What will you be preaching about at the Connection Planning Conference?

The end is near. Repent before it’s too late. I hope I get the chance to
share that.

Could you explain what Context Planning is and how it came to be
part of the way you do business?

Context Planning is a way to make sense of how people live their lives
by understanding what is most important to them, so we can develop
communications that are relevant, meaningful and respectful. I joke that
Context Planning answers the ultimate question, “what is the meaning of
life?” But it’s really a half-joke, because in reality how people decide
to spend their time is how they prioritize their lives. And hopefully
they prioritize in ways that are meaningful. Context Planning was born
from an issue we were having with trying to translate a 210-page target
segmentation study for one of our clients. We wanted to simplify massive
amounts of data and confusion into something that anyone could quickly
and easily understand. We also wanted it to be a useful tool to develop
relationships between brands and people. It was only an idea a year ago,
now it’s an actual title, function and expertise.

You “direct the integration of Media, Account Planning, Events,
Digital, CIM and PR disciplines” so it seems you’ve been “connecting”
for a while now. Do you ever have issues meshing these multiple
disciplines? How do you solve these issues?

Our biggest issue is too many ideas and ways to define the new models. I
mean, we grapple with the same stuff that everyone does: measuring ROI,
inventing new forms of communications, managing touchpoint
relationships, common currency, etc. But fortunately, we are an ESOP, so
everyone in the agency shares in our future. We have the right people
sitting next to each other. We have one P&L for everything. Tearing down
profit centers moves egos and personal motives out the way of good
thinking.

What does it mean to be a people’s media person?

I have never let numbers dictate media plans. I’m not saying we don’t
use a lot of numbers and research, but I do believe that developing a
media plan based on efficient reach and frequency should not be the
starting point. The world is moving way too fast to rely on antiquated
models that can’t measure today’s world. Our industry is famous for
ideas that sound cool in a board room, but suck if you think about it as
a person. I always try to think about it as a person.

What do you plan on doing in New Orleans besides attending the
conference? Are you a New Orleans first-timer? What are you looking
forward to?

New Orleans is my favorite city in the world. I’ve lived there twice.
My children were born there. I am going to stay up for 48 hours and
soak in as much music, food, chatter and vibe as I can.