This piece of internet flotsam deserves a permanent home so I have posted it here.
It's a 37 page beginners guide to the craft and art of account planning, straight our of 1974 in the early years of agencies adopting strategy and planning as discipline. And it was written in one of the UK leaders of the day; JWT. (Possibly written by Stephen King and Judi Lannon?)
It gives me a huge hit of nostalgia. I worked at the coal-face of strategy and planning during the rapid growth of digital, and it is somehow reassuring to see that the basics of our craft really hasn't changed that much. It's just the application that has.
You can draw direct lines from this doc to best practice today, and it's a brilliant read to boot.
"Most people would agree that advertising, like any other job, benefits from being tackled systemically. But advertising is different from most jobs, and it requires a rather special approach to planning."
You can download it here.
You might also enjoy the strategy and planning guide I have written you can download here.