I vividly remember the first 2 years I worked as a planner, my plans were so bad that my boss (whom many of you know, hehe) had to revise nearly 90% of my work. To this day, I haven't forgotten the time when I did such a terrible job that, right in the meeting room, my boss blurted out a sentence more brutal than an ex-lover's words: "Where is X? I need X." X = the previous planner who had just resigned.
That night, I cried on the drive home, and for the entire week after, I only thought about quitting and consulting everyone I knew about whether I should leave the profession.
In the end, I didn't quit, because I truly had done such a terrible job, and perhaps my boss couldn't stand having to redo my plans anymore and that's why she said that (though I'm sure any boss saying that today would be exposed on Threads, haha). My boss was truly patient, giving me detailed feedback every time, and giving me a chance to redo it and improve.
Thanks to that reflection, combined with teaching nearly 100 students, I can now share this post.
Mistake #1: No clear train of thought
Every time I received a brief, I didn't know where to start. I'd rush into researching similar international campaigns, or jump straight into thinking about the insight and the idea. Everything was based on feeling and completely lacked the foundational analysis of the market/competitors, target audience, brand challenge, and communication strategy.
Mistake #2: Framework-flexing
Planners face many prejudices, especially from Creatives, who see us as people who love showing off frameworks. This is true for many planners who, wanting to appear sophisticated, introduce many "pointless" frameworks with little actual value inside. I've written a separate post about this. I also tell my students that I only use 4 core frameworks throughout the entire course.
Mistake #3: Obsession with the "underlying truth"
I don't know why, but on my very first day in the industry, I was told that insight is the "underlying truth," so I became obsessed with finding something truly 'under the surface.' I later realized this was a mistake. Many successful campaigns had insights that were never "underlying," they were clear as day. The important thing about an insight is that it must be actionable—something that can be used—whether it's underlying or surface-level.
Mistake #4: Writing insight in marketing language
From both the client and agency sides, I've read many insights that were 'worded' into professional jargon. They sound flowery but lose the insight's authenticity. I believe insight should be written authentically and as close as possible to the target audience's language.
Example: Given the same insight, which of the two sentences sounds more genuine, understandable, and relatable to you?
- "As we grow up, we tend to forget to celebrate small joys."
- "Normal joys cease to be extraordinary when we become adults."
Mistake #5: Being long-winded
Pascal once said: "I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter." Writing concisely is much harder than writing long because it requires careful thought and filtering of words so the reader understands your exact meaning without having to guess.
Have you ever made these mistakes like I did?
I wish you a smooth working week with your capitalist masters.
