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Account planning as a discipline has been somewhat obscured from academic view. In practice, it has played a significant role in the development of the marketing communications (especially, advertising) industry although it has been adopted in varying forms and with differing emphases. It has been misunderstood by many. This paper offers a summary of the insights gained from the papers contained in this special issue of Marketing Intelligence & Planning; papers that represent many years of experience in the field; papers that are a mix of academic and practitioner perspectives. Collectively, they describe this faintly mysterious discipline more completely than any other published source of which we know. What is clear from the papers is the absence of any agreed succinct description or definition of what account planning should be in the current and anticipated future marketing communications environment. This paper attempts to remedy this situation by proposing a definition of account planning derived from this collective work which others may wish to accept, develop, repudiate or (best of all) debate.

This paper aims to clarify whether J. Walter Thompson (JWT)’s planning and research tradition gave rise to the concept of Account Planning. In addition, it seeks to analyse the different planning methodologies that preceded Account Planning to highlight how it emerged at JWT London. A further goal is to understand the impact of Account Planning, which sought to achieve effective advertising through detailed consumer insight and has transformed the multinational JWT as a whole and the advertising sector in general.

The methodology is based mainly on the analysis of primary research conducted on original files donated to Duke University Library (North Carolina, USA) by the multinational J. Walter Thompson.

Account Planning emerged in 1968 in London as a consequence of the research and planning tradition that already existed at JWT. JWT’s corporate culture established the importance of the Account Planning approach that was valued by advertisers and spread to all offices. The planning tools used by the multinational today are updated versions of those that were designed from 1960 onwards.

The historical approach taken here precludes an analysis of the current reality of Account Planning. In future research, it would be useful to carry out in-depth interviews with professionals to explore how they apply planning tools that represent updated versions of those that were developed 50 years ago.

This paper’s main interest lies in the fact that it is based on original, unpublished sources, an approach that makes it possible to reassess previous findings.

This study aims to contribute a comprehensive historical analysis of account planning in scholarly literature, tracing its origins in agency adoption through transformation amid today’s rapidly changing advertising environment.

The paper applies a historical literature review of advertising account planning literature spanning over a half-century. The analysis focuses on dual dimensions of chronological evolution and thematic content analysis to trace the development of key constructs and their changes over time.

The analysis sheds light on the origins of account planning as a discipline and factors influencing its practice among agencies. Three distinct chronological stages of development are identified, and four dominant construct themes evident across time. Analysis indicates that traditional account planning was well formed functionally in the 1990s and peaked in prominence around the turn of the new millennium. Of late, however, advances in account planning theory appear limited and the future fragmented.

This study provides a unique historical perspective tracing the chronological development and key constructs of account planning. Implications for the future of the planning discipline are uncertain as agencies innovate with new functional roles seeking to unlock consumer insights and creative opportunities in the digital advertising environment.

It seems intuitive that as firms continue to try and keep in touch with the customers they serve, research should play an increasingly important role in determining the needs and wants of the consumer. Accordingly, as goods and services are tailored to meet these needs, so too does the accompanying advertising. Additionally, there is constant pressure on advertising agencies to produce advertising that consistently meets the objectives of their clients. Marketing departments, in turn, have to justify and be accountable to top management for advertising budgets. Consequently, agencies increasingly have to provide measures of effectiveness (Flandin et al 1992). In order to optimize the process(es) that will meet client objectives, agencies have to ensure that they understand how the consumer thinks and feels. One such approach to understanding the consumer's view is account planning. The main objective of this paper will be to provide a thorough review of the account planning phenomenon in advertising and in so doing, highlight the use of advertising research from a developmental perspective. This paper will describe the account planning process and how it differs from traditional agency practices. The justification for such a paper is the fact that billions of dollars are spent annually on advertising, in the hopes that the advertiser's objectives will consistently be met. If it could be demonstrated that increased attention to the consumer, in the development stages of advertising leads to more effective advertising than when consumer input is limited to the evaluation of advertising, after the fact, this would be of significant interest to advertisers as well as advertising agencies.

This paper briefly outlines the origins and development of the account planning function within advertising agencies. The transformation of the marketing communications environment during the 1990s is discussed together with the evolution of marketing theory and practice. The main focus of the paper examines if and how account planning has responded to the challenges of the marketing environment during the 1990s and the increasing demand for integrated marketing communications. It questions the extent to which account planning is meeting marketing communications needs in the new millennium both in terms of its traditional internal agency functions and the much debated topic of media neutral planning. The term media neutral planning is analysed and the distinction is drawn between media neutral ideas and neutrality in channel choice. The paper concludes that planning is an inherently flexible discipline and that its prime function is to place the consumer at the heart of creative marketing and communications planning.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of account planning by tracing its origins, development and role from its genesis to its current status. Account planning grew out of dissatisfaction with advertising agencies’ ability to meet the challenges they were facing in the early 1960s. It started out by combining elements of research and strategic planning to inform creative development and to provide the guidance and direction needed to use consumer insight to drive successful creative solutions. Since those early beginnings, a changing advertising environment has fuelled account planning’s exodus as it has been adopted internationally and by marketing communications fields that extend beyond advertising. While the paper brings us to the current day, account planning continues to evolve. It is expected that the trend of adoption by a range of marketing communications specialist agencies will persist but that a new account planning “revelation” will be in the form of independent strategy consultancies and increased client activities.

The account planning discipline practised in advertising agencies is a central element of a formal system for planning advertising campaigns on behalf of clients. Precise definitions are hard to find, but it is an intellectual process, to exercise quality control. The present study builds on another by the same researchers, which analysed the principles and practice of account planning from the advertising agency perspective. Its objectives were to: determine its role in the development of clients’ advertising campaigns; examine the working relationships involved; assess clients’ expectations and satisfactions; and evaluate its impact on current and future marketing planning. It was found that propensity to take advantage of agency account planning expertise ranged along a spectrum from high to low. High‐propensity clients exhibited a natural predisposition to co‐operation and collaboration, sought the agency’s planning input from the start, and believed in direct involvement with both planners and creatives. Low‐propensity clients regarded control as paramount, and therefore preferred co‐ordination to collaboration.

Account planning grew out of a combination of the complementary roles of consumer research and media planning. Over time it has moved away from the traditional advertising agencies to media independents that act as ever more influential advisors into their clients’ marketing communications strategies. Media strategists have usurped part of the original account planning role in giving advice on how to reach consumers, but they stop short of recommending what the message should be when contact is finally made. This remains the preserve of account planning and the creative team. However, account planners and media planners exhibit their own vested interests. This paper reports on an emerging new generation of marketing communications strategists who seek to overcome the limitations of both. They extend their perspectives on marketing communications beyond advertising and have no vested interest in any particular media solution (media neutrality). These companies do not execute the implementation of the campaign, produce the creative content, or pay for its delivery, yet they act as campaign integrators.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of tax planning activities on the firm value of FTSE 100 firms. We employ static and dynamic panel regression analyses on a sample of 70 companies drawn from the UK FTSE 100 over a five-year period (2006–2010). Empirical evidence suggests that tax planning activity as measured by the proxies based on reported accounting information has a negative impact on firm value. Moreover, the results from the Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) models suggest significant dynamics in firm value, i.e., the current firm value is positively affected by the past firm value. The findings imply the need for a full review of the adequacy and relevance of tax accounting disclosure and therefore have policy implications for accounting standard setters.

In Australia, advertising agencies have partially embraced the UK‐originated account planning philosophy. In an exploratory study, six senior account planning directors were interviewed to gain insights into account planning in Australia. It appears that the scale and nature of the Australian advertising industry militates against full acceptance of the UK model. Indeed, the UK model has met resistance from several areas. It was further found that the expectations of the planners’ role probably exceed the individual’s capacity to deliver on that role. Hence, the outlook for planning other than for a small group of “true blues”, to use the Australian argot, may have limited success in Australia.