Comments on: Drop Your Briefs, Whip out the Schematics. Show us some Systems Planning. http://experiencefreak.com/blog/2009/04/29/drop-your-briefs-whip-out-the-schematics-show-us-some-systems-planning/ an experience strategist's musings on how culture, technology and design drives innovation. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:14:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: A Banner Year.. For Changing the System http://experiencefreak.com/blog/2009/04/29/drop-your-briefs-whip-out-the-schematics-show-us-some-systems-planning/comment-page-1/#comment-470 A Banner Year.. For Changing the System Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:12:51 +0000 http://experiencefreak.com/blog/?p=660#comment-470 [...] whether you are trying to achieve political resolution, launch a new product or develop a brand campaign next year ask your [...] [...] whether you are trying to achieve political resolution, launch a new product or develop a brand campaign next year ask your [...]

]]> By: A Simple Framework for Social Strategy & Systems Planning http://experiencefreak.com/blog/2009/04/29/drop-your-briefs-whip-out-the-schematics-show-us-some-systems-planning/comment-page-1/#comment-316 A Simple Framework for Social Strategy & Systems Planning Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:34:39 +0000 http://experiencefreak.com/blog/?p=660#comment-316 [...] I’ve had a few clients lately so obsessed with one aspect of digital media or social marketing that they have trouble seeing the larger need to create many entry points, “pit stops” or invitations to welcome people into your online conversation.  Tom’s nailed a very simple outline, and though intended for the music biz, its a great foundation for anyone trying to brand on the web through digital and social means.  It’s also one way to look at connections/digital strategy mapping before a campaign begins ala “systems planning“. [...] [...] I’ve had a few clients lately so obsessed with one aspect of digital media or social marketing that they have trouble seeing the larger need to create many entry points, “pit stops” or invitations to welcome people into your online conversation.  Tom’s nailed a very simple outline, and though intended for the music biz, its a great foundation for anyone trying to brand on the web through digital and social means.  It’s also one way to look at connections/digital strategy mapping before a campaign begins ala “systems planning“. [...]

]]> By: funny you should ask » war, robots, planners and questions http://experiencefreak.com/blog/2009/04/29/drop-your-briefs-whip-out-the-schematics-show-us-some-systems-planning/comment-page-1/#comment-306 funny you should ask » war, robots, planners and questions Tue, 12 May 2009 08:07:57 +0000 http://experiencefreak.com/blog/?p=660#comment-306 [...] Strategist, well, that’s us. Planners. And I have to continue my linking out to this post at experiencefreak. It’s a good [...] [...] Strategist, well, that’s us. Planners. And I have to continue my linking out to this post at experiencefreak. It’s a good [...]

]]> By: Isabelle Quevilly http://experiencefreak.com/blog/2009/04/29/drop-your-briefs-whip-out-the-schematics-show-us-some-systems-planning/comment-page-1/#comment-296 Isabelle Quevilly Fri, 01 May 2009 19:49:48 +0000 http://experiencefreak.com/blog/?p=660#comment-296 Hi Andy, I find your article totally relevant in our day-to-day reality, where the planning phase is more longer than an individual writing a brief. It reminds me a great approach shared by Razorfish where you can see how they conceive the planning phase as a collaborative process with people from various fields of expertise that can build together this ecosystem around consumer's needs and beliefs to quote you. The system they use is named the creative hydra. At the core of R/GA’s strategic process is universal planning. Universal planning melds the best of these disaggregated disciplines and answers the most fundamental questions that marketers ask: • What in today’s culture is relevant and meaningful to my brand? • Who are the people we should engage? • What do we know about them? • What are the best ways to engage them? • How should I carve up my marketing budget for greatest impact? • What can I expect as a return on my marketing investment? The article I' referring to was published in Admap MAY 2007, ISSUE 483: www.rga.com/assets/attachments/61.pdf Food for thoughts :) Isabelle http://twitter.com/DigitalPlanner Hi Andy,

I find your article totally relevant in our day-to-day reality, where the planning phase is more longer than an individual writing a brief. It reminds me a great approach shared by Razorfish where you can see how they conceive the planning phase as a collaborative process with people from various fields of expertise that can build together this ecosystem around consumer’s needs and beliefs to quote you.

The system they use is named the creative hydra.

At the core of R/GA’s strategic process is universal planning.
Universal planning melds the best of these disaggregated disciplines and answers the most fundamental questions that marketers ask:

• What in today’s culture is relevant and meaningful to my brand?
• Who are the people we should engage?
• What do we know about them?
• What are the best ways to engage them?
• How should I carve up my marketing budget for greatest impact?
• What can I expect as a return on my marketing investment?

The article I’ referring to was published in Admap
MAY 2007, ISSUE 483: http://www.rga.com/assets/attachments/61.pdf

Food for thoughts :)
Isabelle
http://twitter.com/DigitalPlanner

]]> By: Libby Anderson http://experiencefreak.com/blog/2009/04/29/drop-your-briefs-whip-out-the-schematics-show-us-some-systems-planning/comment-page-1/#comment-294 Libby Anderson Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:42:15 +0000 http://experiencefreak.com/blog/?p=660#comment-294 Andy - my head is spinning! In the best way possible, of course. The projects that I've had the most success on all have one thing in common: we were all working off of a clear framework. The un-successes were lacking a clear system - good brief or not. Our world seems to have become a lot more complex over the last decade, yet our tools have remained largely the same. Net: we need new tools. Systems planning seems to be one of them. As an industry, we all have so much to learn. Clay sent me a great quote the other day that I think sums it up pretty well: “In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” - Eric Hoffer, writer Andy – my head is spinning! In the best way possible, of course. The projects that I’ve had the most success on all have one thing in common: we were all working off of a clear framework. The un-successes were lacking a clear system – good brief or not. Our world seems to have become a lot more complex over the last decade, yet our tools have remained largely the same. Net: we need new tools. Systems planning seems to be one of them.

As an industry, we all have so much to learn. Clay sent me a great quote the other day that I think sums it up pretty well:

“In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”
- Eric Hoffer, writer

]]> By: Kelly Eidson http://experiencefreak.com/blog/2009/04/29/drop-your-briefs-whip-out-the-schematics-show-us-some-systems-planning/comment-page-1/#comment-293 Kelly Eidson Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:37:53 +0000 http://experiencefreak.com/blog/?p=660#comment-293 This post and the diagram do a great job of illustrating something we've all known: influencing people is far more complex than the ad industry makes it out to be with their oversimplified magic bullet models. I like thinking about strategy this way, but it's definitely daunting. It forces us all to manage our expectations about what can, and can't be accomplished with communications. Meta-studies in academic journals all estimate the influence of advertising messages in driving purchase behavior somewhere around 5-7%. That number is significant, but likely shrinking and not at all as big as the industry makes it out to be. If planners & marketers make themselves out to be systems engineers and look at the big picture, complex diagram (like the one above), it frees us to consider the other variables and go after the other 93-97% of influence. This post and the diagram do a great job of illustrating something we’ve all known: influencing people is far more complex than the ad industry makes it out to be with their oversimplified magic bullet models.

I like thinking about strategy this way, but it’s definitely daunting. It forces us all to manage our expectations about what can, and can’t be accomplished with communications. Meta-studies in academic journals all estimate the influence of advertising messages in driving purchase behavior somewhere around 5-7%. That number is significant, but likely shrinking and not at all as big as the industry makes it out to be.

If planners & marketers make themselves out to be systems engineers and look at the big picture, complex diagram (like the one above), it frees us to consider the other variables and go after the other 93-97% of influence.

]]> By: Mike Arauz http://experiencefreak.com/blog/2009/04/29/drop-your-briefs-whip-out-the-schematics-show-us-some-systems-planning/comment-page-1/#comment-292 Mike Arauz Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:18:50 +0000 http://experiencefreak.com/blog/?p=660#comment-292 very fascinating, andy. funny, though i hadn't seen it this way until now, this is very much what we do at Undercurrent. our work has a lot more to do with designing meaningful connections across different digital experiences and environments as it does with imagining compelling stand-alone concepts. very fascinating, andy. funny, though i hadn’t seen it this way until now, this is very much what we do at Undercurrent. our work has a lot more to do with designing meaningful connections across different digital experiences and environments as it does with imagining compelling stand-alone concepts.

]]> By: Maury Giles http://experiencefreak.com/blog/2009/04/29/drop-your-briefs-whip-out-the-schematics-show-us-some-systems-planning/comment-page-1/#comment-291 Maury Giles Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:14:05 +0000 http://experiencefreak.com/blog/?p=660#comment-291 Andy -- funny that you landed at systems theory. A basic building block of complexity science is system dynamics. More advanced, or pushed further down to the individual, or agent, level is agent-based simulation. So, the tools and approaches we need for planning and mapping strategy are based on the same tools we need, in my opinion, for campaign optimization and forecasting to mitigate risk before launching bold, innovative, new initiatives: systems theory and agent-based simulation. Very cool thoughts! Andy — funny that you landed at systems theory. A basic building block of complexity science is system dynamics. More advanced, or pushed further down to the individual, or agent, level is agent-based simulation.

So, the tools and approaches we need for planning and mapping strategy are based on the same tools we need, in my opinion, for campaign optimization and forecasting to mitigate risk before launching bold, innovative, new initiatives: systems theory and agent-based simulation.

Very cool thoughts!

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