The Future of Planning sits at the heart of the action

When a planner is tasked by a brand to drive positive, profitable impact they don’t need to craft the brief; they need to craft the action.

Actions that change culture. Actions that change business models. Actions that change behaviours.

In terms of developing these actions, this is undoubtedly a grey area. That fuzzy space that sits between the conventional definitions of strategy and creative.

But if your client is telling you they want acts not ads, why would you ask the people that write ads? Instead start with the ones best placed to understand the levers of change - the planners.

At Revolt, the planner defines the action and the creative multiplies its impact. Of course, when this process works best is not in a linear fashion, but through a collaborative, iterative manner.

So how does planning become more action orientated?

It starts by creating a detailed understanding of how the change the brand seeks actually happens. An often complex ‘theory of change’ system should be mapped and understood. A system that focuses on outputs and impacts rather than just inputs and activities.

Only with this working knowledge of each one of the stakeholders and an understanding of their roles, aspirations, relationships and challenges can we design actions that overcome genuine barriers to deliver measurable impact.

Take Pampers, an iconic brand committed to helping every baby thrive. Through mapping the many different dynamics that have an impact on a baby’s beginnings, they have built an ecosystem of interrelated actions - products, services, innovations and activation's - designed to do just that.

Alex Lewis is a co-founder of the purpose driven agency Revolt