ADV XXXX – UNDERGRADUATE ONLINE SECTIONS
Account Planning
ADV 4603 – Online Sections
Mode of Instruction: Online
School of Communication
Florida State University
Summer 2011
INSTRUCTOR: Holly McGavock, M.A.
EMAIL: hmm05c@fsu.edu
PHONE: (850) 339-9970
OFFICE HOURS: will be held online
INTRODUCTION: Welcome to Account Planning. The intended participants for this course are
undergraduate students interested in learning more about the field of account planning and planning’s
role in advertising.
What is account planning?
“At the core of the Planner’s task is the need to understand the consumer, (and how they perceive the
brand and the market), in order to unearth a key insight for the communication solution (Relevance). As
non traditional media has mushroomed and new media communication channels have multiplied, it has
become increasingly important for communication to cut through the clutter and the cynicism and connect
with its audience (Distinctiveness). And Planners also need to prove its worthiness, to demonstrate how
and why the communication has performed (Effectiveness).”
--“What is Account Planning?”, Account Planning Group, 2007
Account planning is relatively new, especially in the United States (you’ll notice that there are no account
planners in Mad Men!). The Account Planning Group article cited above mentions a few of the various
roles of the account planner in an agency: “market researcher, data analyst, qualitative focus groups
moderator, information center, bad cop, NPD (new product development) consultant, brainstorming
facilitator, voice of the consumer, soothsayer/futurologist, media/communications planner, strategic
thinker/strategy developer, writer of the creative brief, think piece polemicist, social anthropologist,
insight miner, and knowledge applicator.”
As you might imagine from looking at the above list, account planners play an essential role in creating
relevant and effective advertising. The skills and tools of a planner, though, are applicable beyond
advertising. Anyone working in advertising or marketing fields will benefit from an understanding of how
to uncover and leverage consumer insights in communication.
FORMAT: The course is designed for active participation. Each student is expected to participate in
meaningful discussions throughout the semester that indicate knowledge of the assigned material. In
addition, the course will consist of weekly readings, papers, projects, and/or discussion topics.
The “Library” on Blackboard will be used to make many class materials and examples available.
1
ADV XXXX – UNDERGRADUATE ONLINE SECTIONS
TEXTS:
The following texts are REQUIRED:
1) Truth, Lies, and Advertising: The Art of Account Planning, Jon Steel (1998). Publisher John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2) How to Plan Advertising (2nd edition), edited by Alan Cooper, The Account Planning
Group, London, 1997.
3) Qualitative Market Research: A comprehensive guide, by Dr. Hy Mariampolski (2001). Sage
Publications.
You can find these books at the university bookstore or on Amazon.com. Please make sure you have
the texts by the second week of class.
In addition, a list of recommended readings will be posted on the course website.
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the semester the student will be able to:
 Describe the function of an account planner in an advertising agency
 Explain the context of planning
 Identify the role of advertising in marketing
 Enumerate the perils of not involving consumers in advertising planning
 Practice the skills needed by an account planner
 Obtain consumer input for the purposes of account planning
 Obtain practice in generating insights from consumer behavior
 Uncover the roots of truthful consumer thought and emotion
 Stimulate creative ideas through exploratory research and creative development research
 Develop an advertising strategy
 Develop an effective creative brief
 Create the conditions in the advertising agency context for a successful strategy to prosper and
capitalize on the synergy of all the parties involved
 Evaluate the effectiveness of advertising campaigns
 Coordinate with the media planning function
 Describe the potential role of the planner as consultant to clients and other communication
industries
COURSE SCHEDULE AND TOPICS
WEEK
Week 1
May 10
TOPICS
Introduction to the course
• Course organization
• Icebreakers/Introductions
Reading: Steel, Chapter 1, Cooper Chapter 1
What is Account Planning? , Account Planning Group, 2007
Discussion board assignment:
Answer the question “What is an insight?” and give an example of a consumer
insight.
Then, find a current advertising campaign (please include a link to a spot, print ad,
etc.) and infer, to the best of your ability, the communication objective of the ad, the
target audience, and the key consumer insight driving the ad. Include your
perspective on whether or not the campaign is successful at leveraging a relevant
2
ADV XXXX – UNDERGRADUATE ONLINE SECTIONS
consumer insight.
Post the campaign and response to the question by Thursday at midnight. Respond
to at least one other student post by Sunday at midnight.
Week 2
May 16
Reading: Steel, Chapter 2, Cooper, Chapter 2
Discussion board assignment:
Answer both questions by Thursday at midnight. Respond to at least one other
student post by Sunday at midnight.
 Describe the role(s) of an account planner to a nine-year old.
 What is Steel attempting to explain in his “Will work for food” story?
Week 3
May 23
Reading: The Anatomy of Account Planning – The Creativity behind Creativity, Henrik
Habberstad, pp. 22-31 “The Account Planners: Who are those guys?” (click on the
“download it here” link)
Assignment:
Option #1: Interview an account planner (as defined in this course). The interview
can be in person, by phone, or via e-mail. Write a 300-500 word summary of the
interview. Interviews should cover the following topics:
 Agency and title
 How planners define their role
 What is the value of their contributions to the advertising process
 What are the qualities necessary to be a successful planner
Week 4
May 30
Option#2: Take a look at the list of the Top 20 planning blogs of the week. Read the
recent posts from several of the blogs and write a 2-3 page paper outlining some of
the “hot topics” in planning blogs. What topics are being discussed? How do they
relate back to planning? Why are these topics important for planners?
Reading: Steel, Chapter 3, Mariampolki Section 1
Listening: QRCA panel (link in Week 5 assignments folder)
Assignment:
Write a 400-600 word paper outlining some of the current issues in research as
discussed in the QRCA panel audio cast. Topics discussed should include:
 What do planners want and need from their qualitative research partners?
 What makes a great qualitative researcher?
 What are some of the issues specific to multicultural market research?
Week 5
June 6
Reading: Steel, Chapter 4, Cooper, Chapter 3, Mariampolski Section 2, 2.1 – 2.4, 2.9,
2.12
Discussion board assignment:
Answer the following prompt by Thursday at midnight. Respond to at least one other
student post by Sunday at midnight.
 Imagine you’re Jon Steel. Write a blog post of the top three research dos and
don’ts in no more than two sentences for each do and don’t.
Week 6
June 13
Reading: Steel, Chapter 5, Cooper, Chapter 4
Assignment:
Watch this spot for the Washington Lottery. Using the creative brief template in
blackboard, write the brief that you think this spot could have come from. Who is
the target audience? What is the main insight that inspired the brief? The brief
should be kept as close to one page as possible.
3
ADV XXXX – UNDERGRADUATE ONLINE SECTIONS
Week 7
June 20
Reading: Cooper, Chapter 5
Discussion board assignment:
Post a link to a spot, print ad, digital experience, etc. which you feel has a strong
insight behind it. Explain who you think the target audience is, what the insight is,
and why it is a powerful insight. Post your link and analysis by Thursday at midnight.
Respond to at least one other student post by Sunday at midnight.
Week 8
June 27
Week 9
July 4
Week 10
July 11
Exam
Students will be given a series of short essay questions from course readings by
Monday night. Exams are due by Sunday night at midnight.
No assignment – Spring Break
Reading: Steel, Chapter 6, Cooper, Chapter 6, Mariampolski Section 2, 2.7
Final Project:
Students will conduct a primary research project for a brand and/or product of their
choosing. During this project, students will submit a research proposal which
outlines the following:

Definition of the background

Objectives of the research

Explanation of proposed methodology

Definition of respondent specifications
Students will then have three weeks to conduct their research and submit a
comprehensive research report (see examples in course library).
Due this week: Research proposal
Week 11
July 18
Reading: Cooper, Chapter 7, Mariampolski Section 3
Final Project:
Submit research instrument (discussion guide, survey, etc.)
Week 12
July 25
Reading: Cooper, Chapter 8, Mariampolski Section 4
Final Project:
Conduct research
Week 13
August 1
Reading: Steel, Chapter 7, Cooper, Chapter 9, 10, 11
Final Project:
Research report due on August 2nd, at MIDNIGHT ET. Late reports will not be
accepted.
Assignments: Each week, students will check the course website for the topic to be covered, the learning
objectives to be achieved, and the homework assignment along with instructor’s notes about the assigned
reading. Any assignments or questions that are part of an assignment will be posted on Monday by 5:00
p.m. E.T. All assignments are due on Sunday by midnight E.T. Written assignments and papers should be
submitted via the appropriate link on blackboard or discussion board thread and should NOT be sent to
the instructor as email attachments.
4
ADV XXXX – UNDERGRADUATE ONLINE SECTIONS
Assignments will usually take the form of short written papers or power point presentations. Each
assignment is worth 10 points.
Discussion Board: A percentage of your grade is based on your posts on the Discussion Boards. If you are
required to post on the discussion board, it will be clearly indicated in that week's assignment. You must
post at least twice to each discussion board unless otherwise indicated in the assignment description.
One post should be your response to the questions posed in the discussion board. The other post should
be a thoughtful response to another student’s post.
In order to receive credit, you must post your response to the posted discussion board questions by
Thursday at midnight ET. In addition, you must post a response to another student’s post by Sunday at
midnight ET.
Your grade on the discussion board is based on participation. Each discussion board assignment is worth
10 points. However, in order to receive full credit for these posts, you must fulfill some basic
requirements:




Posts should be a minimum of 150 words each
Posts should be relevant to the topic being discussed, but should also attempt to introduce a
new point of view or piece of information or otherwise further the discussion
Posts should use correct grammar, punctuation and vocabulary appropriate for a university-level
course.
Misuse of the discussion boards will not be tolerated
Final Project: Students will conduct a primary research project for a brand and/or product of their
choosing. During this project, students will submit a research proposal that outlines the following:




Definition of the background
Objectives of the research
Explanation of proposed methodology
Definition of respondent specifications
Students will then prepare the research instrument (discussion or ethnographic guide), conduct their
research and submit a comprehensive research report (see examples in course library). Deadlines for each
phase of the final project are outlined in the syllabus.
The final project is worth 100 points and will be graded on the following basis:
 Research proposal: 25 points
 Research instrument: 25 points
 Research report: 50 points
Exam: Students will be given an exam during the course of the semester. Exam questions will be provided
on Monday and will be due on Sunday by midnight EST. Exam questions can cover any material discussed
in the course but will focus mostly on assigned course readings.
Notes that apply to all assignments, projects and exams:




Should be typed in 12 point font double-spaced with one-inch margins
Should have a cover page with the project’s and student’s information
Each section should have a title/subtitle to identify it
All references must be properly cited both within the text or in footnotes, and in a works
referenced page in APA or MLA format. Failure to do so is plagiarism and will result in failure of
the assignment/exam/project.
5
ADV XXXX – UNDERGRADUATE ONLINE SECTIONS
EVALUATION
Assignments
Discussion board posts
Final Project
Exam
30%
30%
20%
20%
Late assignments and discussion board posts will be penalized 10% per day.
The grading scale is as follows:
A
AB+
B
94-100
90-93
87-89
83-86
BC+
C
C-
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
D+
D
DF
67-69
60-66
60-62
<59
FSU POLICIES:
GRADE INFLATION
The Department of Communication is committed to reducing grade inflation in its courses. To that end, a department-wide grading
standard has been adopted to insure that an "A" is reserved for outstanding performance. "A" and "A -" grades represent work
whose superior quality indicates a full mastery of the subject. An "A" represents work of extraordinary distinction.
University Attendance Policy: Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call
to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a
way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose
dependent children experience serious illness.
Academic Honor Policy: The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s expectations for the integrity of
students’ academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of
students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for
living up to their pledge to “. . . be honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State
University.” (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at http://dof.fsu.edu/honorpolicy.htm.)
Americans With Disabilities Act: Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should:(1) register with and provide
documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and(2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for
accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class.
This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.
For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the:
Student Disability Resource Center,874 Traditions Way,108 Student Services Building Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 323064167 , (850) 644-9566 (voice), (850) 644-8504 (TDD)sdrc@admin.fsu.edu, http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/
Syllabus Change Policy
"Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the
course and is subject to change with advance notice.”
6