Project Management in Advertising

Project Management in AdvertisingKaye I. Smith

What is Project Management?

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Delivering on time, on budget and high quality initiatives that meet or exceed client (and

internal) expectations.

Definition: Project Manager The liaison between internal departments whose sole

responsibility is to keep all projects moving efficiently The guardian of the agency’s manufacturing process Allows Account Management time to address client facing issues,

strategy and planning

Cost

Time Quality

Why is Project Management important?

Clients are forcing us to defy the triple constraint

The agency wants to remain profitable and competitive

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Over-Arching Goals

Determine appropriate Work Flow Path for each project (Job Streaming)

Get work through the Agency efficiently and accurately

Save Clients and Agency costly mistakes due to miscommunication

Involve appropriate participants in approval process

Avoid redundancy of tasks

Expose all Project Managers to the various channels in the Agency

ChallengesComplexity of our assignments (skills needed, parties involved, etc)

The number of people involved in an engagement

Increasing number of clients moving from“Agency side to “Client side”

Decrease in client spending and increased level of expectations

Ourselves: it has always been done this way

Account Executives sharing Project Management duties

Roles not clearly defined

Short cuts = Survival tactics

Who’s covering what base?

Everyone knows what has to be done

Few seem to practice a common process and

Little understanding as to who is responsible for what tasks.

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Art Buyer Talks toArt Buyer Talks toProduction andProduction and

CreativeCreative

Creative TalksCreative Talksto Art Buyingto Art Buying

Account Mgmnt.Account Mgmnt.Talks to ClientTalks to Client

Cinque Talks Cinque Talks to Vendors to Vendors

Creative Talks toCreative Talks toProductionProduction

Account Mgmnt.Account Mgmnt.Talks to CreativeTalks to Creative

Account Mgmnt.Account Mgmnt.Talks to MediaTalks to Media

CLIENT MAKES REQUESTCLIENT MAKES REQUEST

Client

Team Members(from the outside in)

Team Members(from the outside in)

Project Manager

Acct. Mgmt Lead

CreativeLead

Production

Strategy & Insights

Lead

AE

Art DirectorCopy

Writer

HTML

QA

DataAnalyst

StrategicComm

BusinessManager

Client

StudioLead

Digital Producers

MechArtist

Print Producer

Retoucher

InteractiveLead

Cost Control

IntegratedServices

Media

Primary Process Conversation

Inter-Dept Conversation

Intra-Dept Conversation

ArtBuying Editorial

Svcs

Project Lifecycle: Engagement through

Completion

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Project Lifecycle

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Delivery Tools

Delivery ToolsEngagement & Planning Tools

Client Input BriefStatement of workProject PlanCreative Brief

MethodologiesAccount Governance Communications

Tracking Tools & ProcessesRisk ManagementChange Management Financial Tracking

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Engagement and Planning Tools

DATE XX/XX/XX

VERSION XX

CLIENT Name

ASSIGNMENT NAME Lorem ipsum

JOB NUMBER XXX-XXX-XXXXXX

ACCOUNT PROJECT LEAD XXXXXXX XXXXXX

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Name

TARGET DATE TO BRIEF CREATIVE TEAM XX/XX/XXXX

WHAT DO WE WANT COMMUNICATIONS TO ACCOMPLISH? 1 Be realistic and precise – what action do we want to inspire in the target? Trial? Loyalty? Consideration? What else should communications do?

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– Bullet Level 2 Bullet Level 3

WHAT ARE THE KEY DELIVERABLES, WHAT’S THE BUDGET, AND THE TIMING OF THIS INITIATIVE? 2 Tell the creative team what’s required, when it’s required (when we have to present work to clients) what the “go live” date is and how much we can spend, if at all possible.

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WHO ARE WE TALKING TO? 3 Define the target as individuals, in the context of what we’re selling. Don’t overwhelm the team with demographics or segmentation data. Focus on what they think, how they act, and what choices they are currently making. What is currently guiding their behavior?

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CREATIVE BRIEF

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Client InputBrief

Statement of Work (SOW)

CampaignTactics

Creative Brief

Client’s guidance to agency

Agency’s scoping document or project-level contract

DeliverablesAgency’s guidance for creative development

Client Input Brief

Outlines clients strategic objectives

Defines the metrics that will be used to judge project success

Identifies the key deliverables expected as a result of the initiative

Outlines who the client believes is the audience for their product/service

Details budget, timing, specs and other constraints

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Statement of WorkWhy create a statement of work?

To ensure all parties have a clear understanding of what is to be delivered

To build the documented foundation for the project

What is included in the document?

Objectives

ROI Goals / Expected Results

In/Out of Scope

Deliverables (including number of rounds)

Assumptions

Known risks

Escalation path

Schedule

Estimated costs

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Statement of WorkDetailed

deliverable list item

OK GOOD GREAT

Email One (1) HTML Email

One HTML Email – Includes three Creative rounds (two opportunities for revision and one final sign off)

One HTML Email –Includes three Creative rounds (two opportunities for revision and one final sign off)

Strategic Recommendation

Strategy Deck Strategic Recommendations Presentation:

• Outline – one client review• Draft – one client review• Final – on client review

Strategic Recommendations Presentation to include:

• Personas• Strategic Pillars• Brand hierarchy

Deliverables:

• Outline – one client review• Draft – one client review• Final – one client review• Presentation, on March 29th in Seattle, to client management team

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Comprehensive Project Plan

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• Plan of attack

• The list of deliverables and all of the detailed tasks needed to create them

• The timing needed for each task

• The work flow, what happens first, second, concurrently

• Milestones

Creative Brief• Confirms and documents the Agency's strategic

understanding of the initiative

• Provides detailed information and guidance to the creative team about the initiative, product and all relevant details

• Provides a compelling expression of the value proposition to spark the creative imagination

• Outlines production guidelines, budget guidelines, and schedule

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Methodologies

Account Governance• Managing an integrated full-cycle CRM program for clients

requires a high-level of operational focus.

In the planning phase:

– Determine how and when the team will communicate

– Agree on the review process and how feedback will be shared

– Identify stakeholders and when to involve them

• Marketing Plan Diagrams– Created yearly and updated quarterly– Detail upcoming campaigns, high level timing

and dependencies on other business groups, partners, etc.

• Project work plans

– Outline the detailed dependencies on

individual initiatives

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6/19/2006 12/18/2006

7/1/2006 8/1/2006 9/1/2006 10/1/2006 11/1/2006 12/1/2006

7/1/2006 - 7/31/2006Interval Description



8/22/2006Milestone Description


10/6/2006Milestone Description7/2/2006 - 8/1/2006

Interval Description


6/19/2006 12/18/2006

7/1/2006 8/1/2006 9/1/2006 10/1/2006 11/1/2006 12/1/2006







6/19/2006 12/18/2006

7/1/2006 8/1/2006 9/1/2006 10/1/2006 11/1/2006 12/1/2006





8/22/2006Milestone Description7/2/2006 - 8/1/2006

Interval Description



ID Task Name Duration Start

1 Project start 1 day? Mon 7/17/06

2 next task 5 days Tue 7/18/06

3 task two 3 days Tue 7/25/06

4 task three 3 days Fri 7/28/06

T W T F S S M T W T F S S M TJul 16, '06 Jul 23, '06 Jul 30, '06

Communications• Status Reports and Meetings

• Meeting Reports

• Escalation Plans

• Extranets

• Post Project Reviews

• Email – friend or foe?

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Status Reports• A weekly status meeting should be held

for all capabilities associated with an engagement.

• Items discussed will cover:– Items for management attention

(escalated issues)

– Deliverable Progress

– Summary of progress toward team goals

– Major agreements

– Priorities for the next week

– Project completion percentage

• During this meeting risks are reviewed and assigned to ensure risk mitigation

HP Home & Home Office Store Weekly Status Report

Week Of: Author:

Project Name Agency Kick Off Date

Job Number Release to YesMail Date Kick off Date Deploy Date Deploy Date

Project Deliverables

Team Completed Tasks Next Steps Assigned To

Date Raised

Open Issue Mitigation Strategy Assigned To

Date Raised

Risk Mitigation Strategy Assigned To

LEGEND On track no issue to budget or timeline Some risk to budget or timeline High risk to budget and timeline

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CommunicationsMeeting Reports:

– Every meeting and call should be followed with a documented, shared report of the discussion, decisions, and action items

Escalation plans:– Up-to-date organizational charts for both agency and client with clear escalation points should

communication need to be advanced

Extranet:– A secure, Web-based application that serves as a central repository to store and display all deliverables

and critical documentation

– All deliverables and other critical project documentation is uploaded and resides in this location

– Serves as a central repository for capabilities to store files related to an initiative

– Client has a single point of access to all files related to a particular initiative

– All status reports, and other assets will also reside in this location

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CommunicationsPost Project Reviews:

– Agency self assessment completed at the end of every initiative– Feedback is solicited from client and suggested improvements are shared with the client– Allows each capability involved in an initiative to participate in how we can work better

together for our clients– Provides business organization improvement– All feedback is presented in a constructive fashion and is provided by initiative

participants

Email:– An amazing communication tool that is often abused– Should be use thoughtfully. Assess the recipient’s ability to digest the information you

are sending.– Do not bombard your internal team or client with email– If one consolidated communication will help keep the team more organized, use a Hot

Sheet type of email sent once or twice a day. NOT several separate emails.

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Tracking Tools & Processes

Risk ManagementWhat 90% of project leaders say:

“Risk management is one of my top three responsibilities.”

-and-

“I am too busy managing my crises to manage my risks.”

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What is a risk?• “An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or

negative effect on one or more project objectives..” – PMBOK, 5th Edition

• Often considered a state of uncertainty

• In our daily lives we manage risk as an inherent way of life– Is it safe to cross the road?– Will it rain today?

• So, why do we place it in a different “box” when we are at work– “Yet another process”– “No time to do it”– “Not my problem”– “People don’t want to hear about it”

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What is Risk Management?

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The proactive identification, analysis, mitigation planning and monitoring of risk.

Why do risk management?• History teaches us that it repeats itself

• Our clients are expecting us to proactively manage their business

• Understanding the landscape and potholes facilitates smooth delivery

• Planning for what could happen allows you to be better prepared when specific events materialize

• Through risk management planning discussions you can take advantage of both your experiences and the experience of your teammates

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When should we perform risk management?

• In each moment of a project– Risks and opportunities exist throughout every projects’ lifecycle

• At inception• During pursuit of business• Transformation of proposals to projects• During the implementation of projects• Delivery (ongoing)

• In Communications– Make the risk management process part of the management of

the project• Integration with status reporting• Integration with reviews

– Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize and then actually manage the priorities

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Risk Management Reporting

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Risk Management Reporting

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Risk Management Tool

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Scoring Risk Impact

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Exercise

• Sample Project Situation– Identify– Analyze– Mitigate– Monitor

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Risk Management - Things to remember

• Take the time to identify risk when scoping/planning

• Review risk in every meeting and weekly status

• Having a plan to close risks will increase the win rate

• Use the process positively

• You cannot remove all threats, but you can identify and thus reduce them

• Celebrate success

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Change Management

What is Change Management?

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The tools, people and procedures used to control changes to the scope of an initiative.

Why perform Change Management?

• Goals, objectives, knowledge and the business landscape are always changing

• It supports our clients ability to react to the changing marketplace in a timely fashion

• Ensures all parties have assessed the impact of a requested change and are prepared to handle it

• NOTE: Not every change results in an increase of cost or time.

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How to perform Change Management?

You must:– Have a clearly defined scope– Identify, document and share/escalate any deviation

from that scope– Assess the impact and whether the change in scope is

“worth it”• What is the impact to cost, timing, quality?• How will this affect other initiatives?• Is the rationale strong enough?

– Get approval before taking on any liability

Take the time to do Change Management!

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Financial Tracking

Financial ManagementNo matter what account you work on and what tools you have

at your disposal, you are responsible for the financial health of your initiative.

• Everyone on your team should know their responsibilities and the amount of time they have to perform them – Make people accountable

• Look at the whole picture– Manpower– Vendor and out of pocket (pass-thru) costs– Materials

• Red flag and escalate problems before they get out of hand

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Top Takeaways

• Each agency function performs an essential role

• Use your tools, they inform and guide the process

• Follow best practices, it ensures development of high quality, strategic, compelling plans and creative

• The end goal is the best work possible in the most efficient way possible

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Thank You

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