Planning gaining influence despite cost-cutting

'The Future of Strategy’ report questioned 75 agency-side strategists and executives over the past year.

It found that 61% respondents said planning had gained influence over the past year, 46% said they were becoming more influential for clients and half said the planning teams headcount had grown in the past year.

Strategy teams seem to consist of specialists rather than generalists these days, with digital, social and CRM strategists growing in numbers. As a consequence respondents felt the traditional ‘brand planner’ is under threat.

But 67% said there was growing pressure from clients to cost-cut and for strategists to be involved in more tactical, short-term work. The increasing tendency for management consultants to offer strategic marketing services was seen as threat to planners’ futures.

Joseph Clift, business analyst at Warc and the report’s author, said: "The responses suggest that a major driver of the growing influence of planning is the increasing complexity of the marketing landscape. As marketers are faced with an ever-growing number of channels and approaches, strategists are well placed to act as an expert guide for others."