These are the raw open-ends among planning directors only.

Question 19: Just for you planning directors, I'd like you to tease out the difference in skills between levels. So first, what skills would you need to see to promote an assistant planner to a planner level. Or what would you look for in a planner level

Question 20: And the skills that you'd need to see to promote a planner to senior planner? Or what you'd be looking for in a senior planner hire?

Question 21: Finally, what skills would you need to see to promote a senior planner to a group director? Or what would you look for in a group director hire?

- - -

-independent thinking

-self-assurance and communication skills.

- the previous ones + respect from the client we do not have group directors

look for thirst for knowledge, people skills, passion for the business, knowledge of research techniques, strong instincts

solid abilities, good insights, good brief writing skills, great manager, proactive, creative

. . .

* * *

>ability to mentor others and contribute to their development

>fresh, original thoughts and ideas

>contribute to new business wins

>assess situations quickly

>innovation

>fresh, original idea

I would not promote a Sr Planner to group director. THera are two levels before group directory (Associate Planning Director and Planning Director)

2-3 years experience. Ability to think for themselves.

3-5 years experience. Ability to bully creatives and to stand up to clients.

5-7 years experience. Proven ability to manage.

3 or more years of experience, creative, inclusive of disciplines, and strategic analyst

Commitment to the accounts, opportunities detector, inspiring, creative and strategist

High-level management, credibility in the industry, proactivity and ability to teach

a grasp of basic craft skills sufficient to be able to own projects/relationships with minimal supervision

delivering above and beyond what's asked for; real initiative that impacts the work

innovative thinking and good people skills

a marketing and a deep understanding of good coaching skills and obviously,

communication vision strongly oriented to the consumer

our internal approach of comms planning and obviously, a marketing and communication vision strongly oriented to the consumer

a marketing and communication vision strongly oriented to the consumer and a deep understanding of our internal approach of comms planning

A planners eye - the ability to connect dots. To observe and see interesting things. To have ideas.

Independence. Ability to draw conclusions and get far down the road with a strategic direction. Pull real insights from research.

A leader. Someone who can define issues, create an enironment for solutions.

a true understanding of symbolic consumption and the capacity to articulate creatively true social value and engage emotionally with people

the expertise in several categories, the capacity to produce cross categories articulations and the experience in insightful integrated strategies trust and passion

a very deep understanding of the web's paradigms. Social media skills

Top creativity rather than analytics skills. Good at process design

Creative, analytic, digital focus, skeptic

a) Promotion: analysys, synthesis, creativity, responsability, seniorship, ability to deal with stressful deadlines and ability to guide others

b) attitude & experience

More than 5 yrs experience, ability to learn and grow into managerial skills, communication & negotiation skils

Same as above + interpersonal and developed managerial skills

Ability to articulate analysis of market, consumer, competition, brand in and transform facts in figures into actionable insights

Lead meetings and actually promote positive change within the company and its clients.

Ability to lead others, critical thought, impeccable technical knowledge and also deep understanding of how digital and non-digital integrate.

Ability to be a standalone planner instead of an assistant

Original thinking - tell me something I don't know

Bringing real value to their accounts

Making a difference on the business

1. The ability to lead idea development and to direct a brand idea across an organisation.

2. A role model for other planners.

3. Talent or experience that they could bring to the entire agency.

Ability to conceptualize the entire problem facing a brand, not just the immediate issue. Basic technical skills

More client-facing skills. The ability to inspire confidence in clients.

More of the same. Inspiring confidence in clients and giving them comfort to make decisions that may not be their standard operating procedure.

around hiring suppliers and conducting research themselves.

ability to create, from scratch, a coherent and logical strategy to meet the client objectives (as opposed to completing a task area within the strategic development process)

ability to lead a team strategically- manage differences of opinion, convince doubters and inspire others

as above plus commercial sensitivity/management, good management of people internally, proven experience in working with other senior management

Ability to define and scope small projects alone. Ability to present alone in front of mid level clients.

Ability to define and scope any problem alone. Ability to present alone in front of senior clients.

Extensive experience. Ability to lead a team and inspire the entire organisation.

ability to draw conclusions from quantitative as well as qualitative data, as opposed to just finding the data/answers

ability to inspire creativity (sell ideas, manage clients, etc), approach problems from a systemic point of view, realise the interconnection of a client's entire marketing efforts

ability to manage multiple clients (internally and externally) and delegate accordingly, make the work better, take responsibility

Ability to get on and deliver projects without assistance

Command the confidence of the client to drive the account forward strategically

Ability to raise profile of planning so that it becomes the driving force of influence within the agency and on peices of business

ability to handle quant and qual efforts.

strong ability to tease out insights and make a creative brief stimulating.

poise and presentation skills to unleash on clients. n.a.

Ability to independently develop and effectively present a strategy to a client.

Ability to "consistently" develop and effectively present strategies to clients.

Ability to effectively lead and inspire other planners in the internal group.

ability to influence outcome of team decisions at the project level

independence, ability to defend their point in cross disciplinary teams

client servicing skills, political skills, clout inside the organization

Ability to listen, to observe, and synthisize. Good at spotting ideas, and knowing how to begin differentiating between good ones and

Someone who is able to sell his or her ideas. They should know how to present something strategic, they should be able to think new ways of

Positive feedback from both clients and creative teams. Ability to train and coach people in the planning department.

not so good ones. Be able to understand the concept of relevance.

connecting the dots. They should be confident in the work they do (even when nobody else is) or at least pretend

Ability to manage a basic planning project with minimal supervision. Should feel comfortable presenting in front of clients but not expected to be "on their own." Definitely should be able to have recommendations on research plans, writing screeners,

The ability to stand firm in front of a client, write a compelling brief, stimulate creativity, understand the difference between which creative ideas will solve the client issue - some supervision but more coaching, less directive.

Complete ability to manage all planning needs for a creative/account team. Write compelling strategic/planning decks that tell the right story. Have minimal supervision.

Ability to move beyond information summarizing to a level of analysis.

Emerging leadership qualities; ability to command a room. Ability to form strategy, write an argument well, write good briefs, work well with creatives.

Leadership; positive attitude, ability to motivate a team, take the lead on strategy. Development of the account director gene, to look more broadly across the business. Ability to take the lead in new business pitches.

ability to present with confidence

ability to manage and improve subordinates

ability to improve Planning's 'brand' w/i the agency

ability to read into the obvious, imagination and creation skills

ability to be independent and who others seek out for conversation and help within the agency

ability to independently work with clients and a certain charming authoritativeness

ability to simply define and persuasively present a concept with intact insight. ability to design, analyse, and manage an innovate research project. ability to write, deliver, and evolve a creative brief. able to clearly define a brand's territory and r

no specific skills, i guess. more a matter of the quality of work, speed of process, and ability to work autonomously. one might also look to the planner's workshop design and management skills - a good senior planner should be able to propose (sell) and

not appropriate for the size of agency i have worked with (under 200 employees). and I think there is a danger in having too much hierarchy. Group Head / Director seems more like a title for someone managing an account (account handler / suit) rather than

Ability to summarize lots of information, being more concrete, able to create and tell stories with a meaning. Start to see brand/communication opportunities in stacks of info.

They have good people skills, they can manage different projects at the time. They are very good with clients. They have good perception from both creative and client service leaders.

Think like business consultants. Clients trust them deeply.

Ability to think laterally & creatively.

Self-motivation, drive, eagerness to help.

Enthusiasm, energy, passion for the job.

Thought leadership.

Complete comfort with presenting & leading client sessions.

Ability to own a brand, take projects from start to finish.

Respected & appreciated by colleagues & clients.

Successful strategic track record of effective, intelligent work.

Respected within the planning community.

Seen as a trusted, essential partner by clients & agency management.

Ability to anticipate needs of & deal with difficult clients.

Ability to me

Ability to think through problems, represent the agency independently at meetings, interact with clients.

Put together a well thought through creative brief independently, structure a research presentation, design a research plan, good presentation skills, contribute to new biz development in a substantive way.

Ability to operate independently, (with minimal supervision). Write and present a strategic deck. Be seen as a strong agency representative by clients.

Ability to use all the obvious tools at hand (intuition, TGI, etc.) to hav an opinion about the direction a brand shoudl go in.

The abiltity to convince a senior client of the opinion formed in Qu.17

The ability to inspire other planners to come up with opinions like that mentioned in Qu17.

Ability to work with some autonomy, some independent thinking and project management. Ability to be Client facing (with mid-lower level Clients).

Demonstrated strong strategic and creative thinking, ability to develop and maintain strong relationships (internally and with Clients), ability to work largely independent of supervision (higher level oversight, but would expect day to day autonomy).

Deep experience across brands, categories. Ability to interface well with people at all levels -particularly high level Clients and internal management. Experience managing and developing people.

Able to manage a straightforward planning process for a more straightforward client, creating campaign solutions.

Able to lead a planning relationship with an important client, creating brand solutions.

Able to lead a complex planning relationship with a more complex client, creating business solutions.

able to work things out by himself, fillfill and deliver given tasks in requested time and quality and asks for help when needed

able to handle big and complex projects by himself

manaagement talent, good delecation skills, leader qualities

Adaptability, flexibility, creativity. In the digital space, it's not as much about coming up with big ideas and more about being able to link the consumer with the brand through experience, interactivity, and engagement.

Ability to conduct, distill,

Ability to own and drive a strategic initiative on his/her own.

Demonstrated ability to sell creative.

History of working well with creatives.

Self-motivated and self-sufficient.

Proven history of thought leadership.

Experience managing P&L.

Believe it or not, much the same for a junior planner... proven to be flexible and adaptable.

Reputation for delivering change to an organization and/or challenging conventional think

an ability to propose research that meets client goals and an ability to write briefs with little input

an ability to lead an account and be seen as the planner in the client's eyes

an ability to grow business and innovate in the area of planning, a strong leadership within the agency, and an ability to manage other planners

An Assistant planner level would be a person who has the knack for thinking strategically, but lack the confidence to vouch for his assumptions / theories / hypotheses. A Planner would have these qualities and confidence, plus he would have propensity to

A senior planner would be in a position to handle more projects independently from scratch, would be much more comfortable in attending and taking briefs from client meetings, essentially upto middle-level projects, as well as supervise asst. planners in

When a senior planner feels comfortable in a position to start evangelizing on the brand he works for, becomes the favorite consultant to the clients for any strategic matter, and is able to handle multiple projects with ease, he has then arrived! Key cha

Analysis Capabilities. ATL and BTL knowledge. Self Expression capabilities. Quick response at taking decisions. Leadership and attitude for lead the planning work between creative team, account team and client.

Experience with many brands and many categories. Analytic perspective of 360 degrees communication. Leadership. Self initiative to propose new and disruptive ideas or concepts to Creative Team and Account Team. Inspiring Force.

Analysis Capabilities. ATL and BTL knowledge. Self Expression capabilities. Quick response at taking decisions. Leadership and attitude for lead the planning work between creative team, account team and client.Self initiative to propose new and disruptive

Analysis capability. Good diagnostics.

Good prognostics, being able to do a creative leap from diagnostics of how things are to an

Persuasion and diplomacy to sell the possibilities of the strategy and maneouver the politics.

imagination of how things could be.

Analytical skills.

Ability to work with others.

Passion for brands.

Interest in the popular culture.

The above plus ability to moderate internal strategy and brainstorming sessions.

Well developed writing and presentation skills.

Being able to articulate why ideas will work profitably for the brand.

High credibility with creative teams.

Analytical skills. Information gathering ability. Trend mapping.

Initiative and clarity of thought. Insight Mining leadership and inspiration

analytics self sufficiencycollaboration, making a difference.. impCTING BOTTOM LINE.

asking the right questions, challenging the right issues

can carry their own with senior creatives and clients

can always see big picture, think big, command respect among creatives and clients, consistently finds fantastic solutions, inspires others around them.

Assn planner is smart, can do detailed assignments well. Planner can be put in front of a client regularly, can manage projects. Senior planner manages all pitches and initial strategy, often on-going strategy.

Original thinking. Speaking ability at conferences or seminars. Most of all, ability to run a large clients strategy on her/his own, responsible to exec comm of company

Don't have the senior / group distinction, so take all comments about senior to be = to group director

atitude, curiosity, wide view

leadership and good relationship leadership and experience

attention, focus and creativity

client market understanting and research skills people management

Attitude is key, someone who wants to learn, but who can make an impact by being inventive, industrious and is keen to get stuck into things. They also need to be interesting, have a point of view on things and generally make me want to spend time with t

They need to be able to handle anything that is thrown at them without constant guidance, they should be developing their own style and approach away from the more prescibed one that is often useful for more junior Planners, they should be developing skil

A total rock star, someone who has real gravitas, brain power and would be capable of dealing with very big and complex global accounts, including the politics and general madness of everything.

be able to handle small/medium clients individually, together with a senior account

be able to handle medium/small clients individually, together with a junior account

be able to handle big clients individually

being able to do it inspiring others to do itinspiring others to do it like it's never been done before

Better client management skills

Obsessive curiosity

business acumen

Category experience

Breadth of life experiences

Ambition

Deep category experience

Management skills

inspiring presentation skills

Brief development skills. Strategic thinking

Communication and presentation skills. Credibility with clients

Total accountability. Excellent relation with clients, and proven left-side brain skills.

bringing in own ideas

working independently, excellent presentation skills ability to lead and motivate teams

broader experience across businesses, problems, partner agencies

international word

acceptance within whole group

leading competence

leading major clients

a developed own hand-writing

practicing leadership

developing the whole group

innovation

can handle project autonomously, is mature and professional with clients and is respected by client has maturity in his job

shows that his group's interest is at least equal to his/her own, care about growing people and kows how to, is mature in dealing with our everyday realities.

Capacity to manage the hole process of planning.

Personal skills such as deal with client and creative. Leadership and accountability

charisma and presence... the potential to become a leader on a piece of business

ability to step in a run a piece of business with minimal help

being able to manage teams, groom younger planners, recruit, and run a new biz pitch on their own

Clarity in expression (writing and verbal), critical thought.

Client skills: confidence, quickness, ability to tell a story, etc.

Demonstrated ability to "run" several relationships effectively.

Comfort in front of clients (their comfort, and mine in putting them there)

Creativity, influence, firm grasp on the mechanics (quant, qual, brief writing)

Kindness, leadership ability, ability to set examples for others

Common sense and desire of working

Common sense and desire of working after 4 years

Good results and good communication with mates

working

commun senseorganized, open minded and commercial skills able to manage people

Conceptual, interested in human stories, real people person, can see multiple sides of a story, but also has an opinion and point of view.

same with management skills - people skills same with p&l responsibility.

consumer understanding, holistic knowledge

strategic ability, client confidence

authority, ability, team relationships, management

consummer understanding and brand position understanding

the same as a junior planner + personal skills as for example delong with stress situatins or presentation skills, etc..

the same as a senior planner+ high influence in the organization

cool hunting attitude, energy, good at putting things in the right order

concept maker, good at analysis, good presentation skills

team building, inspiring, transmitting knowledge, respected

creative and strategic chops combined, working in sync. ability to empathise with creative team, build on ideas, hold her own in the room. ability to represent a consumer POV to client team

strong brief writing, presenting, defending. some track record in converting briefs to solid creative work. well-liked by creative team and account service, both.

account planning leadership--maing: be well versed in client business, consumer insights and trends, thorough research skills, strategic thinker that translates across categories, ability to lead strategy independently

creativity and analitics trust leading skills

creativity and competency

creativity competency, leadership above, plus experience

Creativity, Presentation skills leadership skills, client service skills

creativity, autonomy, lateral thinking, collaboration, research skills, research methodology understanding, great repertoire of music, literature, travel, fashion and design, curious mind, investigative person

all of the above + people management skills, political skills when dealing with top executives clients and agency top management, presentation super skills, project management skills

someone who is great enough to simply not care for all of the above. just joking. i would have to say all of the above + excellent training and inspiration skills and leadership

creativity, critical thinking

creativity, critical thinking, analytical ability

creativity, critical thinking, analytical ability, poise

criative strategic and criative strategic, criative and bussiness

curiosity about everything, creativity and understanding of briefings and translating it to consumer needs.

research skills, creativity, consumer understanding, branding understanding, good presentation skills.

leading, motivating and having inititative to inspirate others.

Curiosity and an ability to join the dots and not simply "report" findings. They need to look for meaning, even if they need assistance articulating it.

An ability to convey the essence of an insight to a client, creative team or anyone else with ease and clarity. And a persuasive personality.

The ability to mentor and motivate others...must have an intuitive sense of where other people are in their development and provide stable, inspiring guidance. Also the ability to interact with clients at the senior-most levels.

Curiosity and enthusiasm

solid presenter, able to think on feet

Solid problem solving, leadership/mentoring, presentation and client relationship skills

Curiosity and observational skills

BEsides the previous, deep understanding of consumer, brand and communications behaviours. A passion for solving the complicated. An ability to encourage creativity.

Besides the previous, global knowledge and perspective of brand strategies. Disciplined and inspiring. Innovative as to how to approach projects.Able to embrace/understand change constantly.

Curiosity initiative good presentation skills persuasiveness research-literacy

Same as previous + ability to deal with senior level clients, understand their needs and deliver what they want

Same as previous + management abilities and emotional intelligence to lead and motivate teams

Curiosity, a willingness to get to the bottom of how business and marketing works,

Ability to handle the planning and strategic requirements of a client(s) on one's own

Ability to supervise and motivate a team of planners

curiosity, analysis, judgment

judgment, experience, creativity people skills

curiosity, different background (studies or experience), passion

curiosity, different background (studies or experience), passion + understanding of the business+presentation skills same + experience

curiosity, passion, initiative and persistence

The ability to run your own clients and projects and take full responsebility

A lot of experience and proven succes on all levels

Curiosity, stimulated mind, the ability to identify and articulate a problem, the fertility to ideate.

All the above, plus a healthy business sense.

All the above (17 & 18) plus people skills.

curiosity, well constructed synthetic mind, adophile,

same with experience and some shoulders: capacity to defend a pov,

capacity to hold an account by himself.

Curious, organized, creative.

Be indepent in the thinking, be insightful, search references in the discipline, creative, organize the methodoly to star the job.

Not happen yet. But be mature it's important, have a vision about the discipline. Inspire others.

Curiousity & open-mindedness in the world around the. Ability to have a POV on a topic of interest.

Conversant with planner & research approaches. Ability to talk with credibility about brands, consumers and strategies with clients. Ability to develop strategies and briefs which creatives will listen to and discuss.

Ability to steer a team within the agency. Be the strategic lead which senior clients respect and take note of. Work closely with the ear & respect (perhaps not always total agreement!) to debate ideas with senior creatives. Ability to 'front' the agency

curisosity. discipline of thinking.

curisosity. discipline of thinking. originality. personal professional growth ...

deep curiosity, deep analysis, very disciplined

(Plus the previous ones), sparkling creativity, daring personality, high sense of business

Leadership, experience in several categories and targets, skilled to get the most out of the group, passionate, great presenter

deep understanding of social networks.

Strong presenter -- obsessive problem solver

Leadership, rational behavior when stuff goes South, a history of bringing a new insight to the table, understanding the biz model with which we work and the need to make money.

Develop a creative brief/brand strategy that includes a real consumer insight and business opportunity.

Conducting primary consumer research (interviews, surveys, focusgroups)

comfortable in driving a project, but also comfortable taking direction and supporting others. Ideally, they should have a grounded approach to planning and solid experience writing creative briefs, strategy presentations and research proposals (and doin

Focused on connecting the dots to the future and helping to deliver (identify, lead and create) projects that enable business growth.

Develop and present a work to the client, from the beginning to the end of the process, with the help of a sennior

Develop and present a work to the client, from the beginning to the end of the process, by himself.

Coordinate the process, integrate different departments, direct dialogue with creative directors.

planner.

developed advertising and marketing culture, ability to push their limits and understand their limitations, integrate well with teams and clients

autonomy, solid advertising and business understanding, ability to inspire lead creatives, authority

team management skills, leadership vs clients and teams, autonomy, deep advertising and business understanding, charisma

Difference between ability to act as an autonomous planner on a smaller account versus being an assistant to a senior on a larger account

Ability to lead a large account. With suitable gravitas to handle senior clients and other agency planners. As well as having business acumen.

Top level experience. To be a business and team lead as well as a traditional planning lead.

digital nativeable to level with creatives and to inspire clients vision

Direct client contact

Presentation skills

Manage client relationships

Presentation skills

Business responsibility

Manage client relationships

Presentation skills

Business responsibility

Discipline, imagination, team work spirit and love for knowledge

Strategic input and initiative. Idea generation.

Mentor, experience in major disciplines and requirements in planning.

Empathy. Planner will have a more thorough feeling and understanding of different target audiences.

Experience. A planner will come up with solutions after study, a senior planner might find solutions from gutfeel, out of experience.

Sympathy. Should be a nice fellow. someone you'd love to follow, someone who inspires.

enough knowledge to work autonomously; understanding of qualitative versus quantitative versus secondary research

ability to work with clients autonomously; deeper understanding of research; ability to write a solid report; ability to draw conclusions from data

clients love and respect you; can completely run your client base with no intervention from me; can execute any type of research; write a kick-ass report; talk strategically in meetings

enthusiasm- this translates into the ability to draw inspiration from any aspect of life and relate it to something totally different.

the ability to expand a core thought into any given channel based on how the idea relates to the audience

client skills, global sensitivities... it's more about business skills than planner-specific skills

Enthusiasm. True confidence. expertise. independence.

Experience Experience. Experience

Experience gaining through diverse projects and time evolution. Besides, meeting goals. The same the same

experience in all stantard jobs. social intelligence.

experience in non standard jobs in several markets. social intelligence. first management skills.

social, managerial and political intelligence.

Experience in the advertising industry (with some client servicing experience), evidence of having made a personal contribution towards building a brand, initiative, wide range of interests outside of work and at least one interest that borders on obsessi

Creative strategic thinking skill. Ability to handle a brand independently. Ability to lead a pitch for a medium sized client, clear contribution towards building more than one brand, knowledge and skill with various channels of communication apart from r

Demonstrable thought leadership, other than leadership on creating/significantly impacting the development of brands, wide ranging experience across brands and categories, ability to use research, data and client input in a skilled manner and thus ensure

Experience plus ability to manage projects

Ability to lead/direct the course of the brand positioning and manage tough clients

Ability to negotiate within the agency and brand processes/continue to update planning group process/philosophy

Experience, initiative Experience, initiative Experience, initiative

Experience, research abilities, creative view The same at a higher level the same

Facility with basic craft skills - qual and quant research from design to final report and briefings - as well as an understanding of the role of planning in an agency

Independent strategic thinking of a (small) new business pitch from end-to-end; the ability to form a new strategy for an account as opposed to maintaining an existing one; sustained, unsupervised client partnership; proven ability to catalyse good creati

Significant leadership of a group of planners on a larger project or account; winning the confidence of a senior client; trusted partner for creative directors

For AP to planner, an ability and confidence to lead projects

Trust of creatives and clients An ability for fresh, radical thinking

Go getter and extremely inquisitive -- communicates well and getting full grasp on quant as it continues to drive interest in the c suite

Leader. Innovative. Results and business oriented. Digitally savvy and a desire to understand and work toward creating brand advocacy.

A visionary that leads colleagues and clients to new territories. Calculates manageable risk and continues to expand their knowledge base through the new ways in which people interact with people and brands.

Good business understanding, good judgement, creative ability to unearth insights

Credibility, ability to manage clients, good and genuine verbal and presentation skills Ability to inspire others.

Good communication skills - can inspire both verbally and in writing, technically sound with research, presentations

Can write inspiring creative briefs on his/her own. Can translate research material into effective presentations. Has sound experience/knowledge of certain categories

Can work well with creative, ensures there is a strong insight to begin with and can guide/tweak creative work to bring it on strategy. Can effectively lead/participate brainstorming sessions with Creative to help get them big ideas. Ensures there is a st

Good grasp of qual. techniques. Some solid moderating experience. Some basic workshop experience. Evidence of some strong briefs. Good working relationships with all other departments. Done something interesting!

Able to stand on their own without much oversight or guidance. Excellent qual. skills. Good quant. grasp. Able to lead workshops. Able to lead creative briefings.

All of the above with more experience. New business experience and win under belt. Ability to work seamlessly across different clients. Proven business development with existing clients. Ability to attract and retain good planners. Ability to mentor and c

good grasp of research, proactivity, logical thinking, must love advertising

logical/analitical thinking, excellent grasp of research, ability to properly judge creative work not applicable at this time

good intuition, able to make the "right" choices with little guidance, basic fundamentals of research skills, can lead occassionally (vs. follow)

ability to represent the department in front of clients, good knowledge base/experience on all types of projects - ability to think on feet and respond appropriately.

Need to have a philosophy/POV, leadership skills - ability to teach others, relationships with sr. level clients and internally, ability to do/say what's right even if unpopular.

good with creatives, can present well can make leaps clients look to them for leadership

Have the basic toolbox (briefs, research, thinking)

Client interaction, project leadership, prsentation skills

New business leadership, team leadership, teaching and mentoring, senior client interaction, solve tough problems

He/she needs to start analysing markets and bring thinking and actionable conclusions and recomendations to his/her work but still

- Ability to manage and present directly to clients

- Direct contact to brief senior account or creative people

- Leadersheep

- Ability to handle teams

- Seniority within the company

needing full sueprvision by a Planning Director

- No need of supervision for minor works

- No need of supervision

Hunger

Future vision

Digital fluency

Hunger

Searing intelligence

Digital fluency

Leadership

Future vision

Digital fluency

I am the only planner in the agency, and the structure is not goin to grow up.

I am the only planner in the agency, and the structure is not goin to grow up.

I am the only planner in the agency, and the structure is not goin to grow up.

i don't believe in assistant planners - our philosophy is that you need to be senior enough to b taken seriously.

in a hiring situation - I look for fit with the company's vibe, an interesting mind, and a track record we're too small for levels like that

I'd look for someone who lives in this world

I'd look for intuition and to be forward-looking... To be ready to take and advantage.

I'd need to see a level of proactivity - do they know what is needed on their accounts/within the department or do they need to be told what to do?

Can they write clear, actionable documents and POVs with little help?

Can they represent planning in a te

Do they command respect (or deserve respect) from clients and creative directors? Can they run projects with little supervision?

Do they understand what the client wants and needs and can they guide teams to do respectable work to achieve that?

Are the

They can do everything mentioned before + run new business pitches, manage multiple teams on multiple brands. And they get how the agency runs and seek proactive growth opportunities from clients and prospects.

ideas

responsability leadership client management

independence - needs to be able to draw sound conclusions, make good recommendations, write & present a POV without step-by-step supervision.

innovation - now it's not just about being able to make sound judgements, it's also about introducing new ideas, coming up with new ways to think about a brand, new ways to do research, new ways to present ideas. Also need to be deft at handling sticky s

Complete independence, command presence with any level of client (up to CEO) or agency person, outstanding mentoring skills with junior staff, ability to forge relationships. I don't want to see much of this person - just a weekly check-in to let me know

Independence, track record

Senior client liaison, ability to manage more junior planners

Very senior client liaison, original thinking, research track record

independent thinker. initiative. gets things done. opinionated but humble. grasp of basic skills and a passion for understanding that can be translated into action/

high EQ, good productive relationships with team and clients. can hold their own with the above groups. ability to argue concisely and effectively and the smarts to know when to concede. autonomy same as above.

independent thinking

this change is more about being able to hold your own in the organization - managerially and politically

substantial contributions to the client's and agency's business

initiative and insight. going from the ability to take instructions and reporting to seeing what isn't there.

strength of creative thinking, leadership skills, ability to give feedback within the creative process, and absolutely the ability to uncover new ways of looking at business problems. not sure yet. just got there myself.

Initiative to kick start new projects and ideas, interpersonal skills (specially within thecreative team).

Capacity to present and defend ideas (within the agency but also with clients). Capability to develop new and independent ways of working / managing clients projects.

Team management, project leadership. Charisma, networking skills. But mainly professional experience (9-10 years of experience within marketing or account planning)

Initiative, Broad skills, outside interests

Management, initiative, outside interests

Ability to manage a team, proactive problem solving, outside interests

insighting and strategizing leadership

responsibility and ability to lead efforts

Intellectual curiosity, in love with ideas.

Ability to produce solid thinking and present well.

Ability to inspire and motivate others.

intellectual curiousity.

able to juggle small tasks.

gets the process of planning.

has a fair handle on logistics required to make the project a success.

better observation skills.

good documenting skills.

looks at things differently.

willingness to try new things.

stands for and believes in the work.

Great distillation skills.

organization capabilities.

ability to see the project through.

thought leadership.

client confidence.

ability to inspire good work.

leads by example.

understands creativity.

intelligence / experience intelligence / experience intelligence / experience

Intense knowledge of consumer trends beyond just simple internet research abilities. The ability to utilize the resources available to think outside of the information presented and to draw creative and entertaining observations.

At least one thing that I cannot find in myself.

The ability to formulate groundbreaking...truly knockout... ideas CONSISTENTLY and to lead the development of this skillset in others.

Keen intelligence, cultural awareness, advanced literacy and presentation skills.

Original thoughts and contributions to business strategy and the body of planning thinking. Pushing the world brands forward.

All of the above, plus the ability to inspire and motivate, and hold a client's respect and ear.

keeness to rool up their sleeves and begin at the very bottom....go out into store visits, get online & explore, do 'man on the street' type video interviews....looking for someone who doesn't want a desk job

the ability to integrate the various messages going out in multiple mediums cohesively under a single equity platform

skills at people management, delegation, leadership, charisma

KNOWLEDGE OF PROPIETARY TOOLS , DRIVE AND CREATIVITY

LEADERSHIP, KNOWLEDGE OF PROPIETARY TOOLS, SYNTHESIS/ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES AND CREATIVITY

EXPERIENCE, LEADERSHIP,KNOWLEDGE AND REFINEMENT OF PROPIETARY TOOLS, SYNTHESIS/ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES AND CREATIVITY

Lateral thinking, wide experience, ability to work independently, ability to interface with senior clients, ability to be clear, concise and logical

Pretty much the same as above but more.

All of the above plus an ability to manage, motivate, mentor and nurture people.

Logical thinking, fundamentals of brand building and being able to clearly articulate thoughts.

Creative thinking, being able to hold conversations on diverse topics and a curious nature.

Evolved social skills, engaging presentations skills, excellent writing skills and being comfortable with senior clients.

Love of brands, able to talk lucidly about them

Able to lead brand thinking solo on a decent sized piece of business

Able to be a thought leader in the company, lead and train others

Master of insight. Master of strategic direction.

Master of strategic transformation on a grand scale.

maturity is a mitigating factor,, no question. some skill cannot be taught, but need to be nurtured over time. right now the state of our industry mandates that candidates be client-ready, meaning we have less capacity (and resources) to train. so sad.

mad-smart writing skill, a cleaar grasp of both deductive and inductive reasoning, the ability to be passionately right but understand when to displace the passion for wisdom (know your battles).

honestly, i want someone smarter than me. the bar really isn't that high, but i need someone who can do my job so i can elevate in the future.

Maturity, gravitas, informed enthusiasm, proactivity, great social skills, intellect, curiosity, autonomy

Same as above but in greater depth, with extensive evidence of delivery

Same, in even greater depth, with the ability to motivate and lead through clarity of vision, inspirational thinking and behaviour, guts and charisma.

Moving up from mere looking up of information to really go and live with the consumer and do something with what you find there.

Same as before, but you need to be able to present it well and make the client get it.

All of the above, plus the ability to teach other people how to do it.

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Opinion. A point of view. If the person has a Point of View, [maturely or not] it'll be promoted.

Logical thinking above its point of view.

Managerial skills, meaning, people connections. Which means, there's no specific linakge between planning technical skills and human relations skills.

organization, open mind, couriosity

envolvement & persuation skills leadership,

Overdelivering Persuasion Leadership

Passion, knowledge and enthusiasm for media and/or advertising

Excellent numeracy with strong interpretation ability

Inquisitive mind

An outgoing personality

A desire to drive insights into action is essential. Someone that doesn't just make recommendations, but thrives on results and can work with brand teams from the concept stage to actually implementing projects.

Ideally, will have a track record of leading original thinking in the research and insight world, together with hands-on business building skills almost certainly gained within a leading edge research boutique or brand consultancy. Enjoys challenging exis

Planner level they should be able to run the planning on at least one client on their own.

One or two demonstrably good solid pieces of work / campaigns etc.

Ability to be a client's best friend. If the client can trust you with their strategy then you are a group director.

All the planning skill stuff would be a given anyway by now.

Something about being able to nurture the group too wouldn't go amiss as i

planner: capable of building and developing concepts / putting it together on a structured presentation.

senior planner: handle one or more accounts / hire and lead other planners

director: strong relationships with clients / creative thinking, beyond planning.

planners must

- manage moderate and author findings from research

- design product level campaign strategy

- be truly useful to writers & art directors

- Manage midsize campaigns

- be able to manage client relationships

- innovate within the discipline

- personel management

- own accounts on the agency or client side

- strengthen the practice internally

- Leader within the agency

Pro-activity and cultural level.

Is necessary to be a leader and knows to manage people.

Is necessary to have a magement knowleadge and be a great advertiser man.

proactivity, culture, searchlover

self oriented to the projects. group leader, charismatic

Quant and qual experience

Critical even skeptical, frame of mind

Focused on the function of advertising rather than fads and trends

Digitally savvy

Ability to create value for clients' businesses

Ability to stand up for a strategy and see that it gets carried out in the work

Ability to form deep relationships with clients and senior management

Ability to see beyond advertising

Adility to defend and grow discipline within agency

Political nouse

Questioning nature

Self-motivation trying different routes to solve a problem/answer a question

Client facing skills Team administration/mentorship/business operations (less planning basically!)

reliability

person needs to quit waiting around for the assignment and start developing opportunities

vision. person needs to be one step ahead of the brand director or marketing director

Research experience and a good gut for what works. Too many idiots currently in this business.

An aggressive approach to finding answers. A true passion for planning and making great advertising, not great research, plus good client management skills.

Someone who has been around for a while, understands the business, not just planning, but the underlying drivers of advertising and marketing at a client level. Autonomous and trusted, and someone who leads a client, not follows.

Resourceful. Digitally saavy. People person. Interested in culture.

Senior level thinking and concluding. Organized thought and smart briefing skills. They "get it." out of my range.

Responsibility to work on their own. 1-2 years experience.

Responsibility to work on own plus ability to train an assistant/junior.

Management skills for the Planning Department plus role of Planning in the company.

self confidence, creativity, digital fluency same, but more same but more. plus people skills.

Self motivated - a clear understanding of how to develop plans Client development skills Leadership and client focused

self sufficient in tackling a problem, writing a strategy. having gusto and a vision on marketing and branding. should be a thought starter

knowing how to stand his/her ground in a challenging environment, facing demanding clients and creatives. being able to handle midlevel clients on his/her own.

should have leadership skills. knowing how to motivate colleagues and clients. knowing how to organize complexe projects. should be charismatic and convincing

Self-sufficiency in problem solving

Strong instincts for powerful questions, insights, ideas

Passion - a contagious fire in their belly for doing extraordinary work; not a career plan based on entitlement

Communications - inspiring, clear and simple

Entrepreneurial - figure out new and exciting ways of working, thinking, making ideas bigger, doing some good

In demand - others want to work with them, ask for their help

Intolerant of politics

Someone better than me, or on the brink of it

Strong, challenging point of view about how to do dramatically better work, transform our business & our clients

Leadership charisma - people want to be led by their example; clients want their thinking abou

several... curiosity... sevaral... asertivity several... credibility

show good potencial in strategic and branding thinking

good strategic and branding thinking leadership skills

skills are for suckers. obviously they need to know how to do the research, ask the right questions and push the envelope in terms of how creatively smart ideas are presented. most importantly they have to be curious and be ahead of it all, even when they

the curiosity and the minimum basic skills about mixed with a capacity for leadership to surprise me and the clients in the best possible way. make something happen.

vision. momentum. have the desire to make something new and the capacity to take us all along for the ride.

Smart is cost of entry. I would want someone who is deeply culturally engaged/curious about the world around them AND has the ability to concisely articulate what they're trying to say. If you can't write, I won't promote you.

Excellent writer. Precise thinker. You must possess the ability to motivate your teams to get the right work out of them. You will need to be tough. I'll never hire a complainer or diva.

Be motivating, engaging and make sure the teams and clients trust you. You must have excellent business knowledge and be able to handle lots of different situations.

Social media engagement monitoring skills

Full integrated campaign performance monitoring experience, including SM Same as above

Someone able to condense information and transform it into actionable insights that direct work for client.

Capable of generating a full plan for client needs based on actionable insights and market knowledge. Ability to handle multiple projects.

A group director would add management skills to a senior planner abilities.

Someone capable of running their own projects and leading someone more junior to the job. At least 2-3 years experience in planning.

About 5 years experience and able to lead a team of planners, steer a load of different projects and work very independent. Someone that is doing a lot of client facing work him or herself.

A group director in my eyes is someone just more senior/ experienced than a senior. I actually find it hard to differentiate in skills - rather in experience, coolness on the job and ability to mangage people well as well as have a thorough understanding

sOMEONE WHO CAN GET ON WITH JOB WITHOUT NEEDING TO BE BABY SITTED EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. ABILITY TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES, AND THEN DISCUSS THEIR

ONLY COMES TO ME WHEN THEN NEED TO BOUNCE THINKING OFF AN OBJCETIVE SOURCE. CAN RUN THEIR OWN BUSINESS, ONLY NEED ME TO STEP IN WITH THE VERY SENIOR CLIENTS

ABILITY TO STEP BACK FROM THE DAY TO DAY AND NOT BEAVER AWAY BLINDLY. SEE BIGGER PICTURE AND NOT RESPOND EMOTIONALLY TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE. MUST BE RESPECTED EVEN LIKED! BY THE EVERYONE

THINKING WITH ME

Someone who has started developing their own thoughts and theories and acted upon it to 'prove' the validity of their ideas.

Starting to lead - not just in planning, but having a real and integral role in all aspects of client relationship/disciplines.

Someone who is leading thoughts, ideas, actions and inter-agency relationships.

steped from research results to interpretations, from analysis to synthesis, from observations to insights to ideas

became a problem solution provider, can leave him/her alone with clients, suits & creatives without any worries great motivator, agency advocat

Strategic skills.Strategic skills and initiative.

Strategic skills, initiative and new business development.

strategic thinking, creativity, clear mind, analizing skills

presentation skills, political skills

years of experience, experience with different clients and different markets, political skills, knowledge on how to manage a groups work

strategic view of how to maximize the agency streghts to help the client to achieve his goal.

Preview what way the client should lead before he realizes.

leadership and vast business knowledge

strategic vision

fresh thinking

motivation

interest

proactive mind

responsibility

good experience

creative strategic thinking

opinion

team management skills

leadership

responsibility

good experience

creative strategic thinking

strong marketing knwoledge

team management skills

leadership

Strategy consulting skills: selling skills, project planning and managing teams. Creativity and trend research

Strategy consulting skills: selling skills, project planning and managing teams. Team management

Strategy consulting skills: selling skills, project planning and managing teams. Client accountability

Takes strategic initiative. Comes to the table with their own ideas, really thinks things through in advance (this is crucial) Always walks into a

At this stage the planner will have to be looking at the bigger picture - the client's businesses. They are thinking beyond consumers and creative - they can see the 'why' and

This person can run multiple businesses independently. They are leaders, they take the strategic lead on any given project - map out the objectives and challenges and develop the plan to solve them. As the CSO, I'm just there as back up

meeting thinking about what happens next in the process. APs are 'passengers' whereas planners are drivers

the context for all the initiatives. If you want to reach this level, start r and occasional a

That the person can take full responsibility for the brand, rather than do campaign planning.

Same as above, but with better people skills and the ability to win pitches.

Same as above, but with the ability to work the politics to get the client to love amazing politics.

The ability to apply an innately curious and creative mind to the real world of business. To think on one's feet in a client forum and have the presence to win over the attention and confidence of a seasoned client or a cynical creative. An early indica

Assuming the prerequisites of a curious / creative mind, the ability to craft stories from insights, aural and written presentation skills are already there - what really tips a planner into "senior" status is to translate insights into compelling busine

Demonstration of the ability to nurture and bring out the best in more junior people. To direct people is management - to grow people is leadership. A group director needs to be a leader.

The ability to fly solo - with supervision but to be given space to develop thinking and strategy themselves rather than given tasks to complete.

The 'weight' to run and really direct the strategy and thinking on a piece of business. Therefore needs to have a full set of craft skills and the interpersonal skills to deploy them with clients and the creative director.

The experience to manage others and to work across several pieces of business and guide the planning on them without doing it themselves.

The ability to generate insight from a fact set.

The ability to tell a story to a client.

The ability to lead a creative direction.

The ability to move from gathering observations to developing insights.

The ability to manage all aspects of a large Fortune 500 client.

The ability to run workshiops, ideation sessions and brainstorms with C-Suite.

The ability to recognise insights and opportunities.

Ability to bring unique perspectives to factual data.

Ability to persuade clients on the impact of their ideas on the client's business.

the ability to understand the story behind the brand

the ability to create a relevant story about one brand the ability to make this story real

the basics of actual planning, which might sound simple (and i should), but here in Brazil many people still think planning is either market research or tactical campaign operations

Global vision, the person should be able to combine practical skills i.e. data and research analysis with the creative approach, keeping in mind the brand key vision

the set of skills that could usually be found on an account person, regarding the understanding of a clients' business

the commitment and analysis ability

leadership, multi- jobs & innovative ideas

all the previous more strategical vision and business-oriented abilities

The hability to generate insights based in the immersion phase. More strategic analisys about competition and consumer. Starting to develop the hablity to "tell a story", put a presentation toguether.

Full capacity to "tell the story" and generate insights and ideas. Good presentation skills (to construct and present). Uderstand about brands and its impacts in the business. Capability to develop good relationships internally the agency to inspire tea

All the above and also: capability to handle a team; good client rapport; pro-active; hability to see the "big picture" with clients; more involvement in client's business and results.

The link from a Jr. Planner to Planner should be made after at least 2 years of planning and after she/he shows important skills improvement.

Independence. Charisma. Perseverance. Project management. -

the natural ability of a problem solver

solutions and direction oriented communication

thoroughness

originality

audicity

independent

people mangement

visonary

To promote an assistant planner to a planner would require honed critical thinking skills that enable this person to analyze data and assist in writing a creative brief. This person should also be ready to start presenting in front of teams.

Ability to write and present briefs. Analyze and present data, bring together multiple sources of information and provide cohesive insights. The senior planner must be able to manage client and team relationships.

Lead strategic thinking, ability to manage team and budgets. Have strong client and internal relationships. Must be able to motivate and lead teams through strategic development.

Ways to organize, control and demand tasks...

Ways to make more money to the company improving ideas, saving money, and reducing time spent in tasks

Ways to lead an full group of people without needing my help or supervising

When he is ready for the office

When he is ready and exceeding expectations for the office

When he has a vision beyond the administrative and managerial his job description

Willingness to learn NA NA

Work independently. Ability to lead clients. Ability to lead accounts with no

Understand how there work will be utilized as develop strategy as such. Present to clients. Create ideas that can lead work.

Ability to lead account with minimal supervision. Ability to conceptualize and innovate process and approach. Ability to lead others to ideas. Understanding of effect of their work on all agency and client users.

supervision. Contribute original ideas to planning department and agency. Set example for other planners and agency. Mentor junior planners. Shepherd work through entire development process. Ability to adapt to chan

Work out project with sole responsibility - of course being supported at every time when there are questions or topics to discuss. Being confident with all planning tools and having basic market research skills.

Handle clients with sole responsibility, being the first contact person for the client. Be able to coach Junior levels.

Financial resposnibility, being able to do aquisitions, leading a team

Writing skills, presentation skills, basic qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Ability to write a brief on their own, enough face time with client, experience leading a big-scale project, e.g. creative research, regional campaigns, etc. Complex qual and quant analysis. Ability to provide innovative input re trends and new technologi

Proved thought leadership on successful new business pitches. Cross-discipline experience: creative, media, digital, consulting.