Account Planning: What role does it play in advertising effectiveness?

What role does account planning play in the creation of effective advertising? Is there a trend evident in the application of the account planning process in the development of a campaign and the resultant market effectiveness of that campaign? Adopting the Advertising Federation of Australia’s Advertising Effectiveness Awards 1998 to 2003 as a reference source, this paper sets out to explore the notion of account planning and those agencies employing account planning as being significantly and demonstrably involved in the development of campaigns that are judged to be effective in Australia. Introduction In advertising and marketing communication planning, objectives are commonly held to be the drivers for outcomes, accountability and success (Hartley and Patti, 1998). Schultz and Barnes (1996) state that the first rule of advertising campaign testing is to set objectives for measurement. Yet, as Xavier, Patel and Johnson (2004) identify, the majority of objectives fail to meet the important test of measurability, being nebulous rather than time-specific. It is considered that in the current and foreseeable continuing global climate of agency accountability and of clients’ focus on return on investment from both their agencies and indeed their own marketing departments (King, 2004), account planning (also referred to as strategic planning) is in danger of either being dismissed as a disposable cost or truly being called to account in terms of demonstrable effectiveness – by both client and agency management. As was identified in a scoping study by Butcher and McCulloch (2003) the role of account planning in Australia has to varying degrees been accepted, however its demonstrable value remains largely unproven. It is acknowledged that a considerable body of literature exists in relation to the history and methodologies of the account planning discipline however there appears no published benchmark for identifying its effectiveness or accountability. This paper, based on a review of documented Australian advertising campaign case studies, utilising the Advertising Federation of Australia Advertising Effectiveness Awards 1998 to 2003, asks the question: “Is there a correlation between the incidence of account planning in the development of an advertising campaign and its subsequent effectiveness in the marketplace? ” In reviewing these case studies, the author seeks to identify if what role account planning has played in the development of effective advertising campaigns. A Background to Account Planning Whilst the philosophy and application of account planning is well established, respected and utilised in the UK and to a lesser extent in the US, acceptance in Australia has been less universal. The study undertaken by Butcher and McCulloch (2003) indicated that advertising agencies face scepticism from clients as to the discipline’s real value. The study further identified that even after three decades in Australia, account planning remains largely misunderstood and thus is underutilised by the majority of Australian agencies and their clients. However, proponents continue to argue that effective advertising is substantially enhanced through its application (Cooper, 1997; Hartley and Patti, 1998) thus supporting the notion of the value of account planning in the development of effective communication. A Question of Effectiveness There has been significant commentary concerning accountability, performance-based remuneration (PBR) and return on investment (ROI) from the collective perspective of all stakeholders involved. In recent times advertising budgets have been under intense scrutiny within client companies so marketing departments and advertising agencies are focusing hard on proving a return on investment. According to the National Chairman of the AFA, proving the effectiveness of advertising has never been more important than it is today (Melhuish, 2004). While it is argued that accountability is the responsibility of all stakeholders involved in marketing a company’s products and services or promoting a brand, Rowell (2004) places the responsibility squarely at the feet of the advertising agency suggesting that it is the agency’s principal role to provide excellent return on marketing investment for the client. The notion of effectiveness in advertising is not new. Traditionally it has been linked primarily to media expenditure, but more recently the imperative to demonstrate effectiveness has spread to all facets of the marketing communication mix. Zyman (2006) believes that in the immediate future, ROI will encompass all aspects of the communication process. As account planning is concerned with identifying consumer insight within the context of behaviour and in the process of creating outcomes (Fortini-Campbell, 1992), it is appropriate to expect account planning to take on the mantle of accountability. Aitkin (1997) supports this belief, stating that the account planner’s ultimate responsibility is accountability for effectiveness. This investigative study then is important as there is little in the literature to support or otherwise the notion of account planning involvement in the development of effective advertising.