Intro - Who Is This Dude, Anyway.

Well, you can call me a 21st Century Account Planner. I get it and want to share it with y'all. As it all relates to this blog, read the last couple of paragraphs after you've gotten to know me a bit.
Much has changed during my 20+ years of progressive growth and success as an Account Planner, Account Manager, Consultant, and Corporate Director of Advertising and Market Research. And as all you marketers and consumers know, in this era where the role of TV and print is evolving, Planners must apply their knowledge and understanding of brand planning, research and strategy to drive creative excellence across all media including emerging ones like interactive, guerrilla, viral, and out-of-home. Simply, a 21st Century Account Planner (me) must be ‘Media Neutral’ when applying their insights in support of a client’s marketing objectives. And now, they must work as close allies with Media Directors as they have with Creative Directors in the past.

Also, Account Planning is not just about looking for hidden consumer insights. For a brand to stand out as superior in a cluttered environment, communicators must also understand the culture and values of the corporation and its employees; these human resources are often the most important – yet overlooked – target audience in the marketing communications mix.

I will refer to this as INternalBranding in this blog, and will feed you my thoughts and insights about the Seven IN's of INternalBranding in installments. The mission is to create a Super-employee INvironment who associates on the front line and in the back room all strive collectively to deliver superlative brand experiences at every touch point ... every time.

So stay tuned for some great stuff. Okay, enough about me ... I'll be back shortly with Installment 1.