Hello and welcome to the class blog for Account Planning (MC 4316F) at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas (about halfway between Austin and San Antonio).
The purpose of this blog is to create a community of advertising students, professors, and professionals who are interested in the discipline of account planning. This semester is the first time Texas State University is offering a course in Account Planning. I proposed this class several years ago. I am thrilled to see this class is now a reality.
So, the content for this blog will be a collaborative, creative effort. As the instructor for this class, I will moderate the content. But this blog will not be another forum for the traditional "sage on the stage" method of teaching. Students in MC 4316F will also post as part of their class assignments. In addition, I plan to invite account planning professionals to be guest bloggers. The possibilities for learning, sharing and networking are endless.
Let's get started. Check out this image on this first post. When I worked as an account planner at Publicis Hal Riney Advertising, part of my job was to evaluate and hire research firms. One of the companies I looked into used a qualitative method called the ZMET Interview. To help me understand the value of the method, Gerald Zaltman, the developer of the technique, offered to have one of his associates in the Bay Area do a ZMET interview on me. I decided to explore the topic of Account Planning.
This collage is the visual metaphor that came out of my interview. I chose the images via an elaborate series of questions. The ZMET associate then created the collage using some fancy photoshop tricks.
Can you see the "thick descriptions, " the hidden knowledge, the "white space" surrounding my deep feelings about account planning? This is what we will talk about on the first day of class. I will use this image to launch a discussion regarding the definition of account planning.
-Gigi Taylor, Ph.D.
Texas State University
