Thursday, February 21, 2008

The Big Fight LIVE!

Scamp (and others) recently posted about the often tetchy relationships between planners and creatives. How they often dislike or even fail to respect each other and the work that they do.

I know of several love-hate relationships between successful planner/creatives who work together.

Now as I start in planning in a couple of months I would like to ask the following questions and see if I get some useful responses to learn from as regards to being a better planner and maintaining good relationships...

1. Why do some creatives dislike all planners? (and visa-versa)
2. What do planners do that endear them to creatives?
3. What do creatives that feel issues with planners want from them?

All responses appreciated!

Image from.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

it all has to do with smoothness my friend.

Rob Mortimer (aka Famous Rob) said...

Is that the cause or solution though? ;)

Unknown said...

i´d say, utopic. ideal. i mean you can´t avoid friction. we´re human.

you CAN be a creative planner. there´s one thing creatives criticize about planners , not trying to go with something else (and getting too comfy). hence brief rejections, but they never really happen.

i guess if you wanted to change something, start with the guys who look for the different. (exmpl: atl, btl debate)

back to smoothness, i´d say it happens when everyone´s in the same mambo.
and things start happenin´ :)

Robert said...

Oh dear - the can of worms has been opened, ha!

Interms of question 1, I love creatives and see it as my duty to help them be better than they would otherwise be - through helping develop [and sell] an idea that leads them into an interesting [and fertile] area - however when creatives forget we're in the commercial business and become too self-interested or closed off [not to mention exclusive] then I get the shits.

By the same token, I hate planners that don't let creatives 'think' - where what they want is traditional / formulaic / descriptive / boring - it treats creatives with no respect and that's bollocks.

Another thing creatives moan about are planners who work in isolation then present a fait d'complis [I have no idea if that's how you spell it] even though it's a shit idea with no imagination in it.

My attitude is that we're all in this together and yet there seems a constant battle for dominance and it doesn't have to be that way.

The secret of a good planner [to me] is knowing when to be flexible and when to be tough - but as long as creatives know you value them [and can prove it by recognising good work, caring about output as equally as input and fighting for great ideas to be made both internally and externally] they are a lovely bunch. Generally. Ha!

My claim to fame is Neil French - yes, THAT Neil French - say's I'm one of the only planners he has worked with that he actually values, and given we've had many a ding-dong over the years, that's one of my best compliments.

Actually, that's one of my only compliments :)

This probably doesn't help - but to sum it up in a couple of words, "Respectful Collaberation"

[as long as it doesn't decend into some lovefest ... which it NEVER does in our place, ha!]

Let me try and get Andy to answer - I am sure his view will be VERY different, ha!

Rob Mortimer (aka Famous Rob) said...

It is a can of worms, but its one i'd like to understand before I start.

I think respectful collaboration is a good term for what is needed.

Andy says that 'mindset' is both the problem and the answer.

Robert said...

When the fuck did Andy say that?

Jesus - he does like you - in that case you have nothing else to worry about.

And I like that - mindset - but it's just a fancy way to say what I did, ha!

Rob Mortimer (aka Famous Rob) said...

Yes, but he said it before you!

I emailed him as I know he has an 'interesting' relationship with planners!