Mind of a Planner (Survey Results)
Oct 21, 2014
This is what I found.
Slide 1
Wendy Sung | @wendysungasong
MIND OF A PLANNER
My GOAL was to explore the psychographics of Account Planners in hopes of arriving at insights, andmore importantlythose that I could relate to.
I know that Planners are human too. Their personalities may not be defined by their profession, but what I do know is that they LOVE their jobs enough to not be doing it just for the money.
There must be something in Planning that appeals to them, and something in them that is, in turn, attracted to it. It is this elusive persona that Planning attracts that Im interested in exploring through this research.
Background
Secondary and Primary Preliminary Research
I started off by reading Heather LeFevres Annual Survey reports, but the only psychographic insight I could find was that Planners were motivated by challenge. I also read many blogs and watched many interviews from JuniorStrategy, PSFK, and Redscout
Next, I interviewed 6 planners in New York City, Durham, and St. Louis (their companies are shown at the left) to explore their motivations and to find common characteristics that I could relate to. The survey that I later distributed electronically was based on the findings from those interviews.
Because this was not intended to be a BIG survey, the grand total of participants was27.The following is a breakdown of their demographics.
Participant Overview
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
18-24
2
7.4
11.1
25-32
10
37.0
48.1
33-47
10
37.0
85.2
48-66
4
14.8
100.0
>87
1
3.7
3.7
Total
27
100.0
Age
Most were Gen Xers and Millenialsbetween ages 25-47 (74%, n=20)
Years of Planning Experience
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
0
1
3.7
3.7
3.7
1
4
14.8
14.8
18.5
1.5
1
3.7
3.7
22.2
2
2
7.4
7.4
29.6
3
2
7.4
7.4
37.0
4
1
3.7
3.7
40.7
5
2
7.4
7.4
48.1
6
1
3.7
3.7
51.9
9
3
11.1
11.1
63.0
10
1
3.7
3.7
66.7
11
1
3.7
3.7
70.4
12
2
7.4
7.4
77.8
14
1
3.7
3.7
81.5
15
2
7.4
7.4
88.9
16
1
3.7
3.7
92.6
20
1
3.7
3.7
96.3
25
1
3.7
3.7
100.0
Total
27
100.0
100.0
Diverse; averaging 8 yearsRange: 0-25 yearsAverage: 7.87 yearsMode: 1 yearsMedian (50th percentile): 6 years
50th %tile
Current Job Title
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Group Planning Director
7
25.9
25.9
25.9
Planner
5
18.5
18.5
44.4
Planning Director
4
14.8
14.8
59.3
Senior Planner
3
11.1
11.1
70.4
Anthropologist
1
3.7
3.7
74.1
Development Associate
1
3.7
3.7
77.8
Director
1
3.7
3.7
81.5
Executive Planning Director
1
3.7
3.7
85.2
HR Business Partner
1
3.7
3.7
88.9
Planning Intern
1
3.7
3.7
92.6
Researcher
1
3.7
3.7
96.3
Sr. Partner Development Manager
1
3.7
3.7
100.0
Total
27
100.0
100.0
Job Title
Most common job title was Group Planning Director (25.9%, n=7) Most work in the Planning function (77.8%, n=21)EPD (3.7%), GPD (25.9%), Planning Director (14.8%), Senior Planner (11.1%), Planner (18.5%), Planning Intern (3.7%) Others include: Anthropologist, Researcher, Development Manager, and HR Business Partner
Planners
Company
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
JWT
8
29.6
29.6
29.6
AXA Equitable
1
3.7
3.7
33.3
BBH
1
3.7
3.7
37.0
Blu Dot Tech
1
3.7
3.7
40.7
Callahan Creek
1
3.7
3.7
44.4
GOODBY SILVERSTEIN
1
3.7
3.7
48.1
Integer
1
3.7
3.7
51.9
Martin Ageny
1
3.7
3.7
55.6
Merkley+ Partners
1
3.7
3.7
59.3
New York Nativity
1
3.7
3.7
63.0
PACO Ideation
1
3.7
3.7
66.7
Plannerzone
1
3.7
3.7
70.4
Prefer not to Answer
1
3.7
3.7
74.1
Razorfish
1
3.7
3.7
77.8
Saatchi & Saatchi
1
3.7
3.7
81.5
Studio One
1
3.7
3.7
85.2
The PARAGRAPH Project
1
3.7
3.7
88.9
1
3.7
3.7
92.6
Voskhod creative agency
1
3.7
3.7
96.3
Zulu Alpha Kilo
1
3.7
3.7
100.0
Total
27
100.0
100.0
Most represented company was JWT (29.6%, n=8), among several other full service ad agencies, planning consultancies, research agencies, etc.
Now to the interesting stuff
Motivations
Agree* 100% 89% 89% 83% 78% 44% 44%
Majority (>50%) Agrees
*% of answers that were either 5 (Most Motivating) or 4 (Motivating)
#1People#2Challenge#3Camaraderie#4Learning#5Problem solving#6Competition#7Chance to make a difference in the world
What motivates you the most in your job as a Planner?
OK, not too surprising, I suppose.
However, upon close inspection, there are some interesting observations:#1: Problem solving is more of a motivation the older the generation
If you have any idea why this could be, Id really love to hear from you!
Problem solving
# Respondents
Mean
Standard Deviation
Age
18-24
2.0
4.0
1.4
25-32
7.0
4.1
0.9
33-47
5.0
4.4
0.5
48-66
3.0
4.7
0.6
67-87
0.0
0.0
0.0
>87
1.0
2.0
0.0
That graph was based on this data
NOTE: The mean for Age group >87 was ignored because it was comprised of only 1 respondent whoupon further investigationlikely selected the wrong age group.
This correlation between Age and Problem Solving is also statistically significant (p3 rating) for Millennials and Boomers
Millennials
Boomers
Competition; winning businesses
Mean
Standard Deviation
Count
Maximum
Minimum
48-66
3.7
1.5
3.0
5.0
2.0
33-47
2.8
0.8
5.0
4.0
2.0
25-32
3.4
1.1
7.0
5.0
2.0
18-24
4.5
0.7
2.0
5.0
4.0
That graph was based on this data
Millennials
Boomers
% Agree*100%29%20%67%
Assessing the raw data, even though the data points (participants per age group) were limited, the phenomenon of challenge being more of a motivation amongst Millenials and Boomers (but not Gen Xers) is still apparent:
*% of answers that were either 5 (Most Motivating) or 4 (Motivating)
Based on the aforementioned pre-survey interviews, I devised a list of theorized insights to test/validate in this study.
The following is a presentation of the survey results, followed by analyses of their implications on planners attitudes.
Attitudes
Most of the statements tested were perceived to be true
*% of answers that were either 5 (Very True) or 4 (True)
% Agree*93% 93% 85% 85% 81% 78% 70% 70% 67% 67% 50% 48% 33% 30% 30%
Majority Agrees
11 out of 15 statements had 50% Agreement rate
Challenge
Participants ambitiously agreed with notions of anything is possible (67%, n=18) and that your greatest competition is yourself (67%, n=18).Most of those who understood statement F (not the 15 participants who rated it 3) agreed that challenges are enticing; 30% (n=8) deemed it true, while only 15% (n=4) did not. There was only a moderate desire to be a jack of all trades (only 48% agreed to statement G).
% Agree*67%67%30%48%
*% of answers that were either 5 (Very True) or 4 (True)
Discovery
Participants strongly agreed that the best discoveries are made when youre not looking for them (93%, n=25). Annoying how fate works that way sometimes, isnt it? Discovering cross-cultural truths is a rewarding experience for most participants (Statement M; 78%, n=21). Good to know that most planners are interested in cross-cultural communications!
% Agree*93%33%78%
*% of answers that were either 5 (Very True) or 4 (True)
Perspective
% Agree*85%81%
Participants generally agreed (85%, n=23) on the value of perspective in travels, and that a more acute perspective can be attained by being an outsider (81%, n=13). Probably explains why planners seem to love reflecting on their travels! I wonder if planners actively use any particular methods to maintain that fresh outsiders perspective
*% of answers that were either 5 (Very True) or 4 (True)
Ad work
On innovation, participants strongly agreed that one needs to be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable in order to achieve it (85%, n=23).
Being invaluable or useful to others is more powerful than being popular or recognized (70%, n=19). This appears to be an increasingly popular sentiment among planners with regards to the work that agencies should strive to create.
% Agree*85%70%
*% of answers that were either 5 (Very True) or 4 (True)
Self-expression
One of my first observations with planners was that many seemed rather uninhibited in expressing their honest opinions (Not that its a bad thing. I find it somewhat refreshing). It seemed that many would rather risk discord in expressing their honest opinion than euphemizing it or staying quiet.
Although the statement couldve been worded better to emphasize the choice of being actively and straightforwardly honest over being circuitous or evasive (after all, who wouldnt find honesty liberating?), it was nevertheless found to be very true among most participants (93%, n=25).
% Agree*93%
*% of answers that were either 5 (Very True) or 4 (True)
Brand Associations
What brand(s) andif applicableagencies come to mind from reading the statement?Brands with most # of mentions are plotted in the graph below.
*Since there were no common items mentioned for this statement, one was selected as an example. For the full list of responses, please refer to the Appendix.
Sowhat does it all mean?
Am I done yet?
Will the world be a better place??
Conclusions and Future Research
So what?
Planners do it mainly cause theyre:CuriousHungry for challenges Love teamwork
Discovering cross-cultural truths is rewarding.
Its important to:Have an outsider's perspectiveStep out of comfort zoneStrive to be invaluable/useful vs. popular
Planners feel liberated from being straightforwardly honest.
?
There will probably be a Part 2
Areas for further researchWhy is it that problem solving is more enticing for older generations? Is it due to the nature of our generational groups, or is it more a factor of life experience?
Why is competition less of a motivation for Gen Xers? Is that even really true?
Why do planners prefer blatant honesty more so than others?
How do planners maintain that outsiders perspective?
What about you? Do you have any queries youd like answered?
Appendix
To view raw data from survey results, access appendix here.
(Tables were too large to display clearly in a slide deck.)
Thanks for reading!
If you have any questions or comments about these findings, feel free to contact me via:
Twitter: @wendysungasongLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/WendySung
