This thinking might help your ad agency or brand to increase strategic value and find the unexpected opportunities. The good news is that it's simpler to fix than everyone thinks. Here is my attempt that not only fix the flawed business model of advertising, but reinvent it.

1. Shared pain
SO WHAT’S THE ISSUE?
HACKING PLANNING
5 secrets to increase strategic value

2. Shared pain
SO WHAT’S THE ISSUE?
This thinking will help your ad agency ask
real questions to solve better problems

3. Why Change?
The world is in a period of massive change.
!
True or False?
An absolute, undeniable truth.
!
Yet how we think, how we work and what
we produce as an advertising industry has
changed remarkably little.
!
inspired
by Gareth Kay

4. We need to rediscover strategic creativity with a hacking mindset
!
Hack. (ing)
!
To find the most ingenious
and effective solution
to a problem
!
embezzled
from G. Kay

5. I believe strategic planning as a concept doesn’t fail
It is SIMPLY weakened by the questions we ask.
!
By exploring what agencies deliver, my hope is to discover how we can reach
the full potential of strategic planning.

6. My conundrum: strategic planning is based on an old agency model
Current communication briefs look almost identical as the ones from the 80's

7. Just changing briefs to the post-digital world won’t help

8. Clients view strategic planners as surface solutions for ads
Most ad agencies solve the promotional communication bits of campaigns.
!
And are rarely involved in the cornerstones of marketing: product, pricing and
distribution.
The Result: A band-aid solution to brand problems, endless opportunities
forgone

9. Challenge
Create a responsive hack approach that stretches
the brilliant minds and strengthens any creative
agency and their business

10. Current agencies responding to this challenge by:
This is lazy advertising
New
projects
Current
Projects
Creating new com
briefs and objectives
(embrace new digital
technology, media
planning)
Making current business
more valuable
(brand models
and digital projects)
Existing
clients
?????
Exploring into new
clients
(pitches)
New
clients
Inspired by
Ana Andjelic

11. First steps to hacking is finding new questions
To real creative bravery
New
projects
Current
Projects
Adding new services
to the business line
(embrace new
products, additional
revenue streams)
Making current business
more valuable
(brand models
and digital projects)
Existing
clients
?????
Exploring into new
business categories
(Create partnerships
hubs )
New
clients

12. The role of strategy in long term future-facing growth
Ultimate goal to help any brand or product facing growth
New
projects
Current
Projects
Adding new services
to the business line
(embrace new
products, additional
revenue streams)
Create brands from
scratch and be a
startup investor
Making current business
more valuable
(brand models
and digital projects)
Exploring into new
business categories
(Create partnerships
hubs )
Existing
clients
New
clients
Create value for
people from scratch.
Be the growth. Not
just sell the
techniques

13. Why bother? You might be thinking…What we do works and we already make $$
The lifespan of brands is limited and under pressure
37 years
15 years
1937
2012
By 2030 more than 75% of the S&P 500
will be companies that we have not
heard of yet
Yale University

14. In a world that’s interactive & open, strategy needs to…
Use a problem-solving approach and a hack methodology to help client’s grow
their business and challenge them to embrace innovation.
!

15. Back to Basics…. What exactly is STRATEGY?
(Otherwise known as my 2 cents)
Spotted during Cannes Lions
from G. Kay
!

16. By its natures strategy is to solve a challenge/difficulty
Business
Brand
Strategy is based on structured,
intelligent thinking about businesses
deviated in four main categories.
!
!
Context
People
To get a clear and differentiated
point of view that will lead to
ACTION
!
Inspired by
Richard Rumelt

17. The way how agencies use strategic planners is very limited.
The industry standard insists that strategic planners define the ‘What’ and ‘Who’
of a problem by:
!
- competitive reviews
- trend research
- brand models
- summaries of best practices
- focus groups
- data analytics
!
And convert the answers into a message. Leaving creatives to define the ‘How’.

18. No doubt, we need to hack, plan strategy
When you decide you’re in the hacking business “by
asking the better questions and solve real problems”;
!
!
the challenge lies in the way your agency perceives & executes strategic creativity

19. 5
specific ways to increase
strategy’s value
!

20. 5
specific ways to increase
strategy’s value
!
Innovation
Strategy
Partnerships
with brands
Connect with
innovators
Incubator
for startups
In-house
Lab

21. How strategic planning is valuable to innovation
Understand problem
If you tweak the strategy process by
changing the constraints…
Diverge ideas
!
Real problems are revealed.
Choose the best idea
!
You will be able to use strategy as
problem-solving approach
Make prototype
Validate and test it
Example of a new strategy process

22. How partnerships with a brand helps your agency
Try to combine different company
departments to create something new.
!
When you’re working like this, you’ll get
collaborative output that will add values
to consumers.
Not just add numbers to a made-up
parameter.
Example of a digital lab between
multiple partners (ad agency/brand/
technology companies and users)

23. Why connecting with innovators will help you thrive
Work with a diverse team to identify
new commerce gaps within the context
of market, user, financial, and technology
constraints.
!
At best you will innovate from the
unexpected combination of two of
more things that aren’t typically
combined.

24. How being an incubator for startups will have value
Look for the potential of collaboration.
Don’t limit yourself to being an
investor by giving money, but help
them with space, education, connecting
in return for lifetime partnership.
!
This working mix of freedom and
constraint fuels fresh thinking that
creates value.

25. How an in-house lab suits your agency
Why exploring failure and success will help you?
Dedicate some time to making things just
for your company. Or for fun. Or for profit.
Sometimes all three.
!
Fail fast, learn faster.
!
Through exploring failure and success
you’re able to find resistance. And new
questions and problems.
Example of ad agency Goodby Silverstein &
Partners and their house lab

26. With hacking planning you might find the unexpected opportunities
Let’s change the world together
It is pertinent for agencies to continually to be at the forefront
of change in different disciplines in all market categories.
!
!
Hacking Planning provides the right environment for it to happen
and broaden your agency culture with new approaches

27. Hacking planning will deliver a better valuable strategic advice
Let’s change the world together
To prove we strategists / planners are in the
business to ask real questions and solve real problems.
!
!
on a direct product and business level
in order to look after users, not brands!

28. TIME FOR HACKING PLANNING
Systemic integration of these five core approaches might increase strategy value in
any creative agency
Innovation
Strategy
Partnerships
with brands
Connect with
innovators
Incubator
for startups
In-house
Lab

29. TIME FOR HACKING PLANNING
This can turn agencies into growth hackers for brands by pointing the way for their
business in the emerging digital markets
Innovation
Strategy
In-house
Lab
Incubator
for startups
Partnerships
with brands
Connect with
innovators

30. Bart van de Kooij
Interested - want to know more hit me
at vandekooij [at] gmail [dot] com or
https://twitter.com/bartvandekooij
!
Strategy thoughts
https://medium.com/@bartvandekooij
!
moving education in adland forward as a
talent developer
https://www.facebook.com/rawadvertisers
!
Professional proof
http://www.linkedin.com/in/bartvandekooij

31. A big thank you to my advisors and sources
Gareth Kay (Founder Zeus JonesSF, former strategy partner GSP) - for planting the seed and allowing me to hack his mind
!
Robert Campbell (Head of planning W+K) - for his midnight advice and demands to make it better
!
Martin Weigel (Head of planning W+K) - for his bits on Canalsideview blog
!
Ana Andjelic (Head of Strategy CreateThe Group) - rethinking about strategy
!
Richard Rumelt, “Good strategy, bad strategy”.
!
and Tim Polder for sparring, honesty.
!
EXTRA: Brand example links of hacking planning that increase strategy value
Innovation strategy: IDEO human centred toolkit - http://www.ideo.com/work/human-centered-design-toolkit/
!
Partnerships with brand departments: Hotel chain Hyatt lab and ad agency Undercurrent - https://hyattdxlab.com/
!
Connect with innovators: RG/A / Nike / users - http://www.nikefuellab.com/
!
Incubator for startups: Google Ventures - http://www.gv.com/ or W+K Portland lab - http://www.piepdx.com/
!
In house design-lab: Goodby Silverstein & Partners BETA - http://goodbysilverstein.com/beta