What steps have been taken to improve the strategic account planning function?
As I mentioned earlier, strategic planning and account management is the key. We created the account planning discipline three years ago and have been reaping the benefits now. These planners are active members of the brand teams and form an important link in the tripartite cross functional groups of people who service the account or brand. We started this experiment with Hindustan Lever Limited and found that it worked and delivered results. There is a noticeable difference in the HLL ad campaigns three years back and those campaigns which are on currently. The current campaign score in terms of visibility, cutting-through clutter, likeability, strategic efficacy and implementation. In fact, our good work has been recognised by the client as well as our peers in the advertising and marketing fraternity. The model will be replicated across all clients soon. At present, our team comprises 20 planners and we shall be expanding it to 30-35 planners soon.
