of deodorant in the world!).

[Will]

I'd add 'Good Strategy/Bad Strategy' by Richard Rumelt to your initial list, and add in the first 3 / 4 years of Adliterate to the blogs you should read.